History of Guernsey County Ohio

Table of Contents of the History of Guernsey County Ohio

Chapter I

Topography and Geology
“Topography and Geology of Guernsey County Ohio” provides a detailed account of the county’s landscape, natural resources, and historical background. The text highlights the unique features of the area, such as its hilly topography, diverse settlers, and valuable resources like coal, timber, and minerals. It also delves into fascinating anecdotes about local figures and the history of its streams. This comprehensive overview offers readers an insightful look at the natural beauty and rich heritage that define Guernsey County, Ohio.

Origin of Some Geographical Names
Col. C. P. B. Sarchet reflects on the significance of names in local history, noting that Millwood Township was settled by Quakers and originally called Millwood. Salesville, too, has a mysterious history, with stories of the “Leatherwood God” Dylks and the origins of its name. Meanwhile, Hon. Newell Kennon shared historical reminiscences at the Pennyroyal Reunion, including a tale about a jug of whiskey placed by a contractor in the old stone church for the Reformed Associate Presbyterian church. The names of nearby creeks offer clues to their histories, from the beavers and buffalo that once roamed the area to the salt licks and oil that shaped the landscape.

Chapter II

Indian Occupancy
In the late 17th century, French explorer La Salle became the first white man to explore present-day Ohio, claiming the vast Mississippi Valley for France. By the mid-18th century, French ownership of the region was challenged by the British, who eventually took control. The Colonial Ohio Land Company, including relatives of George Washington, secured a land grant and planned settlements, but faced French opposition. The English ultimately claimed the territory after several conflicts. George Rogers Clark played a crucial role in securing the Northwest Territory for the United States after the Revolutionary War, preventing it from remaining under British control.

Indian History of Guernsey County Ohio
This article provides an insight into the Indian history of Guernsey County, Ohio, and their removal from the state in the early 19th century. The tribes that inhabited the area were the Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas, and Mingos, and they had towns at the forks of the Muskingum. The article details the removals of the Indians by David Robb and H.A. Workman, and the author provides interesting accounts of his connection with the Indians as an agent. The article also mentions the last Indian tribe to be removed from Ohio, the Wyandottes, and the recorded incidents of the connection with the tribe by the Methodist Episcopal Church missionary Rev. James B. Finley. Finally, the article recounts the visit of a roving band of peaceful but dissatisfied red men to Cambridge in 1834 and the eyewitness account of the same.

Anecdote of Col. John McDonald
This article recounts a tragic incident that took place during the late 18th century on the Ohio River between Wheeling and Mingo Bottom. The story centers around a company of seven men who crossed the river to steal horses from the Indian towns, which was considered a legal and honorable business at the time as Americans were at open war with the Indians. The seven men were all trained in Indian warfare and had lived in the woods since their youth. However, the mission turned disastrous when the company was ambushed by a party of Indians. Four of them survived the attack, and the bodies of the deceased were found mangled in a barbarous manner. The story sheds light on the hostile relations between the early American settlers and the native Indians.

Chapter III

Organization of Guernsey County Ohio
The Organization of Guernsey County, Ohio dates back to 1809 when it was formed from portions of Belmont and Muskingum counties. The land district of which Guernsey County is a part was surveyed into townships of five miles square and a quarter township of two and a half miles square between 1798 and 1804. Settlements were soon made in different parts of the county. This article provides a detailed history of the county’s organization, including the formation of its civil townships, the appointment of its first county officers, the construction of its courthouse and jail, and the development of its roads and highways.

Town Plats of Guernsey County Ohio
This article provides a complete list of all the village or town plats executed in various townships in a Guernsey county, along with their location, proprietors, and date. It also mentions the incorporated towns in the county. Many of these plats are no longer in existence, while others have transformed into thriving towns.

A Lost Town: Smithtown Ohio
“Smithtown Ohio” was the first town laid out in Guernsey County, but its founder Joseph Smith’s fate remains a mystery. Smith named the town Frankford, but the records show the plat of a town named Frankby and Frankley, recorded on September 13, 1805. Smith reserved lot No. 5 for courthouse purposes, lot No. 13 for a jail, and north spring, on lot No. 29, for the free use of the public square. However, the first cabin erected there was for a tavern, and the whiskey was so cheap that the advantages of the free spring water were not duly appreciated. In 1846, the platting was vacated and its history ended.

Chapter IV

Early Settlement of the County
The First Settler – Pioneer Graham – Early Comers – Life of the Pioneers – First Schools – A Wounded Deer – Indian Camps.

Chapter V

County Government
Official Record – First Officers – Commissioners Busy – Organization of Townships – The County-Seat Question – The First Court House – The County Jail – County Infirmary – The Children’s Home – A Five Year Record – Assessments in 1835 – Assessments for 1910 – Treasury Defalcations – Resulting Trials.

Chapter VI

Political History of the County
Votes in 1824 – The Campaign of 1840 – Naphtali Luccock – Origin of Term “Hard Cider and Log-Cabin Campaign” – Notes on the Campaign of 1844 – Old Time Flag Poles – The Civil War Period – A Visit to McKinley – Different Votes on Prohibition – Presidential Vote – Gubernatorial Vote – Congressmen – State Senators – Representatives – County Treasurers – Sheriffs – Clerks of the Court – Associate Judges from 1810 to 1851 – County Auditors – County Recorders – County Surveyors – County Commissioners – Infirmary Directors – Prosecuting Attorneys – Probate Judges – Coroners.

Chapter VII

Military History of the County
An Honorable Military Record – A Revolutionary Character – Soldiers of 1812 – Captain Beymer’s Company – Captain Martin’s Company – Captain Beatty’s Company – Off to the Wars – Soldiers of the War of 1812 – The Mexican War – The Civil War – The First Company of Cambridge Volunteers – Drafts – Murder of Marshal Cook – Guernsey County Enlistments – Soldiers’ Aid Societies – A Regimental Printer – John Morgan’s Raid – The Cambridge Scouts – The Spanish-American War – The Cambridge Soldiers’ Monument – Soldiers’ Graves – Grand Army of the Republic.

Chapter VIII

Educational Development of the County
Early Efforts to Provide Schools – First Free School in Cambridge – Other Early Schools – Spelling Classes – The Cambridge Academy – District School Notice: A Teacher Wanted – Other Educational Institutions – Cambridge Schools – The High School – The First Commencement – The Richland Township Free School – Pioneer School Discipline – Present School Statistics – Cambridge Seminary – Madison College.

Chapter IX

Church and Denominational History
Early Religious Sentiment – The Methodist Episcopal Church – The First and Second Churches at Cambridge – A Disastrous Fire – The Byesville Church and Societies at Cumberland, Salesville, and Other Points – The Christian Churches at Quaker City and Cambridge – The Friends Church – The Catholic Church – Methodist Protestant Church at Cambridge and Byesville – The Presbyterian Church at Cambridge, Cumberland, Lore City, Washington, and Senecaville – Cumberland Presbyterian Church – United Brethren Church – Evangelical Lutheran Church – Pleasant City, Senecaville, and Harmony Congregations – St. John’s Episcopal Church – United Presbyterian Churches – Byesville, Washington, Pleasant Hill, Lebanon, and Fairview – Baptist Churches – Macedonia, Goshen, Cumberland, and Byesville.

Chapter X

Secret Societies of the County
The First Masonic Lodge – Guernsey Lodge No. 66 – Cambridge Chapter No. 53, Royal Arch Masons – Guernsey Council No. 74, Royal and Select Masters – Cambridge Commandery No. 47, Knights Templar – Princes of Jerusalem – Nobles of the Mystic Shrine – Guernsey Chapter No. 211, Order of the Eastern Star – Cumberland Lodge No. 134 – Mount Pleasant Lodge No. 360 – Quaker City Lodge No. 500 – Acorn Chapter No. 205, O. E. S. – Cumberland Chapter No. 110, O. E. S. – Quaker City Chapter No. 177, O. E. S. – Pleasant City Chapter No. 227, O. E. S. – The Masonic Temple – Masonic Calendar – Independent Order of Odd Fellows – Cambridge Lodge No. 301 – Cambridge Encampment No. 150, Patriarchs Militant – Other Lodges – Knights of Pythias – Cambridge Lodge No. 53 – Pleasant City Lodge No. 595 – Rathbone Sisters, Golden Rod Temple No. 128 – Quaker City Lodge No. 310 – Seneca Lodge No. 727 – Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks – Cambridge Lodge No. 448.

Chapter XI

Agriculture
Hardships of Early Settlers – The Sheep Industry – Statistics of 1876 – Report of 1907 – Good Fleeces – Agricultural Societies – First Premium List – The Fair at Washington – A Peculiar Season.

Chapter XII

Railway, Water Navigation, and the Old Pike Road
Early Importance of Transportation – Zane Trace – The Pike, or National Road – The Old Wheeling Road – Survey of the Seven Ranges – New Washington – Early Roads – The Old Pike – Report of Travel – Toll Gates – First Flat or Keel Boat on Wills Creek – First Steamboat – Leaving the Country with a Flatboat – An Early River Venture – The Railroad Era – The Central Ohio (now the Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad – The Cleveland & Marietta Road – Ohio River & Western Railroad.

Chapter XIII

The Bar of Guernsey County
Early Lawyers – First Colored Jury – Death Sentences – First Grand Jury in Guernsey County – Present Justices of the Peace – Prominent Early Attorneys – Published Lists – Present Court Officers – Present Members of the Guernsey County Bar.

Chapter XIV

The Medical Profession
Efficiency of the Pioneer Doctors – Paper by Dr. C. A. Moore – Early Medical Advertisements – Dr. Andrew Wall – Personal Mention of Members of the Fraternity – List of Early Guernsey County Physicians – Present-Day Physicians – Medical Societies – Keenan’s Hospital.

Chapter XV

Newspapers of Guernsey County
The First Newspaper – The Guernsey Times – The Washington Republican, the First Democratic Paper – The Jeffersonian – The Guernsey Times – Joseph Sterling Thomas – People’s Press – A Curious Editorial – The Cambridge Herald – Other Cambridge Newspapers – Newspapers at Pleasant City – Byesville Newspapers – Those at Cumberland – Quaker City Papers.

Chapter XVI

Banks and Banking
Banks Established Early to Meet a Demand – Wild-cat Money – Discount on Bank Notes – An Old Bank Detector – Old Time Values – Value of Town Lots – Guernsey County’s First Bank – National Bank of Cambridge – Guernsey National Bank – Citizens Savings Bank – Central National Bank – Cambridge Savings Bank – People’s Bank – Guernsey Building and Loan Company – Byesville Banking – Banking at Cumberland – Senecaville – Quaker City – Cambridge Loan and Building Company – Bank Failures.

Chapter XVII

Mines and Mining
Mineral Resources of Guernsey County – Development of Coal Mines – Statistics – Description of the Large Mines – Smaller Mines of the County – Salt Manufactory – Natural Gas.

Chapter XVIII

The City of Cambridge
Origin of Name – Location – The Oldest House in Town – Levi Morgan – Early History – Settlers – The Whipping Post in Cambridge – Early Deeds Made – Early Business Prospects – The Old Market House – Cambridge Post Office – Early Stage Lines and Mail Service – A Post Office “Primary” Incident – First Telegraph in Cambridge – Municipal History – Present City Officers – The Public Library – The City Cemeteries – Religious Worship – Temperance Movements – Important Events – Gen. Tom Thumb – First Events – Lorenzo Dow in Cambridge – William Henry Harrison Here – Long-Ago Incidents – Old Wills Creek Bridge – A Cambridge Newsboy – Boom the Town – Industrial Cambridge – Prominent Industries – A Cambridge Fire – A Midnight Fire – Fire of 1895 – A Terrible Death.

Chapter XIX

Adams Township
Boundaries – Old Settlers – Personal Mention of Pioneers Who Settled in the Township.

Chapter XX

Cambridge Township
One of the Original Five Townships – Present Boundaries and Area – Streams – Roads – Home of the First White Settler in Guernsey County.

Chapter XXI

Centre Township
Area and Boundaries – Early Settlement – Prominent Early Pioneers – Centreville – Craig.

Chapter XXII

Jefferson Township
A Township Without a Village – Area – Aged Residents of the Township – First Actual Settlers.

Chapter XXIII

Jackson Township
Named in Honor of General Jackson – Organization – Area – Pioneers Living in 1882 – Prominent Early Families – Byesville – Incorporation History – Factories – Post Office – Business Directory of 1910.

Chapter XXIV

Knox Township
Boundary of the Township – An Agricultural Community – Old Settlers Surviving in 1876 – Sketches of Some of the Early Settlers.

Chapter XXV

Oxford Township
Physical Description of the Township – Organization of the Township – The Zane Trace – First Settlement in the Township – Platting of Fairview – Post Office – Mayors – Business Interests.

Chapter XXVI

Liberty Township
Organization – A Good Agricultural Section – A Contented People – Old Residents – Towns and Villages – Kimbolton – Business Interests.

Chapter XXVII

Richland Township
Description of Township – Early Settlers – Towns and Villages – Lore City – Incorporation and Town Officers – Senecaville – Incorporation – Business Interests in 1910 – Early Conditions and Events.

Chapter XXVIII

Millwood Township
Area – Rich in Agricultural and Mineral Resources – Aged Early Settlers Surviving in 1876 – Prominent Families – True Pioneer Hall – Shroud and Coffin – Towns and Villages – Millwood, now Quaker City – Salesville – Its Inception – Present History – Business Factors – Incorporation of Quaker City – Present Business Interests – Town Officers.

Chapter XXIX

Monroe Township
Formerly a Part of Jefferson Township – Area – Drainage – New Birmingham – Pioneers Surviving in 1876.

Chapter XXX

Madison Township
Organization – First Election – List of Aged Pioneers in 1876 – Edward Bratton, the First White Settler – Other Pioneers.

Chapter XXXI

Spencer Township
Organization and First Election – Boundary – Irrigation and Drainage – Pioneer Names – First Settlers – Town of Cumberland – Facts of Interest – Business Factors in 191

Chapter XXXII

Wheeling Township
Boundary and Area – Streams and Roads – First Settler – The Pioneer Band – Town of Guernsey – Bird’s Run – A Strange Natural Formation.

Chapter XXXIII

Westland Township
One of the Original Townships – Physical Characteristics – Early Settlers Survivors in 1876.

Chapter XXXIV

Londonderry Township
Area and Boundary – Old Residents in 1876 – Platting of Londonderry – Early Organization of Quakers – Early-Day School Facilities.

Chapter XXXV

Washington Township
Boundary – Drainage – A Good Agricultural Section – Its Early Settlers – Levi Williams, the Pioneer – Towns and Villages – Antrim – Winchester.

Chapter XXXVI

Wills Township
Location – Well Watered – Prominent Early Settlers Surviving in the Centennial Year – Woolen Factory – Pioneers – Towns and Villages of the Township – Elizabethtown – Washington – Present Officers and Population – Present Business Interests – An Early Sketch – Originally Called Beymerstown – Frankfort – Village of Derwent – Formerly a Sheep-Raising District.

Chapter XXXVII

Valley Township
Organization and Location – A Rich Mineral Section – First Settlers – Pleasant City – Its History, as Told by Abe T. Secrest – Business Factors of 1910 – Municipal History – Buffalo (Old Hartford) – Old Mills – Fire – Present Interests.

Chapter XXXVIII

Miscellaneous Events of Interest
Unique Advertisements – A Slave Case – The “Underground Railroad” – Some Peculiar Notices – Siamese Twins – Cambridge Markets in 1837 and 1854 – Market Prices at Later Dates – Present Prices – California Gold Fever Here – The Pennyroyal Reunion Society – A Curious Old Paper – Early Highway Robbery – Henry Clay in Cambridge – Colonel Sarchet’s Birthday Banquet – Early Guernsey County Marriages – A Human Team – Meteoric Shower of 1833 – Cyclones – Hail Storm in 1820 – Cold Weather Statistics – Oldest Man in the County – Grave Robbing – The First Mails – Daring Mail Robbery – Post Offices in 1895 – Guernsey County’s Man-Woman – Days of Mourning – Death of President Harrison – President Lincoln’s Assassination – Death of President Garfield – President Grant’s Memorial Services – Death of President McKinley – Sarchet Brothers and Their Bible – An Old Bridge.

Chapter XXXIX

General Reminiscences
Pioneer Incidents – Salt for Wheat – The Old Mill – Flour and Salt – Pack Saddle – An Indian Wedding – Early Whiskey-Dog Trial – County’s Pioneers – Local Historical Sketch – Early Days on Wills Creek – Sarchet Gives Some History – General Jackson’s Visit to Cambridge – “From Hen to Mouth” – The Old Pike and Early Inns.

Historical Index of the History of Guernsey County Ohio