JACKSON COUNTY
Jackson County
was organized in March, 1816. Area about 410 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were
43,961; in pasture, 101,544; woodland, 42,499; lying waste, 5,226; produced in
wheat, 96,726 bushels; rye, 2,890; buckwheat, 137; oats, 66,488; corn, 214,006;
meadow hay, 12,918 tons; potato, 15,759 bushels; butter, 262,410 lbs.; cheese,
100; sorghum, 4,197 gallons; maple syrup, 194; honey, 2,833 lbs.; eggs, 307,191
dozen; grapes, 1,400 lbs., sweet potatoes, 293 bushels; apples, 13,571;
peaches, 9,094; pears, 76; wool, 47,491 lbs.; milch
cows owned, 4,125. School census, 1888, 10,201; teachers, 167. Miles of railroad track, 125.
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
Bloomfield, |
721 |
1,557 |
Liberty, |
474 |
1,784 |
Clinton, |
824 |
|
Lick, |
822 |
5,213 |
Franklin, |
1,055 |
1,502 |
Madison, |
724 |
2,113 |
Hamilton, |
415 |
819 |
Milton, |
912 |
3,404 |
Harrison, |
378 |
|
Richland, |
548 |
|
Jackson, |
410 |
1,869 |
Scioto |
931 |
1,579 |
Jefferson, |
752 |
2,443 |
Washington, |
481 |
1,403 |
Also Coal township, formed in 1881. Population of Jackson in 1820 was 3,842;
1830, 5,941; 1840, 9,744; 1860, 17,941; 1880, 23,686, of whom 19,598 were born
in Ohio; 1,003 Virginia, 814 Pennsylvania, 277 Kentucky, Indiana, 55 New York,
770 England and Wales, 319 German Empire, 245 Ireland, 14 British America, 9
Scotland, and 7 France. U. S. Census 1890, 28,408.
In our
original edition we said; “The early settlers were many of them Western
Virginians; and a considerable portion of its present inhabitants are from
Wales and Pennsylvania, who are developing its agricultural resources. The surface is hilly, but in many parts
produces excellent wheat. The
exports are cattle, horses, wood, swine, millstones, lumber, tobacco, and iron. The county is rich in minerals, and
abounds in coal and iron ore; and mining will be extensively prosecuted
whenever communication is had with navigable waters by railroads.”
Page 951
Well, that
prediction is now fact. Jackson is
one of the great mining counties of Ohio; in coal it stands second only to
Perry. The “Ohio Mining
Statistics for 1888” gave these items; “Coal, 1,088,761 tons mined, employing 2,228
miners, and 332 outside employees; iron ore, 42,206 tons, fire clay, 9,720
tons; limestone, 21,125 tons burned for fluxing; 1,036 cubic feet of dimension
stone.”
Prof. Orton, in
his “Geological Report for 1884,” states: “Four seams of coal
are mined in shipping banks in Jackson county. They
are as follows: the shaft seam, the Wellston coal, the Cannel coal, the
Limestone coal.
“The
Shaft seam supports two shipping banks at Jackson, in addition to the several furnace mines. There are also several small shipping
mines along the railroad, west of Jackson.
“The
Wellston coal is the mainspring of the coal-mining industry of the
country. The development of this
field has advanced with great rapidity.
In 1878 not more than 10,000 tons of coal were shipped from Jackson county. During
that year two new lines of railroad, built with the special object of reaching
this coal, entered the field. The
roads are the Ohio Southern (I. B. & W.) and the Toledo, Cincinnati and St.
Louis Railway (narrow gauge). In 1880 the shipments reached nearly 300,000
tons, and in 1883 nearly 400,000 tons.” Now, as above stated, it exceeds a
million of tons.
The Old Scioto Salt-works.
The old history of Jackson county is very interesting. The famous “old Scioto
Salt-works” are in this region, on the banks of Salt creek, a tributary
of the Scioto. The wells were sunk
to the depth of about thirty feet, but the water was very weak, requiring ten
or fifteen gallons to make a pound of salt. It was first made by the whites about
the year 1798, and transferred from the kettles to pack-horses of the salt
purchasers, who carried it to the various settlements, and sold it to the
inhabitants for three or four dollars per bushel, as late as 1808. This saline was thought to be so
important to the country that, when Ohio was formed into a State, a tract of
six miles square was set apart by Congress, for the use of the State, embracing
this saline. In 1804 an act was
passed by the legislature regulating its management, and appointing an agent to
rent out small lots on the borders of the creek, where the salt water was most
abundant to the manufactures. As
better and more accessible saline springs have been discovered, these were now
abandoned.
The expression, very common I this region
“shooting one with a pack-saddle,” is said to have or originated,
in early days, in this way. A
person, who had come on horseback, from some distance away from the salt-works
to purchase salt, had his pack-saddle stolen by the boilers, who were a rough,
coarse set, thrown into the salt furnace, and destroyed. He made little or no complaint, but
determined to have revenge for the trick, played upon him. On the next errand of this nature, he
partly filled his pack-saddle with gunpowder, and gave the boilers another
opportunity to steal and burn it, which they embraced—when lo! much to their consternation, a terrific explosion ensured,
and they narrowly escaped serious injury.
These old
salt-works were among the first worked by the whites in Ohio. They had long been known, and have been
indicated on maps published as early as 1755.
The
Indians, prior to the settlement of the country, used to come from long
distances to make salt at this place; and it was not uncommon for them to be
accompanied by whites, whom they had taken captive and adopted. Daniel Boone, when a prisoner, spent some time at these works. Jonathon
Alder, a sketch of whom is under the head of Madison county,
was taken a prisoner, when a boy, by the Indians, in 1782, in Virginia, and
adopted into one of their families, near the head-waters of Mad river. He had been with them about a year, when
they took him with them to the salt-works, where he met a Mrs. Martin, likewise
Page 952
Top Picture
MONER’S TOOLS
Bottom Picture
Miller & Williams, Photo.,
Jackson, 1886
JACKSON
Page 953
a prisoner. The
meeting between them was affecting.
We give the particulars in his own simple and
artless language:
Mrs.
Martin’s Story—It was now
better than a year after I was taken prisoner, when the Indians started off to
the Scioto, salt-springs, near Chillicothe, to make salt, and took me along
with them. Here I got to see Mrs. Martin, that was taken prisoner at the same time as I was,
and this was the first time that I had seen her since we were separated at the
council-house. When she saw me, and
asked me, if it was me. I told her
it was. She asked me how I bead
been. I told her I have been very
unwell, for I had had the fever and ague for a long time. So she took me off to a log, and there
we sat down; and she combed my head, and asked me a great many question about how I
lived, and I if I didn’t want
to my mother and little brothers. I
told her that I should be glad to see them, but never expected to again. She then pulled out some pieces of her
daughter’s scalp that she said were some trimmings they had trimmed off
the night after she was killed, and that she meant to keep them as long as she
lived. She them talked and cried
about her family, that was all destroyed and gone, except the remaining bits of
her daughter’s scalp. We
stayed here a considerable time, and meanwhile, took many a cry together; and
when we parted again, took our last and final farewell, for I never saw her
again.
Captivity and Escape of Samuel Davis
Mr. Samuel
DAVIS, who is now (1846) residing in Franklin county, near Columbus, was taken
prisoner by the Indians, and made his escape while within the present limits of
this county. He was born in New
England, moved to the West, and was employed by the governor of Kentucky as a
spy against the Indians on the Ohio.
The circumstances of his captivity and escape are from his biography, by
Col. John McDonald:
In the fail of 1792, when the spies were discharged,
DAVIS concluded he would make a winter’s hunt up the Big Sandy river. He and a
Mr. William Campbell prepared themselves with a light canoe, with traps and
ammunition, for a failed hunt. They
set off from Massie’s station (Manchester), up the Ohio thence up Big
Sandy some distance, limiting and trapping as they went along. Their success in hunting and trapping
was equal to their expectation.
Beaver and otter were plenty.
Although they saw no Indian sign, they were very circumspect in concealing
their canoe, either by sinking it in deep water, or concealing it in thick
willow brush. They generally slept
out in the hills, without fire.
This constant vigilance and care was habitual to the frontier tactic of
that day. They hunted and trapped
till the winter began to set in.
They now began to think of returning, before the rivers would freeze
up. They accordingly commenced a
retrograde move down the river, trapping as they leisurely went down. They had been several days going down
the river; they landed on a small island covered with willows. Here they observed signs of beaver. They set their traps, dragged their
canoe among the willows, and remained quiet till late in the night. They now concluded that any persons,
white, red, or black, that aught happen to be in the neighborhood, would be in
their camp. They then made a small
fire among the willows, cooked and eat their supper, and lay down to sleep
without putting out their fire.
They concluded that the light of their small fire could not penetrate
through the thick willows.
They therefore lay down in perfect self-security. Some time before day, as they lay fast
asleep, they were awakened by some fellows calling in broken English:
“Come on get; get up, get up.”
DAVIS awoke from sleep, looked up, and to his astonishment found himself
and companion surrounded by a number of Indians, and two standing over him with
uplifted tomahawks. To resist in
such a case would be to throw away their lives in hopeless struggle. They surrendered themselves prisoners.
The party of Indians, consisting of upwards of thirty
warriors, had crossed the Ohio about the mouth of Guyandotte
river, and passed through Virginia to a station near
the head of Big Sandy. They
attacked the station and were repulsed, after continuing their attack two days
and nights. Several Indians were
killed during the siege and several wounded. They had taken one white man prisoner
from the station, by the name of Daniels, and taken all the horses belonging to
the station. The Indians had taken,
or made, some canoes, in which they placed their wounded and baggage, and were
descending the river in their canoes.
As they were moving down in the night they discovered a glimpse of DAVIS’
fire through the willows. They
cautiously landed on the island, found DAVIS and
Campbell fast asleep, and awakened them in the manner above related.
DAVIS and Campbell were securely fastened with tugs,
and placed in their own canoe.
Their rifles, traps, and the proceeds of their successful hunt, all fell
into the hands of the Indians. The
Indians made no delay, but; immediately set off down the river in their
Page 954
canoes with their prisoners, while their main force
went by land, keeping along the river bottoms with the horses they had taken from
the station—keeping near the canoes, so as to be able to support each
other in ease of pursuit or attack.
Early the next day they reached the Ohio. The wounded and prisoners were first
taken across the Ohio, and placed under a guard. They returned with the canoes (leaving
their arms stacked against a tree), to assist in getting the horses across the
river. It was very cold, and as
soon as the horses would find themselves swimming they would turn round and land
on the same shore. The Indians had
a great deal of trouble before they got the horses across the Ohio. The guard who watched DAVIS and his
companions were anxious, impatient spectators of the restive disposition of the
horses to take the water. Upon one
occasion the guard left the prisoners twenty or thirty yards, to have a better
view of the difficulty with the horses.
DAVIS and his fellow-prisoners were as near to where the arms were
stacked as were the Indian guard.
DAVIS, who possessed courage and presence of mind in an eminent degree,
urged his fellow-prisoners to embrace the auspicious moment, seize the arms,
and kill the guard. His companions
faltered they thought the attempt too perilous. Should they fail success, nothing but
instant death would be the consequence.
While the prisoners were hesitating to adopt the bold plait of’
DAVIS, their guard returned to their arms, to the chagrin of DAVIS. This opportunity of escape was permitted
to pass by without being used.
DAVIS ever after affirmed that it the opportunity which then presented
itself for their escape had been boldly seized their escape was certain.
He frequently averred to the writer of this narrative,
that if Duncan M ‘Arthur. Nat
Beasley, or Sam M’ Dowel, had been with him upon this occasion, similarly
situated, that he had no doubt they would not only have made their escape, but
killed the guard and the wounded Indians, and carried off or destroyed the
Indians’ arms. He said, if it had not been for the pusillanimity of his
fellow-prisoners they might have promptly and boldly snatched themselves from
captivity, and done something worth talking about. The opportunity, once let slip, could
not again be recalled. The Indians,
after a great deal of exertion, at length got the horses across the Ohio, and
hastily fixed litters to carry their wounded. They destroyed their canoes, and went
ahead for their own country.
This body of Indians was commanded by a Shawnee chief,
who called himself CAPTAIN CHARLES WIKLEY.
After Wayne’s treaty, in 1795, when peace blessed our frontiers. The writer of this sketch became well
acquainted with this CAPTAIN WILKEY.
He was a short, thick, strong, active man, with a very agreeable and
intelligent countenance. He was
communicative and social in his manners.
The first three or four years after Chillicothe was
settled, this Indian mixed freely with the whites, and upon no occasion did he
show a disposition to be troublesome.
He was admitted by the other Indians who spoke of him to be a warrior of
the first order—fertile in expedients, and bold
to carry his plans into execution.
DAVIS always spoke of him as being kind and humane to him.
The Indians left the Ohio and pushed across the
country in the direction of Sandusky; and as they were encumbered with several
wounded and a good deal of baggage, without road or path, they travelled very slow, not more than ten or twelve miles a
day. As many of the prisoners,
taken by the Indians, were burned, with slow fires, or otherwise tortured to
death, DAVIS brooded over his captivity in sullen silence and determined to effect his escape the fist opportunity that would offer,
that would not look like madness to embrace. At all events, he determined to effect his escape or die fighting.
The Indians moved on till they came to Salt creek, in
what is now Jackson county, 0., and they camped for
the night. There manner of securing
their prisoners for the night was as follows: They took a strong tug made from
the raw hid of the buffalo or elk.
This tug they tied tight around the prisoner’s waist. Each end of the tug was fastened around
an Indian’s waist. Thus, with
the same tug fastened to two Indians, he could not turn to the one side or the
other, without drawing an Indian with him.
In this uncomfortable manner the prisoner had to lie on his back till the
Indians thought proper to rise. If
the Indians discovered the prisoner making the least stir they would quiet him
with a few blows. In this painful
situation the prisoners must lie till light in the morning, when they would be
unconfined. As the company of
Indians was numerous, the prisoners were unconfined in daylight, but were told
that instant death would be the consequence of any movement to leave the line
of march, upon any occasion whatever, unless
accompanied by an Indian.
One morning, just before day began to appear, as DAVIS
lay in his uncomfortable situation, he hunched one of the Indians to whom he
was fastened, and requested to be untied.
The Indian raised up his head and looked round,
and found it was still dark, and no Indians up about the fires. He gave DAVIS a sever dig with his fist
and bid him lie still.
DAVIS’S mind was now in a state of desperation. Fire and faggot, sleeping or awake, were
constantly floating before his mind’s eye. This torturing suspense would chill his
soul with horror. After some time a
number of Indians rose up and made their fires. It was growing light, but not light enough to draw a bead. DAVIS again jogged one of the Indians to
whom he was fastened, and said the tug hurt his middle, and again requested toe
Indian to until him. The Indian raised up his head and looked round, and saw it was getting
light, and a number of Indians about the fires; he untied him. DAVIS rose to his feet, and was
determined, as soon as he could look around and see the most probable direction
of making his escape, to make the attempt, at
Page 955
all hazards.
He “screwed his courage to.” It was a most desperate
undertaking. Should he fail to effect his escape, death, instant, cruel death, was his
certain doom.
As he rose up to his feet, with this determined
intention, his heart fluttered with tremors—his sight grew dim at the thought of the
perilous plunge he was about to make.
He rose up to his feet—stood minute between the two Indians to
whom he had been fastened, and took a quick glance at the Indians who were
standing around him. In the evening
the Indians had cut two forks, which were stuck into the ground a pole was laid
across these forks, and all their rifles were leaned against the pole. If he made his start back from the
Indian camp, the rifles of the Indians, who were standing round the fires, and
who, he knew, would pursue him, would be before them add as they started after
him they would have nothing to do but pick up a rifle as they ran. On the contrary, if he made his plunge
through the midst of them, they would have to run back for their guns and by
that time, as it was only twilight in the morning, he could be so far from them
that their aim would be very uncertain.
All this passed through his mind in a moment. As he determined to make his dash
through the midst of the Indians who were standing around the fires, he
prepared his mind and body for the dreadful attempt.
The success of his daring enterprise depended on the
swiftness of his heels. He knew his
bottom was good. A large, active
Indian was standing between DAVIS and the fire. He drew back his fist and struck that
Indian with all his force, and dropped him into the fire; and with the agility
of a buck, he sprang over his body, and took to the woods with all the speed
that was in his power. The Indians
pursued yelling and screaming like demons; but as DAVIS anticipated, not a gun
was fired at him. Several Indians
pursued him for some distance, and for some time it was a doubtful race. The foremost Indian was so close to him,
that he sometimes fancied that he felt his clutch. However, at length DAVIS began to gain
ground upon his pursuers—the breaking and rustling of brush was still was
further and further off. He took up
a long, sloping ridge; when he reached the top, he, for the first time, looked
back, and, to his infinite pleasure saw no person in pursuit.
He now slackened his pace, and went a mile or two
farther, when he began to find his feet gashed and bruised by the sharp stones over which he had
ran, without, picking his way, in his rapid flight. He now stopped, way for the Ohio. He crossed the Scioto river, not far
from where Piketon, in Pike county, now stands. He then marched over the rugged hills of
Sunfish, Camp creek, Scioto Brush creek and Turkey creek, and struck the Ohio
river eight or ten miles below the mouth of Scioto. It was about the first of January. He was nearly three days and two nights
without food, fire or covering, exposed to the winter storms. Hardy as he undoubtedly was, these
exposures and privations were almost too severe for human nature to sustain.
But as DAVIS was an unwavering believer in that All-seeing eye, whose
providence prepares means to guard and protect those who put their trust in
him, his confidence courage never forsook him for a moment during this trying
and fatiguing march.
When he arrived at the Ohio he began to look about for
some dry logs to make a kind raft on which to float down the stream. Before he began to make his raft he
looked up the Ohio, and to his infinite gratification he saw a Kentucky boat
come floating down he stream. He
now thought his deliverance sure.
Our fondest hopes are frequently blasted in disappointment. As soon as the boat floated opposite to
him he called to the people in the boat—told them of his lamentable
captivity and fortunate escape. The
boatman heard his tale of distress with suspicion. Many boats about this time had been
decoyed to shore by similar tales of woe, and as soon as landed their inmates
cruelly massacred. The boatmen
heard his story, but refused to land.
They said they had heard too much about such prisoners and escapes to be
deceived in his case. As the Ohio was low he kept pace with the boat as it
slowly glided along.
The more pitiable he described his forlorn situation
the more determined were the boat crew not to land for him. He at length requested them to row the
boat a little nearer the shore and he would swim to them. To this proposition
the boatmen consented. They
commenced rowing the boat towards the shore, when DAVIS plunged into the
freezing water and swam for the boat.
The boatmen seeing him swimming towards them their suspicion gave way,
and they rowed the boat with all their force to meet him. He was at length lifted into the boat
almost exhausted. (Our boatmen,
tough they had rough exteriors, had Samaritan hearts.) The boatmen were not to blame for their
suspicion..
They now administer to his relief and comfort everything that was in
their power. That night, or the
next morning, he was landed at Massie’s station (Manchester). Among his former
friends and associates, where he soon recovered his usual health and activity.
Jackson in
1846.—Jackson, the county-seat was laid out in 1817, and is seventy-three
miles southeast of Columbus, and twenty-eight from Chillicothe. It contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1
Methodist Episcopal, and 1 Protestant Methodist church, 6 or 8 stores, 1
newspaper printing office, and, in 1840, had
Page 956
297 inhabitants; since which the town has rapidly improved, and is
now judged to contain a population of 500. In this vicinity are several valuable
mineral springs, and also remains of ancient fortifications; and in this
county, about ten years since, was found the remains of a mastodon, described
in the public prints of the time.—OLD
EDITION.
Jackson,
county-seat of Jackson, is seventy-five miles south of Columbus, on the
Portsmouth branch of the C. W. & B. Railroad; on the O. S., and on the D.
& I. Railroads. The surrounding country is rich in iron ore, and a superior
quality of coal for smelting purpose is found in unlimited quantities.
County Officers.—Auditor, George
J. REINGER; Clerk, T. J. WILLIAMS; Commissioner, Stephen M. TRIPP, David D.
EDWARDS, John E. JONES; Coroner, J. F. MORGAN; Infirmary Directors, Joseph
HALE, Jr., J. H. HARSHBARGER, Patrick H. GARRETT; Probate Judge, Jesse W.
LAIRD; Prosecuting Attorney, Ambrose LEUCH; Recorder, James J. BENNETT;
Sheriff, Isaac C. LONG; Surveyor, Evan C. JONES; Treasurer, Lot DAVIES.
City Officers.—T. A. JONES, Mayor;
J. S. JOHNSON, Clerk; W. J. JONES, Treasurer; Jared MARTIN, Marshal; Henry
SHUTER, Street Commissioner; David GRIFFITH, Weighmaster.
Newspapers.—Jackson Herald, Democratic, JOHNSON &
HINKLE, publishers; Jackson Journal,
Republican, GERKEN & TRIPP, publishers.
Churches.—1 Methodist Episcopal, 1
Colored Methodist Episcopal, 1 Baptist,1 Colored Baptist, 1 Catholic, 1 German
Lutheran, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Welsh Presbyterian.
Manufactures and Employees.—Tropic
Iron Co., 30 hands; May Brothers, cigars, 3; Ruf
Leather Co., oak harness-leather, 14; Peters & Huntsinger,
flour, meal, and feed, 2; John Dauber, furniture, etc., 4; Franklin Mill Co.,
flour, etc., 6; Globe Iron Co., pig-iron 30; Jackson Electric Light Co.,
electric light, 3; Star Furnace Co., pig-iron, 30; Jackson Mill and Lumber Co.,
doors, sash, etc., 8; Buckeye Mill and Lumber Co., doors, sash, etc., 8;
Franklin Mill Co., blankets, flannels, etc., 17.—State Reports, 1888.
Banks.—First National, T. S.
MATHEWS, president, D. ARMSTRONG, cashier; Iron, Isaac BROWN, president, T. P.
SUTHERLAND, cashier.
Population in 1880, 3,021. School census, 1888,
1,476; J. E. Kinnison, school superintendent. Census, 1890, 4,275. Capital-invested in industrial
establishments, $47,700; value of annual product, $57,500.—Ohio Labor Statistics
1887.
TRAVELLING NOTES.
On my original
tour I visited every county in the State but Jackson and three of the Black
Swamp counties, viz., Ottawa, Paulding, and Williams, where there was little or
no history and mostly all a wilderness, with few inhabitants other than wild
animals. When near the close of that tour, the last of February, 1847, I
arrived rived at Chillicothe, I designed to ride over to Jackson Court-House,
as they then called it; but the roads were breaking up with the oncoming of
spring, and “OLD Pomp” had acquired such a habit of stumbling to
his knees, that I felt to attempt the journey over the rough road then
intervening between the places would be at too serious a peril to life and
limb. Since that day Jackson has
been a desire for my eyes, and now, on a March day, 1886, I breathe more free,
for I have reached Jackson.
When this
county was formed Gen. Jackson was in the height of his military glory, and so
it was named in his honor. And thus
the name is a key to the date of its formation, as it is with other counties
around, as Perry, Lawrence, etc.
Jackson is
one of the best of sites for a village.
It lies upon the summit or backbone of a gentle rolling ridge, about
fifty feet above Salt creek. The
streets are of great width. Main street, the principal
one, on which are the county buildings and most of the business places, crowns
the ridge. From it the land falls
Page 957
away gently in all directions, until the scene is closed by
a circumference of low hills a mile or two away. Thus a free circulation of
air, perfect drainage, health, and free prospects are supplied to its
inhabitants. No gas or water works are established here with bills to send out,
and no tall, ambitious structures to require a laborious getting
up-stairs. At night several
furnaces send up from the outskirts their lurid light. The basis for these
smelting establishments is “the excellent Jackson block coal,” or
“shaft coal.”
The town has a
large proportion of Welch people, who are given to mining. The whole country, north and east of
Jackson, teems with veins of coal, while iron found everywhere in vast quantities.
There is not
enough of wheat, oats, and hay raised in this county for home consumption. Cattle, horses, and sheep are raised
largely. It is fair for grass and
excellent for fruit, and for the production of a healthy, strong people. In this vicinity were the old Scioto
Salt Works, and near here once lived a very valuable man to Ohio, a sketch of
whom follows:
William Williams MATHER, LL.D., was born May 4, 1804
in Brooklyn, Conn., a descendant from the family of Cotton and Increase
MATHER. At an early age he showed
great aptitude form chemical analysis and the study of mineralogy. When he entered West Point Academy, in
June, 1823, he was already proficient in chemical analysis, and soon went to
the head of his classes in chemistry and mineralogy.
On graduating, he remained in the United States
service about eight years. In 1829
he was detailed as acting professor of chemistry and mineralogy at West
Point. In August, 1836, he resigned
from the army to take part in the geological survey of New York, and in 1837,
came to Ohio to superintend the first geological survey of this State. After the suspension of the Ohio survey
he purchased a tract of several hundred acres, including the Pigeon Roost, north
of the court-house in Jackson county, on which he
built a house, cleared a farm, and became a citizen of Ohio. Professor MATHER was large and dignified
in person and an indefatigable worker.
He held professorships in the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn.,
Marietta College and the Ohio University, at Athens, of which he was
vice-president from 1850 to 1854, during which time he was also chemist and
secretary of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture. He died February 26, 1859, of paralysis
of the heart while rising from his bed.
His first wife, Emily M. BAKER, died in November, 1850. In August 1851, he married Mrs. Mary
CURTIS of Columbus, Ohio.
A West Point classmate, Col. Charles Whittlesey, has given the following synopsis of his
character:
“Now possessing the genius which dazzles, he had
an intellect which continually improved by exercise, achieving valuable results
by patient and conscientious industry.
. . . Not indifferent to
fame, he never sought it by doubtful or devious courses. His object was to enhance his
reputation, but faithfully to do the work before him . . . In his extensive knowledge of the
physical worked. in
all his scientific investigations, he found nothing to foster the barren spirit
of skepticism or a cold and cheerless infidelity…. The deep recesses of the earth which he
explored taught him lessons of the infinite wisdom, force and goodness of the
Deity.”
Wellston is
eighty-five miles southeast of Columbus, 126 miles east of Cincinnati, and ten
miles northeast of Jackson, on the Portsmouth branch of the C. W. & B.
Railroad, at the terminus of the O.S. Railroad, and on the D. Ft. W. & C.
Railroad. Located in the centre of
large and valuable fields of iron ore, coal, and limestone, practically
inexhaustible, it is more than likely to become a great manufacturing and
mining centre.
Newspapers: Argus, Republican, W. E. BUNDY, editor; Ohio Mining Journal, Hon. Andrew ROY and
W. E. BUNDY, editors; Central Free Will
Baptist, religious, Rev. T. E. PEDEN, editor. Churches;
one Methodist Episcopal, one Catholic, one Presbyterian, one United Brethren,
one Baptist, one Welsh. Bank: First National, H. S. WILLARD, president,
J. H. SELLERS, Jr., cashier. City Officers: Mayor, Adam SCOTT; Clerk, J. M.
BAKER; Marshal, J. B. HUTCHINSON; Treasurer, George W. ANDREWS; Solicitor,
Thomas MOORE; Street Commissioner, Henry HADKER.
Manufactures
and Employees.—Hahn, Kruskamp & Murphy,
flour, etc., 7 Hands; A. B. Leach, doors, sash, etc., 10; Wellston Argus,
printing, etc., 4;
Page 958
Milton Furnace,
pig-iron, 32; Wellston Foundry and Machine Works, foundry and machine work,
45.—State Record 1888. Population in 1880, 952. School census, 1888, 1,395; T. S. HOGAN, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments,
$318,000. Value of annual product,
$485,000.—Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887. U. S. census, 1890, 4,694.
Mineral Wealth.
The development
of Wellston and surroundings, showing, as it does, the vast stores of
undeveloped mineral wealth in southern Ohio, only awaiting the master mind to
make it productive, requires that something more than a brief description
should be given of a town which, in little more than a decade, developed from a
farm to a place of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
In 1869 the
discovery of inexhaustible beds of coal of a superior quality attracted the
attention of capitalists to this region, and in November, 1873, the town of
Wellston (named in honor of its founder, Harvey WELLS) was laid out on a farm
purchased of Hon. H. S. BUNDY. The
new town was well planned, no street being less than seventy-four feet and some
of them more than 100 feet in width. February 2, 1874, contracts were made for
the construction of the first iron furnace, double blast, for the Wellston Coal
and Iron Company. Other furnaces
followed, and notwithstanding the panic and hard times prevalent throughout the
country, the young town grew and prospered, railroads were projected and built,
and new enterprises were entered into.
In February, 1876, the village was incorporated; in 1880 the United
States Census Report gave it a population of 952, but in 1887 a conservative
estimate placed its population at 5,000, or more, and its sure, rapid and
steady growth is destined to make it a
large mining and manufacturing centre. In 1885, an important experiment in
cooperation was started here, by Mr. Harvey WELLS, viz., The Wellston Steel and
Nail Company, it is the only concern of its kind in the country; its prospects
are bright, and the progress as a factor in solving the all-important labor
problem will be watched with interest.
We make some
quotations as to the resources of this region from an article by Hon. Andrew
Roy, which was published in the Wellston Argus, April 30, 1887:
“No
mineral region in Ohio or in the United States can bear comparison with
Wellston and its surroundings, whether we consider the extent and quality of
the mineral treasures or the unparalleled development of the coal and iron
industries, There are twelve shafts for mining coal in active operation within
a radius of two miles of the town, besides four blast furnaces and one rolling
or steel and nail mill. These industries give direct employment to 2,000
men. The capacity of the mines is
equal to half a million tons annually, while the capacity of the blast furnaces
is fully 300,000 tons of pig-iron.
“The
quality of the coal has become so fully established in market that there is no
longer cavil or dispute in regards to its rank. It stands at the head of the bituminous
coals of the United States.
“The
quality of the limestone ore of this region need hardly be alluded to now,
after forty years of successful effort.
The Wellston coal does not more surely surpass all other coals in
Southern Ohio, than that the limestone iron ore
surpasses all other ores.
"The
Hanging Rock iron is known all over the United States for its superior quality
and its adaptability for the finest purposes of trade—for the manufacture
of car-wheels, ordinance, and other castings, which require to be made out of
unusually tough and strong iron.
“The
supply of siderate iron ore is practically
inexhaustible in Jackson county.”
Oak Hill, is ten miles southeast of Jackson, on the C. W. &
B. Railroad, Population in 1880, 646. School census, 1888,
283.
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COALTON,
five miles north of Jackson, at the point, where the O. S. & T. and C.
& St. L. Railroads meet, is a great mining centre; another is Glen Roy, a
few miles east of it.