76                  HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

    The Old Hill levee, a guard-bank on the east side of the river, oppo-
site the mouth of Splunge creek, extending a mile north and a half mile
south of the bridge, was thrown up in the fall of 1903.
    The Lewis Township Improvement Company was incorporated in
the month of February, 1902. The articles of association were signed by
William H. Guirl. John G. Bryson. John H. Horton, W. J. Easter, Lucy
E. Carter, Adam Brothers, Abner Brothers, W. H. Mitchell, M. V. Peavy,
Evert Morris. S. F. Miller, Tandy Fulk, Hulet Fulk, Watson Neal, John
Hoffa, Bert Sanders, Quillard Royer, Ed E. Bonham, Ashley Edmonson,
John L. Kent, William H. Hout. Of this association William H. Guirl
was elected president and Ed E. Bonham secretary.
    This association built a levee on the west side of the river, from a
point near the Sanders cemetery down to what is known as the Cole
Field, below Brunswick, an extent of eight miles or more. The first
contractor on construction of this work was Henry T. Green, succeeded
by G. W. Norton & Co., and this firm by Keller & Jones.
    The Eel River Improvement Company was in corporated in the month
of May, 1902. The articles of association were signed by W. H. Guirl,
John G. Bryson, H. R. Edmonson. Ervin Smith, D. V. Oberholtzer, Laura
Johnson, John Weatherwax. W. B. Sutton. W. H. Collins, James Fried-
1ev, W. W. Oberholtzer, Geo. A. Pierce, Wm. Helton, E. L. Winkelpleck.
This company proceeded to build a levee on the east side of the river
from the point of connection with the Old Hill levee, a half mile south
of the bridge at that place, to the bluff of the stream near the Brunswick
bridge, a length of ten miles and six hundred feet.
    A contract for the execution of this work was let to Sidener & Hurt.
of Creencastle, who began operations in the month of April, 1906, and
continued up to the close of the season, suspending work with the coming
on of bad weather, when they had completed about seven miles. They
failed to return to complete it, when the board of directors took the mat-
ter in hand and proceeded with the work, with W. H. Collins superin-
tendent. Meanwhile, suit for damages was instituted in the Putnam
County Circuit Court against the contractors, on which a judgment of
$1,400 was rendered in favor of plaintiffs. The work was completed in
the month of October, 1907, including the construction of four miles of
levee on the Connely ditch, two miles on either side from the bank of the
river northward. and the excavation of two ditches along, the course of
the stream for the straightening of the channel, one of 715 feet on the
Henry Cromwell land and one of 400 feet on the D. V. Oberholtzer land.
The former cut did away with a bend of a mile and a half and the latter
one of three—fourths of a mile.
    To divert the flow and force of the current in times of high water
against the south side abutment of the Brunswick bridge, whereby it was
being endangered, a cut of 810 feet was made immediately above, to
straighten the channel, in the year 1899, by John W. Sutton and Adam
Brothers, contractors, for which they received from the county $825.
    In 1905 was constructed the Laselle covered drain-tile ditch, in Har-
rison township, from the middle of the Harris slough to a point of inter-
section with the Lafferty ditch, a length of 11,156 feet so named from
Marcus Laselle, an interested resident land owner and prime mover in
favor of the improvement.
    It is agreed on the part of the pioneer population of the county that
the first mill on Eel river was built and operated by Elijah Rawley, at the