RICHES OF THE SOIL AND UNDERGROUND.

     The soil is equally favorable for grazing, grain raising and fruit culture, which industries, of late years, have been more developed than the exploitation of the coal and iron fields, which, after all has been said and done, are acknowledged to be the frayed borders - thin and of inferior quality - of the rich and massive deposits over the Ohio in West Virginia.
     Geologically speaking, the coal and iron fields of Vinton County underlie nearly three-fourths of its 402 square miles.  From the summit coming down into the valley of Raccoon Creek you strike the iron and coal ledges that fill the hills, and before you leave the crest of the hill, many feet downward, not only are the iron ore outcroppings pronounced, but various beds of commercial clay are encountered.  These fire and potter's clays seem to grow richer further south, and, with Portland cement, are being worked into manufactured products, especially in the region of Hamden.
     The valley of Raccoon Creek leads to McArthur, growing wider as it nears the town; the coal field is reached within five miles of the county seat, the most valuable variety being known as Jackson coal.  Scientifically and officially, a report of the minerals found in various townships of Vinton County has been made as follows:
     "This county is rich in iron ore and coal.  The better ore, as a general thing, is the so-called 'limestone ore,' or the ore resting on the ferriferous limestone.  This remarkable limestone is found in five townships, viz:  Madison, Elk, Clinton, Vinton and Wilkesville.  The northern limit of the limestone by burr or flint.  The northern limit is found in Madison and Elk Townships.  At one point in Brown Township, a little limestone was found, which further investigation may prove to be the geological equivalent of the ferriferous limestone.  If so, it is only a local deposit.  It is a fact of no little interest that this limestone never reappears in our lower coal measures in the northern part of the Second District.  There is a limestone in the First District called the 'gray limestone,' which may, perhaps, hereafter be found to correspond proximately in stratigraphical position to the ferriferous limestone.
     "North of Elk and Madison townships we find the Nelsonville coal, but in other important particulars the strata in the northern part of Vinton County do not correspond with those of the southern part.  This dissimilarity has been formerly notice by our intelligent furnace men, who in their explorations between the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad and the Hocking River, report themselves as 'lost' in their geological calculations.
     "There is, doubtless, much good ore of the block and kidney varieties north and west of the limits of the 'limestone ore," but as there have been no furnaces to create a market,  comparatively little exploration has been made.  The limestone ore in Elk and the more southern townships is often very thick and of very fine quality.  The Craig ore, already described, is also a very excellent ore, and is very rich in iron.  There is ore enough in the county to supply many furnaces for a long time to come.
    "The best coal found as yet is the 'Wolfe Coal,' in Elk township.  I  have no doubt that this coal is in its raw state will make iron.  The seam lies quite low in the valley, and for the most part is below the bed of the stream, but it may perhaps, be found over a considerable area by sinking shafts.  The county is generally well developed, but it is mostly too earthy to make it a valuable material for quicklime.  In the neighborhood of McArthur it is hard and susceptible for a good polish, but will not compete with marble for ornamental purposes."

THE GODFATHER OF VINTON COUNTY.

     Vinton County was named in honor of  Samuel Finley Vinton, one of Ohio's most eminent statesmen of a past generation, of whom it is said in "Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio":  "Mr. Vinton was a direct descendant of John Vinton, of Lynn, Massachusetts, whose name occurs in the County Records of 1648.  The tradition is that the founder of the family in this country was of French origin by the name of De Vintonne, and that he was exiled from France on account of being a Huguenot.  Mr. Vinton was born in the state of Massachusetts, September 25, 1792, graduated from Williams College in 1814, and soon after 1816 established himself in the law at Gallipolis.  In 1822 he was, unexpectedly to himself, nominated and then elected to Congress, an office to which he continued to be elected by constantly increasing majorities for fourteen years, when he voluntarily withdrew for six years to be again sent to Congress for another six years, when he declined further congressional service, thus serving in all twenty years.
     "Mr. Vinton originated and carried through the house many measures of very great importance to the country.  During the period of war with Mexico he was chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and at this particular juncture his financial talent was of very great service to the nation.  During the entire course of his public life he had ably opposed various schemes for the sale of the public lands that he felt, if carried out, would be squandering the nation's patrimony.  He originated and carried through the house, against much opposition, the law which created the Department of the Interior.  Hon. Thomas Ewing wrote of him: "Though for ten or fifteen years he had more influence in the House of Representatives, much more than any an in it, yet the nation has never fully accorded to him his merits.  He was a wise, persevering, sagacious statesman; almost unerring in his perceptions of the right, bold in pursuing and skilful in sustaining it.  He always held a large control over the minds of the men with whom he acted."
     "In 1851 Mr. Vinton was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for governor of Ohio.  In 1853 he was for a short time president of the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, and then, after 1854, continuously resided in Washington City until his death May 11, 1862.  There he occasionally argued cases before the Supreme Court, and with remarkable success, from his habits of patient investigation and clear analysis.  He exhausted every subject he discussed and presented his thoughts without rhetorical flourish, but with wonderful lucidity.  His use of the English language was masterful and he delighted in wielding words of Saxon strength.  In accordance with his dying request he was buried in the cemetery at Gallipolis beside the remains of his wife, Romaine Madeleine Bureau, the daughter of one of the most respected French immigrants.  His only surviving child was Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren.
     "Mr. Vinton, was of slight frame, but of great dignity of presence.  His mild and clear blue eye was very penetrating, and his thin compressed lips evinced determination of character.  His manner was composed and calm, but very suave and gentle, scarcely indicating the great firmness that distinguished him."

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

     As stated, Vinton County was created from various portions of Athens, Hocking, Jackson, Ross and Gallia counties, in 1850.  At the time of its civil organization it was divided into eleven instead of thirteen townships, as South Brown, and North Brown embraced the present area of Brown, Madison and Knox.  But within two years the townships of Vinton County assumed their present names and forms.
     In the organization the two townships named Brown, inherited from Hocking and Athens counties, were called respectively North and South Brown.  The latter had one-third of Lee Township, Athens County, also attached to it, which made its dimensions eight miles east and west, by six miles north and south.  In December, 1850 the citizens of east half of the township petitioned for the organization of a new township to be called Knox, which was granted, thereby leaving South Brown with the other half, an area of four miles by six.  In the spring of 1852 South Brown petitioned the county commissioners for a change of name from South Brown to Madison, which was granted.  North Brown, which had been attached to Hocking County as plain Brown, from 1818 to 1850, then resumed its old, simple name by which it has since been known.
     As now constituted, Vinton County has five townships having less than a congressional township and one (Richland) that has more.  Madison and Knox have each two thirds of a congressional township; Clinton, five sixths; Eagle is minus four sections, and Harrison two, while Richland has six sections plus.

DIMENSIONS AND IRREGULAR SHAPE.

     Vinton County has eleven miles of western border and twenty-four miles of eastern boundary.  In her widest part, from east to west, she has twenty-six miles, while her greatest length, from north to south, is the twenty-four miles mentioned.  As rather pathetically noted by a local historian, "She is not a beauty in form; in fact, her shape cannot very well be described."  With her officially prescribed area of 402 square miles, she should have 257,280 acres within her domain; but for some reason the assessors always make her out to be larger than she is, arithmetically.  According to their 1914 figures Vinton County has an area of 259,092 acres.

POPULATION IN 1850.

     When Vinton County was organized the following townships, already organized in their respective counties were united to form the new political body: Elk, Vinton and Brown, from Athens County; Jackson, Swan and Brown, from Hocking County; Richland and Clinton, from Jackson County; Harrison and Eagle, from Ross County, and Wilkesville, from Gallia County.
     The population of these townships in 1850 was :Elk, 1,645; Brown, of Athens, 648; Vinton, 460; Jackson, 835; Swan, 1,139; Brown, of Hocking, 439; Harrison, 580; Eagle, 476; Richland, 1,193; Clinton, 886; Wilkesville, 1,037.  Total, 9,338.  Of this total each of the counties contributed as follows:  Athens, 2,753; Hocking, 2,413; Jackson, 2,079; Ross, 1,056; Gallia, 1,037.

POPULATION IN 1860, 1870 AND 1880.

POPULATION IN 1890, 1900 AND 1910

     The early '80s may be called the high-tide period of Vinton County's industrial and commercial activity.  The Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Railroad had reached its territory and large quantities of coal and iron ore were shipped to the furnaces both within her limits and those of Jackson and Scioto Counties.  Since then it has suffered periods of depression occasioned by the gradual abandonment of the iron industries in the Hanging Rock Iron Region, the past twenty years or more being a period of readjustment and the development of agricultural projects and other lines of manufacture than those based on iron.  Although the population has continued to decline, it is evident from the assessor's figures, published in 1882 and 1914, that the valuation of land holdings has not materially declined:

REAL ESTATE VALUATION IN 1882.

VALUATION OF LANDS AND IMPROVEMENTS, 1914.

     The statistics covering the real estate holdings, with improvements, in 1914, are as follows:

     The 2,892 acres of coal lands within the county are valued at $13,860.

PERSONAL PROPERTY AND TOTAL VALUATION, 1914.

     The foregoing table is presented that the reader may readily compare the figures taken more than thirty years apart.  Following is the showing of Vinton County in the item of personal property, with the totals covering both real and personal:

FIRST POLITICAL MOVEMENT.

     Soon after the organization of the county the commissioners called an election for county officers.  As the then County of Vinton was composed of no less than parts of five counties it was hard to form an idea of the political complexion of the county.  The whigs and democrats at once began to move for party lines, and there was also an independent movement which proposed a joint convention of whigs and democrats, each taking half of the ticket.  This latter was managed by a few shrewd men, who were good wire pullers, and they got their names on the ticket.  This, however, is a little ahead; a meeting was called, a convention unanimously agreed upon and the call was made for a convention to meet a form a union ticket.

THE FIRST COUNTY CONVENTION.

     This meeting was held on the 6th of April, 1850, at McArthur, for the purpose of nominating candidates to fill the various offices of the new County of Vinton.  The convention was composed of a democrat and a whig from each township in the county, except Clinton and Eagle.  The proceedings manifested the utmost unanimity of feeling, and there was an evident desire to avoid party feeling, and to allay anything like local or sectional prejudices; and it was evident that not a single delegate left the meeting dissatisfied with the proceedings, or with any other feeling than that of perfect satisfaction at the results.  The ticket nominated was emphatically a Union one, being composed of five democrats and five whigs, selected by a convention of both parties, in which nine of the eleven townships were fairly represented.  The democrats were given the first choice of officers.  They chose D. Richmond, for treasurer, whereupon he was nominated by acclamation.  The whigs then selected  Thomas Davis for auditor, who was also nominated by acclamation.  It was then agreed to give the democratic delegates the choice of sheriff, two commissioners and recorder, whereupon they selected the following candidates: For commissioners, Almond Soule and Patrick Murdock; sheriff W. Brady; recorder, Joel A. Walden.  To the whig delegates was given the choice of candidates for commissioner, surveyor, coroner and prosecuting attorney, whereupon they selected as follows:  Commissioner, A. Curry; surveyor, W. M. Bolles; coroner, A. L. Beard; prosecuting attorney, John A. Browne.  The meeting then confirmed all nominations unanimously.
     There was later a ticket nominated which was known as the county ticket, and the candidates were: Commissioners, A. Soule, Jr., L. S. Payne, Andrew Curry; for treasurer, Henry Payne; for auditor, Joseph Magee; for sheriff, Francis Shades; for recorder, James Malone; for surveyor, William St. Clair; for prosecuting attorney, Thomas Selby; for coroner, T. S. Rice.  The latter ticket was elected excepting prosecuting attorney, coroner and surveyor, Browne, Beard and Bolles, union ticket and whigs being elected.  Andrew Curry, commissioner, was on both tickets.
     The result of the election ended the union tickets and since then whigs and democrats, adn republicans and democrats have clung to their party and stood by its principles.  The election took place Apr. 15, 1850, being the first election held in the county.  The officers, however, only served until the regular election in October of the same year.

THE FIRST WILL.

     The first will recorded in Vinton County after its organization was that of Benjamin Stevens, and reads as follows:  "In the name of the Benevolent Father of all, I, Benjamin Stevens, of the county of Vinton and the State of Ohio, do make and publish this my last will and testament.
     "I then first give and devise to my beloved wife, Lydia, the farm on which we now reside, situated in Elk Township, Vinton Co., Ohio, containing about 120 acres, during her natural life, and all the stock, household goods, furniture, provisions and other goods and chattels which may be thereon at the time of my decease, during her natural life as aforesaid, she, however, selling so much thereof as may be sufficient to pay my just debts.  At the death of my said wife, the real estate aforesaid, and such part of the personal property or the proceeds thereof as may there remain unconsumed and unexpended, I give and devise to my three children, viz:  Robert Stevens, Lavilla Stevens and Priscilla Stevens, each to share and share alike.  I do hereby revoke all former wills by me made.  In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 15th day of June, in the year 1850."

BUILDING OF THE COURTHOUSE.

     It was six years before the county commissioners of Vinton were ready to throw open the courthouse (which is still in use) to the officials and the public.  The matter of the erection of a county jail came up about a year after organization, and that project gradually developed into a courthouse.
     To be more particular, Commissioners Paine and Curry met on May 14, 1851, and ordered the following published in the Vinton County Republican, which paper had been moved from Logan to McArthur at the time of the county's organization:
     "Notice to Contractors. - Sealed proposals will be received by the commissioners of Vinton County, at the auditor's office in McArthur, until the 12th day of June, A. D. 1851, for building a brick jail and jailer's dwelling in the town of McArthur.  The building will be let to the lowest and best bidder, who will be required to give sufficient security to said commissioners for the performance of the work.  Plans, specifications and terms of said building can be seen at teh auditor's office.  The commissioners will be in session at the auditor's office on said 12th day of June to enter into contract with the person or persons who may be deemed the lowest and best bidders for building the jail."
     On Wednesday, May 22, the commissioners purchased of S. H Brown forty-two feet off the east side of lot No. 67 for the purpose of locating thereon the jail and jailer's dwelling for Vinton County, paying therefore $150.  The sale was only consummated June 2, the county purchasing an additional strip two feet wide and ten rods long of lot No. 67 for $20, making $170 paid for the whole site.
     The bids received were: F. A. McLain, $3,999; John Lod, $3,500; Farr & Yager, $4,500; L. S. Bort, $3,899; Sisson & Hulbert, $3,590; Westfall & Backus, $3,775; Henry Reynolds, $3,999; Richard & Archer, $3,474; Albert Lake, $4498; Robbins & Dill, $4,000.
     Mr. Lake finally declining to make the contract the work was awarded Richmond & Archer a their bid, and the latter executed bonds in accordance with the contract, and went to work, the commissioners allowing them an advance payment of $740.  In lots Nos. 63 and 64, which had been donated to the town by the original proprietors for courthouse purposes, were accepted by the commissioners at a special meeting Jan. 27, 1852.  It wa intended for courthouse, jail and market house, and the former site of the jail was therefore changed and a new contract entered into with Evans Archer.
     While the courthouse was building the commissioners and other county officials met "here, there and everywhere;" the Methodist Church was rented during a portion of that period for a court room, as was befitting judicial dignity.  In December, 1856, the regular home with justice was completed - a two story and basement brick structure, with tile floorings and a square tower surmounted by a cupola.  At that time it was considered really substantial.  The sheriff and prosecuting attorney were assigned the southeast room, now forming part of the auditor's office,  and the other officials are using substantially the quarters then assigned them.  The court room, then as now, was in the second story.

THE VINTON COUNTY SAFE NOT ROBBER-PROOF.

     Nothing has ever created more excitement in the official circles of Vinton County than the blowing open of the county safe, in 1866, and the temporary escape of the supposed robbers.  The safe had been purchased several years before for $1,000 and was considered virtually burglar and robber-proof.
     But the Vinton County Record (the old Republican) published the following in its issue of February 15, 166, which went to show how misplaced was such confidence:

"$1,000 REWARD - VINTON COUNTY TREASURY ROBBED.

     "Between three and half-past three o'clock Sunday morning, Feb. 11, 1866, the county safe was blown open.  The burglars had opened two outer doors of the room by means (as is supposed) of false keys.  The two outer doors of the safe are large and heavy, and were blown off with a tremendous force, tearing off the hinges and throwing the doors across the room, mashing the counter and sinking the corner of one door in the west wall of the building.  The front part of the safe was torn to pieces, the partition wall between the Clerk's and Treasurer's office was a perfect wreck, and the papers on file of the Clerk, in cases against this wall, were mixed up with brick and mortar in admirable confusion.  The damage done to the court-house and safe is probably over $1,500.  The robbers were disappointed in not getting into the burglar-proof safe, and only got some loose change, amounting to about $200, belonging to the county, and we understand about $600 belonging to individual depositors.  It has hardly paid for engineering, and we think little Vinton came off first best in this raid.  The above reward will be given for the apprehension and conviction of the burglars.
     "It was pretty well understood who committed the burglary.  There had been three men hanging about the town, and particularly about the courthouse, and had become very intimate with the County Treasurer, David Foreman.  He had been warned that these men meant no good, but he was completely blinded.  The chief of the gang was a man named Maley Thompson, and he was always lying around the Treasurer's office.  They succeeded in blowing open the safe and securing in all, from $1,000 to $1,200, but the main booty they were after was in the burglar proof department inside of the safe.  In the blowing off of the big doors, one was thrown against the side of the room with such force as to break down a partition and fill the room with plaster and papers, and the other imbedded one end of itself in the wall and the other end cut a hole in the floor, and was found standing or leaning against the wall of the room.  There is no doubt but the noise frightened the thieves, and, with the crash of falling partition, gave them the belief that the whole town had been aroused.  They hastily gathered what they could find and decamped, not daring to stay to blow up, if they could, the other, or burglar proof department.  There were cash and United States bonds in the latter place amounting to over $40,000.  This they entirely missed.  There had been a previous attempt to steal the key of the safe from the Treasurer, and by getting the outside door open be prepared to tackle the burglar proof vaults.  One of the men had secreted himself under the Treasurer's bed.   Mr. Foreman, after he had retired one night, felt confident he heard the steady breathing of a person in his room.  He got up, dressed, lit a lamp, and sure enough there was under the bed one of these men.  He pretended to be drunk and said he had crawled in to sleep his drunk off, and was too far under the influence to know what he had done, and got under the bed instead of on top of it.  He pretended to stagger, but said he was ll right, and Foreman let him out, and then retired to bed.  He had believed the fellow and thought nothing further of the incident until the safe was burglarized.  It was then plain enough to him what the man was there for.  The men's names were Maley Thompson, the leader, a man by the name of Mills, and one other from Cincinnati.  Thompson and Mills were arrested, but nothing could be proved against the latter.  They were in jail some time three or four months, when Thompson broke jail before his trial came off and was never afterward caught.   Mills was released, nothing being proved against him, as above stated.  The leader, Thompson, while not admitting his guilt while confined, said enough to give parties to understand he did it.  He said while in jail they would never bring him to trial, and he did make his escape.  The man from Cincinnati was bailed out, and that was all that was heard of him.

THE COUNTY INFIRMARY.

     The site of the county infirmary, a mile north of McArthur, was formerly the Ullam farm of 322 acres.  The selection was made as the result of an election in October, 1871, open to the voters of Vinton County and which resulted in a majority of 1,034 in favor of the proposition out of a total vote of 2,200. 
     Vinton County had on its organization but one pauper that demanded aid.  This was Elizabeth Chapman, of Jackson Township, for whom the county commissioners made provision for support at the first session in April, 1850.  It was some years before  the necessity of a county infirmary was demanded, only from two or three to five being the largest number of paupers cared for in any one year for the first decade of the county's existence.  While the poor had been taken care of in their respective townships, and the bills or expense paid by the county, some few it was found necessary to keep at a public institution.  Robert Burnes and Jonas Robbins were kept at the Athens County Infirmary at the contract price of $5 per week for clothes and board from June, 1859.  It was not until 1863 that a poor tax was levied for the support of paupers in the county and for a fund to invest in a poor farm.  The levy was 10 cents on the dollar, valuation of real and personal property, and the same levy was made in 1864.  In 1865 the commissioners decided to purchase a farm, and contracted for land the David Pinney and Elias P. Davis, the former to receive $4,200 and the latter $3,800, of which $2,700 to the former and $2,300 t the latter was to be cash.  The Pinney contract was annulled and Davis held good, the farm being transferred to the county.  This, however, proved far from satisfactory.  The farm did not suit, and an invitation to make bids for erecting infirmary buildings was not even responded to by a single bidder.  This put the matter in a serious light, for without buildings the farm was not wanted, and as it stood, the people refusing to endorse it, the property was sold by the county to Elisha Whitlatch for $3,500, $1,000 cash and the balance in equal annual installments, one and two years, at 6 per cent interest on the deferred payments.  This was a loss of $300 on the original purchase.
     Then came the popular action in the fall of 1871, the purchase of the Ullum farm for $11,914, and the advertising of bids for the erection of an infirmary building on that site.  O. W. Gilman was awarded the contract, the six bids ranging from $9,945 to $25,000, the highest figures being put in by C. W. Holland.  The infirmary was a two story brick building, L-shaped, with a frontage of ninety feet, and cost the county, furnished, over sixteen thousand dollars.  An addition for the insane was added about ten years later, and other improvements have been made to the original building and farm.

SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY

     The schools in Vinton County came early and have been always with us, ever faithful to the cause of popular education, as will be seen by the numerous school items scattered through the entire history.  There are well-organized high schools of the first grade at McArthur and Hamden and Wilkesville, and one at Zaleski, of the third grade.  C. H. Copeland, the county superintendent of schools, is an able and efficient school man.  He superintended the schools in Hamden for thirteen consecutive years.  He is assisted by he following district superintendents: T. M. Buskirk, W. H. Webb, E. C. Frampton and A. B. Johnson.  The enumeration of pupils in the county is 3,900.  One hundred and twenty-five teachers are required.  The county board of education consists of the following members: A. A. Boal M.D., John Warren, W. O. Tripp, D. D. Dye and D. H. Pierce.  It is worthy of record that three officers in teh United States navy are graduates of the McArthur High School, Lieuts. Vance Ogan and John S. Barleon, and Ensign James B. Will.

COUNTY OFFICIALS

     At this date, May 1, 1915, the officers of the county are:  Charles W. Brown, auditor; Robert W. Bail, treasurer; Samuel F. Beekley, probate judge; S. T. McLain, clerk of the court; John H. Cade, recorder; Kenneth R. Swaney, surveyor; W. C. Hudson, prosecuting attorney; Emmet E. Robbins, sheriff; L. J. George, W. H. Graves and Theodore Webb, commissioners; Frank Anderson, coroner; Homer V. Atkinson, district assessor.
     Hon. O. E. Vollenweider, state senator from this district; Hon. David H. Moore, representative in the Lower House of the Legislature; and Hon. H. W. Coultrap, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, are all citizens of McArthur.
     Some interesting facts concerning our public men should be placed on record.
     1. The first seven of the above named officials and all the attorneys in the county but one have been teachers in the public schools.
     2. Every lawyer in the county is a member of some evangelical church.  Hon. J. W. Darby is an elder in the Christian Church and a veteran teacher in the Bible school.  He also exercises his gifts acceptably in preaching among the little vacant churches of the county.  Senator Vollenweider is the superintendent of the Christian Sunday School, and our representative, Mr. Moore, is an elder in the Presbyterian Church and the treasurer of that organization.
     3.  Whenever there is a conflict between the temperance forces and the liquor men, all the lawyers and all the county officials line up on the dry side.  From these facts some judgment may be formed concerning the moral plane on which the county stands.