This
township is situated in the geographical centre of the county,
and is the only one not bounded by county lies. It was
organized 1834 as part of Allen County, being at that time a
full township. When Auglaize County was formed in 1848
nine sections were struck off the north part of Moulton
township, and became a part of the new township of Logan, thus
leaving the present township six miles east and west, and four
and one-half miles north and south, and containing twenty-seven
squares miles.
There had been some improvement made by the Indians
along the Auglaize River, the east half of the township being
part of the Shawnee Reservation. The first white
settlements date from 1832 and 1833, and among these settlers we
find Jos. Haskell, Jos. Benson, William Julian, father of
George Julian, now the oldest settler in the
township, Daniel Cutler, Benjamin Nagle, William Crowder
(Col.), John Waite, Thos. Williams, John C. Freyman, Christopher
Baily, Abner Daniels, and Thomas Jones. From
1837 to 1840 were Cornelius Christy, Henry McConnell, Samuel
Walker, John McFarland, and John C. Bothe. The
early settlers experienced the usual privations of pioneer life,
because of the difficulty of obtaining supplies. After a
little time provisions became plentiful, but dry goods and
groceries were largely beyond reach on account of high prices.
Homespun was the common wearing apparel, and a blushing girl in
her teens would make butter at five cents per pound and gather
eggs at three cents per dozen to buy a calico dress at
twenty-five cents per yard; and then this dress of calico was
more highly prized than would be a fine silk by our fashionable
belles of to-day. Farmers would go to Piqua or Sidney to mill or
to market a few bushels of wheat, and bring back family
supplies.
Soil - The soil of Moulton is
largely a strong clay with considerable burr oak flats of rich
black loam and some fine alluvial loam along the creeks and
river. It is productive, and generally in a good state of
cultivation, being rapidly irrigated and otherwise improved.
The surface is gently rolling, without any waste lands, which
render its drainage less difficult than other townships of the
county.
Timber - the principal varieties are white and burr
oak, birch, sugar, hickory, elm, ash and walnut.
Streams - The Auglaize River
flows through the township, entering near the southeast part,
and flowing to the northwest. Pusheta Creek empties into
the Auglaize in the southwest corner, and the Six Mile Creek
flows through the west side of the township. The soil
along all these streams is fertile, while the surface is
rolling, and here may be found some well improved and excellent
farms. The Morse Iron Bridge over the Auglaize is a very
fine structure on the River Road, and reflects credit upon
William Craft & Co., commissioners, who superintended its
erection.
Roads. - Considerable interest
has been taken in the grading and general improvement of the
roads, but as yet no pikes have been constructed. The St.
Marys and Wapakoneta Plank Road crosses the south side of the
township.
Railroads. - The Lake Erie and
Western Road passes a distance of about five miles in the
northwest part of the township and offers a good market to
points along its line.
Schools - There are eight school
districts in the township all furnished with good buildings, and
the schools are in a prosperous condition.
Churches. - There are five
churches: The Catholic church near Glynwood; Methodist
abnd German Lutheran at Moulton; Christian at Oak Grove; and
United Brethren on the Auglaize. The different
denominations preserve harmonious relations, and are free from
sectarian strife.
Villages. - Moulton, on the St.
Marys and Wapakoneta Plank Road, is midway between those points,
and has a good local trade. It contains a drygoods
and grocery store, post-office, wagon and blacksmith shops, one
hotel, one school, one saw-mill, cooper and shoe-shop, and
two churches.
Glynwood, on the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, is a
station lately established, and has a good side track for
shipping purposes. It contains a post-office, store
church, shoe and blacksmith shops, saw-mill, and factory, and
offers a good shipping point for the new railroad.
Nationality. - About one-half of the population
is American, the other half equally divided between Irish and
German.BIOGRAPHICAL.
JAMES E.
McFARLAND
JOHN GLYNN
JOHN MUSSER, SR.
JAMES L. COOK
THOMAS and
PATRICK COGAN
THOMAS
SCHOONOVER
JOHN COGAN
--------------------------
The old Fort east of Wapakoneta,
that many of the old settlers still remember, was built by the
French in 1748, and was called Fort Au Glaize, the location of
which is described in an Atlas published at Paris, France, par
le Rouge, Ingr Geographe du Roi, rue des Grands
Augustins, 1777, and corrected by M. Hawkins,
Brig. General of the King's Army in 1776. A volume of the
Atlas can be found in the library of the Hon. F. Bourquin,
of Camden, New Jersey.
|
