LORAIN COUNTY OHIO - History of Lorain County, Columbia Township (Part 3) *************************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. *************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Peter & Ruth Weitzel Guins pguins@voyager.net January 25, 1999 *************************************************************************** The Wesleyan Methodist Church of West View. - This church was formed April 1, 1843, with sixteen members, as follows : Ransom BRONSON and wife, Moses C. BAKER and wife, Jane BAKER, Clark HOADLEY and wife, Calvin HOADLEY, Calvin R. HOADLEY and Edwin HEDGINS (all of whom seceded from the Methodist Episcopal church of West View because of its alleged indifference with regard to the question of human slavery) and Jesse EDDY and wife, Clarissa and Jane BRONSON. Of this number only Ransom BRONSON remains. The church building was erected in 1845, costing about one thousand dollars. The dedicatory sermon was preached by James LANGDON. Jahial PORTER and John MCCLOUD were the first regular preachers. The existing membership is fifty-five. William B. MOODY is pastor. The two churches unite in a sabbath school, which has a membership of forty-five, with J. M. GEER as superintendent. Congregationalists A Congregational society was organized about the year 1820 by Rev. Mr. SHABER of Richfield and was composed of the following members: Boltis RUPLE, Marshall CULVER and wife, Mrs. Mary OSBORN, Mrs. Roxana NICHOLS, Sterling GODDARD and wife, William BROWN and wife. Sterling GODDARD and Boltis RUPLE were appointed deacons. This society never erected a house of worship. Baptists The First Baptist Church of Columbia, located at the Center was organized May 12, 1832, with nineteen members, as follows: John STRANAHAN, John COLE, Robert FULLER, Abel GOODWIN, from the Baptist church in Liverpool, Medina county; Simeon CROCKER, Clarissa CROCKER, Nancy BIGELOW, Margaret CHAMBERLAIN, Prudence STRANAHAN, Olive GOODWIN, Betsey COLE, Mary COLE, Constant G. COLE, William COLE, Robert N. FULLER, and John COLE, Jr. Elder James HOVEY officiated as moderator; Abel GOODWIN was chosen clerk. Of the constituent members, two only, William COLE and John COLE, remain. The erection of the building was commenced in 1841, but was not completed until 1848. The church has at present a membership of one hundred and four. Rev. L. YARNELL is pastor, N. N. COLE, clerk, and John COLE and Cyrus IVES, deacons. A Sabbath school was organized in 1847. The officers and teachers at present number eleven; scholars, eighty-three; superintendent, N. N. COLE. Schools The first school was opened by Mrs. Sally BRONSON, in her own house, in the summer of 1808. The number of her scholars was ten. The following winter her husband, Bela BRONSON, taught a school in Lemuel HOADLEY's blacksmith shop. Rev. Dr. BRONSON, son of these pioneer educators, speaks as follows in regard to the opportunities afforded for acquiring an education more than rudimentary: "My own experience will illustrate the difficulty of obtaining anything beyond what the district school afforded. In 1824 I set out to obtain an education. An old Latin grammar was found and studied under the instruction of Rev. Luke BOWEN of Strongsville. After a while a dictionary was needed. We sold a cow for eight dollars and with this sum I mounted a horse and rode more than a hundred miles in a fruitless search for a Latin dictionary. This led to my going to Tallmadge and studying with Elizur WRIGHT, Esq., where I could have the use of a dictionary . There I remained three months, working two days in the week for Francis WRIGHT for my room and board, and two days in the month for his father to pay my tuition. After this I found the required book and a teacher nearer home." A private school was taught at the house of T. G. BRONSON by Rev. C. P. BRONSON, in 1825. The first school house in town was erected in 1817, on lot thirty-six. From the report of the clerk of the board of education for the year ending August 31, 1878, we present the following statistics: Number of school houses.................................................7 Valued at..................................................................$4,500 Amount paid teachers..............................................$1,388 Number of scholars.......................................................247 Early Events The first white child born in Columbia was Sally HOADLEY, daughter of Lemuel HOADLEY, Jr. This interesting event occurred on September 26, 1808. She became the wife of Albert TERREL, who now lives in Ridgeville. On the 17th of October following Calvin GEER, son of James GEER, was born, and his was the second birth in town. Mr. GEER is yet living, and resides in Olmsted. In the spring of 1809, Marcus TERRELL married Dillie DOAN, - Esquire Nathaniel DOAN, the bride's father, performing the ceremony. This was the first marriage. The next was that of Horace GUNN to Anna PRITCHARD, in June of the same year. The first death was that of a child of Lathrop SEYMOUR, in 1809. It was buried on Nathaniel DOAN's farm, east of the center. The first adult death was that of Mrs. Chloe TYLER, mother of Mrs. Lemuel HOADLEY, in August, 1810. She was buried in Benoni ADAMS' orchard. The old burying ground was laid out in 1811. The first interment was that of Azor BRONSON; the next that of Bela BRONSON. The first post office in town was established about the year 1817. The first post master was Thomas G. BRONSON, who kept the office in his house. The name selected was the Indian name for Rocky river, "Copokah". In the papers sent to Washington the word was mis-written Copopo, and the error was never corrected. The postal route extended from Cleveland to Liverpool, a man by the name of MALLETT being the first mail carrier. He received fifty dollars per year, making the trip on foot once a week. Harmon BRONSON, in the fall of 1816, built the first frame house in Columbia, on sub-lot four. The first frame barn was built by Timothy DOAN in 1826. The first brick house was that of Simeon NICHOLS, on lot forty-seven. Harmon BRONSON brought the first mercantile goods into town in late 1816. He kept his "store" in his house on the hill, half a mile east of the center. He also, the year following, brought the first cast iron plow ever seen in these parts. In 1819 the first bridge that ever spanned Rocky river, was built half a mile south of the center. The first doctor was Zephaniah POTTER, who began to dispense jalap and calomel in 1809. In 1812 POTTER was town clerk, and while his wife was out in the woods with her servant one day, gathering grapes, his house burnt to the ground and the town records were destroyed . The deed was supposed to have been done by Indians, out of revenge, Dr. POTTER having assisted Dr. LONG, of Cleveland, in dissecting the body of the Indian OMIK, who was hung there for the murder of two men in Huron county a short time before. The present doctor is Asahel CULVER. The first shoemaker was Mrs. James GEER. She was the widow PARKER, mentioned as one of the original party from Waterbury, Conn. She remained in Cleveland the first winter, and while there married James GEER. Her former husband was a shoemaker, and Mrs. PARKER, in emigrating to this country, brought his outfit of tools with her. She made shoes for the women, but the work of making boots, which were entirely sewed in those days, was too irksome for her, and after teaching the trade to her husband she resigned the work to him. Lemuel HOADLEY constructed the pioneer fanning-mill of Columbia. The first orchard was set out by John WILLIAMS a short distance north of Copopo. J. WARNER erected in the fall of 1812 the first cider-mill, near the block-house. The first tavern was kept by Samuel PARDEE, in 1812, in a log house on lot thirty-six. Rev. Mr. HYDE, a Presbyterian, was the first resident minister. The first blacksmith was Lemuel HOADLEY, Sr. His shop was built in 1808, on lot forty-seven. The Militia In the year 1810, a company of militia, composed of men of the townships of Columbia, Ridgeville, Eaton, and also Middleburg in Cuyahoga county, was organized. The following are the names of the members: Calvin HOADLEY, Lemuel HOADLEY, Jr, Elias FROST, Daniel BRONSON, Bela BRONSON, Jared PRITCHARD, Levi BRONSON, Lathrop SEYMOUR, Samuel POTTER, Eli HICKOX, Warren FASSETT, Marcus TERRELL, Asa ROBERTSON, Joseph BURKE, Marshall CULVER, Zephaniah POTTER, Eri HICKOX, Clark HOADLEY, Jared HICKOX, Noah WARNER, Roswell SCOVIL, Ebenezer WILMOT, Ira B. MORGAN, Oliver TERRELL, Philander TERRELL, Tillotson TERRELL, Leverett TERRELL, Wyllis TERRELL, David BEBEE, Loman BEBEE, Lyman ROOT, Truman WALKER, Amos WILMOT, Whittlesey HILL, Sylvester MORGAN, Asa MORGAN, Richard VAUGHAN, Ephraim FOWLS, John FOWLS, Abram FOWLS, Benoni ADAMS, Samuel HITCHCOCK, Timothy DOAN, Allen BURKE, Silas BURKE, Chauncey WARNER, Horace GUNN, James GEER, Thomas OSBORN, Baird PRITCHARD, Samuel PARDEE, David BUNNELL, David EDDY, Lyman FROST, Samuel BEBEE, Sheldon WOOSTER, Jno. HANLEY, Samuel HICKOX, Adna WARNER, Aaron WARNER. In the election of officers, Calvin HOADLEY was chosen captain; Lemuel HOADLEY, lieutenant; Lathrop SEYMOUR, ensign; Elias FROST, first sergeant; Samuel POTTER, second sergeant; Daniel BRONSON, third sergeant; Bela BRONSON, fourth sergeant; Capt. Levi BRONSON, first corporal; Capt. Samuel HICKOX, second corporal; and Jared PRITCHARD, third corporal. After the selection of these "old soldiers" as corporals, young Eli HICKOX stepped up and said: "I'll be the fourth to carry the jug for the old men", and was thereupon elected fourth corporal. Joseph BURKE was drummer; Marshall CULVER and Zephaniah POTTER, fifers. Captain HOADLEY's commission, a copy of which lies before us, bears date October 25, 1810, and is signed by Samuel HUNTINGTON, governor. The intelligence of Hull's surrender produced a felling of the gravest apprehension among the inhabitants; and when, shortly afterward, the information was circulated that a large party of men, ragged and dirty, and some with blankets around them, and handkerchiefs on their heads, were seen landing at Huron, the wildest excitement prevailed. They were believed to be British and Indians overrunning the country, and the people of Columbia, and those of Ridgeville and Eaton also, sought safety in flight. Every wagon, cart and sled was loaded, and a general exodus made for Hudson - an older settled town, then under the protection of the forces of Gen. WADSWORTH, who was stationed at "Old Portage". Men, women and children, cattle, sheep and hogs, marched along in promiscuous confusion. Roswell SCOVIL, having no other means of conveyance, tied a feather-bed on to an unbroken pet colt, placed his wife and babe, then three weeks old, upon it, and thus took them in safety to Hudson, a distance of thirty miles. The first night, some of them encamped on the ridge between Brunswick and Strongsville; some to the east of that ridge; while others took up their quarters in the old log house of Silas BURKE. Uncle Oliver TERRELL could not be induced to enter the house, but preferred the exposure of a lodgment on the ground to the more dangerous one, as he believed, in the house. Sentinels were placed to observe the approach of danger, and every preparation made to prevent surprise. That same night, however, Levi BRONSON, who to obtain more definite information in regard to the report, had gone to Cleveland, arrived with the cheering information that supposed to be British and Indians, were Hull's paroled prisoners, and the people thereupon returned to their homes. On their flight, believing their homes would be pillaged and burned, they concealed many of their household goods in the woods, hiding them in hollow logs, in the thick brush, and in other places where they believed them safe from the supposed invaders. When they returned, many valued articles, which they supposed were effectually concealed, lay on the ground in plain sight, while others of but little worth or use were so securely hid that it was impossible again to find them. After the return of the fugitives, Capt. HOADLEY, to re-assure the people, called out the militia, and immediately afterward received orders from Gen. WADSWORTH to proceed with his company to the defense of Cleveland. This the doughty captain peremptorily refused to do, and thus leave the people without protection in time of danger. He was therefore not court-marshaled for disobedience of orders, but directed to establish "frontier military headquarters" in Columbia, and the erection of The Block House, so long a historical landmark of this exciting period, was accordingly begun, under the direction of David BEBEE, of Ridgeville. Its location was a short distance south of Copopo, on the east side of the river. The building was some thirty-five feet square, two stories, the upper projecting over the lower story two feet on the sides, with a row of port-holes in each story. While in course of erection the militia occupied the house of Mrs. Azor BRONSON near by. The fort was garrisoned for about three months. The company was furnished, by the United States government, with new rifles, which were brought by Sylvester MORGAN, and two others on horseback, from Cleveland. About one-half of the company afterwards became substitutes for drafted men, and served under Gen, HARRISON. Until PERRY's victory on Lake Erie, in September, 1813, the red coat and scalping knife haunted the settlers in visions by day and in dreams by night; and a rumor, however improbable, would cause immediate flight to the fort. In the spring of 1812, Benoni ADAMS, while in search of some cattle, spied Joseph BURKE as he was getting over a brush fence some distance from him, and it occurred to ADAMS to have a little sport. Evidences of Indians in the immediate vicinity had recently been seen, and, when ADAMS gave a shout in imitation of the Indian's warwhoop, BURKE darted off like a deer for his house. ADAMS seeing his fright, and fearing the consequences of his joke, called after him to stop, but that only frightened BURKE the more. Arriving at his house, he apprised his family of their danger, and, with their youngest child in his arms, Mrs. BURKE following with the rest, set out for the fort, BURKE yelling "Indians!" all the way. The alarm spread rapidly, and many ludicrous scenes were enacted. Mrs. Azor BRONSON, then a widow, lived a short distance from the fort, and the family of Noah WARNER lived with her. Mrs. BRONSON, on hearing the alarm, collected together a few things, and, seizing an old musket that had neither lock nor stock, with which to defend herself, started for the fort; while Mrs. WARNER took a kettle of beans from over the fire and followed, in her terror forgetting her babe in the cradle. After the close of the war small bands of Indians occasionally returned to the Columbia hunting grounds. The last of them was a small party that encamped one winter on the bank of the river opposite the block house, in which, that same winter, Samuel POTTER taught school. In the spring they went south, and only an occasional Indian was afterwards seen. During the first years of the settlement there were seasons of great scarcity of food. Such a season occurred in 1809. Whole families lived for many weeks without bread and other necessaries of life. This season the people were reduced to such extremities that provisions had to be imported. James GEER and Seb BRONSON, Jr., dug out a canoe and in it went down Rocky river, thence to Cleveland, where they engaged a man named JOHNSON, with his boat, to go with them to the River Raising, now Monroe, Mich., after provisions. A terrific storm overtook them and they came near to being lost. Their progress was slow, the journey so prolonged, and the people reduced to such a degree of want for food, that on the return of the party with provisions, a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God was observed. The year 1811 was also a dismal one for the pioneers. A fever prevailed extensively, resulting in the death of nine members of the little community. Azor BRONSON was the first and Bela BRONSON the next; soon after followed Mrs. PARDEE, three children of Asahel OSBORN, and three of John WILLIAMS. Whole families were sick at the same time, and there were not enough left in good health to attend the sick. The dead were interred in coffins made by Captain HOADLEY, out of planed whitewood slabs, and blackened with a mixture of basswood charcoal and milk. Civil Organization. At the time of its organization, this township was a part of Geauga county. At the election of officers, held at the house of Calvin HOADLEY, Nathaniel HOADLEY was called to the chair, and Bela BRONSON appointed secretary. Township officers were chosen, viva voce, as follows: Bela BRONSON, clerk; Calvin HOADLEY, John WILLIAMS and Jared PRITCHARD, trustees; Lathrop SEYMOUR, constable. In May following, Nathaniel DOANE was elected justice of the peace. "All of Geauga county lying west of Columbia was annexed to that township for judicial and other purposes. The jurisdiction of that judicial functionary covered, in territorial extent, nearly an empire. The plaintiff in the first action brought before him, lived on Grand river, and the defendant on the Vermillion. It was the case of SKINNER vs HULBURT. The plaintiff had judgement, which was paid, not in legal tender, but in labor." The labor was performed by the defendant for Calvin HOADLEY and Nathaniel DOANE, which paid the judgement. Mrs. Sally BROWN, in honor of being the first white woman that settled in town, was accorded the privilege of naming it. She selected that of her native township, "Columbia". At the time of the organization, there were twenty voters in the township, as follows: Lemuel HOADLEY, Sr., Lemuel HOADLEY, Jr., Calvin HOADLEY, Jared PRITCHARD, Horace GUNN, Nathaniel DOANE, Timothy DOANE, Job DOANE, Lathrop SEYMOUR, Isaac FROST, Lyman FROST, James GEER, John WILLIAMS, Bela BRONSON, Seba BRONSON, Sr., Seba BRONSON, Jr., Daniel BRONSON, James STRONG and Walter STRONG. The officers of the township, in 1878, were as follows: B. B. ADAMS, clerk; R. J. BASTARD, Jr., and C. E. PERKINS, justice of the peace. Grist Mill The first manufacturing establishment ever built in the county was the rude log grist mill of Calvin HOADLEY, built in the summer of 1809. Its location was on the east bank of Rocky river, on lot thirty-four. The captain built a dam across the creek on that lot, about where the present road intersects the creek, and carried the water to his mill by a ditch some fifty rods in length. The mill-stones of this pioneer establishment were made out of a couple of "hard-heads", by Lemuel HOADLEY. The mill was crowded with business, but it soon came to an inglorious end. The great drawback was its failure to run in dry weather, and the first freshet carried away the dam. The enterprise was abandoned, and a location was selected on the same river, on the north line of the township, on lot twenty-one. Here he erected, in April, 1811, another log mill, and the same year a saw mill. These mills, in that early time, constituted a center of as much importance as a great city does to-day. "HOADLEY's Mills" were known far and wide. In 1816, the log grist mill gave way to a frame. This old mill, built over sixty years ago, is still in operation, and has undergone but little change, although the familiar, smiling face of the miller has long since disappeared. For sixty years the mill has stood, For sixty years the dashing flood Has turned the wheel with roaring sound Through foaming waters, round and round. Sixty years, and overhead The same broad roof of blue is spread; But in the meadows bright and green, The stranger's children now are seen. Saw Mill A saw mill was built by Reuben LEWIS in about 1814, a half-mile south of the center. A man by the name of Olmsted made the running gear and set it in operation. When the water was let on, the wheel turned the wrong way, and before the slight defect could be remedied, a freshet washed a channel around the mill and swept it away. There are at the present time one grist mill - the old mill of Capt. HOADLEY - now owned by O. VAN HISE, and two saw mills, those of O. VAN HISE and BROWN & BROTHER. The Columbia Cheese Factory, the only one in the township, was built in 1867, and is owned by W. B. FOLLANSBEE. The number of cows supplying the factory is about three hundred. Average daily consumption of milk during the season of 1878 was from six to seven thousand pounds, making twelve cheese per day, of forty pounds each, and seventy pounds of butter. B. B. ADAMS, of the center, is at present conducting the enterprise. The only store in Columbia is that of R. J. BASTARD & Son, who carry a general stock of merchandise. The post office is in their store - R. BASTARD, P. M. Agricultural Statistics for 1878. Wheat, 517 acres..........................................7,487 bushels. Oats, 883 " ...........................................35,166 " Corn, 1,014 " ...........................................36,095 " Potatoes 93 " .............................................9,123 " Orchards 173 " .............................................2,025 " Meadow 2,081 " ..............................................2,155 tons. Butter.................................................................50,575 pounds. Cheese..............................................................188,100 " Votes For President in 1876. Hayes.........................174 Tilden...............................54 At the time of the Jackson campaign, there was but one Jackson man in the township, and he did not vote. ==== OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List ====