THIS township, when
organized in 1826, and until the erection of Ashland
County, twenty years later, belonged to the County
of Huron. It probably derived its name from
Almon Ruggles, who settled in that county in
1808, and who, in 1815, laid out the town of
Norwalk.
In 1820 its territory was included in Bethel Township,
which had a population that year of 164. Population of Ruggles in 1830....................
271
Population of Ruggles in 1840....................1244
Population of Ruggles in 1850....................1084
Population of Ruggles in 1860.................... 918
Ruggles Township, as
well as the whole of the territory of Huron County,
was within the "Fire Land" district. These
firelands embraced a tract of country containing
seven hundred and eighty-one (781) square mils, or
nearly five hundred thousand (500,000) acres, in the
western part of the Western Reserve. The name
originated from the circumstance that the State of
Connecticut had made a grant of these lands in 1792,
as a donation to certain sufferers by fire,
occasioned by the invading English during the
revolutionary war, particularly at New London,
Fairfield, and Norwalk. This tract was
surveyed into townships of about five miles
square each; and these townships are then
subdivided into four equal quarters, No. 1 being the
southeast, No. 2 the northeast, No. 3 the northwest,
and No. 4 the southwest. And for individual
convenience, these are again subdivided, by private
surveys, into lots from fifty to five hundred acres
each, to suit individual purchasers. The
surveys were made in 1808.
In 1820 there existed in Huron County a township named
Bethel, with which it is supposed the territory of
Ruggles was associated for civil purposes.
Whether this township of Bethel embraced the present
townships of Greenwich, Fitchville, or New London,
or all of them, cannot be clearly ascertained by the
writer of this.
The population of Bethel
in 1820, was .................... 164
The "
of Ruggles in 1830..........................
271
The "
" in
1840..........................1244
The "
" in
1850..........................1084
The "
" in
1860.......................... 918
In addition to those
causes which have operated during the last several
years, to diminish population in other townships of
the county, is the fact that there existed, at the
time of the county, is the fact that there existed,
at the time of the opening of the Cleveland,
Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad, a flourishing
town known as "Ruggles Corners." The
construction of the railroad caused the business and
population to rapidly decline, until it is now
without a single business or mechanical
establishment. The post-office, which was
formerly here, is now removed to the center of the
township.
EXTRACTS FROM THE OFFICIAL
RECORD OF
RUGGLES TOWNSHIO.
FIRST ELECTION - 1826.
Names of
the electors who voted at the first election held in
Ruggles Township, on the 2d day of January, 1826: -
| 1. Perry Durfee |
| |
7. Reuben Fox |
| 2. Harvey Sackett |
| |
8. Bradford Sturtevant |
| 3. Norman Carter |
| |
9. Jacob Roorback |
| 4. Truman Bates |
| |
10. Abraham Ferris |
| 5. Justus Barnes |
| |
11. E. D. Smith |
| 6. Daniel Beach |
| |
12. Aldrich Carver |
At this
election, the following officers were chosen,
namely: -
Township Clerk,
Ezra D. Smith - Trustees, Jacob
Roorback, Daniel Beach, and Aldrich Carver -Overseers of
the Poor, Bradford Sturtevant and
Harvey Sackett - Fence Viewers,
Justus Barnes and Abraham Ferris -
Appraisers of Property, Reuben Fox and
Perry Durfee - Constable,
Norman Carter - Supervisor, Truman
Bates - Township Treasurer,
Harvey Sackett.
COMMISSIONS OF JUSTICES OF THE
PEACE.
A
commission of Daniel Beach, as justice of the
peace, bears date the 20th of February, A.D. 1840.
A commission of Albert G. Buel, as justice of
the peace, bears date the 13th of April, 1840.
A commission of D. W. Brown, as justice of the
peace, bears date the 9th of November, 1840.
PIONEERS OF RUGGLES TOWNSHIP.
DANIEL BEACH
immigrated to Ruggles Township on the 2d of August,
1823. He died in 1862. His was the first
family that settled in the township. He was
born in Connecticut.
NORMAN CARTER and
wife removed to Ruggles in 1824.
ALDRICH CARVER and
family, consisting of three persons, settled in
Ruggles, in 1825. His was the fourth family
then in the township. He had emigrated from
Cayuga County, New York. Mr. Carver
(to whom the editor of this work is indebted for
much valuable information relating to the early
history of this township) states that the township
took its name from Alman Ruggles.
He settled in Vermillion Township, Huron County, and
became judge of the court. Before the
organization of Ruggles, it was attached to New
London.
JAMES POAG settled
in Clearcreek Township, in 1825, upon the land which
is now the farm of James Heanst.
About 1827 he purchased the farm in Ruggles, upon
which his widow and son, Washington I. Poag,
now reside in Ruggles Township. He died April
9, 1854, at the age of seventy-one years.
HARVEY SACKETT and
family removed from Talmadge, Summit County, to
Ruggles Township, in April, 1825. Mr. Sackett
now resides near Ashland.
BRADFORD STURTEVANT
and family immigrated to Ruggles Township, in
September, 1823; being the second pioneer of the
township. He had removed to Medina County,
from Connecticut, in 1816. The lands of the
township, Mr. Sturtevant says, were monopolized by
non-resident speculators - the principal land-owners
being Joseph & Wakeman, of Fairfield County,
Connecticut. Martha E., daughter of Bradford
Sturtevant, was born 17th of May, 1825 - being the
first white female child born in the township.
She is now the wife of Rev. Horace Taylor, a
missionary in Southern India.
SALMON WESTON
immigrated to Ruggles Township, on the 17th of June,
1828. He removed from Connecticut, and
occupied one month in traveling from his old to his
new home. The journey was performed from
Warren, Connecticut, to Albany, New York, in wagons;
from Albany to Buffalo, on the Erie Canal; form the
latter place to Sandusky City, on the schooner
Superior; and from Sandusky City to Ruggles, in
wagons. Mr. Weston was the first settler in
the eastern portion of the township.
CHURCHES IN RUGGLES
TOWNSHIP.
There are two - the LUTHERAN, situated in the
southeast part of the township, which was organized
in 1852. The house, 26 by 30 feet, was erected
the same year, at a cost of $360.
THE CONGREGATIONAL, at the "Centre," was organized
in 1827, with eleven members - four males and seven
females. The building is a very comfortable
one, and will accommodate a congregation of 400
persons.
|
