|
CHAPTER I
BRATTON TOWNSHIP
p. 413
This township
lies in the central north part of the county bordering
Highland. It was organized by the Board of County
Commissioners, Sept. 4, 1877, from territory cut off the
west side of Franklin Township and was named in honor of
John Bratton, an old and respected citizen of the
township.
Surface.
The surface is
undulating and hilly, with deep and narrow valleys
formed by erosion of numerous small streams that flow
into the East Fork of Ohio Brush Creek. This
beautiful stream rises from the "Three Forks" on the
northern limit of the township, and flows in a deep
channel south across it, uniting with the West Fork at
Newport in Meigs Township. On its upper course and
within sight of the "Three Forks" is the Great Serpent
Mound, a description of which will be found under
another chapter. The valley along the East fork is
narrow but very fertile, and the top hills along its
middle and lower courses contain a fine quality of iron
ore.
Early Settlers.
John
Shepherd, a brother of Abraham Shepherd, of
Eagle Creek, who represented Adams County in the State
Senate several terms, was among the first settlers of
this township. He located in 1801, on the East
Fork, on lands recently owned by Peter Andrews.
"Shepherd's Crossing" of Brush Creek is on the
"Trace" made by John Shepherd from Orr's
Ferry, below Aberdeen, to this settlement on the East
Fork. Following Shepherd, came William
Armstrong, who settled on the East Fork above the
present village of Loudon in 1802; and about this date,
Benjamin, Joseph, and John West came from
Pennsylvania and settled on lands bought in the
Abraham Shepherd survey on upper East Fork.
These Wests were relatives of Benjamin West,
the celebrated painter. Samuel Shoemaker, Jacob
Wisecup, Adam Keller and Michael Beaver were
among the early settlers.
Villages and Postoffices.
LOUDON,
near the Great Serpent Mound, is a little hamlet that
was begun about Lovett's store in 1839. It
was never regularly laid out, but E. G. Lovett
sold small parcels of land for residences and shops to
suit the convenience of purchasers. The place was
called Loudon because that portion of the township was
settled by families from Loudon County, Virginia.
The postoffice is named Lovett's, and was
established in 1844 with E. G. Lovett as
postmaster.
MARBLE FURNACE - There was built up about the
old Marble Furnace a little settlement of mechanics,
tradesmen, and furnace men, which became known as the
village of Marble Furnace, and as a flourishing place in
early days; but after the abandonment of the furnace in
1834, the village rapidly declined, and now nothing
remains but a few buildings and a mill. Marble
Furnace postoffice was established here in 1822.
It is now discontinued.
LOUISVILLE - this was laid out by Dr. John
Gustin, Dec. 3, 1838, on a plat of eleven acres of
land, divided into forty lots. Lacey Peyton
started the first store in the village. A
postoffice was established named Gustin, with James
McAdow as postmaster. It has long since been
annulled, and the village site turned into farm lands.
Churches.
Methodist
Episcopal at Louisville, Dunkard at Marble Furnace,
Methodist Episcopal at Loudon, and Dunkard at May Hill.
Schools.
It is
said that the first school in this township was taught
in 1815 by an old teacher named Vinsonhaler, in a
house belonging to James Trimble, afterwards
Governor of Ohio, on lands recently owned by Alfred
Fulton. But this is questionable, as Samuel
McCollister taught in the Brush Creek settlements as
early as 1809. There are at present nine
sub-districts with an enrollment in the present year of
337 pupils distributed as follows:
| No. |
Males. |
Females. |
No. |
Males. |
Females |
| 1 |
18 |
17 |
6 |
25 |
15 |
| 2 |
14 |
21 |
7 |
27 |
14 |
| 3 |
33 |
27 |
8 |
17 |
15 |
| 4 |
15 |
18 |
9 |
23 |
16 |
| 5 |
12 |
10 |
|
|
|
REMINISCENCES.
Rescue of John and Katy Davis from
the Indians.
Just above old
Marble Furnace was once the site of an Indian village,
and here after the whites had settled in this vicinity
and along Ohio Brush Creek, Indian families would come
and camp to hunt and fish. While Thomas Davis,
who resided on Brush Creek just above the Fristoe
bridge, was away from home, an Indian squaw stole
John and Katy Davis, two of his small children, and
carried them to the camp on East Fork. The mother
of the children gave the alarm, the squaw was followed
to the camp, and the children were rescued.
Jacob Wise and the Bear.
In the cliff on
the Sommer's farm near Marble Furnace in 1801,
Jacob Wise discovered two cub bears in a den in the
rocks. Fearing an attack from the mother, Wise
got Peter Platter to help secure the cubs.
When Wise went into the den after the cubs, and
while securing them, the old she-bear rushed past
Platter and started in after Wise. Platter
seized her by the hinder parts and held her until
Wise crawled out at an opening in the side of the
den. He and Platter then attacked the old
bear and killed her, securing the cubs for pets.
These soon grew so large and became so unruly that they
had to be killed.
|
