750 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
CHAPTER IX.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.
SPRINGFIELD is the northwestern township of the county, and has an area of 21,788 acres. It was one of the original sixteen. The township is bounded on the north by Lake Erie, on the east by Girard and Conneaut, on the south by Conneaut, and on the west by Ashtabula County, Ohio. Up to the year 1885, the south line was a mile or so further north than now, but by an arrangement with Conneaut the latter ceded that portion of her territory lying beyond the creek, on condition that Springfield should pay one-half the expense of maintaining bridges along the boundary. The east line of Springfield extended to Miles Grove, parallel with that of Conneaut and Elk Creek; until 1832, when the township was reduced by the formation of Girard. The first officers of the township were elected in 1811. Springfield contained 896 inhabitants in 1820, 1,520, in 1830, 2,344 in 1840, 1,916 in 1850, 1,742 in 1870, and 1,792 in 1880. Its greatest length is about seven and a half and its greatest width about six and a quarter miles. The villages are East Springfield, West Springfield and North Springfield, all of which have post offices of the same name. The old State line of Pennsylvania, before the purchase of the Triangle, terminated on the farm of Joseph Hewitt, in Springfield, between four and five miles east of the Ohio boundary.
LANDS, ETC.
The lake shore plain is about three miles wide in Springfield, and while there is a good deal of high broken land in the south part, the township is less marred by gullies than is the case further east in the county. The best portion of the township is conceded to lie along the Ridge road, in the vicinity of East Springfield. A mile or less west of that place, on the same line, the quality of the land deteriorates, though some excellent farms are found at and around the village of West Springfield. In the eastern part of the township, the lake shore lands are generally good, but in the neighborhood of Raccoon Creek they become sour, and from there on to Ohio are below the average of the county. Numerous stretches of sand are met with that hardly pay for cultivation, and other parts are cold, swampy and difficult of drainage. Back of the Ridge road, and from there to Conneaut Creek, the soil is usually clay, with here and there a sand hill, which forms a curious feature of the topography. As there are exceptions to all rules, so there is to this statement. A valley commences just south of West Springfield and extends clear into Ohio, with a width ranging from a half a mile to a mile, which is one of the best portions of the township. Wheat and other grains are raised everywhere, but the back country is best adapted for grazing. Great quantities of potatoes are produced, and many carloads are shipped annually from Cross's Station and North Springfield. The lake shore farms are valued at $30 to $100 per acre, the Ridge road at $40 to $100, and the back country from $30 to $70.
The bank of the lake is bold and abrupt along the font of Springfield Township, ranging in height from fifty to sixty feet. The Moravian grant embraced 2,797 acres in Springfield and Conneaut, extending from the lake to
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a short distance south of Conneaut Creek, and taking in a strip about a mile wide, except at the Ridge road, where it narrowed to fifty or sixty rods. The reason for this diversion was that the surveyors encountered a formidable beaver swamp at that point, which has since been mostly reclaimed by drainage. William and James Miles were long the agents of the Moravians. The tract was bought in a body by N. Blickensderfer and James Miles in 1849, who sold it out in pieces from 1850 on. The Ridge road is closely settled between East and West Springfield, and many of the farmhouses are large, neat and pleasant, giving an impression of wealth and comfort. Several of the buildings are brick, and nearly all are surrounded by pretty grounds. Some delightful homes are also to be seen on the road from the lake to East Springfield.
The assessment for 1883 gave the following results: Value of real estate, $941,410; cows, 558; value, $13,947; oxen; value, $340; horses and mules, 448; value, $28,660; value of trades and occupations, $9,750; money at interest, $34,860.
EARLY SETTLERS.
The first settler in the township was Capt. Samuel Holliday, of Franklin County, who came on in 1796, located 700 acres at the mouth of Crooked Creek, built a cabin, and returned to his former home in the fall of the year. Soon after his arrival, he was joined by John Devore, of Bedford County, John Mershon, of New Jersey, and William McIntyre and Patrick Ager, natives of Ireland, but residents for a time in Eastern Pennsylvania, all of whom became permanent settlers. Capt. Holliday married in Franklin County in April, 1797, and the young couple started immediately on a wedding tour to their new home, Mrs. H. riding on horseback and her husband walking by her side with his gun over his shoulder. Their route was by a trail through the woods from Pittsburgh to Erie, and from there along the beach of the lake to the mouth of Crooked Creek. Their goods came some time after, in boats up the Allegheny and French Creek to Waterford. During the year 1797, the little colony was increased by the arrival of Oliver Cross, from Vermont, and of Thomas and Oliver Dunn, from Ireland. The Dunns remained but a few months, when they changed to McKean, where they settled permanently. Other pioneers reached the township as follows: In 1798, Nicholas Lebarger, of Bedford County; in 1800, Matthias Brindle, of Franklin County, and a Mr. Bruce; in 1801, Robert McKee, of Cumberland County, and Oliver Smith, from Massachusetts; in 1802, Isaac, Jesse, John D. and Thomas R. Miller, John Eaton and John Law, all of Franklin County, Henry Adams, of Massachusetts, John Hewitt, of Connecticut, and John Rudd, Jr.; in 1803, Andrew Cochran and Abraham Eagley, of Dauphin County, George Ferguson, of Cumberland County, and William Ferguson, of Ohio; in 1804, Samuel Rea, of Franklin County, and John Rudd, Sr., and family; in 1806, John Hall, of Mifflin County, in 1808, Erastus DeWolf, of New York; in 1810, Joseph Ware, of Vermont; in 1813, Zachariah Thomas, of Vermont; in 1815, William Gould, of Chautauqua County, N. Y., Anderson Hubbard, of Ohio, and Luke Thayer, of Massachusetts; in 1816, Benjamin Carr, of Essex County, N. Y.; in 1817, John Albert, of Cattaraugus County, N. Y.; in 1818, David Ellis, of Massachusetts, and Derby Walter and Ezekiel Currier, both of Lyme, N. H.; in 1819, Andrew and Henry Mallory and Thomas Ivory, all of New York; in 1820, James, Benjamin and Lucius Bond of Massachusetts, John S. Sherman, of New York, and James Anderson, of Virginia; in 1824, A. Whiton, of Ashtabula County, Ohio; in 1826, John Monell, of Otsego County, N. Y., and Peter Simmons; in 1829, Geo. Simmons, of Saratoga County, N. Y.; in 1830,
752 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Lorenzo Harvey, of New York, William H. Townsend, of Washington County, N. Y., and Selah Walbridge, of Vermont; in 1831, I. Pond, of New York, and Seymour Devereaux, of North East; in 1832, Scott Keith, of Girard, Penn., Stephen Warner, of Genesee County, N. Y., and Matthew Gray, of Lockport, N. Y.; in 1833, R. R. Robinson, of Sparta, N. Y.; in 1834, William Marsh and E. Smith, both of Wyoming County, N. Y.; in 1835, Clark Baldwin, of Vermont, Thomas Potter, of New York, and E. B. Hedden and William Church, both of New Jersey; in 1836, Thomas Webster, of Washington County, N. Y.; in 1839, T. S. Cowles, of Connecticut; in 1840, C. Lindsey, of New York; in 1841, Joseph Strong, of Massachusetts; in 1842, Gilbert Hurd, from Rock Stream, N. Y.; in 1846, L. W. Savage, of Genesee County, N. Y.; in 1854, Joel Day, of Wyoming County, N. Y.; in 1863, Humphrey A. Hills, of Conneaut Township. Mr. Brindle, like Capt. Holliday, first came on in 1800, located lands, went back and brought his family the next spring. He was a soldier of 1812, and the father of thirteen children. Jesse Miller removed to Mercer County in a few years, and remained there the balance of his life. Mr. Smith reached the county by an open boat from Canada, where it was his original purpose to locate.
INCIDENTS OF THE PIONEERS.
Mr. McIntyre died in 1867, at the ripe age of ninety-five. He brought the first potatoes planted in the township, carrying them in a sack thrown over his back the entire distance from Pittsburgh. In 1802, a barrel of salt cost Robert McKee fifty Spanish dollars; it had to be brought from Buffalo to Erie in small boat, and from the latter place to Springfield on pack horses. In 1800, the only route to Erie was along the beach of the lake or by a bridle path through the woods. At that period, there was a wide beach along the whole lake front of the county. Andrew Cochran was Captain of a company of soldiers during the last war with Great Britain, who volunteered for the protection of our coast, and remained in service till the declaration of peace. It was attached to the command of Col. Wallace, at Erie; was frequently called out, but was never actually in an engagement. Some time during the campaign, a rumor reached the township that the enemy had landed at the mouth of Conneaut Creek, which created the utmost consternation in the infant settlement. Several families fled, and other had preparations made for a hasty departure. Luckily, the report proved to be false. The first female which child was Elizabeth Holliday, born May 14, 1798; the first mile white child was Joseph Brindle, born March 1, 1800; and the first funeral is said to have been that of the wife of Isaac Miller, whose grave, some assert, was the first in the old Presbyterian Graveyard. This is disputed, however, by one of the old residents, who is positive the interment of a Mr. Davis took place earlier. Mr. Simmons is the oldest man who has ever resided in the township, and one of the oldest in the county. He was still living in 1881 in his ninety-eighth year.
STREAMS, MILLS AND FACTORIES.
The chief stream of Springfield is Conneaut Creek, which forms its entire southern boundary. The stream does not receive a single tributary in the township; on the contrary the high but tillable hills which border its channel, are the head-waters of two or three creeks which flow northward to the lake. Next in importance to Conneaut Creek is Crooked Creek, which rises within the borough limits of Lockport, runs in a general northwesterly course, through the southern portion of Girard and the northeastern of Springfield, and falls into the lake about a half a mile beyond North Springfield,
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having a length of some ten miles. Raccoon Creek heads on the farm of J. Cross, near Conneaut Creek, and flowing north, after a course of about ten miles, reaches the lake at Eagley's Grove. Turkey Run takes its rise on the Gleason farm, a little south of West Springfield, and flows about four and a half miles within the township and a mile or more in Ohio. It falls into the lake east of Conneaut harbor. Two or three small streams run into the lake which are not of sufficient importance to have a name. The channel of Crooked Creek, from the Girard line to the lake, is wide and deep, but the banks are less precipitous through the lake shore plain than those of Elk and Walnut Creeks. Five substantial covered bridges span Conneaut Creek, built, owned and maintained by the two townships. The Lake Shore Railroad culvert and embankment over Crooked Creek at North Springfield is one of the most solid and costly pieces of work in the county The embankment is ninety feet above the water, and from 700 to 800 feet long. It was through this culvert that a house was washed in the fall of 1878, during the greatest flood ever known on the stream. The manufacturing concerns of Springfield Township are Forter's grist and saw mill, on Conneaut Creek, half a mile north of Cherry Hill; H. V. Lines' grist and saw mill, on the Ridge road, a mile east of East Springfield; J. M. Strong's grist and saw mill, a mile north of East Springfield; Reed's saw mill, on the Ridge road, half a mile west of West Springfield; a cheese factory at the latter place and an extensive tile works. Lines' and Strong's mills are both in the valley of Crooked Creek, and propelled by the water of that stream, in connection with steam. The Porter Mill was built by Comfort Hay about 1823, and the West Springfield Tile Works were started in 1869. The cheese factory at the latter place was established in 1874, has run successfully from the first, and is still well patronized. The Strong Mills were built by Andrew Cochran about 1820, and rebuilt by Thomas Webster, about 1841 or 1842, who ran them till his death, in 1860, when they fell into the hands of Joseph M. Strong. He has recently overhauled them, and they are in as good condition as any similar property in the county. The first saw mill where Lines' mills are was built by Amos Remington and Oliver Cross about 1814, and rebuilt by Nathan Cass about 1824 or 1825, who managed it jointly with Willard Pope. The firm sold the property to Mr. Case, who built the grist mill about 1832. After Case, the mills changed owners frequently, being sold in succession to Tucker & Woodruff, Justin Nash, William Cross, Scott Keith and Walter and Henry Keith, who rebuilt them in 1857 or 1858. Two or three years after they were put up at Sheriff's sale, and bid in by Judge Cross, who gave the title to Jonathan Keith; from him they passed into the hands of Oliver & Brecht, of Mr. Finkinger, and finally about 1870, of Mr. Line. They were burned in 1871 and rebuilt in 1872. The very first mill owner in the township was Capt. Holliday, who built a saw mill about 1801 or 1802, and a grist mill in 1803, near the mouth of Crooked Creek, both of which have gone down. This grist mill was erected a little later than the Silverthorn Mill in Girard, contrary to the usual belief.
BURIAL PLACES.
The cemetery at East Springfield is the principal burying place of the township, though small graveyards are attached to the Christian Church in the same village, at West Springfield, at the Town House, and in other localities. The inclosure takes in eighteen acres of high and dry gravel and loam on the north side of the village, is tastefully laid out, contains some fine monuments, is carefully kept, and is deservedly the pride of the people. It was originally the burial ground of the Presbyterian Church, to which other land was added
754 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
by purchase. The cemetery was surveyed and graded in 1864, John H. Miller being the engineer and Robert P. Holliday the contractor. The first sale of lots was in October of that year, and the fires body interred was that of Henry Keith, which was placed in the inclosure in August, 1864, before the work was completed. The original officers were: William Holliday, President' I. Newton Miller, Secretary; T. Webster, Treasurer; William Cross, Samuel Holliday, Henry Teller, J. M. Strong and Samuel H. Brindle, Managers. Judge Cross was elected President in January, 1878, and still retains the position. Messrs. Miller and Webster have been officers from the day the cemetery originated to the present hour. Funerals come from Girard, Elk Creek and Conneaut. In the northeast part of the cemetery are still to be seen traces of one of the series of ancient earthworks, four in number, which extended from the western part of Girard to the southern portion of Springfield. The other mounds in Springfield are on the M. Oney farm, about a mile southwest of East Springfield, and on the Thomas McKee place, half a mile further west. They are all in a direct line from northeast to southwest, and are similar in character, each one covering over half an acre, being circular in form, and having earthen embankments two to three feet high by six feet thick at the base.
During the war for the Union, Springfield sent about 150 men into the army. Every one of the departed patriots has a headstone at the township expense.
PUBLIC MEN.
The following is a list of citizens of Springfield who have held State and county offices: Assembly, thomas R. Miller, 1836; David a. gould, 1843 and 1846; L. Newton Miller, 1870. Associate Judge, William Cross, November 22, 1861, to November 8, 1866; elected without opposition, his name being on the Union and Republican ticket. Prothonotary, Maj. S. V. Holliday, January 2, 1882-85. County superintendent of Public Schools, L. W. Savage, 1860-63. Register and Recorder, Samuel Rea, Jr., November 17, 1863, to November 16, 1866; Henry G. Harvey, November 16, 1866, to November 19, 1872. county treasurer, Thomas J. Devore, December 23, 1878, to December 20, 1860. county commissioner, Thomas R. Miller, 1831-34; Richard Robinson, 1852-55.Directors of the Poor, Thomas R. Miller, 1840-42. John Spaulding was elected in 1856, but refused to serve. County Auditor, John Eagley, 1848-51. Mercantile Appraisers, Samuel Rea, Jr., 1858; Perry Devore, 1862. County Surveyor, Robert P. Holliday, November 5, 1863, to November 12, 1866, and February, 1869, to November 11, 1872; George M.Robison, January, 1879, to May, 1879. Hon. Humphrey A. Hills, County Commissioner from 1847-50, Deputy Marshal for taking the census in 1850, Commissioner to fix the boundary between Erie and Crawford Counties in the same year, and Assemblyman in 1852-53, has been a resident of East Springfield since 1863, moving there from Conneaut, his former home. E. B. Ward, the Detroit millionaire, was a native of the township, where he began life as a fisherman and sailor. The citizens of Springfield who have become residents of Erie City are Samuel Rea, Jr., Col. E. P. Gould, Carl Walbridge, Joseph Patterson and A. E. Sisson.
ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS.
The township possess no less than three Academies, one each at the villages of East, West and North Springfield. The first of these, at West Springfield, was founded in 1853, and had a hundred and sixty-five pupils in 1855, with four teachers. Among its Principals were John A. Austin, W. H. Heller, Joseph H. colt and C. C. Sheffield. It was burned down in December, 1859,
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and rebuilt of brick two or three years subsequently. The East Springfield Academy, once an institution of high repute, opening with 150 scholars, grew out of rivalry between the two villages, and was built in 1856. The first Principal was B. J.Hawkins, and L. W. Savage held the position in 1858. Neither school has been maintained distinctly as an academy for some years. The one at East Springfield is now used wholly as a public school, and the West Springfield one as a select and public school, the former having two and the latter three teachers. The North Springfield academy was established in 1866, after the two others had rundown, and is still maintained as a select school. The other schools of the township are the Depot, at North Springfield; Anderson, on the Lake road, three-quarters of a mile north of Strong's mill; Weed, two miles south of East Springfield, on the Albion road; Baldwin, on the Ridge road, a mile west of East Springfield; Moon, on the road from West Springfield to Albion; Center, near the Town House; Brockway, one mile north of the Town House; Brindle, on the Lake road, a mile and a half west of North Springfield; Devereaux, near Devereaux Corners; Hubbard, on the Ridge road, beyond West Springfield; Blickensderfer, on the Lake road, one mile west of Raccoon Creek, and Hewett, in the southwest. One of the first schoolhouses was built at an early day on the Joseph Eagley place, near the lake. The material was logs, with chimney of stones and sticks. In 1818, a log schoolhouse was standing in what is now the village of East Springfield, in which James Porter was teaching school. William Clark, a Mr. West and a Mr. Smith were other early teachers in the East Springfield settlement. About the year 1822, Louisa De Wolf kept a school in a vacated log cabin located in the Ferguson neighborhood, about three miles southwest of East Springfield. Not long after this, another school was held in a similar building, probably a mile east of East Springfield, in the summer by Jane Ferguson and in the winter by William Branch. About the year 1827, a frame schoolhouse stood in the Vanderventer neighborhood, some two and a half miles southwest of East Springfield. Hiram Dixon was one of the early teachers in this house.
RAILROADS, COMMON ROADS AND HOTELS.
Springfield has the advantage of two through lines of railroad -- the Lake Shore and the Nickel Plate -- which cross the township from Girard into Ohio, the first at a distance of half a mile to a mile from the lake, and the second farther south. The Lake Shore has a station at North Springfield, and the Nickel Plate one each for East and West Springfield. The Erie & Pittsburg Railroad branches off from the Lake Shore in Girard Township, half a mile from the Springfield line, which it follows southward into Conneaut, at about the same average distance. Crosses' Station, in Girard Township, a mile and a half from East Springfield, was established for the accommodation of the township. The principal common thoroughfares are the Ridge road, which runs nearly through the center of the township, forming the main streets of East and West Springfield; the Lake road, which is half a mile from the water at North Springfield, and follows the lake front to the Ohio line; the Middle Ridge, which leaves the Lake road not far from North Springfield, runs southwest and strikes the Ridge road a mile beyond West Springfield; the Kingsville, which branches off from the Ridge road two-thirds of a mile west of East Springfield and continues to Kingsville, Ohio; and the roads from East and West Springfield to Albion, which come together at Sherman's Corners, near Conneaut Creek, in the southeast.
From the close of the last war with Great Britain to the opening of the railroad, the travel on the Ridge road was very extensive, requiring numerous
756 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
public houses on the route. Scott Keith opened a house at East Springfield for the accommodation of the public in 1832, which became one of the most famous and popular between Erie and Cleveland. It is still open. In 1822, William Doty removed to East Springfield from North East, and took charge of the old Remington stand, which he kept till his death in 1864. The Keith House is still kept open. The East Springfield Post Office, the first in the township, was established many years ago. The post offices at West Springfield was established in 1838 or 1839, with Samuel Castle as the first Postmaster, and the one at North Springfield some time after 1860. That at West Springfield was long kept by Riley Potter. On the night of the 6th of December, 1874, this office was broken into and robbed, set on fire by the burglars and destroyed with the store to which it was attached. Two of the guilty parties were caught, convicted and sent to the penitentiary.
CHURCHES.
The churches of the township are Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal and Christian at East Springfield, and Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Universalist at West Springfield. The Universalist and the two Methodist Episcopal buildings are brick; all the rest are frame. The Methodist congregations are one charge, having their parsonage at West Springfield. John Mershon was married to Miss Bathsheba Brush, of Greene County, in January, 1799, three years after his settlement in this county. When the bride came to her new home she brought with her a church letter from the Methodist minister at the place of her former residence. By her inducement, Rev. Joseph Bowen, a local preacher of the denomination at Franklin, Penn., held services in the Mershon house in September, 1800, and later in the same year he came again. These were the first Methodist services in the county. In the spring of 1801, a class was organized by James Quino, near Lexington, and in 1804 a church building was erected about a mile south of West Springfield, which was long known as the Brush Meeting-house. During the latter year, nearly a hundred persons were converted under the ministry of Rev. Andrew Hemphill. In July, 1810, nearly forty persons were awakened through the instrumentality of a powerful sermon preached by Rev. John Gruber, Presiding Elder. A second society, with fourteen members, was formed on the 7th of January, 1815, at the house of Mr. Webber, in what is now Girard, but was then a part of Springfield, which has since been known as the Fair Haven Church. This congregation divided in 1821, in consequence of a personal difficulty between two of the leaders, and twenty-one of the members formed what they styled a "Reformed Methodist Church." In 1825, a fourth society was organized in the east part of the town, which was the beginning of the church at East Springfield. The Cottage Church, which stood on the Ridge road, about half a mile west of West Springfield, was commenced in 1830, but was not finished till 1836. The present church at West Springfield was built in 1854, and the one at East Springfield about 1866. The second parsonage in eRie Conference was built at Springfield. S. Ayers and J. C. Ayers were the first pastors in 1830, and latterly E. M. Kernick, 1882-83.
The first Presbyterian edifice was a small log structure which stood on the old portion of the cemetery grounds. A preaching point was established at Springfield in 1804, by Rev. Robert Patterson, of North East, who was then the only regularly settled minister in the county, and the building referred to was put up the same year. The congregation was organized in 1806, by Rev. J. Eaton, pastor of the church at Fairview, who assumed the same relation to the Springfield Church June 30, 1808. His relation with the Springfield Church
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continued until November 8, 1814. The original congregation consisted of about thirty members. Isaac Miller, James Blair and James Bruce were the first Elders. The present church edifice was built in 1844, at a cost of $4,000.
The Christian Church at East Springfield was organized with twelve members in 1826 by Rev. Asa C. Morrison, and had Rev. Joseph Marsh for its first pastor. The church was built in 1839, and cost $700. A graveyard is attached to it, from which the bodies are gradually being removed to the cemetery. Elder H. Crampton is the present incumbent.
The Baptist congregation was organized in 1826, and erected a church in 1833, which cost $1,600. This building, which stood on the Ridge road, about two and a half miles west of East Springfield, was sold to the township, and a new one was erected at West Springfield in 1858, at a cost of $1,600. Rev. Asa Jacobs was the first pastor of the congregation. The old edifice is used as a Town House. The present pastor is Elder Telford, who has served the congregation for three years.
The Universalist congregation at West Springfield was organized January 10, 1848, and built a house of worship in 1850. The pastors of the congregation have been as follows: Revs. P. P. Fowler, J. S. Flagler, B. F. Hitchcock, A. J. Patterson, C. E. Shipman, I. George, H. S. Whitney, and the present incumbent, C.L. Shipman.
VILLAGES.
The village of East Springfield occupies a high and beautiful site along the Ridge road, three miles south from the lake, two and a half from North Springfield, on the Lake Shore Railroad, one and a half west of Cross's Station, on the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, four and a half southwest of Miles Grove, five west of Girard, and twenty-one by common road from Erie. The country around is the best portion of the township, and the village is the largest settlement. East Springfield comprises three churches, one academy, one hotel, one general store, two groceries, one hardware store, one millinery store, one drug store, one harness shop, one tailor shop, one meat market, one wagon shop, one furniture store and undertaking establishment, one cider mill, three blacksmith shops, and about forty buildings. The population in 1880 was 102.
West Springfield has grown up at the junction of the Albion with the Ridge road, three miles east of the Ohio line, four west of Each Springfield, and twenty-five by common road from Erie. It is not as large as its sister village, but contains some neat residences and other buildings. The institutions of the place are three churches, an academy, a cheese factory, hotel, general store, tile works and two blacksmith shops. The village sustains one physician and one minister. The old cemetery has fallen pretty much into disuse and the bodies are being removed to the more attractive burial ground at East Springfield.
North Springfield has sprung up within the last thirty years o the Lake Shore Railroad, just west of the Crooked Creek embankment, about half a mile south of Lake Erie, and twenty by railroad from Erie.The railroad company have at this place a station house, two water tanks and an engine house to pump the water up from Crooked Creek. Besides these there are an academy, an old hotel building, now used as a boarding house, a general store, a grocery and a public school. The village consists of perhaps twenty buildings and sixty inhabitants. It stands mostly on a portion of the John Holliday farm.The station was established in 1852, the year the railroad was opened, ground for the purpose being given by Samuel and John Holliday.
760 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
On the M. H. Gould farm, near the residence of Seymour Ware, in the valley of a branch of Turkey Run, is a famous salt spring, the water of which is so strongly impregnated with the mineral that the cattle on the place need no salting. Some sixty years ago Judge Gould drilled a well at this spot to the depth of 200 feet, but in putting the well down a fresh water spring was struck which diluted the salt water to an extent that rendered it valueless.
CHAPTER X.
CONNEAUT TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH OF ALBION.
CONNEAUT TOWNSHIP is one of the original subdivisions of Erie County. It is the extreme southwestern township of the county, and contains 25,540 acres. The population was 631 in 1810; 1,324, in 1830; 1,746, in 1840; 1,942, in1850; 2,118, in 1860; 1,538, in 1870, and 1,545, in 1880. The decrease between 1860 and 1870 was due to the incorporation of Albion as a borough in 1861. The township is bounded on the north by Springfield and Girard, on the east by Elk Creek, on the west by Ashtabula County, Ohio, and on the south by Beaver and Spring Townships, Crawford County. Its greatest length is about eight and three-fourths miles from east to west, and its greatest width six and one-fourth from north to south. Conneaut contains the villages of Cherry Hill, Keepville, Tracy and Albion Depot, all of which have post offices except the last. The township received its title from Conneaut Creek, its principal stream. The word Conneaut is of Indian origin, signifying "snow place," from the fact that the snow used to lie longer upon the ice of Conneaut Lake, Crawford county, than anywhere else the country round.
The appraisement for 1883, gave the following results: Value of real estate, $686,536; number of cows, 574; value, $14,250; number of oxen, 16; value, $995; horses and mules, 423, value, $23,240; total value of personal property assessed, $38,485; value of trades and occupations, $8,820; amount of money at interest, $6,378. The census returns for 1880 show that there were 433 houses occupied by 453 families.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
The first settler within the bounds of the township was Jonathan Spaulding, who reached there from New York in the year 1795. Two years after the Population Company sent Col. Dunning McNair on as agent, who established his headquarters at what became known as Lexington, and with a corps of assistants surveyed the country, laid out roads, made preparations for disposing of the property. In 1798, Abiather Crane and his brother Elihu, from Connecticut, located near Col. McNair, but neither remained long, the former moving to Mill Creek in 1800, and the latter to Elk Creek in the spring of 1800. Abiather first went into Conneaut as a surveyor in 1797, but did not locate there until the ensuing year. The arrival of other pioneers was as follows: In 1800, Matthew Harrington, from Vermont; George Griffey and Andrew Cole, from Onondaga County, N. U., and Stephen Randall and his son Sheffield, from Rensselaer County, N. U.; in 1801, Robert McKee, from Cumberland County, Penn.; in 1802, Henry Ball, From Fredericksburg, Va., Patrick Kennedy, his son Royal, and William Payne from Connecticut; in 1803,
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Marsena Keep and son Marsena, from Montgomery County, N. Y.; in 1804, Joel Bradish and brothers, from New York; in 1806, Lyman Jackson, from Otsego County, N. Y.; in 1810, Michael Jackson, son of Lyman, who remained but a few months, returned to New York and came back five years later. The following persons settled in the township at a later date: In 1815, George Stuntz, from Barclay County, Va., and his son E. W. Stuntz; in 1816, Medad Pomeroy, from Massachusetts, with his sons, Nathaniel, Uriah, John, Lyman, James, George and Horace, and three daughters, together with James W. and G. Spicer, from New York; in 1817, Benjamin Sawdy and Isaac Pomeroy, from Massachusetts; in 1818, David Sawdy, from Massachusetts, Abijah Barnes, from Cayuga County, N. Y., and Samuel Bradish; in1810, Noah Kidder and son Francis, Edward De Wolf and Daniel Rossiter, from New York, and Samuel Sawdy (father of David and Benjamin), with his sons John, Job and Daniel, from New Bedford, Mass.; in 1820, Rodolphus Loomis, from Chautauqua County, N. Y.; about 1824 or 1825, Harrison Parks; in 1829, Jones Lewis; in 1831, Thomas Bowman, wife and family (including Ralph), from Oneida County, N. Y.; in 1832, William Cornell and John Curtis; in 1833, Chester Morley and Andrew and Silas Morrison; in 1834, Christopher Cross, Edward Dorrence and Hiram Griffis; in 1837, Andrew Swap, Daniel Waters and Joseph Tubbs; in 1838, Isaiah and Johnson Pelton; in 1839, Marcus A. Bumpus. Among those who went in about the commencement of the century, are Bartholomew Forbes, Howard, John, Nathan, David and Charles Salsbury. Thomas Sprague, James Paul, James Whittington, Thomas Alexander, John Stuntz, Giles Badger, Ichabod Baker and Jacob Walker. A large portion of the settlers whose formers homes are not given were from New York, principally from the central counties. Henry Ball was a Captain in the war of 1812, and several of the others served against the British as privates. Jonathan Spaulding's sons, David, John and George, were born in the township, the first in 1802, the second in 1806, and the last in 1816. William Harrington, the oldest son of Matthew, was born in 1805. William Paul went into Elk Creek with Mr. Colton in 1797; returned to Connecticut, and came back about 1816. George Stuntz was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Noah Kidder and son went to Springfield in 1817, but moved to Conneaut two years after. Medad Pomeroy settled on Conneaut Creek, about a mile north of Albion, where he owned several hundred acres, extending into Elk Creek township.
The first male child was Henry Wood, born about 1798. The first female children were Ruth, daughter of Elihu Crane and wife, and Eliza, daughter of Abiather Crane and wife, who were born in the same house near Lexington, on the same day, April 20, 1799. Ruth Crane married Isaac Pomeroy, and became the mother of two sons -- Alden and Jerome -- and seven daughters. Her cousin, Eliza, became the wife of James Love, Jr., and moved to Mill Creek. The first recorded death was that of Mrs. Thomas Alexander, who expired in 1801, and was buried "at a point between two runs, about half a mile north of Albion." The oldest lady who has ever lived in the township was Mrs. Thomas Bowman, who died in the fall of 1862 aged nearly ninety-two years.
CREEKS AND BRIDGES.
The chief stream of the township is Conneaut Creek, which rises below Conneautville, in Crawford County, flows in a general northerly course to the Springfield line, then turns abruptly westward, and continues into Ohio. After changing its course, it forms the boundary line between Conneaut and Springfield, the former lying on the south and the latter on the north. In Ohio, it continues westward nine miles to Kingsville, then makes another sudden bend
762 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
to the east, and comes back eight miles to Conneaut, where it turns again to the north, and after a further course of about a mile empties into the lake a mile and a half from the boundary of Pennsylvania, forming Conneaut Harbor. It is the most crooked of the lake shore streams, the length from head to mouth by its windings being from seventy to seventy-five miles, which the distance by an air line is not more than twenty-five miles. The valley of the creek forms the route of the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad through conneaut Township, and was utilized for the same purpose in laying out the old canal from Albion southward. Its length across the township is fully twelve miles. The West Branch of Conneaut Creek rises in Crawford County, near the Ohio line, runs in a general northeasterly direction through the south part of the township, and unites near Keepville, after a source of between nine and ten miles. The East Branch heads in Crawford County, below the Elk Creek line, runs past Wellsburg and Cranesville, and enters Conneaut Township a mile or so northeast of Albion. It has a length of not far from ten miles. At Wellsburg, it is joined by Frazier's Run, and at Albion by Jackson's Run. The latter takes its rise on the Conneaut and Elk Creek line, near Crawford County, flows north, then northeast, and is from four to six miles long. After receiving Jackson's Run, the East Branch continues about half a mile further, before merging with the main stream. Marsh Run heads in the west, flows eastward, and empties into the Conneaut about a mile from Albion Depot, having a length of four or five miles. The dividing ridge between the waters of the lake and the Allegheny turns to the south in Fairview Township, and follows nearly the line of Conneaut Creek into Crawford County. The frequent streams and their unusual crookedness are a source of heavy expense to the tax-payers, the number of bridges and the cost of keeping them up being undoubtedly greater than in any other township of the county. Not to name those on the branches, there are, on Conneaut Creek alone, the Law, Griffith, Porter, Perry and Salsbury bridges, along the Springfield line, and the Pomeroy, Kennedy, Silverthorn, Keepville and Spaulding within the township proper. These include the public bridges only, besides which the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad Company have two more, known as the Sawdy and Kennedy second. All of the township bridges are built of timber with stone abutments.
The valley of Conneaut Creek from Crawford County to Springfield varies in width from a quarter of a mile to a mile, and consists of a sandy loam, which is very fertile, producing everything that can be raised along the lake shore. West of Lexington, along the Conneaut and Springfield line, there are occasional small spots of bottom land, but generally speaking the hills run almost to the water's edge. A large tract of country, in the southwest, near the Ohio and Crawford County line, still remains in forest, being owned by the Pennsylvania Lumber company. Fruits of nearly all kinds are grown readily. The price of land varies greatly, being as low as $15 an acre in some localities and as high as $65 in others.
LAND, LITIGATION AND PRE-HISTORIC REMAINS.
John B. Wallace, of Philadelphia, made his home in Meadville at an early day, to act as attorney for the Holland Land company. In that capacity he located tracts in various places, among them being one of 10,000 acres in the western part of conneaut Township. This property was sold by Sheriff Wolverton, on an execution against Mr. Wallace, in 1825, and purchased by or in behalf of Stephen Girard, of Philadelphia. It was Mr. Girard's design to make extensive improvements by erecting mills, opening roads, etc., but while his agent was arranging to carry out his plans, news came in January, 1832,
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of the great millionaire's death. By Mr. Girard's will, the Conneaut lands, with a large quantity of others, were left in trust to the city of Philadelphia on a perpetual fund for the maintenance of a college for orphans. After the death of Mr. Wallace, in 1833, his heirs claimed that the Conneaut lands had been wrongfully sold, because the title was in Mrs. Wallace, instead of her husband. Suit was brought by Judge Thompson and Benjamin Grant in the name of the Wallace heirs to recover the property, when a verdict was rendered for the plaintiffs. The Moravian grant embraced between 400 and 500 acres in the northwestern corner of Conneaut, extending over from Springfield, where the most of the "Hospitality tract" lay.
On the John Pomeroy place, upon the second flat of Conneaut Creek, are the traces of an ancient mound, such as exist in Girard, Springfield, Harbor Creek, Fairview, Wayne, and other townships of the county. It is circular in form, inclosing about three-fourths of an acre. The embankment, when the country was cleared up, was about three feet high by six feet thick at the base, with large trees growing upon it. One of these trees, a mammoth oak, when cut down, indicated by its rings an age of five hundred years. Beneath the tree the skeleton of a human being was taken up which showed to a verity that giants lived in those remote ages. The bones measured eleven feet from head to foot, the jawbone easily covered that of a man who weighed over 200 pounds, and the lower bone of the leg, being compared with that of a person who was six fee four inches in height, was found to be nearly a foot longer. Another circle of a similar character existed on the Taylor farm -- now owned by J. L. Strong. On the John Pomeroy place is also a peculiar mound, about 100 feet long, 50 wide and 24 high. It stands on the south side of a small stream, upon flat land, and is wholly detached from the adjacent bluff.
RAILROAD, CANAL AND COMMON ROADS.
The Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, the only one in the township, runs through its whole width from Girard Township on the north to Crawford County on the south. The ridge between Crooked and Conneaut Creeks is overcome by a deep excavation that is usually known as Sawdy's Cut. After that the road follows the valley of the latter stream through the township to its head in Crawford County. The road crosses the creak twice within Conneaut Township, first by the Sawdy bridge, and second by the Kennedy bridge near Algion. The Sawdy bridge has a span of about 100 feet and a fill of about fifty or sixty rods; the one near Albion, a span of equal length and a trestle work of some twenty rods. Albion depot is the main station of the township. The Pennsylvania Erie Canal -- now one of the things of the past -- entered Conneaut from Elk Creek at a point between Cranesville and Albion, and continued south by nearly the same route as the railroad, but at a higher elevation. The once noted Eleven Mile Level, the longest on its line, reached from near Lockport, through Albion, to Spring Corners, Crawford County. North of Albion, the canal crossed the East Branch by a culvert forty-one feet high, with a span of between thirty and forty feet, which still stands and is used as a roadway.The main avenues of the township are the Lexington road, from the latter place to Girard, opened about 1797; the State road across the north part of the township, from Elk Creek to Ohio; the Meadville road, from Lexington into Crawford County; the Albion and Cranesville road; the Albion and Wellsburg road; the road from Albion due west to Conneaut Center; the Albion & Keepville; "Porky street," from Cherry Hill south; and the Creek road from Pomeroy's bridge to Crawford County.
764 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Schools, Mills and Burial Places No record remains of the earliest schools in the township. A winter school was held in a cabin on the farm of Nathaniel Pomeroy, about one and a half miles southwest from Albion about 1822, by Rodolphus Loomis. Anna Randall taught a summer term at the same place. About 1823, a log schoolhouse was built in that neighborhood, at which Mary Randall and John Spaulding were early teachers. A school near the site of Thornton's grist mill in Albion Borough was taught by Sophia Kennedy. Other taught here, and the schoolhouse burned down about 1824. Among other early teachers at Albion, was David Powell, whose parents were residents of Crawford County.
Following is a list of the schools of Conneaut Township: Bowman, on the old State road, in the L; Valley, on the Creek road, near Albion; Bumpus, on the Conneautville road, to the southeast; Keepville; Kidder's Corners; Harrington, on the West Branch; Cherry Hill, a little east of the village; Center, a little south of the Town House; Brown, on the State road, west of Cherry Hill; Brock, on the southwest; and Kimbell, on the Ohio line.
The manufacturing establishments of the township are Spalding's saw mill, on the West Branch; Brown's cheese factory, on the State road, east of Cherry Hill (opened May 11, 1874); Kennedy's brick yard and tile factory, near Kennedy's bridge; Robinson's blacksmith shop, and Brewster's and Case's wagon shops, near Kidder's Corners; a blacksmith shop near Albion; and a number of portable saw mills which have no permanent location. The Penn Lumber Company, about two years ago, erected a large saw mill in the extreme southwest corner of the township. The company owns 2,800 acres of land, has build a four-mile railroad track to the E. & P. Railroad, and is extensively engaged in sawing lumber, handles, etc., and shipping them to the market. Tracy is the post office name of the settlement.
There is an old graveyard at Saulsbury's bridge, where a number of early settlers are buried, and others at Keepville and on the Creek road, near Kennedy's bridge. The oldest man known to have lived in the township was the father of ex-County Commissioner Garner Palmer, who died several years ago, lacking but little of a hundred.
VILLAGES.
The village of Albion Depot is on the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, twenty-six miles from Erie City, and a mile west from Albion Borough. It embraces, besides the depot building, a grocery and twelve or fifteen houses, most of which are occupied by employees of the railroad. Keepville consists of a post office, store, Methodist Episcopal Church, schoolhouse, cheese factory, shingle mill, and several residences, at the intersection of two roads, near Conneaut Creek, two and a half miles southwest of Albion Borough. It was named after Marsena Keep, Sr., who settled there in 1808. Keepville Wesleyan congregation was organized, with about fourteen members, in 1854, Rev. John L. Moore being the first pastor. The church building was erected the same year, at a cost of $1,500. In 1866 or 1867, a Methodist Episcopal society was organized from the Wesleyan society, and now has for its pastor Rev. Fiddler. The charge belongs to Spring Circuit, most of the appointments of which are in Crawford County. The Wesleyan society still survives, but is quite small. The cheese factory was built in 1878 by Amos K. Keep, H. Stoddard and Josiah J. Pelton, consisting $1,500. A Methodist Episcopal Church, schoolhouse, two general stores, a blacksmith shop and twenty to thirty houses constitute the village of Cherry Hill, on the State road, about half a mile south of the Springfield line, and five miles west of Albion. Porter's grist and saw
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mill on Conneaut Creek, in Springfield Township, are a little north of the village. Cherry Hill stands on high ground, and the country about the village is cold, hard to work, and not very productive. The church was organized with about fifteen members, by Rev. J. W. Wilson, in 1858, and the building was erected the same year at a cost of $1,250. The society was attached to Albion Circuit till Lockport Circuit was formed, to which it now belongs. When Col. McNair established his agency for the Population Company, in 1797, he laid out a town plat of 1,600 acres, at the big bend of Conneaut Creek, near the present Springfield line, which he expected to become a place of a good deal of importance. At the suggestion of one of his surveyors, who was a Kentuckian, he gave it the title of Lexington. Roads were laid out, and, being the center of the company's operations in the west, Lexington in time became a village of no little pretension. At one period it has a store, schoolhouse, hotel, distillery, and several residences. A post office was established in 1828 with David Sawdy as Postmaster. Not a vestige of Lexington is now left. Its site is covered by the David Sawdy and L. R. Strong farms.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The original line of Conneaut extended westward parallel with the southern line of Girard Township to Ohio, taking in Conneaut Creek and more than a mile of country north of that stream. This threw the whole burden of building and maintaining bridges upon Conneaut, and about 1835 she ceded the territory north of the creek to Springfield, in consideration of the latter township paying one-half of that item of expense. Springfield made a considerable gain of land, and Conneaut relieved herself from burdensome taxation.
Following is a complete list of citizens of Albion and Conneaut who have been elected to Legislative and county offices: Assembly -- David Sawdy, 1838; Humphrey A. Hills, 1858-54 (now residing at East Springfield); Orlando Logan, 1875-75. Commissioner -- Abiather Crane, 1803 to 1805; John Salsbury, 1825 to 1828; David Sawdy, 1841 to 1844; Humphrey A Hills, 1847 to 1850; Garner Palmer, 1862 to 1865, and 1869 to 1872. County Auditor -- W. J. Brockway, 1875 to 1878. Mercantile Appraiser, Liberty Salsbury, 1872. Hon. George H. Cutler lived in Conneaut Township for a time, and taught school in Albion. He moved from there to Girard, and served the county as State Senator from 1873 to 1876.
BOROUGH OF ALBION.
The borough of Albion occupies an elevated site at the junction of Jackson's Run with the East Branch, near the Elk Creek line, a mile east of Albion depot, and twenty-seven miles southwest of Erie by the E. & P. Railroad. The first settlers at Albion were Thomas Alexander, Patrick Kennedy, William Pain, Ichabod Baker and Lyman Jackson. Michael Jackson, son of Lyman, who built the first saw mill, did not become a permanent resident until 1815, although he spend a few months there five years earlier. William Sherman settled at Albion in 1827, coming from Herkimer County, N. Y. He died on the 1st of February, 1883, aged seventy-eight years. Thomas Thornton came from England at an early age, and settled in Albion about 1857. Amos King built the first grist mill and Lyman Jackson taught the first school. The town was long known as Jackson's Cross Roads, and the post office name has been successively Jacksonville, Juliet and Albion. It is one mile from Albion to Cranesville and Wellsburg (the three places forming the points of an equilateral triangle),
766 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
six to East Springfield, eight to Girard, six to Spring and nine to Conneautville. The canal passed through the place, and to the business that grew out of it Albion owed most of its growth. The Denio Fork and Handle Factory was located at Albion until its destruction by fire in 1878, which resulted in the removal of the business to Miles Grove. Of the prominent residents of the place, E. W. Stuntz settled there in 1815, coming from Kingsville, Ohio; Dr. J. S. Skeels, in 1848, from Spring, Crawford County; Dr. P. D. Flower, in 1855, from Harbor Creek; Dr. L. D. Davenport, in 1850, from Ellington Center, N. Y., and Jeduthan Wells, in 1857, from Wellsburg.
Albion was incorporated as a borough in 1861, taking in a section of Conneaut Township exactly a mile square. It then contained 443 inhabitants. The population in 1870 was 452, and 433 in 1880. The first borough officers were elected in March, 1861, Perry Kidder being chosen Burgess. The religious denominations are Methodist Episcopal, Disciple and Catholic.
CHURCHES.
The first Methodist Episcopal Church in this vicinity stood about three-fourths of a mile west of Albion, and was built more than fifty years ago. It was occupied until about 1855, when the society was disbanded and the building removed. At Albion, a society had been formed previous to the dismemberment of the above class. It held services in the academy until about 1855, when the present church was built. It cost $2,000 and was dedicated by Rev. Calvin Kingsley. The society was a part of Springfield Circuit until 1854, when Albion Circuit was formed. It embraces the societies at Albion, Wellsburg, Cranesville and Pageville. The first pastor was I.O. Fisher in 1854-55, and latterly C. W. Foulke, 1881-82. The society now numbers about eighty members.
Catholic services have been held at Albion for many years in McGuire's hall and the Disciple meeting-house. Thirty years ago, the society was an old one. The membership includes about twenty-five families. This charge was supplied at first by priests from Crossingville, but more recently they come from Conneautville, Crawford County.
A Disciple congregation was organized in the spring of 1880 by Rev. Clarence J. Cushman. He remained in charge two years. The class is small but has a frame church edifice in process of construction.
BUSINESS, SCHOOLS AND SOCIETIES.
The business establishments of the borough consist of a hotel -- the Sherman House -- three dry goods and grocery stores, two confectionery, one drug store, two hardware stores, two shoe shops, two millinery stores, two barber shops, feed store, clothing store and tailor shop, paint shop and two blacksmith shops. The Sherman House was built in 1828 by Benjamin Nois. It passed into the hands of William Sherman some time after, who continued as its proprietor some fifty years. The house is now managed by his son, Mott Sherman.
The borough contains a good two-story school building and a Masonic Hall.
Albion Lodge, No. 376, I.O. O. F., was instituted September 14, 1849, with the following eight charter members: Calvin Chaddock, William Sherman, Orsan O. Potter, John Clark, James McKendry, Ira S. Barber, Alonzo Sherman and E. E. Stone. The lodge now has a membership of fifty-two. A fire in 1851 destroyed its hall, charter and books. A second hall was erected, which also burned down on the night of February 10, 1884, together with one store. Meetings are regularly held every Saturday evening.
Western Star Lodge, No. 304, F. & A. M., was chartered December 1, 1856. Its charter members were C. W. Cross, Stephen Munger, William W.
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Skeels, B. H. Galpin, John Turner, James Cross, Joseph Towner, A. B. Crumb and E. Jackson. It owns the second floor of the building, built in 1874, in which the meetings are held. The lodge now numbers fifty-six members and meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Albion Lodge, No. 88, Ancient Order of United Workmen, was instituted March 10, 1875, with about twenty members. Its charter officers were George Nash, P. M. W.; W. J. Brockway, M. W.; George Runyan, G. E.; S. D. Sawdy, E.; E. W. Randall, Recorder; C. C. Carter, Financier; C. S. Young, Receiver; J. M. Sherman, G.; A. H. Wells, I. W.; G. N. Sawdy, O. W. The membership is forty-nine, and regular meetings are held the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
Albion Union, No. 101. Equitable Aid Union, was chartered with thirty-one members May 27, 1880. Its first officers were Dr. O. Logan, Chancellor; Mrs. Mary A. Sherwood, Advocate; S. A. Sanders, President; Moses Williams, Vice President; H. H. Adams, Auxiliary; B. E. Keep, Secretary; L. H. Salisbury, Treasurer; E. B. Hathaway, accountant. Mrs. S. S. Keep, Chaplain; J. H. Carpenter, Warden; Edward Froby, Sentinel; C. V. Lick, Watchman; O. P. Mosier, Conductor. The Union now contains ninety members, and meets the first and third Fridays of each month. The two last-named orders are beneficiary in their object.
The school building was erected in 1868, at a cost, inclusive of furniture and apparatus, of $7,000. Previous to that the borough school were held in the academy, built in 1838.
FACTORIES, NEWSPAPERS, ETC.
The manufacturing establishments are Thornton's grist and woolen mills, Wells' oar factory, and Van Riper's horse rake and wooden ware factory. All of these use steam. The water-power, once quite good, has become unreliable since the clearing up of the country. The flouring mill was built in 1828, by Amos King, and is now owned by Joshua Thornton. The woolen mill was erected by W. H. Gray, in 1840, burned in 1876, and rebuilt in 1880 by Thomas Thornton. Its present owner is William thornton. Michael Jackson built the rake factory in 1846. It has been completely overhauled and much extended by George VanRiper & Co. The oar factory was built by Henry Salisbury and Reuben McLallen in 1859. It burned down on the 1st of March, 1868, and was rebuilt by Frank Wells the same year. Jeduthan Wells is the present owner.
A newspaper, the Erie County Enterprise, was started June 15, 1877, but failed in 1880 for want of support. Its publishers were J. W. Britton and F. J. Dumars. The Albion Blizzard, a weekly newspaper, was established by two of the young business men of Albion Borough -- E. C. Palmer and E. F. Davenport -- May 25, 1882. The first four numbers were published as a two-column folio, at which time the Post Office Department refused to allow it to pass as second-class matter. After a week or two of suspension, the Blizzard was enlarged to a quarto, June 29, 1882, and was entered properly in the mails as other newspapers. Near the close of Volume I, the outlook was that the paper must cease to exist, but the publishers made a canvass and received such encouragement that they bought a new cylinder press and enlarged their paper to a seven-column folio, issuing the first number July 12, 1883.
The borough has a general cemetery, which might be made a handsome place of burial. The appraisement for 1883 showed the following results: Value of real estate, $88,205; cows, fifty-two; value, $1,040; horses and mules, sixty-four; value, $3,825; value of trades and occupations, $6,705; money at interest, $4,997.
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