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Historical Collections of Ohio

By Henry Howe

Vol. II

©1888

 

MIAMI COUNTY

 

 

Page 243

 

Miami County was formed from Montgomery, January 16, 1807, and Staunton made a temporary seat of justice. The word Miami, in the Ottawa language, is said to signify mother. The name of Miami was originally the designation of the tribe who anciently bore the name of "Tewightewee." This tribe were the original inhabitants of the Miami valley, and affirmed they were created in it. East of the Miami the surface is gently rolling, and a large portion of it a rich alluvial soil; west of the Miami the surface is generally level, the soil a clay loam and better adapted to small grain and grass than corn. The county abounds in excellent limestone and has a large amount of water power. In agricultural resources this is one of the richest counties in the state.

 

Area about 400 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 137,922; in pasture, 7,159; woodland, 23,601; lying waste, 2,338; produced in wheat, 956,331 bushels; rye, 1,578; buckwheat, 87; oats, 454,112; barley, 27,349; corn, 1,520,000; broom-corn, 9,690 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 8,175 tons; clover hay, 7,806; flax, 833,800 lbs. fibre; potatoes, 47,593 bushels; tobacco, 463,120 lbs.; butter, 536,213; cheese, 13,400; sorghum, 4,731 gallons; maple syrup, 8,627; honey, 6,225 lbs.; eggs, 433,940 dozen; grapes, 26,635 lbs.; sweet potatoes, 1,927 bushels; apples, 1,395; peaches, 102; pears, 831; wool, 22,088 lbs.; milch cows owned, 6,033. Ohio mining statistics, 1888: limestone, 8,635 tons burned for lime; 73,096 cubic feet of dimension stone; 45,275 cubic yards of building stone; 5,007 cubic yards for piers or protection purposes; 27,582 square feet of flagging; 37,850 square feet of paving; 30,558 lineal feet of curbing; 8,077 cubic yards of ballast or macadam. School census, 1888, 12,038; teachers, 266. Miles of railroad track, 121.

 

 

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Page 244

 

 

Population of Miami in 1820, 8,851; 1830, 12,807; 1840, 19,804; 1860, 29,959; 1880, 36,158, of whom 28,832 were born in Ohio; 1,882, Pennsylvania; 599, Virginia; 570, Indiana; 321, New York; 243, Kentucky; 1376, German Empire; 413, Ireland; 159, England and Wales; 93, France; 48, British America; and 14, Scotland. Census, 1890, 39,754.

 

Reminiscences of Clarke's Expedition.

 

Prior to the settlement of Ohio, General George Rogers CLARKE led an expedition from Kentucky against the Indians in this region, an account of which follows from the reminiscences of Abraham THOMAS, originally published in the Troy Times. Mr. THOMAS, it is said, cut the first saplings on the site of Cincinnati:

 

In the year 1782, after corn planting, I again volunteered in an expedition under General CLARKE with the object of destroying some Indian villages about Piqua, on the Great Miami river. On this occasion nearly 1,000 men marched out of Kentucky by the route of Licking river. We crossed the Ohio at the present site of Cincinnati where our last year's stockade had been kept up, and a few people then resided in log-cabins. We proceeded immediately onward through the woods without regard to our former trail, and crossed Mad river not far from the present site of Dayton; we kept up the east side of the Miami and crossed it about four miles below the Piqua towns. Shortly after gaining the bottom on the west side of the river, a party of Indians on horseback with their squaws came out of the trees that led to some Indian villages near the present site of Granville. They were going on a frolic, or pow-wow, to be held at Piqua, and had with them a Mrs. MCFALL, who was some time before taken prisoner from Kentucky; the Indians escaped into the woods leaving their women, with Mrs. MCFALL, to the mercy of our company. We took those along with us to Piqua and Mrs. MCFALL returned to Kentucky. On arriving at Piqua we found that the Indians had fled from the villages, leaving most of their effects behind. During the following night I joined a party to break up an encampment of Indians said to be lying about what was called the French store. We soon caught a Frenchman, tied him on horseback for our guide, and arrived at the place in the night. The Indians had taken alarm and cleared out; we, however, broke up and burned the Frenchman's store, which had for a long time been a place of outfit for Indian marauders and returned to the main body early in the morning, many of our men well-stocked with plunder. After burning and otherwise destroying everything about upper and lower Piqua towns we commenced our return march.

 

In this attack five Indians were killed during the night the expedition lay at Piqua; the Indians lurked around the camp, firing random shots from the hazel thickets without doing us any injury; but two men who were in search of their stray horses were fired upon and severely wounded; one of those died shortly after and was buried at what is now called "Coe's Ford," where we recrossed the Miami on our return. The other, Captain MCCRACKEN, lived until we reached the site of Cincinnati, where he was buried. On this expedition we had with us Capt. BARBEE, afterwards Judge BARBEE, one of my primitive neighbors in Miami County, Ohio, a most worthy and brave man, with whom I have hunted, marched and watched through many a long day, and finally removed with him to Ohio.

 

Early Settlements.

 

From the "Miami County Traditions," also published in the Troy Times, in 1839, we annex some reminiscences of the settlement of the county and its early settlers:

 

 

Page 245

 

peacefully hunting through the country. Early the next spring, in 1798, Mr. KNOOP removed to near the present site of Staunton village, and in connection with Benjamin KNOOP, Henry GARARD, Benjamin HAMLET and John TILDUS, established there a station for the security of their families. Mrs. KNOOP, now living, there planted the first apple tree introduced into Miami County, and one is now standing in the yard of their house raised from seed and then planted that measures little short of nine feet around it. . . .

 

Dutch Station. - The inmates of a station in the county, called the Dutch station, remained within it for two years, during which time they were occupied in clearing and building on their respective farms. Here was born in 1798 Jacob Knoop, the son of John Knoop, the first civilized native of Miami county. At this time there were three young single men living at the mouth of Stoney creek, and cropping on what was afterwards called FREEMAN'S prairie. One of these was D. H. MORRIS, a present resident of Bethel township; at the same time there resided at Piqua, Samuel HILLIARD, Job Garrard, Shadrach HUDSON, Jonah ROLLINS, Daniel COX, Thomas RICH and _____ HUNTER; these last named had removed to Piqua in 1797, and together with our company at the Dutch station, comprised all the inhabitants of Miami county from 1797 to 1799. In the latter year John, afterwards Judge GARRARD, Nathaniel and Abner GARRARD, and the year following, Uriah BLUE, Joseph COE and Abraham HATHAWAY, joined us with their families. From that time all parts of the county began to receive numerous immigrants. For many years the citizens lived together on footings of the most social and harmonious intercourse - we were all neighbors to each other in the Samaritan sense of the term - there were some speculators and property-hunters among us, to be sure, but not enough to disturb our tranquillity and general confidence. For many miles around we knew who was sick, and what ailed them, for we took a humane interest in the welfare of all. Many times were we called from six to eight miles to assist at a rolling or raising, and cheerfully lent our assistance to the task. For our accommodation we sought the mill of Owen DAVIS, afterwards at Smith's mill, on Beaver creek, a tributary of the Little Miami, some twenty-seven miles distant. Our track lay through the woods, and two days were consumed in the trip, when we usually took two horse-loads. Owen was a kind man, considerate of his distant customers, and would set up all night to oblige them, and his conduct materially abridged our mill duties.

 

With the Indians we lived on peaceable terms; sometimes, however, panics would spread among the women, which disturbed us a little, and occasionally we would have a horse or so stolen. But one man only was killed out of the settlement from 1797 to 1811. This person was one BOYIER, who was shot by a straggling party of Indians, supposed through a mistake. No one, however, liked to trade with the Indians, or have anything to do with them, beyond the offices of charity.