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History
of
Auglaize County
and the
Indian History of Wapakoneta, and the First
Settlement of the County.
Publ. Wapakoneta: Robert Sutton, Publisher
1880
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
Pg. 178
------
HISTORICAL.
Wayne
township was organized in 1834, and is the northeast township in
the county. Its area is twenty-seven square miles being
four and a half miles north and south, and six miles east and
west. It was named in honor of Anthony Wayne.
The first election was held at the house of Samuel Mocraft
in 1834. There were thirteen votes cast at this election.
The next election was held at the house of Wm. Black.
James Mahan was the first justice of the peace.
Joseph Dawson, Allen Gilmore, and Richard Berry were
the first trustees.
The surface of the township is undulating, the soil
rich, and well adapted to the raising of wheat, corn, and grass.
In the southeast part of this township of Wallace fork of the
Scioto rises. Willow branch rises in the centre of the
township, and empties into the Muchanippe in Goshen township.
Wrestle Creek, one of the branches of the Auglaize River, also
heads in this township, and runs east. The township is
well watered. The devil's half acre, as it used to be
termed, is in this part of the township, and just north of it ,
on section two, is the highest land in the State, and is the
dividing ridge between the waters of the Auglaize and Scioto
Rivers. The East prairie is divided between this and
Goshen township. In early times it afforded a good
deal of feed for stock, and early pasture, as the grass would
come earlier in the spring than in the timber. It has cost
a great deal to bring it into cultivation. There are miles
of ditches in it, cut from ten to thirteen feet wide and from
four to seven feet deep. It is now nearly all cultivated,
and thousands of bushels of corn and potatoes are raised upon it
annually.
In the fall of 1830, or spring of 1831, the first
settlers, William Hiett and John Hurley, arrived,
and built cabins on the north side of the prairie. From
that time until 1834 the following persons arrived:
Jacob Williams, Gilbert Hurley, Thomas McCall, Daniel Ellsworth,
H. W. Bowdle, James Mahan, Sr., James Mahan, Jr., Joseph Dawson,
Isaac Dawson, Samuel Lowman, Samuel Mocraft, Henry Whetstone,
Eli E. Carson, Simon Mocraft, Wm. Cox, Richard Berry, Moses
Ross, Aaron Oram, Wm. Kent, Alex, Kent, and during the next
year or two, Lee Turner, Simon Maxon, Benj. Madden, J. C.
Berry, Harris Wells, Samuel Cavender, and Lyman Pratt,
most of whom brought their families and scattered over about
fifteen miles of territory. In the fall of 1836 they built
the first school-house of logs, cabin style. They could
get no glass for the windows, so they used paper. Strips
of wood were nailed across the windows, the paper pasted on, and
oiled with coon's oil, which rendered the paper
semi-transparent. The next trouble was to keep the birds
from cutting the paper. The writing desks were made of
puncheons, about ten feet long, and laid upon pins in the wall.
There were two such desks. The seats were saplings, split
in two, about ten feet long, and legs put in the round side with
the flat side up. Such was the school-house in which many
of the children of the early settlers received all their
education. Asa R. Mahan taught the first school in
the winter of 1836 and 1837. HE was employed for three
months at ten dollars per month. A. D. Berry taught
in 1837 and 1838. Wm. Gilmer in 1838 and 1839.
Wayne township has some excellent improvements.
The farms are generally small, from forty to one hundred and
sixty acres, with good buildings. The land lies well for
drainage, fall enough can be secured to drain the deepest ponds.
There is no waste land in the township. The land that was
thought to be too low and wet for anything but grass is now
cultivated, and produces good crops of all kinds of grain.
F. A. Berry, the son of Richard Berry, who settled
in 1834, says the first settlers suffered many privations.
Provisions for the families and grain for the stock had to be
brought from Logan and Champaign Counties, which made toilsome
trips, as the roads were bad. The Bellefontaine and Lima
road was not cleared all the way, and there was no bridge
between the north fork of the Miami River and Lima. After
there was grain enough raised for bread they had to go to
Cherokee to mill, a distance of fifteen miles, which would
require tow or three days. after they succeeded in raising
wheat for sale, it had to be hauled to Portland, now Sandusky
City, or Lower Sandusky, now Fremont. It took about eight
days to make the trip, and wheat sold for fifty to sixty cents a
bushel. It was the only way they had to get money to pay
their taxes, and get coffee, salt, and other necessaries for
their families. Sugar was made at home. Deer and
coons were plenty, and were the principal meats of the early
settlers, as wild turkeys were scarce. The first settlers
had a great deal of trouble with their stock, there being no
pasture for them, except the wild woods, which was common to
all.
Waynesfield, situated in the southwest part of the
township, was laid out by E. G. Atkinson, who opened the
first store; the first physician was Henry Leaman.
It has a good trade, being surrounded by a rich agricultural
country. It now has three stores, one hotel, two churches,
two physicians, and a steam grist and saw mill.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOSEPH DAWSON, SR.
JOS. H. DAWSON, JR.
JONATHAN DAWSON
NEWTON DAWSON
ALLEN GILMORE
MRS. ELLEN GOSSARD
SAMUEL LOWMAN
DAVID MYERS
BYRD RICHARDSON
JOHN RIDLEY
HENRY WHETSTONE
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