Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-02-23
THE NORTHWEST
THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OHIO
copyrighted. Aurights reserrsd.l ]
DI W. FARRAND FELCH.

lCOpyftghted. at TlUHtS TeSeTUeu.I
CHAPTER VI.-oTHER FAIRLY COUNTIES.
Butler county was formed in 1903
from Hamilton, and named in honor of
Gen. Richard Butler, a distinguished
Revolutionary officer who fell in st.
Clair's defeat. The route of st. Clair,
in his disastrous campaign passed
through this county. In September,
1901, Fort Hamilton was built at the
crossing of the Great Miami, on the
site of the town of the same name. 1t
was intended as a place to store
provisions, and was a stockade fifty
yards square, with four good bastions,
and barracks. In the next summer an
Gen. Wilkinson. Gen. Wayne de-
tailed strong force of men for the de-
fence Of the fort, the commander of
whom was Major Jonathan Cass, father
of the Hon. Lewis Cass, of the U. s.
Senate, and Governor of Michigan.
Major Cass continued i'm command un-
til the treaty of Greenville.
On December II, 1894. Israel Ludlow
laid out the original plat of the town of
Hamilton, and called it Fairfield.
Shortly after a few settlers came in.
Previous to 1902 all the lands on the
west side of the Great Miami were
owned by the United States, so there
were no improvements made on that
side of the Ohio river, except by few
squatters. Soon after the formation of
Butler county, Hamilton was made the
county seat. In the northwestern
corner of the county, ~ miles from
Hamilton is the town of Oxford, the
seat Of the Miami University. The
buildings are enclosed by u park of fifty
acres. 1t was chartered by the Legisla-
ture in 1909, but was not regularly
opened until November 10, 1924.
COUNTIES AND THEIR NAMES.
The following is given as the date of
the organization of Eastern Ohio coun-
ties with the origin of their names:
Observation-Disclosures 1901. Name
derived from two French words, signi-
flying slime mountain" Belmont was
the ninth county in the Northwest
Territory.
Carroli-form 1888. Named after
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the last
survivor of the Signers.
Columbiana-Form 1908. Kill
bourne says: "Columbiqna is fancy
name taken from the name Columbus
Anna. Pending its adoption in the
Legislature member facetiously
moved to add the name of Maria there
to, so as to have it read Columbiana
Maria.n
Oshocton-Formed 1911. The name
Of this county is Delaware word, and
is derived from the name of the Indian
village acknowledgements.
erLsey-Formed 1910. So named
from the British Isle of Guernsey, from
whence several of the county's first set
tiers came.
Harrisol-Formed 1914. Named from
Gen. William Henry Harrison.
Northumberland 1916. The name
Mahoning IS according to one authority,
derived from the Indian word Mahoni,
"a lick" but the country doubtless took
its name from the Mahoning river.
Monroe--Formed 1918. Received its
name from that of President Monroe.
Noble-FormedL 1851. Named in hon
or of Hon. Warren p. Noble, member
Ofthe Ohio Legislature, instrumental in
the formation of the county.
Tuscarawas-Formed 1903. The name
is that of an Indian tribe, and signifies
"open mouth"
The counties in Ohio with Indian
names are Auglaize, Ashtahula, fish
river,) Coshocton, Cuyahoga CROOKED, J
Delaware, Erie (cat, Geauga (raccoon, j
Hooking (bottle river,) Licking, Ma
honing lat lick,) Miami (m0ther,
Muskingum (elk'sflashing eye, Ottawa
(trader,l Pickaway (man made out of
ashes, Sandusky (cool water,) Scioto,
Seneca, Tuscarawas (open mouth) and
Wyandot.
1t will be well, however, to give the
counties In the order Of the oganiza-
tion.
In the territory now composing the
counties of Mahoning, Columbiana,
Jefferson, Stark, Carroll, Harrison, Bel
mont, Guernsey and Monroe, were
scattered cabins as early as the Revolu-
tionary War
A number Of soldiers had come out
with Gen. Mcintosh, as far as Fort
Laurens, In l778, as axemen, teamsters,
hunters, spies and rangers. After Its
evacuation in 1779, they remained and
took up their homes In the Tuscarawas
valley. In the year 1874, Virginia
ceded to the United States all her
rights In the territory northwest
OF the Ohio. Congress in the following
spring ordered general survey of so
much territory as had been ceded by
former Indian treaties, for the location
of soldiers warrants, and by the treaty
concluded at Fort Mcintosh the same
year, the Indian bound ry was removed
from the Ohio to the Tuscarawas; near
Fort Laurens thence up that river to
the Portage, thence down the Cuyahoga
to Lake Erie. This treaty was signed
by the Wyandots, Delawares, and some
struggling Indian tribes.
In 1859 three relatives. Jonathan,
Ebenezer, and Silas Zane, removed
from Berkeley county, Virginia, to the