On
the 1st day of March, 1833, the
Commissioners "ordered that the original
surveyed township number two, in range
eleven, be set off into a separate township,
politic and corporate, and to be called
Cass." Ordered that an order be issued
to the voters of Cass, to meet on the first
Monday of April, and elect Township
Officers.
At the formation of Allen Township in 1850, Sections 5,
6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31 and 32
of this township were taken to assist in the
forming of that township. Hence there
are but twenty-four sections in this
township at present.
This township was named in honor of Gen. Lewis Cass,
of Michigan, and is located on the north
border of the county. Bounded on the
north by Wood County, on the east Washington
township, on the south by Marion, and on the
west by Allen Township.
David P. Day, of Wayne County, O., made the
first entry of land in this township, on the
10th day of March 1832, at which time he
took up the north-east quarter of section
eleven. Two days afterwards, John
Franks entered the south-west quarter of
section one, and the north half of section
ten. Mr. Franks was also from
Wayne County.
May 3, 1832, Elam Day entered the east half of
the north-west quarter of section twelve,
and on the 31st day of the same month,
Eleazer C. Fairchild, of Trumbull
County, entered the south-west quarter of
the south-east quarter of section two, and
the west half of the north-west quarter of
section twelve. In the same year,
entries were made by Andrew W. Page,
of Green County, D. Shippy, of
Seneca, C. W. Colebaugh, Alpheus
Eldridge, James Wood, Samuel McClellen,
of Wayne, William Eckles, of Holmes,
James Beeson, of Fayette.
The timber of this township is of the varieties known
in other parts of the county, such as oak,
ash, hickory, sugar, beech, elm walnut and
poplar. And these several kinds of
timber were very plenty.
The soil is of several kinds. On the ridge in the
north part of the township, it is a sandy
and gravelly soil. Between the ridge
and the Wood County line, it is a loam of
vegetable formation, whilst south of the
ridge there is a mixture of clay with other
soils.
The Portage river has its source in this part of
Hancock County, and is the only stream of
water in this township. Good drinking
water, however, is obtained by sinking wells
to a no very great depth.
The first school house was built in 1835, and there are
now six school houses in the township, and
the enumeration of youth of school age in
1880, was 278.
The first church was built in 1843, by the Methodist
Episcopal denomination, and was known as the
Vickers Church on the ridge. There are
now but two church buildings in the
township, and they both belong to the
Methodist Episcopal.
The first settlements were made in 1833, on sections
one, two and three, by E. C. Fairchild,
Daniel Fairchild, David P. and Elam Day,
James Vickers, John Franks, James Brown,
Samuel Harry, and on section twelve, by
Charles Eckles, John Welch, George
Elliot. On section eleven by
John Hardy, Hiram Hulbert, James
Woods.
The early settlers here were mostly form the
eastern part of this state.
There was a post office established is this township in
1837, and discontinued in 1867.
Daniel Fairchild and Jas. Vickers
were the only post masters.
the people of this township have always been noted for
their steady habits and peaceable
disposition. There is much very
valuable land in this part of the county,
and the farms and farm buildings, for style
and comfort, will compare favorably with
that of any other township in the county.
The Lake Erie and Western Railroad runs across the
southeast corner of the township, and the
New York, Chicago, and St. Louis road, now
in course of construction, passes through
the township from east to west.
FRANKFORD.
John Franks laid out the town of
Frankford, on the northwest quarter of
section ten. The town of seventy-two
lots were regularly laid out, with a public
square or plaza, in the center. The
prospective city, however, only existed in
name and no doubt would long since have been
forgotten, had it not been a matter of
record. There were, perhaps no lots
sold, and the town returned to its original
state, that is, cornfield.
The following named persons were elected Justices of
the Peace in this township:
John Payne - 1834
Daniel Fairchild - 1835.
David Dorsey - 1835, 1838
John Chaffin - 1838
Andrew R. Brandeberry - 1841, 1844
Alonzo H. Cobb - 1841, 1844, 1847
Joseph Wineland - 1847
Joseph Lash - 1850.
Abner Crawford - 1853, 1856
Gideon Smith - 1856
Addison Hardy - 1859, 1862, 1865, 1868, 1871,
1874.
Enoch Ross - 1862, 1865.
Jacob Steeker - 1868, 1871, 1874, 1877
John L. McKee - 1876, 1879.
Samuel Creighton - 1847, 1850, 1853, 1859
Henry Stough - 1880.
BIOGRAPHIES:
JOHN
BURMAN
EZRA
KARN
JAMES VICKERS
JOHN
ECKLES
Statistical table showing the acreage
and bushels of grain and the number and
value of live stock, as returned by the
Township Assessor, to the County Auditor
in 1861.
| Wheat, |
2,502 |
acres. |
52,668 |
bushels. |
| Oats, |
489 |
" |
15,416 |
" |
| Corn, |
1,674 |
" |
57,675 |
" |
| Flax, |
16 |
" |
137 |
" |
| Hay, |
628 |
" |
740 |
tons. |
| Horses, |
439 |
number. |
$18,545 |
value |
| Cattle, |
1,019 |
" |
10,735 |
" |
| Sheep, |
2,295 |
" |
4,343 |
" |
| Swine |
1,551 |
" |
3,764 |
" |
|
