CHAPTER XXVII.
Pg. 201

ROSE TOWNSHIP
LOCATION - TOPOGRAPHY - PART OF THE COUNTY'S MALTESE CROSS -
VILLAGES - SETTLEMENT - RAILROADS -
POPULATION - BOUNDARIES - ORGANIZATION.

     Rose Township is the western block of townships in Carroll County.  The county is so formed by surveys that one civil township on both the east and west parts of the county extend out further than the remainder of the county, thus forming a country in the shape of a Maltese cross.  At the first session of the county commissioners of Carroll County, David L. Levy's tavern being the meeting place and the spot being where Carrollton stands and the date being Mar. 4, 1833, it was ordered.  "That the townships of Rose, Harrison, Washington and Fox remain as they were originally surveyed."  These four townships take in the "swath" of six miles in width, extending across the entire county from west to east.  Rose Township is a contribution from Stark County in the formation of Carroll County and still retains all of the original township No. 16, range 7, therefore contains thirty-six sections.

SETTLEMENTS.

     Very early settlements were made along Sandy Creek in what is now Rose and Brown townships.  Capt. James Downing and Isaac Miler came in from Brooke County, Virginia, and settled on government land in Rose Township, about the year 1811.  John Beatty, Sr., came there in 1813 and was soon followed by Samuel Oswalt, William Knotts and Andrew Croix.  John Oswalt came in about the same time and kept a tavern in this township on land later known as the James Beatty farm.
     The Downings, the Browns, the Fulks and the Knotts, from this township helped fill the ranks of the soldiers for the War of 1812.
     Wild game was very plentiful in the early days here.  Deer, bear, wild turkeys, panthers and wild-cats were common.  Sandy Creek was then much larger in its volume of water than at present.  The stream had no bridge until about 1833, a toll bridge by Isaac Miller; it was subsequently taken over by Carroll County.
     The villages in Rose Township include: Magnolia, Morges (defunct), and Lindentree.  The village of Magnolia is a station of importance on the Pennsylvania system of railroads and is partly in Stark and partly in Carroll County.  The part in this county is in section 30.

[Page 202]

VILLAGE OF MAGNOLIA

     This village is within Rose Township, Carroll County and a part extends over into Stark County.
     Magnolia is an incorporated place of long standing.  The present officers are John J. Williams, mayor; S. A. Hasting, clerk; G. R. Mackall, treasurer; Robert McDonald, marshal.
     A postoffice was established here May 26, 1836, with John W. Smith as first postmaster, then followed in order the following postmasters:  Richard Elson until sometime in the '50s; Frederick Winters, W. H. Greer up to 1885; George W. Speaker, during Cleveland's first term of office; N. J. Randall in Harrison's administration; Jacob E. Endlich in Cleveland's second administration; Douglass Gotshall from 1898 to 1914, and W. L. Knotts from 1914 to the present time - January, 1921.

COMMERCIAL INTERESTS IN 1921

     W. L. Knotts, postmaster and grocery store
     E. R. Benfer & Sons, general store and meat market
     A. H. Markle, general store and meat market
     Gregory & Co., general merchandise
     W. W. Farber, hardware
     Mrs. S. Marlor, restaurant
     Luigi Tozzi, soft drinks and groceries
     The A. R. Elson Co., flouring mill
     The National Fire Proofing Co., offices Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
     The Whitacre-Greer Fire Proofing Company, office Waynesburg, Ohio
     The Magnolia Garage Company
     The Leichtamer Garage
     The Magnolia Transit Line, auto-bus line to Canton, Ohio
     The Royal Blue Transit Line, auto-bus to Canton, Ohio
     The Rice Shoe Store
     Henry Kloppman, stoves and tin ware.
     The Bank of Magnolia Company
     Physicians - Dr. R. E. Bunker, Jr.

     The Pennsylvania Railway Company constructed through this village in 1854 and the Baltimore & Ohio line was built in 1899.
     The churches are the Evangelical and United Brethren (Olive branch).  The only secret society is the Knights of Pythias.
     The village was visited by a big storm or hurricane Jan. 20, 1854; killing frost June 4, 1859; deep snow in April, 1901; floods and high waters, 1884, 1891, 1898, 1912 (September) and 1913.
     It should be understood that a portion of this village is within Stark County, but the postoffice is situated in Carroll County.  Richard Elson founded the part of the village in Stark County and Mr. Downing the part in Carroll County.  His plat was first called Downingsville.
     Richard Elson, Sr. established the flouring mills in 1834.

[Page 203]

     From an old historical account of this village it is gleaned that the village was platted Mar. 22, 1836, ten miles southeast from Canton.  In 1880 it had a population of 300 and at present has about 600.  The directory of Ohio for 1884 gave this village as having a woolen mill by Chaddock & Son; a flouring and saw mill, A. R. Elson; general merchandise, Clarence Greer; hotel by J. Gregory; grocery, T. Griffith general store, William M> Griffith; blacksmith, Lewis G. Kemp; hotel, Daniel Kloppman; physician, Dr. L. McIlravy.

MORGES

     This place was laid out Aug. 24, 1831, by Samuel Oswalt and John Waggoner.  It never materialized to any business importance.  Its chief feature was the fine Catholic church known as St. Mary's, which in 1884 was described as having a chime of bells that could be heard for miles around the village.  This church was dedicated in 1858.  The population in 1840 was 1,593; in 1880 it was only 1,195, but today it is numbered among the defunct places of the county.

END OF ROSE TOWNSHIP.