NOTE:  - In order to avoid the excessive duplication of data, a considerable amount of matter coming naturally under special headings, as Churches, Military History, History of the professions of Law and Medicine, Public Institutions, Banks, the Press, etc., have been omitted from this chapter and will be found in the special chapters devoted to the respective subjects mentioned, or elsewhere in the general history.

MARLBOROUGH TOWNSHIP.

     This township was organized June 15, 1808, as a result of a petition to the commissioners of Delaware County, and was given its name in honor of Marlborough Township, Ulster County, New York, the native place of many of the petitioners.  It is now but a shadow of its former size, originally including a part of Waldo Township, in Marion County, Westfield Township, in Morrow County, the township of Oxford and the northern half of Troy, in Delaware County.  It lost that part now Oxford Township, March 6, 1815, the northern half of Troy Township, December 23, 1816, and February 24, 1848, that part of which is now in Westfield Township and in Waldo Township was set off, leaving Marlborough but half the size of an ordinary township.
     That part of Waldo Township set off from Marlborough was the first of the township, settled, Nathaniel Brundige and Nathaniel Wyatt, Sr., locating about a mile north of Norton in 1806.  These two pioneers, originally from Marlborough Township, Ulster county, New York, had moved to Washington County, Virginia.  Wyatt in 1797, and Brundige in 1798 and in 1803 with their families joined the tide of emigration into Ohio.  For two years they were located at Piqua, Ohio, where they erected a cabin and made a clearing.  At the end of that time Wyatt traded his property for a tract of wild land a short distance south of the old Greeneville Treaty line, and with his brother-in-law.  Brundige set out to locate.  After cutting their way through the untangible underbrush which obstructed their pathway along the banks of the Olentangy, they arrived at their destination.  Immediately, they set about erecting a cabin to which they brought their families in the spring of the same year.  The following year witnessed the coming of Jacob Foust, who located within the present limits of the township, squatting on land at the forks of the Whetstone.  Elder William Brundige, father of Nathaniel, came in 1808, accompanied by his family, and in 1810 Capt. William Drake and family arrived from Marlborough Township, in Ulster County, New York.  William Reed, the first settler in Norton, came in 1807, and afterward participated in the War of 1812.  Capt. John Wilcox, who had served with honor in the Revolutionary War, participating in the battles of Saratoga Springs and Stillwater, and being present at the surrender of General Burgoyne to Washington, located in Marlborough Township some time prior to the War of 1812.  Thomas Brown arrived at Norton in 1808, and was the first blacksmith in the township.  Faron Case came in 1810, and James Tindle in 1811.  Ariel Strong settled along the Olentangy River in 1808, followed shortly by James Livingston, who saw service in the War of 1812, and in 1809 William Sharp became established at Norton and gained prominence as the greatest hunter of this section, speaking the language of the Indians, among whom he lived for weeks at a time during his younger days.  William Haneman came from Kentucky in 1810, and Isaac Bush, Silas Davis and Joseph Curran became settlers in the township before the War of 1812.  Peter and Fred Duncklebarger located east of Norton in 1815 and other settlers of the same period were Elisha Bishop, Adin Winsor, Joseph Bishop, Isaac Stratton, Henry Coldren, Elisha Williams, George Jeffries, Thomas Rogers and L. H. Hall.  Joseph Gillett, a Revolutionary soldier, settled just west of Norton in 1818, and was followed in 1819 by his brother James.
     In 1811, Nathaniel Wyatt, Sr., erected the first brick building in the township from brick made on his place.  It was a two-story structure, 20 by 36 feet in dimensions, and became famed throughout the State as Wyatt's Tavern, the first conducted in the township.  It was situated on the old State Road, and formed a part of the celebrated Fort Morrow, now in Waldo Township, Marion County.  This fort consisted of two block houses, one built by the settlers of round logs and the other by the Government, of hewed logs.  The latter bore the painted inscription, "Fort Morrow.  Built by Captain Taylor."  The upper story of these block houses projected out about four feet all around over a basement six feet high.  Where the second story projected over the basement, there were port holes in the floor, enabling the defenders to better guard against a close attack.  The tavern lay between the two block houses.  It was from this fort, Captain Drake and his company of soldiers went forth to the relief of Fort Meigs.
     The first white child born in Marlborough Township was William Brundige, son of Nathaniel, born December 3, 1808, and the first burial was that of Ruth Wyatt.  John Brundige, son of Elder William, was married in 1811, to Phoebe Drake, a daughter of Captain Drake, and this proved to be the first marriage.  The first minister was Elder William Brundige, and the first school master, Robert Louther.  A man named Case brought a stock of goods to Norton and remained until he closed them out, thus being the first store keeper, but it was several years later before a regular store building was built.  The first road was the old Military Road, running along the west bank of the Olentangy River and passing through the town of Norton.  This road was abandoned when the Columbus and Sandusky Pike was constructed, the latter running a little west of the old road.  The first mill in operation was the saw mill, built as early as 1820 by Robert Campbell of Philadelphia, on the Whetstone River, in the southeast part of a township.  Just north of this mill, a woolen mill was built in 1846 by J. W. Cone and operated successfully for a number of years, then was converted into a grist mill by Mr. Kline.
     The village of Norton was laid out by Colonel Kilbourn and the plat filed in 1806 or 1807 and is situated just south of the boundary line between Marion and Delaware Counties.  The old Military Road passed directly through he town, forming the main street, and at present time the Marion Pike cuts diagonally through.  The first building erected was the cabin of William Reed, the pioneer settler of the village.  Thomas Jefferies was the first postmaster of Norton, as well as of the township.  The first schoohouse of the township was located in Norton and was a log structure of the most primitive type.
     The old Baptist Church of Troy Township was the first organized in Marlborough Township, and of the Elder William Brundige was pastor.  The first church organized within the present limits of the township was the Lutheran Church, on the east side of the Olentangy and a mile east of Norton.  The congregation first held services in the log school in that vicinity at a very early date, and Henry Cline was the first preacher.  In 1852, a revolt in the church led to the organization of a new congregation formed partly from the old church, the new church being the German Reformed.  The Lutherans immediately erected a new church, and in a spirit of rivalry the new congregation built an edifice adjoining, in 1855.  Both churches use the old cemetery, which stands in the same lot as do the church edifices.   Rev. J. G. Ruhl was first pastor of the German Reformed Church.  The Baptist Church of Norton is an offshoot of the old Marlborough Baptist Church of Troy, and in 1859 the building it now occupies was built at a cost of $1,200.  It was dedicated in 1860, by James Harvey, its first pastor.  The Methodist Episcopal Church at Norton was built in 1855, although for a few years previous to that time the congregation had existed, services being held in school rooms and houses, led by Rev. Plumer.  The church cost $1,200 in its construction and was dedicated by Rev. Pilcher.  The Wyatt Cemetery is the historic burying ground of This section of the State, and for more than forty years was part of Marlborough Township.  It is now just across the line in Marion County.  The earliest settlers of the community, including the Wyatts, Brundiges and Drakes found there a final resting place, and it is a fact worthy of mention that the defenders of the United States, in all the wars in which this country has engaged have representation in this little cemetery.
     The officials of Marlborough Township for 1908 are as follows:  J. F. Camp, justice of the peace; S. H. Cleveland, W. I. Sutton, and Henry Ashbrook, trustees; Charles Sutton, clerk; S. J. Downing, treasurer; Frank Stratton, assessor; Jacob Freese, constable.

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