AUSTINTOWN TOWNSHIP

     Austintown is township No. 2 of range No. 3 of the Connecticut Western Reserve.  The soil in general is good and easily tilled, though in places stony.  The early history of the township is somewhat obscure, as many of the first settlers remained but a short time, subsequently removing elsewhere.  The records show that John McCollum, born in New Jersey in Dec. 25, 1770, bought the first land in the township in 1798 and erected a cabin on it, to which he moved his family in 1880.  His wife, Jane, whom he married in June, 1798, was born in New Jersey, in 1767.  By a previous marriage to Robert Hamson she had five children.  By her marriage to Mr. McCollum there were eight children, David, Mary, Robert, John, Daniel, Anna, Ira and Harvey.  The McCollums were people of industry and resolution, well fitted for pioneer life.  Mrs. McCollum was a good weaver, and after other settlers moved in, occupied what spare time she had by taking weaving to do, to assist her husband in paying for the farm. They succeeded in carving out a good homestead for themselves and their children, their farm being situated one-half a mile west of the line between Austintown and Youngstown.  The parents died in 1849, within a few weeks of each other, Mrs. McCollum on March 19th and her husband on April 7th.  The latter saw military service in the War of 1812 under Colonel Rayen.
     Another early settler was Wendell Grove, who came from Pennsylvania in 1801, and whose son John succeeded to the homestead.    Then there were James Russell, Jacob Miller, and Theophilus Cotton, who settled successively on the same farm, afterwards owned by the widow Arms.  The Webb family came to the township in 1814.  John Lane and David Dillon were also early settlers.  Dillon was the first captain of the militia in the township.  John Russell, above mentioned, was also a captain in the militia at an early date.  Dillon afterwards sold out and removed to the western part of the state.  He had seven sons - William, Aaron, Asa, Jonathan, Jesse, Cyrus, and Eli - some of whom moved to other parts of the State.  Robert Russell was one of the early settlers in the southwestern part of the township, coming here with his parents in 1806.  He subsequently married a Miss Hamson, and they had four sons - James, who removed to Jackson township, John, Hamson, and Samuel.
     George Gilbert and family at a very early date took up a farm adjoining the Russell farm on the east.  The Gilberts were a large

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family, members of which settled in different parts of the county.  John Duncan settled on the Hamson farm in the southeastern part of the township.  In the eastern part were Jacob Leach and Jacob Parkius, who settled on Jacob Leach's farm, and afterwards sold out to Benjamin Leach, who spent his life in the township.  Benjamin had two brothers, John and Abraham, who resided in the eastern part of the township for several years.
     Henry Ohl, Sr., a blacksmith, came to the township about 1803, and set up a blacksmith shop on his farm.  He had a family of ten children - Michael, David, John, Abraham, Henry, Jr., Jonathan, Eve, Mary and Polly.  Henry Ohl, Jr., in his later years resided in Canfield.  David and Michael were drafted for the war of 1812, but after getting as far as Youngstown were returned.  The family resided in a two-story log house, with a porch in front, where, it is related, that upon one occasion the daughter Eve courageously attacked and killed a monstrous rattlesnake.
     William Wick, an early settler in the eastern part of Austintown, had the first hearing orchard in the township.  John Truesdale settled about half a mile southwest of the center.  He had a large family.  His sons, John, James, and William married and lived on the home farm until their death.
     Another early settler was James J. Russell, who came from Pennsylvania about 1806, and who died in 1870.  He had ten children - six sons and four daughter.  Robert Fullerton cleared a farm near the center and brought up a large family.  Henry and Anthony Weatherstay settled near Four Mile Run; both had families, the members of which are all long since dead or moved away.  Another early settler in the same neighborhood was Jacob Wise.  Archibald Ewing and Jacob Harding settled in the township about 1808, Harding on a partially cleared farm.  Both had good sized families.
     John Jordan came to Austintown in 1813, having previously resided for a few years in Poland township.  His family consisted of five sons and five daughters.  He died in 1824, his wife's death occurring a few years later.
     The Cotton family were also among the first settlers.  One of them Joshua, was a captain of the militia.  Frederick Moherman settled in 1803 in the eastern part of the township.  His two sons, Daniel and Winchester, became prosperous farmers.
     Jacob Harrof came to Austintown from Canfield.  He was twice married; his two children by the first marriage, John and Elizabeth, died in Portage County.  By his second marriage he had four sons and three daughters - Jacob, Andrew, William and Lewis, who all lived and died in Austintown, and Sarah, Leah and Rachel.
     Henry Strack settled in the southern part of the township, and lived and died upon the farm subsequently owned by Henry Drum, second.  He had six sons - Henry, Samuel, John, William Joseph and Jacob - and some of his descendants still reside in the township.  Abraham Wolfcale, with his sons, John and Abraham, were early settlers on the road east of the center.  Henry Crum was an early settler at Smith's corners.
     An eight-hundred -acre tract of land, which was a part of the Salt Springs tract, and was known as the Whitman tract, as it belonged to the Whitman heirs in Connecticut, was partially cleared by Samuel Whitman, who settled at the center.
     Frederick Shively settled in the township in 1812, and was succeeded in possession of the homestead by his son George, who resided there for many years.
     The first white child born in Austintown township was John McCollum, son of the first settler, the date of his birth being 1803.  He settled in Milton township, where he died in 1881.

EARLY CONDITIONS.

     Large families were the rule among the early settlers.  The women manufactured all the clothes for the household, and the spinning wheel and loom were kept going early and late.  Wild animals were abundant and bears and wolves often wrought great havoc with the flocks.  At night the howling of the wolves

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could be heard in all directions.  Deer were also numerous, and furnished the early settlers with a large part of their meat supply.  The amount of taxes due in 1803 was $9.22, divided among twenty-six tax-payers.

SCHOOLS.

     School was usually kept in some log cabin which had been abandoned for residence purposes, and, as in other parts of the county, parents wishing to send their children were expected to subscribe a certain amount for tuition.  One of the earliest schools was situated near the site of the Disciple's church.  Among the early teachers there were Asa Dillon and Elias Wick.  There was another school house on the Shively farm, where John Fullerton taught at an early date.  By 1812 there were several schools in various parts of the township.  One, one the farm of Jacob Parkus, was taught by Isaac Alley.
     There are now seven schools in the township with a total attendance of about 150.  They are located respectively as follows:
     Cornersburg, superintendent, W. H. Hetherington.
     Four-mile run, superintendent, Harry May.
     Smith Corners (U. Evangelical), C. Bishof; (Evangelical), W. S. Peck.
     Austintown, Evangelical, George DeHoff.
     West Austintown, Evangelical, George Jordan.
     West Austintown, Evangelical, superintendent, Mr. Patterson.
     The population of Austintown is divided in religious belief.  The Disciples' church was organized in 1828, a church building being erected soon after at Four-Mile Run.  New buildings have been subsequently erected.  Among the earliest members were William Hayden and John Henry (who were also among the first preachers and elders).  John Lane, several of the Lantermans.  Ira McCullom and Mrs. Jane Henry.  Alexander Campbell, the founder of the sect, frequently preached here.
     The Evangelical church at West Austintown was organized about 1841, the first meeting being held in Jacob Harrof's barn.  As the first church building was not erected until 1853, meetings were held in private houses, barns, and school houses for a number of years.  The first preacher was Rev. Joseph Long.
     The United Evangelical church at West Austintown, a frame structure with stone foundation, was erected in November, 1900, at a cost of $3,000.  At one side of the main building there is an annex pulpit.  The present pastor, Rev. S. T. Brandyberry, assumed charge Sept. 20, 1904, his previous pastorate having been at Findlay, Ohio.  In addition to presiding over the church at Austintown he is also pastor of two other churches, one at Sample and one at Calla, Ohio.  Grace Reform church has as pastor Rev. I. C. Shaaf.  The Sunday-school superintendent is G. S. Jordan.

WEST AUSTINTOWN.

     West Austintown, a thriving little settlement, was built soon after the completion of the Niles and New Lisbon Railroad in 1869; The first store was kept by D. B. Blott.  The Anderson block was built by Robert McClure
in 1871.  The postoffice was established in:  1870, Windsor Calhoun being the first postmaster.
     The first store in Austintown Center was kept by Alexander Thompson about 1822.  Soon after Dr. Packard, James Hezlip, and Colwell Porter engaged in business.  The last named became quite wealthy.  He finally left Austintown and went to Cincinnati, where he continued in mercantile business with similar success.  Judge Rayen started a store here about 1830, employing Cornelius Thompson to keep it.  John Cotton kept store on the southeast corner in 1830-31.  John McCaughtsey kept the first public house and later went into the clothing business.
     The coal mining industry, which is now at a practical standstill owing to the exhaustion of the mines, was started at West Austintown by

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John M. Owen, John Stambauch, and others under the name of the Harrof Coal Company, the first mine being opened at West Austintown.  On the exhaustion of the Harrof slope in 1880, they opened a shaft on the Jordan farm, which for a number of years produced about 130 tons of coal per day.  In 1871 the New Lisbon Coal Company began operations, opening" up the Fennel mine, which produced coal of excellent quality.  The Tod, Wells & Co.
bank, on the farm of Henry Kyle near Mineral Ridge, was opened about 1858, and was operated for many years, for a time by Morris, Robbins & Co. under lease.  The Ohltown bank, opened about 1868, by Harris, Maurer & Co., was worked until 1868, when it became exhausted.  Operations on the Thornton bank on the old Cleveland farm were commenced in 1870 by Case, Thornton & Co., under the name of the Ohltown Coal Company.  They were succeeded by the John Henry Mining Co., who sunk another shaft about 1889.  The mine turned out about 100 tons per day.
     In early days iron ore was plentiful in some parts of the township and was taken out and hauled to the furnaces.  Limestone has also been successfully quarried.  The only furnace for the reduction of iron ore was the Meander furnace built by William Porter and others near Ohltown.
     The first grist-mill was built by William Irvin on Four-Mile Run in the northeastern corner of the township.
     The first saw-mill was built about 1847, in the eastern part of the township.
     John Justice, who died about 1880, operated a tannery north of the center on the Ohltown road for many years.  Robinson Young, who settled in the township about 1826, also built a tannery, which he operated with his brother William.  Many of the early settlers operated small copper stills, wherein they used up their surplus grain, thus putting it into a more salable form.

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