Auglaize County is indeed historic ground.  It was for a long period one of the favorite hunting grounds of the Miamis and Wyandots.  After these tribes gave their consent to the Shawnees to locate in their midst, it became the home of many of the warriors of his tribe.  Their little villages were scattered over the county along the St. Marys and the Auglaize rivers.  During the French occupation of Northwestern Ohio, several French traders established their headquarters on the west bank of Auglaize River, about half a mile north of Wapakoneta.  They built a stockade, enclosing about an acre of ground, within which a number of cabins were erected by them.  This stockade has been called Fort Auglaize.  The traders residing there received their goods by boat from Detroit, and other French posts on the lake border.  They were transported up the Maumee to the mouth of the Auglaize, and then up that river to the trading station.  For a considerable time an extensive trade was carried on with the Indians in the center of the state.  It was abandoned after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, but this location could be outlined for many years afterwards by a few pickets yet standing, even after the time that the Indians were removed.
     During the War of 1812, and in September of that year.  Fort Amanda was platted by Col. Thomas Poague.  He was ordered to clear the timber and construct a wagon road from the St. Marys River to Defiance, and he erected a fort on the west bank of the Auglaize River, which he named Fort Amanda in honor of his wife.  This fort was also a stockade in rectangular form, enclosing about 1½ acres of ground.  The pickets were driven four feet into the ground, and extended above the ground about eleven feet.  At each corner stood a two-story blockhouse, which projected out several feet beyond the pickets.  The one intended for the officers' headquarters was the largest, and was located at the southeast corner of the enclosure.  In the center was a large two-story building, the upper floor of which was used as a hospital and the lower story as a storage room.  A large well near the center of the enclosure furnished an abundance of good water.  After the erection of this stockade, Fort Amanda became the base of supplies for the armies located in the Maumee Valley.  The office of the paymaster of the army, John Smith, was located here during the war, and many of General Harrison's orders were dispatched from Fort Amanda.
     In the spring of 1813 the hospital was filled with sick and wounded soldiers, who had been brought here from the battlefields along the Maumee River.  Rev. Samuel Shannon, an army chaplain, was one of those in charge of the hospital.  Dr. Samuel Lewis was the physician in charge.  He was obliged to administer to the needs of the sick and wounded at Wapakoneta and St. Marys, as well as Fort Amanda, so great was the shortage of army surgeons.  The soldiers who died in the hospital were buried on the west bank of the river, near the fort, but the records of

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those buried have been lost.  Many flatboats were built here during that year.  One group of men were detailed to select the trees, and another to cut them down; the duty of a third company was to saw them into the proper pieces, while still another company manufactured them into flatboats to carry supplies and wounded men up and down the river.  It is said that seventy-five boats were constructed here in the spring of 1813 alone.  This fort also served as an assembly place for scouts and dispatch carriers, and for officers traveling from the southern part of the state to the battlefields in the north.  At the close of the war the blockhouses were unoccupied for several years, and then they were taken possession of by settlers arriving in that vicinity.  Among those who occupied these blockhouses were Peter Diltz, with his family; Andrew Russell and his family; and William Van Ausdall, with his family.  Mr. Diltz came from Dayton in 1817 and moved into the small blockhouse at the northeast corner.  Mr. Russell pre-empted the largest one in the same year, and here he passed away five years later.  Mr. Van Ausdall took possession of the storehouse, and occupied it for a few months until he completed a log house.  Church services of the Methodist denomination were frequently held in one of the blockhouses.
     During the War of 1812 St. Marys became a headquarters of General Harrison's army for quite a period, and was also one of the depots for the provisions of the armies in the northwestern part of Ohio.  Fort Amanda enjoyed water transportation down the Auglaize to the lake, while the St. Marys gave a route of transportation to the head of the Maumee.  The old Fort St. Marys was platted by a detachment of Wayne 's forces, who came here from Greenville about 178-4 and 1785.  Henry Howe, in his historical collections of Ohio, says as follows: "The Old Fort, St. Marys, built by Wayne, stood in the village of St. Marys on the west bank of the river, on the land now owned by Christian Benner, about 80 rods S. E. of Rickley Tavern."  For many years it was commanded by Capt. John Whistler.  He is said to have been able to recruit more men and perform more work than any other officer in the army.  When Harrison established a depot here, it was intended to be the principal depot for the storage of the supplies for the armies along the Maumee.  The accumulation of cattle, horses, and other army stores was so great that additional storage buildings were needed, and a place was built to protect the live stock.  Two blockhouses were built, one within Fort St. Marys and the other a little south.  The latter was surrounded by the usual stockade.  The spring located near where the Fountain Hotel now stands furnished an abundance of pure water.  When the buildings of the depot were completed, the stockade was given the name of Fort Barbee, in honor of the colonel.  Capt. Joel Collins was detailed to cut a road along the old army trace from Loraine to St. Marys, a detail which he accomplished in. eight days.
     The difficulties that army officers encountered were almost insuperable at times.  A captain in Harrison's army leaves the following graphic account: "The roads were bad beyond description; none but those who have actually seen the state of the country, seem ever to have formed a correct estimate of the difficulties to be encountered.  The road from Loramie's blockhouse to the St. Marys and thence to Defiance, was one continuous swamp, knee deep to pack horses and up to the hubs of the wagons.  It was found impossible in some instances to get even the empty wagons along and many were left sticking in the mire and ravines, the wagoners being glad to get off with the horses alive.  Sometimes the quartermaster, taking advantage of a temporary freeze, would send off a convoy of provisions, which would be swamped by a thaw before it reached its destination.  The only

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was succeeded by Father John Vandenbroeck, under whose super\'ision the present church edifice, with the exception of the towers, was built.
     There are many other religious societies now represented in the county.  The Presbyterians organized a church in St. Marys in 1848, and in Wapakoneta in 1854.  The former was organized by Rev. J. L. Bellville, and the latter by Rev. W. C. Hollyday.  St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, of Wapakoneta, was erected in 1848, although it was two years later before the organization was completed.  Rev. During was the first pastor in charge.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Wapakoneta, was established in 1857 at a meeting held in the old Methodist Episcopal Church.  Rev. A. F. Hill was the pastor, and Joshua Shawber and George H. Dapper were chosen elders.  Immediate steps were taken toward the building of a church.  It was dedicated in 1860.
     The discovery of oil and gas at Lima and Findlay had its reflex influence in Auglaize.  There is not a township in the county where experimental wells have not been sunk.  The first well was drilled at Wapakoneta in 1885, but it was not completed because of inability to penetrate the rock.  This futile effort was followed by a well at St. Marys, where a flow of gas was reached. Oil in small quantities followed.  Considerable excitement followed this success, and other wells followed.  In 1877 an immense gas gusher was discovered, with a production of more than 2,000,000 cubic feet per day, at a depth of only 1,138 feet. St. Marys and Wapakoneta were both supplied with gas from this and other wells.  Great oil pools were found at Cridersville also.  Although never reaching the wealth of the Findlay and Lima fields, the wells of the county were very profitable and there is still a considerable production.

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nes.  The mission of the Quakers was established in 1810 by Isaac and Henry Harvey, and their efforts are described elsewhere.  Capt. John Elliott was appointed the Government blacksmith, and removed to the village in the following year.  The blacksmith was an important personage on an Indian reservation, for it was his duty to repair firearms, make axes, chains, nails, hinges, hoes, and other articles for their use.  One of the early traders was Peter Hammel, who came here about 1815, and built a log cabin in which he kept a store.  He sold intoxicating liquors, groceries, hardware, and dry goods.  He married the daughter of Francis Duchouquet, the interpreter, after whom the township in which Wapakoneta is situated, was named.
     Francis Duchouquet, a noted Indian interpreter, was the son of a half-blood French trader, who was engaged in trade with the Indians of Northern Ohio and Southern Michigan during, the occupancy of that region by the French.  He was born near Presque Isle in 1751.  After reaching manhood he engaged in the fur trade, in which business he visited nearly all the tribes of Ohio and Indiana territories.  In his trips to Central Ohio he wooed and married a beautiful Shawnee maiden.  After his marriage he lived on Mad River until the Indians were driven from that locality by General Clark.  When the Shawnees moved to Wapakoneta, he accompanied them, and erected a dwelling house and other buildings, on the north bank of the Auglaize River, near what is known at the present day as the Joseph Neff residence.  Here he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in the fall of 1831..
     Duchouquet 's time was so engrossed with business that he did not participate in the wars of Western Ohio, further than to act as interpreter on important occasions.  While on a trading expedition among the Delaware Indians in 1782, he visited a village near the present site of Crawfordville, and witnessed the torture and death of Colonel Crawford.  It has been claimed that Duchouquet joined in the intercession made to save the life of Crawford.  Duchouquet 's description of the horrible scene agreed in every respect with the one given by Doctor Knight.  He was never known, on any occasion, to participate in any of the savage cruelties practiced by the Indians on their captives.  Although so closely related by blood to the Indians, his sympathies were always with the captive, and where it was possible he rendered him assistance.
     At the treaty of Greenville, Duchouquet was summoned to act as interpreter.  He again served as interpreter in 1817 in the treaty at the foot of the rapids of the Miami.  A third time he served in the treaty held at St. Marys in 1818.  His residence became a house of entertainment, where traders and explorers were always sure of a welcome and accommodation.  His weakness was a fondness for intoxicating liquor, which grew upon him as age advanced. Under its influence, he amused himself by shooting at a mark.  The citizens of the village usually gave him a wide berth on these occasions.  When the committee was appointed by the Shawnees to proceed to Washington in 1831 to petition the President to order a new treaty, Douchouquet accompanied them as far as Cumberland, where he became sick, and was left in charge of attendants at a hotel, but died and was buried before the return of the committee.
     As soon as the Indians were removed to the West in 1832, the land in this vicinity was opened up to buyers.  Settlers came in very rapidly, as a land office had been opened up in the settlement on the 26th of December, 1832.  Several sections of land were immediately taken by prospective settlers.  Among these were James B. Gardner, Joseph Barnett, Peter Aughenbaugh, and Jonathan K. Wiles, who jointly entered several hundred acres.  Robert Skinner and William Van Horn

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entered 686 acres. `                                                                     The Town of Wapakoneta was surveyed by John Jackson, the county surveyor of Allen County, in 1833, for the above named Gardner, Barnett, Aughenbaugh, and Wiles.  Sixty-two lots were staked off on this occasion.  One of the earliest settlers to erect a cabin here was Jeremiah Ayers, who had constructed a cabin a couple of years prior to the platting of the town.  At that time white settlers were so scarce that Indians were employed to raise the buildings.  He afterwards removed the cabin to the rear of his lot and erected a two-story frame building, which was known as the Wapakoneta House.  It was a commodious building for those days, and maintained the leading position among hotels for a third of a century.  He also conducted a distillery, which produced the greater part of the whisky consumed in the county for a quarter of a century.  In every way he was one of the town's most active and enterprising citizens.  Other early settlers were William Paten, a carpenter, Jonathan Fore, a carpenter, and Jacob Thatcher, a hunter.  Isaac Nicholas kept store there for a number of years in the early days.

     The Quaker Mission had been removed a few miles from Wapakoneta in 1825, because of the actions of some of the whites.  After its abandonment it was occupied by Capt. John Elliott, and afterwards by his son, James.  The old Indian council house had been erected in the year 1783 and situated within the village.  It was a one-story log building, about 30 by 40 feet in dimensions.  It had originally been covered with bark, but was afterwards remodeled with clapboards.  After the Indians removed it was re-roofed, and used as a residence by W. A. Van Horn.  Mr. Van Horn and James Elliott developed quite a rivalry in appropriating the Indian ponies roaming in the forest.  As soon as captured, the pony was branded V or E, according to which one claimed him.  There were several Indian cemeteries on the site of the present Town of Wapakoneta.  Before the Indians moved they leveled all the graves, and removed all traces of their location.  As a result many skeletons have been unearthed in the digging of the sewers and the making of other excavations even within recent years.  As a rule each tribe had its own burial ground, and this accounts for the fact that there were several of these small burial places located so close together.
    Wapakoneta was incorporated by an act of the Legislature in 1849.  The early records have been lost, and the first mayor of which we have record was J. S. Williams, who filled that office in 1853.  He was succeeded by I. F. Copies.

ST. MARYS

     The firt permanently settled section of Auglaize County was around and about the trading post of St. Marys.  Girty's Town, as the trading post of James Girty was known, was located here.  Wayne passed through her on his famous campaign.  A score of white persons were dwelling there by 1820, and the township was organized four years later.  Prior to that time there is nothing of historic interest to record.  In the same year it was selected as the county seat of Mercer County, a position it held until 1840, when it wa removed to Celina, the present seat of justice.  The frist term of court was held there in 1824 by Joseph H. Crane, the president judge.  In 1828 a two story frame courthouse was erected at a cost of less than $300, according to official records.  Likewise a jail was provided for the malefactors and those charged with crimes.
     One of the interesting characters of the early days at St. Marys was "Old Charley Murray," as he was generally called.  He arrived a number of years before 1812, but the exact date is unknown.  An Irish trader, he brought his goods from Detroit, and gen

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erally on packhorses.  "Old Charley" had an Indian wife but, as prosperity found him, he married a white woman.  Then there was trouble in camp.  The Indian spouse proposed that each should take a rifle and go out into the woods to hunt and shoot at each other.  She went, and he followed for a distance.  He then sneaked back.  Becoming aware of the trick she immediately went to his cabin and prepared to shoot him, and did wound him in the shoulder.  It cost him $300 to purchase peace, and then she bothered him no more.  Murray, together with John McCorkle and William A. Houston, entered several hundred acres of land, and in 1823 laid out the Town of St. Marys.
     St. Marys is the oldest town in the county, and is situated on the St. Marys River, near the junction of the three streams which unite to form this water.  The plat was recorded in the recorder's office at Greenville, on Aug. 26, 1823.  It was acknowledged before John Ingraham, a justice of the peace.  Among the early purchasers of lots were James Lord, Leander Houston, James Miller, John Maming, and Christian Benner.  It consisted of sixty-eight lots.  The town has a splendid location, being surrounded by fertile farming lands.  It grw very slowly until the building of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1838.  Since the discovery of oil in 1886, it has grown quite rapidly.  In 1903, it was advanced to a city of the second class.
     Most of the early records of St. Marys are lost, or at least incomplete.  Stacy Taylor was mayor in 1836, and Dr. N. T. Nole was the first mayor after St. Marys acquired the dignity of a city. James Lard taught school here for several years after the town was platted, but it was a private school in which the scholars paid.  In 1832--2 James Watson Riley performed the three-fold duties of teacher, county clerk, and county surveyor.  After the village schools were reorganized, in 1853, A. Rogers was the first principal.  
     William Sawyer was a noted citizen in the earlier days of St. Marys.  Before locating here in 1843, he had already served several terms in the Ohio General Assembly from Montgomery County.  The next year after coming here he was elected to Congress, and served in that body during the term of President Polk.  He was again elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, and was appointed by President Buchanan as receiver for the land office for the Otter Tail District of Minnesota.  During the last seven years of his life he filled the office of mayor and justice of the peace.  He died in 1877.
     St. Marys was the home in later years of August Willich, who died in 1878.  He made a notable record as a commanding officer in the German army during the revolution in Germany, in 1849.  He commanded a popular assault against the Town Hall in Cologne.  When a repi;blic was declared in Baden, he was tendered the supreme command of the armies of the revolutionists.  When defeated, he and his followers sought refuge in France.  In 1853 he came to the United States, and was for a time editor of the German Republic, of Cincinnati. On the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted in the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry which he helped to drill. He distinguished himself in the service in the Army of Cumberland.  A memorable exploit at Shiloh won for him a commission as brigadier-general.  At Stone River he was taken prisoner; at Chickamauga he held Thomas' right; at Missionary Ridge he was in the forefront in storming the rebel works.  As the close of the war he was breveted major general.
     "In 1867 he was elected auditor of Hamilton county; after the expiration of his term in 1869 he revisited Germany, and again took up the study of his youth, philosophy, at the University of Berlin.  His request to enter the army in the French-German war of 1870 was not granted, and he returned to his

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VILLAGES

     MINSTER is an old town founded by Germans in the '30s.  A stock association was formed, and Francis Joseph Staffer made agent for the syndicate.  He entered the land and platted it, but died before the deeds were given.  The town still preserves its German nationality, and is a strong Catholic community.  For a number of years the settlement was known as Stallotown, but, in 1836, it was changed to Minster.  John M. Dress was the first mayor, being elected in 1839, and I. H. Gosman served with him as village clerk.  The construction of the canal brought prosperity to Minster.  Most of the employes there were Germans, and many made enough money in the four years of its construction to purchase farms for themselves.  This many of them did in that neighborhood.

     BUCKLAND VILLAGE was platted by Josiah Clawson and John H. Cochenour in 1872, but was at first known as White Feather, after an Indian village in the neighborhood.  It was incorporated in 1892, and W. G. Brorein was the first mayor.  St. Johns occupies the site of Blackhoof Town.  It was platted by Daniel Bitter and John Rogers, in 1835.  Other small villages in the county are Unopolis, Moulton, New Knoxville and Geyer.

END OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY -