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Jackson County History
Milton Township
Milton was one of the three original townships of Jackson County, the other two being Lick and >Franklin. In July 1816, the inhabitants petitioned the county commissioners that the township be reduced to and remain co-extensive with congressional township 9, range 17. The additional tier of sections on the north, belonging to township 10 , was added afterward. This addition of six sections gives the township a surface of forty-two square miles, or 26, 880 acres.
With reference to Jackson County, this township occupies the northeastern corner, although Washington Township extends two and one-half miles farther north on the west. It is bounded on the north by Clinton Township, Vinton County; east by Wilkesville Township, Vinton County; south by Bloomfield Township, and west by Lick, Coal and Washington Townships.
The eastern part of Milton Township is extremely broken and hilly; the western part is not so rough. Raccoon Creek, with its branches, drain the township. The head branches, resembling the branches of a tree, unite north of the center and the stream continues southward, leaving the township east of the middle of the southern boundary. Throughout its entire course Raccoon Creek is noted for its winding course, narrow bottoms, high and steep hills and narrow gulches. That portion of it within this township is no exception to the general rule. Along the smaller streams and especially near the headquarters of the creek the scenery is quite interesting, even romantic in the gloom of its cavern-like ravines and gulches.
Although the Raccoon bottom is very fertile and in places wide enough to make favorable fields for cultivation, on which large crops are raised, as a general thing but little attention is paid to farming or grazing, the industry being generally coal and ore mining and the manufacture of pig iron at the furnaces. There are six blast furnaces in the township. Many acres of hill land have been stripped for the ore and left with the rough and bare earth exposed. In minerals it is one of the riches townships in the county, having at least nine strata of iron ore and in some places seven of coal. There are also large deposits of cannel coal or candle coal.
This was one of the earliest settled townships in the county, although at the first assessment for taxation, in 1816, it ranked the lowest in taxable property. The first Lister was Joshua Scurlock. In 1817, Joseph Crouch was Lister; tax assessed, $39.50. In 1818, Henry Jones was Lister; tax, $43.50. In 1825, the township polled sixty-six votes. At the present time the township polls about 1,000 votes. Population in 1840, 912; in 1850, 1,472; in 1860, 2,367; in 1870, 2,372; in 1880, 3,404.
The township has 879 pupils and thirteen public schools. The average price paid to teachers is about $40 a month. The attendance is about the same as in other parts of the county, and the schools rank about with the average.
Buckeye Furnace was the pioneer in this township. It was built in 1851 by a stock company composed of Daniel Isaminger, a Mr. Hoop and others who owned in the vicinity about 4,500 acres of land. In 1862 the furnace was bought by Hon. H.S. Bundy, the veteran furnace man of the county, and run by him two years, when he sold to Terry Austin and Company. This company ran it until 1867 when it was bought by the Buckeye Furnace Company, who are running it now. In connection with the furnace is a tract of 3,800 acres with three distinct beds of coal, one, five and six feet respectively; also a two-foot bed of cannel coal. The ore, coal and limestone used in the manufacture are all taken from the land belonging to this company. The capacity of the furnace is about 25,000 tons of charcoal iron a year.
Cornelia Furnace, located on section 35 of this township, was built in 1853-1854 by Thompson, Laslie and Company, at a cost of about $112,000, including the purchase of 5,000 acres of land. The furnace was run b this company until 1858, when it was purchased by a company of men incorporated under the name of the Iron Valley Furnace Company. By this company it was leased in 1861 to Messrs. McGhee and Ratcliff, and ran by them until 1863, when McGhee bought the interest of Ratcliff and continued to run the furnace under the name of Lincoln Furnace until his death. In 1876, it fell into the hands of William McGhee's heirs, who, at this time, changed the name to Cornelia Furnace, and are still running it. The furnace produces about 4,000 tons of iron yearly. The owners of the furnace own in connection with it 4,000 acres of land, which furnishes the material for its consumption. It contains seven beds of coal, with an aggregate thickness of twenty feet.
Latrobe Furnace, situated on section 20, was built in 1854 by William McGhee and others. It was built under the supervision of a man by the name of Latrobe, whose name it took. With the exception of two or three blasts, this furnace was kept running continually up to the present year (1883), yielding about 3,000 tons of iron a year, and has now only stopped temporarily. For the last twenty years, the Hon. H.S. Bundy has been the proprietor. The lands belonging to this furnace (3,000 acres) have been mostly cleared off, and this present season, 1,000 acres have been planted to corn for an experiment.
Milton Furnace was built in 1873-1874 by the Milton Furnace Company, and has been running successfully ever since. A small per cent of lake ore is used with the native ore in this furnace. It has been very successful, producing between 5,000 and 6,000 tons of iron, of the best quality, annually. During the money panic of 1878-1879, this was one of the very few furnaces which continued to work. The owners are known as the Milton Furnace and Coal Company, of which H.S. Willard is President, and J.E. Ferree, Secretary.
Wellston Furnace was built by the Wellston Coal and Iron Company, organized in 1873. The capital stock of this company was $500,000. The furnace was built at a cost of about $100,000. For a time the furnace was not run successfully, and suspended entirely from 1876 to 1879. In the fall of 1879, operations were again commenced with Hon. H.S. Bundy, President of the company, and Theodore Fluhard, Secretary. The company began the operation of coal mines in 1881 and are now putting out about ten car loads a day, besides the sixty-two tons consumed daily by the furnace.
Eliza Furnace was built in 1878 by Harvey Wells, the founder of Wellston. The furnace was run by Mr. Wells about nine months and then rented to John C. H. Cobb, and, after being run by him for a few months, was closed on account of the panic in 1879. From that time until 1881, nothing was done on account of a pending lawsuit, but in that year, having passed into the hands of H.S. Bundy, it was repaired by him and set to work. This furnace gives employment to from 60 to 175 men, owing to the demand for iron. The coal consumed by this furnace is taken from a shaft at the depth of eighty-one feet. The furnace was named Eliza in honor of Mrs. Eliza J. Wells, wife of the builder, and daughter of Hon. H.S. Bundy, the present owner. The iron produced, which is made from the raw ore just as it comes from the mine, is known in the market as the American Scotch pig iron.
Wellston is a town of about 1,500 inhabitants, situated in the northwestern corner of Milton Township on section 6. It belongs to that class of towns common to mining districts called mushroom, having sprung up in a few years on ground formerly occupied for agriculture and grazing. The plat was made in early part of 1874 by Harvey Wells, on the Portsmouth Branch of the M. and C. (now C.W. and B.) R.R., and called Wellston. The plat contained 271 acres laid off into 784 lots. The land belonged to the Wellston Coal and Iron Company, but had been recently purchased from Mr. Wells, who, as a part of the contract, agreed to lay out a town. The first buildings were the store of the company and houses built by them for their hands. The building of the furnace in 1874 and the opening of the coal mines soon brought laborers and businessmen of all descriptions.
08 Dec 1875, a petition was sent to the County Commissioners praying for the incorporation of the town of Wellston. In February, 1876, the petition was amended so as to include only that part originally platted by Mr. Wells, and, being favorably acted upon, was signed by 65 voters. The town was then incorporated by the State Legislature 09 May 1876. The first election of town officers resulted as follows: Mayor, George M. Stewart; Marshal, Y. Lynch; Clerk, G.L. Monahan; Treasurer, R.W. Goddard; Council, V.M. Ogle, Harvey Wells, G.A. Leach, Joseph Gooding, George White and William O'Rourke. The government of the town was inaugurated 10 May 1876.
The additions made to the town since its incorporation are Austin's Addition, made in July 1874; Laslie's Addition, made in September, 1874l; and Scott's Addition, made in May 1875.
In 1873, before Wellston came into existence, the spot was designated by a flag station for the accommodation of Milton Furnace. A post office was soon established and kept at the Milton Furnace Company's store, called Milton Post Office. The first mail was received 06 Jan 1874. J.E. Ferree was Postmaster. On his resignation, Mr. Sylvester was appointed and the office kept at his drug store in the Scott Building, corner of Main and Willard Streets. During this administration, the emoluments of the office were about $20 a month. John Blair succeeded in the office in the latter part of 1878, but held it only for a short time, when the present Postmaster, L.H. Bingham, was appointed. It was made a money-order office 07 Aug 1882.
02 Apr 1877, a School Board was elected in Wellston, the district set apart, and what was formerly known as the town school became the Wellston public schools. The school building, which contains six rooms, was built for the town school in 1875. In 1879 two additional rooms were added.
The first School Board was composed as follows: George Reese, Michael O'Rourke, J.E. Ferree, Harvey Williams, W.B. Lewis and George White.
The Superintendents have been as follows: J.M. Lively, 1877-1880; J.W. Delay, four months; J.E. Kinnison, four months; G.W. Fry, one year; J.H. Ray, one year (1882-1883); and G.M. Powell, present Superintendent. In 1877, when the graded school was established, there were 245 pupils; in 1882, 568, with an average attendance of 290.
Wellston School district numbers 3,447 acres of land, valued at $144,389, and the value of chattel property was placed at $89,568.
Methodist Episcopal. As early as 1819, the Methodist Episcopal church had an organization where Wellston is now located. Meetings were held at the residence of James Dempsey, a log house of those primitive days; it stood at or near the place where the house more recently known as the Musgrove house stands, at the corner of Main and Cline Streets, in the town of Wellston. There preaching was held a number of years, as also were the regular meetings of the church. Fifty-two years ago, James Phillips, who is yet a member, joined the church; at that time, Rev. Jacob Delay was preacher in charge of the circuit; David Paine was Class-leader and James Dempsey and wife, Cornelius Dempsey, Jonathan Dempsey and family, Thomas Phillips and family, and the Paine family, were among the members of the church. The circuit was known as the McArthurstown Circuit, and was composed of the following, among other appointments or preaching places: McArthurstown, Wilkesville, Jackson, Piketon, Richmondale, and an appointment four miles beyond Richmondale. Among the preachers of those early days were Revs. Jacob Delay, Salmons, England, Hansee, R.A. Arthur, Orvil C. Shelton, in 1834, Dickson, Fox, Brandult, A. Cartlitch, Hill and R.O. Spencer, who was Presiding Elder in 1844. Among the Class-leaders we have been enabled to procure the names of David Paine, William Rowell, Douglass Paine, James Ray, and James W. Phillips. meetings were continued to be held in the dwelling of James Dempsey until about 1843, when what was known as the Rowel Schoolhouse was built on the farm of William Rowel, just south of the present southeast corner of the town of Wellston, in a field now owned by James W. Phillips. In 1855, Jackson was made a station, with Rev. C.H. Warren, pastor, and Rev. N. Westerman, Presiding Elder of Jackson District; Revs. William Wallace and Timothy Wones, pastors. In the meantime the class at what is now Wellston had gone down. During the year 1856, the class at this place was re-organized at the brick schoolhouse, and that made a regular preaching place. In 1857, John Stewart was Presiding Elder of this, then the Jackson District, and Rev. T. Wones and F.S. Thurston, pastors of Jackson Circuit.
One or two years before 1875, the circuit had been divided and Franklin Valley Circuit and Berlin Circuit were made of the Jackson Circuit territory. Before that time it was embraced in the Berlin Circuit. The parsonage of the old circuit at Berlin was sold and the proceeds divided between the new circuits, and a house rented for the preachers at this place, and this year (1883) a new and commodious parsonage was completed at Wellston and occupied by Mr. Morris, a short time before the close of his conference year, 1875.
During the 1882 conference year, on 04 Jun 1882, a new and commodious church was dedicated at Wellston; until this time all the meetings were held in the schoolhouse, but no night meetings were allowed to be held there, and halls had been rented a few times in which to hold protracted meetings in the winter seasons. But now the church for the first time since its organization in or before the year 1819 is enabled to enjoy the privilege of a house of its own in which to hold its meetings; and another great blessing to the society, and one that will be much in its favor and contribute much to its success , is, the church was dedicated free of debt, with nearly enough on its subscription lists to build a fence around the lot and make other outside improvements. The building alone cost $2,439.06, seated ready for use. The lot, which was two town lots, was donated by H.S. Bundy and the Wellston Coal and Iron Company; the building committee was J.E. Ferree, H.G. Lasley and E.B. Bingham; the plans were furnished by the Church Extension Society's architect. The congregation at Wellston had so increased that the good of the church seemed to demand that a change be made in the regular order of preaching once in two weeks; accordingly, a petition was sent up to the Elder at conference, fall of 1882, to make such changes in the circuit as would give Wellston preaching each Sunday. Accordingly, such a change was made, making two circuits out of the old Wellston Circuit, leaving Wellston and Salem appointments in Wellston Circuit, and making Coalton Circuit out of the residue of the old circuit.
Among those who were member s here at the time of reorganization in 1856 were Johnathan Dempsey and wife, Isaac Dempsey and wife, James W. Phillips and wife, H.F. Austin and wife, Samuel Foster and wife, all of whom are yet members except H.F. Austin, who has gone to reap the reward of his work here. Many of those who were members in the early days of the church have gone to their reward beyond this world. Of those living, many have gone on to other states to assist in building up the church of Christ in new localities. Of the family of Thomas Phillips, six of the children are yet living, the youngest of whom is seventy-two years of age.
United Brethren. The congregation of this church was organized at Wellston in January 1881, with about eighty members. A subscription for building a church was begun in January 1882, and a house was built the following summer at a cost of $800. The present membership is about 100. Pastor, Rev. G.W. Mason.
Catholic Church. This church was founded in the fall of 1881 by Rev. T.P. Theimacher, who still remains in charge. The original congregation consisted of forty families, but has now grown to seventy-five. Meetings were at first held in Sylvester's Hall until the spring of 1882, when their present church edifice was constructed at a cost of $1,700. Services are held every alternate Sabbath.
Lodge No. 710, I.O.O.F., was established 20 Jul 1881, with ten charter members. The following names appear as making up the first corps of officers: G.L. Monahan, Alonzo Phillips, James Winkleman, Lon. Campbell, Thomas Dawson, Hubert Gwinn, E. Patrick, H.T. Stoneburner and George Andrews. At the first meeting the following three members were initiated: Joseph Gooding, James Daniels and William Phillips. The membership is now fifty-three, with $580 in its treasury.
Wellston Lodge, No. 170, K. of P., was instituted 29 Aug 1883 by Special Deputy Grand Chancellor C.M. Morris, assisted by Knights from Myrtle Lodge, No. 27, and Thurman, No. 92, and the following officers duly installed for the ensuing term: P.C., C.M Williams; C.C., G.O. Richardson; V.C., F.M. Smallwood; P., J.G. Vandevort; M. at A., B.C. Ridgeway; K.of R. and S., E.E. Ferree; M. of F., W.B. Vallette; M. of E., T.F. McClure; I.G., Robert Burns; O. Go., John F. Bertsch; Trustees, J. G. Vandevort, A. Hobb and Thos. McGuire; representative to Grand Lodge, F. W. Evans. The lodge starts out with a fine list of officers and nineteen members.
Wellston Argus. The Argus was started in Wellston in the spring of 1883 by Messrs. Smallwood and Cameron. 07 May 1883, the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Smallwood remaining with the paper. From an article in the paper of that date from the pen of Mr. Smallwood, we quote the following as an aid to a knowledge of the nature of the paper:
In presenting this the first number of the Argus to the people of Wellston we have but few words to say. * * * We have been known to most of the citizens of Wellston for a number of years, if not personally, through the medium of the Hamden Enterprise, of which paper we have been the publishers since it was founded. Suffice it to say that we intend making the Argus a good local home newspaper -- one that will upon every occasion advocate everything that will best enhance, interest and help build up our town. In politics we shall stand independent, believing such a course on our part will be better suited than if we were to run our paper in the interest of any party. A glance at our advertising columns will convince the reader that most of our merchants have extended to us their patronage, etc.
The practicing physicians at Wellston are Drs. G.L. Monahan, W.J. Jones, William Sylvester and E.B. Merrill; lawyers, E.B. Bingham and M.T. Vanpelt.
A stranger approaching Wellston would be at once attracted by the din and stir of its active business. The active work about the coal mines and the seething and rattling noise of the furnace and its machinery is ever present to the ears of the inhabitants. The most extensive business is that of the furnace, described in another place.
The Theodore Fluhard and Company Limited Coal Works is a concern of considerable magnitude. The stock company, of which Mr. Fluhard is the center, was organized through the efforts of that gentleman in June 1881. One hundred and fifty acres of coal land were purchased on the southern limit of Wellston and the mines at once opened. A seventy-two-foot shaft was sunk reaching a four-foot bed of superior coal, well known as the Wellston shaft coal. The coal here at this great depth is a firm and pure bituminous coal which has decided marks of merit, being of the same quality that recently stood the Cincinnati waterworks test. Operations were begun in April, 1882, and have been continued constantly to the present time. About forty hands are constantly employed. The output is about 30,000 tons yearly.
Planing Mill and Lumber Yard. This industry was established here in the summer of 1882 by Gooding, Edwards and others, under the firm name of Gooding and Company. The original investment in machinery and lumber was $6,000, since raised to $12,000. A leading feature of the business is the construction of new houses, they having constructed seventy-four in the last year.
The following are the mercantile houses doing business at the present time: J.G. and J.M. Vandervort, dry-goods; Atkinson and Evans, dry-goods; R.W. Goddard, general store; M.W. Mills, groceries; Evans Brothers, groceries; Harper and McCartney, groceries; J.H. Roop, tin and hardware; Johnson and Company, hardware; W.J. Jones, drugs; A. Brooks, drugs; J.W. Patridge, jewelry; H.T. Stoneburner, stationery and books; C.M. Richards, furniture; A. Hobt, saddles, etc.; M. Remby, bakery and restaurant; Mrs. l.E. Roop and Mrs. Jones, millinery; J. B. Payne and Frank Kelly, meat shops; F.F. Swanson, machine agent. Besides the above are the supply stores of the furnace and coal companies.
There are two hotels in Wellston, the Walker House and Bundy House.
The Walker House was build in 1874 by J.C. Elliot, at a cost of about $3,600. It was run a while by Mr. Elliot, then by Mr. Jeffreys, then by Dr. Monahan. In 1879 A.B. Walker bought the house and still runs it.
The Bundy House was built by Harvey Wells at a cost of $10,000 and afterward bought by Hon. H.S. Bundy. In 1883, it was rented by John Glanville, who now runs it successfully.
This little hamlet, formerly known as Berlin Cross Roads, has been in existence since 1942. It is situated in the western part of the township, at the crossing of the C.W. and B and T.C. and Saint Louis Railroads. The plat was made by Charles Kinnison on what was then known as the Kinnison farm. The first house erected was that of J.E. Whitman, for a dwelling and store. The number of inhabitants grew to about 200, at which it has remained with slight variations for a great many years. There are at present three stores, a post office, church and one physician in the village.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at this place was established in 1854, with but a very small congregation, but it became strong enough in the following year to build their present fine church building, which cost about $2,000. The congregation now numbers about fifty members. Trustees at preset: Henry Kisenger, David McGiffin, M.C. Keenan, Dr. Sylvester and Wilson Hawk; pastor, Rev. L.L. Magee.
This hamlet, though smaller, is older than Berlin. It was laid out as early as 1827 by Oliver Tison and consisted of only a few lots. In early times the location was a collecting place for travelers, being near a mill known as the Dawkins Mill
The town is about midway between Jackson and Wilkesville, hence was called for many years, Middletown. The post office retains the name of the old mill, being Dawkins Mills Post Office. In 1870 the census returns showed a population of seventy-one in Middleton. The number has remained about stationary since that time. Middleton is situated very near the center of Milton Township.
Salem Church, situated one-half mile west of Middleton, was built in 1838, although the organization had been formed some time prior to that date. The Hawk and Lott families were among the first members. The membership at present is about sixty. Present Trustees, W.J. Kirkendall, W. Hawk, A. Pettinger and C.S. Kinnison; pastor, Rev. L.C. Haddox of Wellston.
Mount Carmel United Brethren Church. The society was formed as early as 1825, but for a great many years held meetings in dwellings and schoolhouses. In 1865, money was raised and the present neat frame church building was built on section 11, at a cost of $1,200. The present congregation numbers about fifty members; pastor, Rev. Mr. Lower.
The land valuation of the township is given in the assessment of 1882 at $256,923, and the chattel property at $168,439; total, $425,362. The personal property assessment is put down at a very low figure, certainly not over twenty-five percent of its valuation, as there are no less than six furnaces in blast at this time (1883).
From History of Lower Scioto Valley, Ohio (1884)