This
township was first settled about 1800. The greater
part of the township was taken up in large tracts and
until very recent years large estates were the rule,
many of which were leased to tenants. The
development of the township therefore was not so rapid
as was the case in the townships east of the Scioto
River. Darby township is situated in the northwest
corner of Pickaway County, being north of Monroe and
Muhlenberg townships and west of Scioto and Muhlenberg.
The greater part of the eastern boundary is formed by
Darby Creek. For a long period prior to 1878,
however, this was not the case, as the eastern boundary
of the township extended some miles beyond the creek.
For the convenience of the township organizations, Darby
Creek on Oct. 14, 1878, was made the dividing line
between Darby and Scioto townships. This creek,
which might well be termed a river, has a number of
tributaries that traverse the township. Greenbrier
Run, the principal of these, rises in the northwest
corner of the township, flows in a southeasterly
direction and empties into Darby Creek just below the
township line. Opossum Run, which rises in Madison
County, enters Darby township near the northwest corner,
flows south along the west line and finally empties into
Deer Creek near Era. Van Buskirk's Run,
another tributary of Deer Creek, the greater part of
whose length lies in Monroe township, has its beginning
in Darby township. The surface of the township is
very level except along the water courses, where it is
slightly rolling. The soil is well adapted to the
raising of both wheat and corn, of which large
quantities are grown. At the time of the early
settlement, and greater part of the township was covered
with great forests of oak, hard maple, hickory and red
and white elm. Several varieties of oak trees were
to be found. The population of the township in
1900 was 1,601. The township officers for 1906 are
as follows:
Trustees - J. T. Robinson, William Willoughby and
T. S. Ridgeway; Clerk, I. C. Hall; treasurer,
A. M. Daugherty; assessor, D. M. Minshall;
justices of the peace - R. H. Deyo and Charles
E. Thacker.
EARLY SETTLERS
The first settlements in the township were made chiefly
by Virginians about the year 1800. Five brothers
by the name of Poulson - Andrew,
Cornelius, John, Elijah and William
- came to Ohio from Virginia on pack-horses in that year
and located near Chillicothe. Two years later they
came to Darby township and settled on Darby Creek.
Courtney Tanner moved in from Kentucky about 1804
or 1805. Isaac and John Alkire came to this
section of Ohio in 18094 with their father, William,
Alkire, who settled in Madison County; the two sons
settled in Darby township. One of the first
settlers on Opossum Run was Peter Long who came
from Virginia in 1804 or 1805. About 1810 John
Mantle, Sr., settled here. He was a man
of great size, weighing 480 pounds at his death on Nov.
5, 1831. John and
[Pg. 109]
Andrew Gilliland came to the township about 1812;
Thomas Noland, in 1815;
Stanton Adkins, about 1819*; Sampson B.
Smith, in 1824; Joseph Dolby, in 1826;
Thomas D. Ridgway, in 1845; and Benjamin F.
Renick, in 1841. Other early settlers were:
Isaac McHenry Obadiah P. Thomas, Richard Heath, John
Bowman, James Morse, Jonas Deyo, Benjamin Davis, John W.
Bell, Frederick L. Smith, Robert McDowell, Elisha Cory
and John W. Kennedy.
At the period of the
township's settlement, as well as for a number of years
thereafter, the settlers never lacked for fresh meat as
it was readily obtained in the forest, where deer and
wild turkeys abounded. Wild hogs were frequently
met with and were always dreaded, especially the
ferocious wild boars. The wild hogs were not
valued for their flesh; they were regarded as dangerous
pests and were hunted mainly to rid the country of them.
Wolves, wild cats and opossums were also numerous,
together with smaller game. On Darby Creek, on the
farm later owned by David Davis, there was a camp
of Indians of the Wyandotte tribe for several years
after the first settlers came. They buried many of
their dead here and a number of skeletons, with guns and
other implements, have been plowed up. Their
intercourse with the whites was of an entirely friendly
nature.
CHURCHES
The first
religious meetings in this township were held by
Thomas Reynolds, an exhorter of the Methodist
denomination, who came to this country soon after 1800.
He was active in the ministry for many years and died at
the age of 80 years. Robert Finley, a
traveling Methodist preacher, was the first regular
clergyman in this section. Among the early
preachers in this township were Jacob Young, a
Methodist, and Isaac Henry, a Baptist; the latter
settled in the northwest corner of the township on
Opossum Run about 1807.
A Methodist society was formed at a very early date and
meetings were held in barns and buildings until a log
house was erected in 1844. This church was called
the Free Will Church, any denomination that chose to do
so being allowed to worship in it. The Methodist
society subsequently disbanded, but finally reorganized
and worshipped for five years in the schoolhouse near
the old Free Will Church. A church building was
erected in 1870 at a cost of about $2,300, and was
called the Renick Church, in appreciation of the
interest and activity shown in its erection by
Benjamin F. Renick; services were discontinued here
some time ago; the building was removed to the vicinity
of Deer Creek and is now used by the Holiness Church.
A Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at Darby
soon after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was run through
Darby township and Darby made a station. The
church building was erected in 1887 at a cost of about
$2,000. The church has 117 members, while the
attendance at Sunday-school is about 125. The
Sunday-school superintendent is I. C. Hall.
The pastors of this church have been the following:
Revs. W. S. Fisher, H. R. Pfaltzgraf, A.
B. Sniff, William Benzing, N. C. Patterson and J.
H. Mindling, who is the present incumbent and also
has charge of the churches at Yankeetown and Era.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Era has a membership
of 23. The value of the church building is $1,200.
The pastor of the Derby M. E. Church preaches here.
H. S. Kennedy is superintendent of the
Sunday-school, which has an average attendance of about
20.
The Disciples' Chapel at Derby was built in 1887, soon
after, the organization of the society. Church
services have not been held regularly for a year or
more. The attendance is about 50, while the
Sunday-school has an attendance of about 20.
Miles Green is superintendent of the Sunday-school.
From about 1844 until the time of the Civil War there
was a class of the United Brethren in Christ located at
Era, then known as Palestine. A frame
meeting-house was erected here about 1850 which stood
for many years. Questions of a political nature
caused dissention and division among the members, and
the society was finally broken up.
[Pg. 110]
SCHOOLS.
It is not known exactly when the first school was taught
in this township, but it is thought that John Poulson
taught one of the earliest, if not the earliest school
about 1815. The first school in Era (Palestine)
was kept by Miss Emmerett Moore. The
township Board of Education, elected in November, 1904,
is constituted as follows: F. P. Fitzgerald,
A. R. White and Charles Poulson - four
years; O. M. Dick, and A. S. Morton- two
years. A. R. White is clerk. The
Darby Township High School at Derby was erected in 1886
at a cost of $5,000 and is a substantial brick building.
The high school is what is termed second grade, having a
three years course. S. M. Sark is
superintendent.
PHYSICIANS.
In the years
that have elapsed since a settlement was made at
Palestine (Era) a number of physicians have been located
here, among whom may be mentioned: Dr. Olds, who
settled here in 1830; Dr. Harriman; Dr. William
Wilson, Dr. Roswell Shepherd, Dr. George W. House, Dr.
Cromley and Dr. W. T. Williman. At the
present time there are no doctors located at Era; Derby,
however, has two namely: Dr. Alfred Deyo, who
also conducts a drug-store, and Dr. Addison L. Stump.
The late Dr. C. W. Higgins was probably the first
physician to locate at Derby.
MILLS.
The first
grist-mill to be built on Darby Creek and in this
township was the Harrisburg mill, which was erected by
Joseph Chenoweth over 70 years ago; previous to
its erection Chenoweth had built on the site of
this mill a saw-mill, the first in the township, but it
was finally burned down. A carding-mill was
established at the same place by Elijah Chenoweth
and Alfred Bird. The Harrisburg mill is
still in operation and is now known as the Harrisburg
roller mill; it is operated by A. R. Eesley and
has a capacity of 50 barrels per day. Two other
grist-mills along Darby Creek were the one built by
James Kekpler, five miles below Harrisburg, and the
one a mile farther down, erected by John G. Garrison.
ERA.
This old
settlement of Darby township was until a few years ago
known as Palestine. It is situated on Deer Creek
near the Madison County line and is a station on the
Baltimore & Ohio R. R. It was laid out about 1829
by Josiah Rush and George Alkire.
One of the first buildings erected in the place was a
tavern built by Messrs, Mitchell and
Pritchard. Rush & Alkire opened the first
store. Other early stores were those of John V.
Davis, Samuel Diffenderfer, Thomas Fellows, Joseph
Tenney, Jerrold Sweetland and George Neff &
Son. A postoffice was established here at an early
date with Joseph Tenney as postmaster..
Samuel S. Fetherholf, the present postmaster, has
conducted a general store here for many years and is one
of the oldest postmasters in the county at the present
time. The grain elevator at Era is owned by
Morgan & Loofbourrow. Era had a population of
210 in 1900. The town is not incorporated.
DERBY
Is a station on
the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. located nearly in the center
of the township. It is established at the time
when the railroad was put through the township. It
has quite a number of business houses and is a growing
place, having a population at the present time of
between 250 and 300. Among the business interests
are the following: George E. Neff and G.
M. Garrison, general stores; John Cox,
grocery; Joseph Bower, jewelry; Dr. Alfred
Deyo, drugs; William C. Minshall, meat market
and confectionery; W. A. Higgins, machinery;
A. M. Daughterty and S. M. Sark, dealers in
poultry; Derby Hotel, run by F. E. Buzzard;
Mantle Hotel, conducted by Mrs. Mantle; Jones
& Company, grain elevator; Frank Fast,
blacksmith; Sam Francis,
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conductor; J. L. Hall & Son, manufacturers of
tile and brick; and M. C. Edwards, dealer in
agricultural implements, stoves and hardware of all
kinds. There are two livery stables in town, run
by M. C. Edward and Jones Brothers. G.
M. Garrison is postmaster. One rural rout runs
from Derby. Derby Lodge, No. 770, I. O. O. F., is
a flourishing society; it is now building an Odd
Fellows' Hall, which is to be of pressed brick and will
cost $4,000. The foundations are now being put in.
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