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CAESAR'S CREEK TOWNSHIP
CAESAR'S CREEK TOWNSHIP, one of the four into
which the county was divided in 1803, originally included all
the southeastern section of the county but has been
successively reduced to its present limits by the formation of
other townships. Paintersville, the only town, was laid out in
September, 1837, for the proprietor, Jesse Painter. It is ten
miles southeast of Xenia. It has a Methodist Protestant
church, a school, two stores, barber, wagon, and blacksmith
shops, restaurant, and saw mill. Societies are represented by
the Knights of Pythias and the Junior Order, each with its
auxiliary of ladies (the Pythian Sisters and the Daughters of
America respectively). Population, about 125.
CEDARVILLE
TOWNSHIP was organized in 1850 from portions
of Xenia, Miami, and Ross, to which fact its singular outline
is due. The natural antipathy to new things led to a protest
on the part of the inhabitants of the older townships, which
however was of no avail. It lies entirely within the Virginia
Military District, and incidentally the Cedarville School
District treasury is benefited annually to the extent of about
fifty dollars from the Federal Government—a relic of the
famous Revolutionary War grant.
The area of the township is 23,000 acres. The soil is
very fertile, and underlaid with limestone, which is the basis
of one of the chief industries. The chief stream is Massie's
Creek, named after a noted Indian fighter. In its efforts to
reach the Little Miami it has cut its' way through the rock,
forming cliffs forty feet deep and a mile long, one of the
most picturesque scenes in America. Along its course are a
fort of the prehistoric races and a mound which occupies a
prominent place in the landscape. (See the article by Prof.
W. K. Moorehead).
The first settlers were John and Thomas Townsley, who
came here from Kentucky in 1801. They were soon seen forced by
a colony of Scotch Covenanters from the Chester District of
South Carolina, who left there because of their antipathy to
slavery. These immigrants were a great reenforcement to the
struggling congregation of Reformed Presbyterians, or
Covenanters, which had been established in 1804. In spite of a
division in 1833 into "Old" and "New Lights," these
congregations have vitally determined the religious life of
the township.
The village of
CEDARVILLE
was laid off by
Jesse Newport
in 1816, long before the township was formed. It has been
variously known as Newport's Mill, Hanna's Store, the "Burgh,"
and Milford. To avoid confusion of post offices and perpetuate
the memory of the cedars, the present name was adopted in
1834. The population, which was 1189 in 1900, is now about
1300. It is on the P., C, C. and St. L. Railroad.
The interests of town and township are closely allied
in all matters, religious, civil, and industrial. There are
six churches in the village: the Reformed Presbyterian, New
School, founded 1804; Reformed Presbyterian, Old School,
founded 1833; United Presbyterian, founded 1830; Methodist
Episcopal, founded 1804; Colored Baptist, founded 1830; and
the A. M. E. church. Cedarville College is described
elsewhere.
The first school house in the township was erected in
1806; the first in the village was started in 1B23. There are
now eight school houses in the township, and the village has a
high school.
The first newspaper, the "Enterprise," was founded in
1876. It was succeeded by the
"Herald," which still flourishes. In 1902 was founded the
"Record." Among prominent buildings may be
mentioned the township hall, built in 1888, and the public
Library, representing a donation of $11,000 to Cedarville
College by Andrew Carnegie.
Aside from the cereal products, the farmers of
Cedarville Township take pride in their fine breeds of cattle,
sheep and hogs.
Among the industries of the village are the elevators
of D. S. Ervin and Kerr & Hastings Bros., the Ervin lime
kilns, the Tarbox Lumber Co., and the Hagar Strawboard and
Paper Co. The latter employs over sixty hands, makes a carload
of paper a day, and hunts for straw as far as Kentucky.
But the greatest product of Cedarville Township is its
citizens. Pioneers are always the soul of enterprise, else
they would not become pioneers. Coming from the older
settlements of the East, and reenforced by the Scotch
Covenanters, they put forth a civilizing energy which has not
yet spent itself, but has been carried to greater heights by
their descendants. Most prominent is the Hon. Whitelaw Reid,
Ambassador to the Court of St. James, and for a third of a
century editor of the New York Tribune. Without the honors
which the world has bestowed, he would still be highly
deserving as a model son, especially in the care he bestowed
upon his widowed mother during her last years. As a mark of
affection he keeps the old homestead in a condition that makes
it a place of interest to visitors from far and near. Many
other sons of the township have been prominent in civil life,
among them being U. S. Senator James H. Kyle, Judge Samuel
Kyle, and Gen. Robert Jackson.
Cedarville was well represented in the War of 1812 and
the Mexican War, and in the Civil War she was the banner
township of the banner county of the banner state, in the
number of soldiers sent out.
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