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"LA OHONDA."

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.

JAMES DEMINT, THE FOUNDER OF SPRINGFIELD.

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PHOTO
E. V. VAN NORMAN
Springfield

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cation than the Mad River bottoms, where the Humphreys settlement had been formed.  He built the first log house within the present limits of the city.  It was a large, double log cabin, and stood for many years on the brow of the hill on the north bank of the Lagonda, on the westside, and near the State road, now Limestone street, leading toUrbana.  The present Northern School building, formerly the Seminary, is near the site of this cabin.  Mr. Demint entered and held by certificate from the Government a large tract of land south and west of his new home.  This he afterward laid out into town lots, which are embraced in the first plat of Springfield, and is here given:

ORIGINAL PLAT OF THE TOWN OF SPRINGFIELD
NORTH

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BEAUTY OF LOCATION.

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FIRST COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.

CHARACTER OF DEMINT.

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GRIFFITH FOOS' ARRIVAL

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polled to cut down trees to make a roadway and ford streams.  They transported their goods over the Big Darby upon horses, and then drew their wagons over with ropes while some of the party waded and swam by the sides to prevent them from upsetting.

THE FIRST TAVERN.

     We now enter more directly into the history of the development of Springfield, as a distinct feature of the county.  Prior to June, 1801, the town plat as laid out by Demint was without an occupant.  The log cabin on the bluff north of the creek was the only tenement visible, but as Mr. Foos had expressed a desire to locate here for the purpose of going into business soon after his return from the Scioto Valley, he began the erection of a house to be used as a tavern.  It was a double log house, and was located on the south side of what is now Main street, a little west of Spring street.  In June, 1801, he opened it to the public, and continued it until the 10th of May, 1814.  These were the days of magnificent distances, and the patrons of Mr. Foos lived within a radius of forty miles.  On the day announced for the raising of Mr. Foos’ cabin, the settlers came from all directions to participate in the festivities of the occasion.  A "log cabin raising" was an event of the season.  Plenty to eat and to drink, especially the latter, was furnished by the proprietor to all who chose to attend, with or without an invitation, the climax being attained by a dance in the evening which continued until the dawn began to glimmer through the trees. Mr. Foos died in 1858, having lived in Springfield over half a century.  He saw it develop from a single house to a rapidly growing and flourishing inland town, and peopled by a class of men who were remarkable for their industry, enterprise and culture.

PICNIC TO YELLOW SPRINGS.

     Mr. Dement .....

IMPROVEMENTS, MILLS, ETC.

     Following the erection of the double log cabin of Mr. Foos, a number of other buildings rose on different parts of the town plat.  All were roughly built and did not add to the attractions of the place.  The first “mansion” of any pre-

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tensions after that of Mr. Foos was built in 1803 by Archibald Lowry, a brother of David Lowry.  He owned a tract of land which was afterward laid out in town lots by his son, James Lowry.  James was at one time a prominent business man of the city, but his latter days were spent with dissolute companions, and he was murdered some years ago in a wretched hole called “Rat Row,” on Market street, in a midnight brawl.  The new house built by Archibald Lowry was a large two-story hewed-log house on the alley first west of Limestone street, about half way to High street.  It was the second public house in the place.
     Necessity at the time suggested that the rapid waters of the stream which flowed along the southern limits of the village might be utilized by furnishing power for grinding the corn and wheat raised in the fertile valleys.  There were no mills nearer than Lebanon, Ohio, to which the settlers were obliged to convey their grain and purchase their flour.  To make a market nearer home, Demint built a small grist-mill near the mouth of the stream on the spot afterward occupied by Fisher’s old mill.  The stream became known as Mill Run, which name, it holds to this day.  This mill was the first in the vicinity.  It had the capacity to grind about twenty-five bushels of corn every twenty-four hours.

DAYTON AND SPRINGFIELD ROAD.

THE CITY IN 1804.

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THE EARLY SETTLERS OF SPRINGFIELD.

     Those who have been identified with the early settlement of a community leave their impress upon it.  An insight into the habits, characters and modes of thought is essential to a thorough understanding of the growth and development which was made possible by their early struggles.  A study of New England without a knowledge of the Puritan character of the Plymouth fathers would be as valueless as a history of Old England without a thorough description of the Saxons and the Normans.  Let us, therefore, take a glimpse at some of thosehardy men whose names are linked with early life in Springfield.

    John Daughterty first comes under our notice as engaged in laying out the town plat of the village, having been called to this work by Mr. Demint.  He was a native of Virginia, who had come to Demint’s from Kentucky.  He was a man of considerable natural ability, uncouth in person, but endowed with the faculty of making friends among all classes.  His persuasive manners made him popular among the pioneers.  He held various offices of trust; was elected Auditor of the county of Clark in 1818.  Representative in the State Legislature during the winters of 1820, 1821, 1822, and again in 1824.  As he had proven an efficient Representative, he had little difficulty in being chosen to the State Senate from the district then composed of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties, in 1825.  The primitive method of electioneering, as used by this pioneer politician, was to make a personal canvass of the district on horseback, having a jug of whisky in each end of his saddle-bags.  An intuitive insight into character suggested to him when to use a direct appeal for support, and when the more indirect, but equally as potent, influence of the jug should prevail.  A ready wit, fluent speech and courteous bearing gained him a large following.  At the close of his political life, he moved to a farm in Springfield Township, about two miles south of Springfield, where he died in 1832.

ROBERT RENNICK.

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JONAH BALDWIN.

     One of the Commissioners in the council with Tecumseh held in the village in 1807 was Jonah Baldwin, who was selected because of his sound judgment and excellent character.  He came to Springfield in 1804, a young and then unmarried man.  He built a large two-story frame house some years after his arrival, on a lot a little east of Limestone street, on Main street.  Here he opened a tavern, which also served him as an office as a Justice of the Peace.  He had a remarkable memory for dates and circumstances connected with the history of the nation.  Mr. Baldwin died near Springfield in 1865, having attained the age of eighty-eight years.

WALTER SMALLWOOD.

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Anthony Boyd
Springfield Tp.

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REV. SAUL HENKLE.

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JOHN AMBLER.

COOPER LUDLOW.

PEARSON SPINNING.

     Among the first merchants, who contributed largely by his wealth and energy toward the prosperity of the village, was Pearson Spinning, who came to Springfield from Dayton in the fall of 1812.  He at once entered upon the

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GRANNY ICENBARGER

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JOEL WALKER

LITTLE DADDY VICORY.

     Merryfield Vicory, an odd but genial character, located in Springfield in the year 1814, and soon afterward received and held the sobriquet of “Little Daddy Vicory.”  He was a short, round man, with a jolly face.  He had been a drummer in the Revolutionary war, and had his drum shot from his side by a cannon ball at the siege of Yorktown.  Mr. Vicory in one instance displayed skill and bravery in catching a thief while stealing some bacon from his smoke house.  He seized the thief and tied him fast with a rope, and, it being Sunday morning, kept him in confinement until the horn for church, when he drove the thief down Main street under threatening of a large club, with two sides of bacon swinging over his shoulders.  He went so far in his efforts to humiliate that thief as to take him to the door of the Presbyterian Church and ask the people there assembled if they claimed him as one of their members.  The

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thief was never after seen in the town.  Mr. Vicory received a pension from the Government, and, soon after his settlement here, he bought ten acres of land on the old Columbus road, on what afterward became the east end of High street.  He was father of Mr. Freeman Vicory, another esteemed citizen, who inherited the property, and spent his days also in Springfield.  Mr. Merryfield Vicory was buried with military honors, in March, 1810, aged seventy-seven years.

JAMES WALLACE.

     James Wallace was a native of Kentucky, and came to Ohio when he was a boy of fourteen years old.  During the war of 1812, he brought the mail once a week to Springfield on horseback, returning with the same to Cincinnati.  He settled in Springfield about the year 1814; apprenticed himself to William Moody, a harness and saddle manufacturer, but, before finishing his trade, he bought the remainder of his time, and, by the assistance of Pearson Spinning, he opened a store in the village of Lisbon.  He soon returned, however, and entered Mr. Spinning’s store as partner,* where he and Mr. Fisher, on opposite corners, kept up a lively competition.  In 1823, Mr. Wallace had a store in his own name, in the brick building immediately east of the present Mad River National Bank building, where for several years he continued as a leading merchant.  Mr. Wallace was a very affable man, a good talker, somewhat excitable, and an excellent salesman.  He was opposed to any one leaving his store without
purchasing goods, and often he was seen enticing customers in from the streets or pavement as they were passing along.  He kept a great variety of goods, so it became proverbial, if an article could not be found elsewhere, it
could be had at “Jimmy Wallace’s.”  Becoming unfortunately embarrassed in his business in later years, he sold out and left Springfield.  He maintained, however, during these and subsequent days, his standing in the Presbyterian Church, and reached a good age ere the day of his death.

DR. NEEDHAM.

     One of the pioneers in the profession of medicine in Springfield, Dr. William A. Needham, came from Vermont in 1814.  He first lived in a small log house in the vicinity of Lagonda, but, in 1817, moved into his new frame house on the southwest corner of Main street and the alley east of Limestone street, opposite the building now owned by William Burns.  The Doctor became a popular physician and leading citizen.  He was a jovial man, full of quips and pert savings, and his social qualities and kindness of heart gained for him a large circle of friends.  He was the father of the wives of Samson Mason and Jonah Baldwin, and died in Springfield in 1832, aged sixty-five years.

ELIJAH BEARDSLEY.

     Elijah Beardsley, originally from Connecticut, came to Springfield in 1815, bringing with him a wife, two sons and six daughters.  He first occupied a log house that stood near the southeast corner of Plum and Main streets, and with all its inconveniences, he made it pleasant to many a weary traveler who wished to tarry for the night.  One of Mr. Beardsley’s daughters in later years married Ira Paige, and another, Laura, married James S. Christie, who, with her husband, is still living, and among the oldest of the present inhabitants of this city.  Except a temporary residence of nearly three years in Cincinnati, Mr. Beardsley lived in Springfield until his death, Oct. 2, 1820, aged sixty-six years.

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     *Mr. Wallace returned from Lisbon and was partner with Mr. Spinning on the northwest corner of Limstonne and Main streets.  In 1823, Mr. Wallace had a store of his own on the northeast corner of Limestone and Main street.  Subsequently Mr. Wallace's store was moved to the brick house named, where the REpublic Printing Company is now located.

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MADDOX FISHER.

     Maddox Fisher, who came from Kentucky with his family in 1831, became one of the most enterprising and public-spirited of the early settlers of Springfield. He possessed considerable wealth, and. soon after his arrival, purchased
twenty-five lots, at $25 per lot, of Mr. Demint, most of them being located in the vicinity of the public square.  He opened a dry-goods store on Main street, a little west of Limestone street.  While prosecuting with energy his own trade, he was ever ready, by his influence and wealth, to aid in the improvement of the place he had chosen as his home, and which he believed would eventually become a large city.  In 1814, he built a cotton-factory on the Rocks, near where Mill Run empties into Buck Creek, taking the place of Demint’s old mill.  It continued operations a few years, when it was changed into a flouring-mill.  In this mill he did a profitable business until November, 1834, when the mill was destroyed by fire, at a loss of 80,000.  The building of this factory, and afterward mill, seemed to have marked a turning-point in the history of Springfield.  Prior to this, little business was doing; the inhabitants appeared discouraged, real estate had depreciated, and hard times were depressing. But this improvement of Mr. Fisher’s gave a new impulse to trade and further growth.  In 1815, he built a two-story brick house on the east side of Limestone street, just north of the public square, designing the same for a store and dwelling.  In 1825, he built a handsome residence on the corner of North and Limestone streets, which afterward was partially incorporated in the fine dwelling of the late Dr. Robert Rodgers.  In 1824, he served, with general acceptance, as Postmaster, and, in 1830, he erected the store and residence (since enlarged and built into a handsome block of four stories) now owned by his son, M. W. Fisher, on the southwest corner of Main and Limestone streets.
     Mr. Fisher was a native of Delaware, where he was married at the age of twenty, after which he moved to Kentucky, and thence to Springfield.  He was a man of medium height, somewhat fleshy, a true gentleman of the old school, a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, quite entertaining in conversation, and very hospitable and kind to strangers, as well as to his numerous friends.  He generally wore a straight-breasted, dark broadcloth coat, and his polished, silver-headed cane, and his well-filled silver snuff-box in one of his spacious vest pockets, were his constant companions.  He died in this city Oct. 22, 1836, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

IRA PAIGE.

     Ira Paige was another prominent person who settled in Springfield in 1814.  He was a native of Massachusetts, and, soon after his arrival, he established a woolen- factory, with Mr. James Taylor as partner, near by or in the basement of Fisher’s flouring-mill. where jeans and flannels and woolen rolls were manufactured for customers.  This business was continued by Mr. Paige for more than fifteen years, and was considered then an extensive factory.  In 1832 and 1833, he represented the county in the lower branch of the State Legislature, and subsequently he became an Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court, and sat upon the bench with Judges Service and McKinnon.  During the latter part of his life, Judge Paige was engaged in farming.  He was a man of excellent judgment and good, sound sense, coupled with intelligence, strict integrity and fine social qualities.  By his influence and force of character, he added much to the moral and social condition of the village and town.  He died in Springfield in July, 1817, in the fifty-eighth year of his age.

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JAMES JOHNSON.

     James Johnson, a native of England, came to Springfield at an early date, and in 1816 he built a large two story stone house on the south side of Main street, between Factory street and the alley east.  He built also a small, one-story addition on the east end of the house, where, in 1817, he manufactured cut nails by hand.  The nails used in  building Dr. Needham's house were made here, and for several months the citizens were supplied with the article from Mr. Johnson’s factory.  He afterward removed to Pike Township, on Donnel’s Creek, where' he had purchased a farm, and erected a small mill.  He here spent the remainder of his days.  The two-story stone house was taken down in 1871, by Edwin L. Houck, who erected in its stead a fine three-story block, with a spacious hall in the third story.

MAJOR CHRISTIE

     The last of the early settlers to whom we shall here call attention is Robert Christie, or Maj. Christie, as he was more familiarly known.  He came from Washington County, Vermont, in the fall of 1817, with his second wife and eight children, and his aged father, Deacon Jesse Christie, then in his eighty-first year.  A small frame house on Main street, below Yellow Springs street, was the first residence, but the year following his arrival he located on what is known as the Bechtle farm, a part of which now constitutes the largest portion of Fern Cliff Cemetery.  There was an unbroken forest from his residence east as far as Demint's cabin extending north several miles.  The land occupied by Wittenberg College and Fern Cliff was heavily timbered, the maple predominating over their trees.  The wild grape festooned the trees in wild luxuriance.  The species known as the fox grape was a very desirable fruit, and gathered in large quantities.  Small game, with occasionally specimens of larger and more dangerous animals, furnished sport . for the expert hunter.  A species of panther and several deer were shot while the Major resided on this farm.  The Major was a wide-awake man, nervous, and quick in all his movements, and
had a very intelligent and social family.  His humble but hospitable dwelling was often the scene of merriment and good cheer, and the frequent resort of the neighbors and friends.  On the 8th of April, 1819, his daughter Mary was
married to Louis Bancroft.  Their wedding tour was simply a horseback ride, both riding the same horse, from the farm to their new abode in the village.  On the 8th day of April. 1869, Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft celebrated their golden wedding - in all probability the first event of the kind that occurred in the annals of this city.
     A singular circumstance occurred in Maj. Christie’s family while residing on the Bechtle farm.  Their youngest daughter, Sarah, who was then in her teens, was very ill with the typhoid fever, and preparations were made for her shroud and funeral.  But a young physician who called to express his sympathy for the afflicted family, on seeing the supposed corpse, thought he discovered that the vital spark was still lingering.  After labored efforts, her resuscitation was effected.  She fully recovered from the illness, and lived to be twice married and rear a family of four sons and two daughters.
     Of Maj. Christie’s sons, two of them, James S. and Jesse Christie, Jr., became residents of Springfield, where they ,ere influential men, taking an active part in the promotion of all that pertained to the welfare of the people.  They were both for many years Elders in the First Presbyterian Church.  The elder, James S. Christie, was particularly active in all the religious movements of the churches.  He had the entire confidence of the people, and was several times recipient of the unsolicited office of Justice of the Peace.

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     The youngest son of Maj. Christie, Robert, was an early settler of Scott County, Iowa, and at one time an influential citizen of Davenport, Iowa.  In August, 1822, Maj. Christie died, in the forty-seventh year of his age.  He was bulled with Masonic honors, in which fraternity he held an exalted rank.  In January of the succeeding year, his father, Jesse, followed him, in his eighty-seventh year.

STEADY GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE.

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