HENRY COUNTY
Charles E. Reynolds, Napoleon

     Traversed as it is by the historic Maumee River, Henry County has an important place in the history of Northwestern Ohio.  The Indians were familiar with its territory, and their moccasined feet threaded its wooded forests, while their bark canoes sailed over its waters.  The French traders and trappers were probably the first white men who visited Henry County, and the hunters settled themselves along its banks for temporary periods while they were searching for the game which furnished them a livelihood.  These men did nothing to subdue nature.  The rifle and the dog were generally their only companions; the hunt and the trap were their only means of support.  Finally came the man with the ax, and in his footsteps followed the saw-mill.  The monster oaks were now felled and rafted to Montreal and Quebec, and then across the Atlantic, where they were converted into vessels to ply the storming seas.
     No great battles occurred within Henry County in the conquest of this land from the red men, but the American armed forces passed through it many times on their way to and fro between Fort Defiance and the lower rapids of the Miami of the Lake.  They established their bivouacs along or near the river, while their scouts made their way ahead of the troops searching for signs of the enemy, in order to prevent an ambuscade which might prove disastrous to the array.  A part of Henry County was the last of the hunting grounds of the Indians in this section.  The reservation of the Ottawa Indians included a part of this county, and they remained there until finally removed to their western homes. There were three chiefs of this tribe in the latter days, who were named Oxinoxiea, Wauseon, and Myo, and they ranked in the order named.  Myo was a small but exceedingly wise and very cunning Indian.  He died on the Maumee, and his skull was preserved for many years by Dr. L. L. Patrick, one of the pioneer physicians who had the courage to combat malaria and the "shakes" along the Maumee.    
     The settlement of Henry County was a little later than the region immediately surrounding Fort Miami. In the year 1830, when the first inventory of the inhabitants was made, the census takers were able to find only 260 persons, young and old, in the county as it was then constituted, which was much larger in area than it is at the present time.  From these facts it is probably fair to presume that a decade prior there was not to exceed a dozen families in the county, and probably not more than fifty or sixty white inhabitants.
     One of the earliest, if not the earliest, settlements within what is now Henry County was located at or near Damascus, and a few miles below Napoleon.  Their resided here in the earliest days of which we have a record of white settlers, John Patrick, farmer and Indian trader; "Sammy" and David Bowers, who were traders and farmers; Elisha Scribner, Charles Bucklin and his father, Squire Bucklin, Richard Gunn, Carver Gunn, and Osman Gunn, all of them farmers; Judge Cory, 

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who was the oldest farmer in the village, and Samuel Vance, brother of Governor Vance, who occupied himself as an Indian fur trader in addition to farming.  Others settling there were David DeLong and his sons, Jefferson and Nicholas.  These men, together with their families, made up what was for those days quite a settlement.  The origin of the name is somewhat obscure, but it is believed to be a corruption of the name Prairie du Masque, a name given it by some early French adventurers.

     Of the early settlers who came a little bit later than those just named,  Hazael Strong was one of the most prominent.  He came from Vermont, in the year 1833, and served as the first auditor of the county, having been appointed to that position by the associate judges at the time the county was organized.  He held the office until his successor was elected at the first general election.  Mr. Strong also filled the office of county recorder, county surveyor, and clerk of the court, a position which he held for fourteen years.  When Jared and Susanna Scofield reached what is now Henry County, after a laborious overland journey through the Black Swamp from Lower Sandusky, wild game was still plentiful.  There were fourteen in the emigrant train of two families.  For some time they were obliged to camp in regular Indian style.  They erected cabins near Girty 's Island.  Mr. Scofield was elected a trustee at the first township election in Flat Rock Township.  Samuel Vance erected a double log house on the banks of the Maumee, somewhere in the '20s, and suspended a sign in front of it announcing "accommodation for man and beast."  The cellar of this primitive hostelry still remains near the Town of Damascus.
     John Shasteen came with his parents in 1826, while the footprints of the savages were still fresh in the sands.  He became a man of great influence in the community during a long and useful life.  John Powell permanently located in the county in the year 1835.  When Mr. Powell settled in the county, Napoleon consisted of only a log house, which was owned by a man of the name of Andrews.  Several log houses were added to the place during the summer in which he arrived.  He held many political positions, among which were township clerk, county auditor, justice of the peace, and associate judge, a position

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which he filled for one term.  Mr. Powell was elected to the office of county commissioner for three terms.  He first began business in Napoleon as a shoemaker, but later drifted into merchandise, and from that to the position of landlord of a tavern.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION

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the following action on the 7th of March, 1848:  Whereas, the subject of erecting public buildings for the county of Henry is being agitated in different parts of the county at this time; and whereas, a majority of the people of the county are opposed to the erection of such buildings, or any contract for the same, until the subject of the removal of the  one building, which was a plain structure, two stories high, and built for convenience and practical utility rather than ornamentation.
     The room for the incarceration of criminals was on the lower portion, which was protected on the sides by heavy stone walls.  Another building was constructed for the county officials.  This courthouse was in turn destroyed by fire in 1879.  Then it was that

Built in 1850, destroyed by fire in 1879. (Compliments of J. B. Hudson, Napoleon, O.)

county seat shall have been fairly and fully canvassed by the people at the next annual election, and their wishes acted upon by the Legislature at its next session; therefore,
     "Resolved, that the subject of erecting, contracting for or constructing public buildings for Henry county, be postponed- until after the rising of the next General Assembly."
     The matter was finally settled, however, in 1849.  Two town lots were donated by the proprietors of the town and were added to the grounds formerly owned, and new buildings were erected.  In due course of time a jail and temple of justice were combined in the present courthouse, which is the pride of Napoleon, was constructed for county use in 1880-2.  It stands on a slight elevation, which makes the building visible for many miles over the level surrounding country.  It is built of brick, with Berea sandstone trimmings.  A square tower, surmounted by a figure of justice, rises to a height of 150 feet above the ground.  A separate building was also erected to serve as a jail and a residence for the sheriff.
     "In the year 1852, those holding office under the county government were as follows:  Probate judge, Harvey Allen; clerk of the

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NAPOLEON

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OTHER VILLAGES.

     The Village of Deshler was named in recognition of John H. Deshler, who was a large land owner in the neighborhood.  It was laid out and platted by Frederick H. Short for himself and as a trustee for a syndicate.  The plat was recorded Aug. 23, 1873, and consisted of 200 lots, with two public squares. Several additions have since been added.  The village was incorporated in 1876, the year of the Centennial, and has become a live business center.  There are several churches and societies and splendid schools.  The Deshler Flag, a weekly journal, established in 1876 by J. M. Lockhart, is published in the village.
     Liberty Center is also a flourishing village in Henry County.  It was the second village in the county to become incorporated.  It was in 1863 that Alpheas Buchanan first conceived the idea of establishing a trading point where Liberty Center is now located.  He recorded a small plat on the 4th of June, 1863, to which several additions have been made, by Calvin C. Young, E. T. Coon, G. P. Parish, Ward Woodward, Orle Buchanan, and Daniel Ehrgood.  It has now become a flourishing village with several churches, many business houses, and some small manufacturers.  The Liberty Press, a weekly newspaper, is published in the village.  It was established in 1881 by Rev. J. L. Bushbridge.  It is the home of four good church congregations, and prides itself on its graded schools, which are unusually efficient for a village of its size.

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     McClure is situated in what is left of Damascus Township, which originally included the entire county.  It was platted by John MeClure in 1880.  This original plat contained but twenty-eight lots, but several additions have been made.  The village was incorporated in 1886.  The first substantial building was erected in 1880 by Thomas W. Darbin for the purpose of carrying on a merchandising business.  In the same year Andrew Johnson erected a commodious hotel.  The McClure Trio was founded by J. A. Randolph.  Florida is one of the oldest and possibly the oldest village in the county.  Adam Stout, Lyman Back, and Jared McCarty were the first merchants in the place.  In the palmy days of the canal, Florida did a flourishing business, but the railroads took away its prestige, for they went a few miles on either side.  Napoleon, on one side, and Defiance on the other, then absorbed most of the business.  It has a very pleasant location along the Maumee.  Dr. John L. Watson and Dr. George W. Patterson were pioneer physicians who located, here.  The first postoffice was established in 1842, and Dr. George W. Patterson was appointed as postmaster.  He was succeeded by Lyman Back.
     Holgate arose when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was constructed through the county. Andrew J. Weaver began business there in 1873, and platted the village the same year that the first trains were run.  Newton S. Cole opened a store there with a large stock of goods in the following year.  The Holgate Times is a weekly newspaper published here.  It was established in 1881 by William Johnson.  Texas is an old village that has greatly dwindled in importance.  It was founded in 1849 by James Durbin.  It was at one time an important trading post, and a formidable rival of Napoleon for the county seat.  Hamler was named in honor of John Hamler.  It was platted in 1875 by Hon. William D. Hill, of Defiance.  It has become a flourishing village.  Maliuta, Colton, Ridgwell, Corners, Elery, Gratton, New Bavaria, Pleasant Bend, and Okalona are other small villages in the county.