Township Hall, situated in the village of Mutual, is a brick building two stories in height. It was erected, in the year 1879, at a cost of $2,200. The first floor is used as Clerk's Office and store-room, which is occupied by T. M. Stone as a wareroom for buggies. The township business is also transacted on this floor. The second floor is used as a public hall.

MUTUAL.

The village of Mutual, formerly called Texas, is situated in the center of the township, on Buck Creek, with the Urbana and Mechanicsburg pike passing through it. The first lots on the site of the village were sold about the year 1840 by William Lafferty, who, probably, tired of the "Buck Creek region, gave the neighboring people to understand that he was going to Texas; but instead, it was soon discovered that he had moved into a little cabin adjoining the settlement, when the people ridiculously called it "Lafferty's Texas; hence the name of Texas as applied to the present village of Mutual. It-was laid out in July, 1846, but no original plat was ever made and recorded until July, 1869.

The first house was built by David Conklin on the present site of Smith's blacksmith-shop. The second house (a part of which is now standing) was built by John Sargent, and is now owned by Isaac Stone. These houses were built about the year 1840. The first tavern was erected about the year 1842 or 1843 by Stephen Runyan. It is still numbered with the structures of the village, but no longer furnishes a retreat for the hungry and weary traveler, for it is now occupied by P. Gardner as a wagon-making shop. While on this subject, we will add that the first wagon-making shop was carried on by Daniel Conklin, who was also one of the earliest tavern-keepers. Jacob Lands is another name to be added to the early tavern-keepers of the village.

John Sargent was the first blacksmith, but, while first, he was not the only "smith" whose hammer against the heavy anvil rebounded and broke the quiet of the peaceful village, for it seems that, above all things, "Mutual" has ever been famous for its abundance of blacksmiths. The first to venture in mercantile business was Michael Huston. Runyan & Price put up and operated the first steam saw-mill.

In 1843 or 1844, the post office was established, with Francis A. Morrison as Postmaster, who was followed by Isaac W. Spencer, S. B. Bailey, Jacob Bailey, R. N. Alexander, F. M. McAdams, E. D. Cheney and John Lafferty, the present incumbent, who took possession July 17, 1871.

The first mail route was by horseback from Urbana to West Jefferson, which was carried once a week. Later, the railroad was built through Mechanicsburg, when the mails per week were two. At one time, the mail was conveyed by means of a hack running from Urbana to Mechanicsburg via Mutual; however, that was discontinued, and at present a carrier is employed and two mails per week are received from Urbana.

The village is blessed with two churches, both orthodox-one Methodist, and the other Presbyterian-further mention of which is made in the history of the township. A fine school building with widely opened doors daily welcomes the young of the village which it so gracefully beautifies. A full description of the building is given under "schools."

On the petition of the following men, the village was incorporated May 4, 1869, with a population of about 200: W. H. McFarland, C. A. Brandon, N.

Adams, William Sullivan, S. McCoughey, A. J. Lessinger, Warren Freeman, J. W. Fay, Joseph Roberts, F. H. Snyder, P. Gardner. J. Bailey, Sam Roberts, G. Smith, O. T. Moody, John Applegate, H. Sullivan, H. Vanosdol, O. B. Fay, William Reinsmith, Calvin Roberts, Henry Fay, F. M. McAdams, W. K. Wilson, Isaac Lafferty, C. W. Reed, Enos Guyton, George W. Brigham, James Guyton, W. H. Vermillion, George Conrad and Philip Conrad.

The officers of the village elected in 1870, were: F. H. Snyder, Mayor; S. M. Harper, Clerk; T. M. Stone, Treasurer; P. Gardner, W. H. McFarland, W. R. Applegate, S. McCoughey, James Downey and John W. Walker, Councilmen. In 1871, Warren Freeman, John Lafferty and E. D. Cheney, Councilmen. In 1872, W. H. McFarland, Mayor; S. M. Harper, Clerk; T. M. Stone, Treasurer; P. S. Parsell, John W. Walker, Elisha Gayton and A. J. Lessinger, Councilmen. In 1873, Christian Goul, A. J. Lessinger and Samuel Roberts, Councilmen. In 1874, W. R. Applegate, Mayor; James Guyton, Clerk; T. M. Stone, Treasurer; B. S. Parsell, F. H. Snyder, J. T. Price, J. S. Price and Daniel Powell, Councilmen. In 1875, W. R. Neal, Mayor; W. H. McFarland, Elisha Guyton, G. M. Smith and Daniel Powell, Councilmen. In 1876, Warren Freeman, Nathan Adams and J. L. Hawk, Councilmen; James Guyton, Clerk; and J. S. Price, Treasurer. In 1877, John Lafferty, Mayor; Ferguson Bowen, E. Guyton and A. J. Stone, Councilmen. In 1878, T. M. Stone, Treasurer; James Guyton, Clerk; P. Gardner, M. Cartmill and H. S. Creston, Councilmen. In 1879, John Lafferty, Mayor; F. Bowen, Samuel McCoughey and Nathan Adams, Councilmen. In 1880, W. H. McFarland, Preston P. Gardner and M. Goul, Councilmen.

CATAWBA STATION.

Catawba Station is located in the southern part of the township, on the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, & Indianapolis Railroad. It consists of a depot, water-tank and telegraph office. About a quarter of a mile south of the station is a grain warehouse, built for the benefit of the surrounding country. An extensive business is carried on by the proprietor. Some days there are over one thousand bushels of wheat unloaded and shipped to the East.

acres.

MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP.

This township includes all of Township 4, Range 11, and one tier of sections on the north side of Range 10, and contains 42 square miles, or 26,880 On the north it is bounded by Concord Township, on the east by Urbana Township, on the south by a portion of Clark County, on the west by Jackson and Johnson Townships. The beautiful and fertile Mad River Valley, whose lands furnished homes for the first settlers of the county, is located on the east, and from one to one and one-half miles in width. The township is drained on the north by Nettle and Spring Creek; on the south by Chapman and Storm Creek. The extreme northeastern corner is crossed by Mad River. The many tributaries of these streams provide sufficient drainage and afford excellent agricultural facilities. West of the Mad River Valley, the country is undulating. The C. C. & I. C. Railroad crosses the northern sections, and thus provides for the exporting of grain and other productions of the township. Inland travel is facilitated by the Mad River Valley and Anderson Creek Pike, extending north and south, and the Urbana and Piqua and

Urbana and Troy Pikes, extending east and west, which are connected with a complete network of "dirt "roads. With these advantages, many of them the work of nature, it is a matter of no surprise, that Mad River Township attracted the attention of the early seekers of new homes.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

It is universally conceded that William Owens is the first white person who settled not only in the township but in the county as well. Of him but little is remembered. He was a native of Virginia, where he lived on a rented piece of ground, in comparative poverty. A desire to better the condition of himself and family, induced him to leave forever the land of his birth. The trip was made by wagon, and, as it was necessary to cut the way, it required much valuable time. Late in the fall of 1779, he arrived in this county and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 15, in this township. He purchased of one William Ward, 240 acres of land, a part of which is now located as a portion of Section 9, the remainder as the northeast quarter of Section 15. In consideration of his leading the way into this vast wilderness, the land was sold to him at the nominal figure of $1 per acre. A beautiful and inexhaustible spring was perhaps the chief inducement that caused him to select this land. The Indians were his only neighbors, and with them he became very intimate. Because he raised a number of swine, they applied to him the cognomen of Kosko Elene (Hogman). Of the first four-horse wagon, that plied between Cincinnati and the settlements, he was the proprietor. As an individual, he was very eccentric. At times he professed a firm belief in the religion of Jesus Christ, and again would indulge in the most profane epithets that he could command. He became a member of the Baptist Church at an early day. He was an habitual soliloquizer. One day the Indians' horses broke into his cornfield. Patience, which had been taxed to its utmost capacity, ceased to be a virtue, and he was heard repeating to himself, "Old Billy can swear a pretty good hickory yet." While removing a family to Indianapolis, he contracted a disease from which he never recovered. He died in the year 1818. Though his life was not characteristic of any imitable traits of character, he will nevertheless be remembered as one of the early pioneers who suffered innumerable privations that future generations might live in peace and plenty. Requiescat in pace. His family consisted of eight children, who lived the life of noble citizens, but have long since crossed the dark valley to enter a land that is always new, and where the struggles and trials of pioneer life are unknown.

Of

At the beginning of the present century, several families emigrated to the lowlands of this township and settled on the different sections, paying the first installment, and commenced building and clearing. The Government required that each installment be paid when due or the land was declared forfeited. necessity they, or many of them, failed. They were compelled to clear the land, and then, from the products of the soil, realize enough to pay for it. It is not strange that some of them lost all the money invested with the lands and the improvements thereon. The injustice of a too stringent Government cannot be denied. But few countries were settled under greater disadvantages, yet the fine soil and healthy climate presented an inviting aspect to home seekers, and they came.

At the mouth of Storms Creek, near what is now known as Tremont, Clark County, Charles Rector, with his brother-in-law, Christopher Weaver, settled

in 1801.

Nature had fitted these men for a life in a new country; they were honest, sober and industrious. In addition to this, they exercised good judgment in the selection of lands. They were natives of Kentucky. They lived the lives of Christians, and when death knocked at their doors, he found them prepared. One of Rector's sons (Conaway) lives near the old homesteadSection 12-and is honored and respected by all who know him.

William Ross, a man of wonderful strength and physical endurance, also settled on the southern part of the township, near Tremont.

William Weaver, a brother of Christopher, was born in 1759, at Bucks County, Penn., near Philadelphia. He participated in the Revolutionary war, and was an eye-witness to Cornwallis' march from Yorktown. In 1783 or 1784, he was united with Mary Kiger, a native of Maryland. The couple removed to Kentucky in 1792, and, in 1802, they emigrated to Ohio. They settled in what is now known as Clark County, where they rented of William Chapman eighty acres of land, a part of which was prairie land. Here they lived for five years, when they removed to Section 24 in this township, on land now owned by William Weaver, where they resided until death. Henry Storm is remembered as the only man who lived in the neighborhood prior to the arrival of the Weavers. Fifteen children were born to the couple. Of those yet living, William was born December 25, 1795, in Kentucky. He has been a resident of this State since 1802, and has never been beyond the State boundaries, nor has he ever been aboard of a train of cars. At the advanced age of eighty-five years he enjoys good health, is robust and is never so well satisfied as when the condition of the weather permits him to work in the garden. The bountiful supply of vegetables found in his garden attest to his skill as a gardener. He is a kind and benevolent gentleman, courteous to strangers and an indefatigable worker in the Lord's vineyard. We wish to add that, to our knowledge, he is the oldest resident in the township now living. Nancy was born November 6, 1801, was married to Erastus Wilson and is still living.

Nelson, born December 22, 1817, the youngest child, lives on a part of the old homestead. Thomas Redman, a Kentuckian, settled just above Falling Springs, but remained a short time only, and, in 1811, returned to his native State.

The Pences, fifteen in number, settled in different portions of this county. Three of them, John, Louis and Abraham, settled in this township. John purchased a quarter-section of land on Section 9, of one Terman, but soon disposed of it to his brother, Louis, and emigrated West. Abraham came from Virginia in 1811, and purchased portions of Sections 4 and 10. The land is now owned by his son David. He was called out as a scout during the early Indian troubles, and stationed in what is now known as Logan County. He was a faithful member of the Baptist Church, and held the position of Deacon for many years. He died in 1838. One of his daughters, the widow of David Loudenback, is living in the township and is now eighty-eight years of age, and without exception is the oldest living resident in the township. Several of his brothers lived to be fourscore years of age.

Another Kentuckian, named Abraham Shocky, settled on Nettle Creek. Of him, it is said, that he was muscular in form, weighing about one hundred and seventy-five pounds, and of a sandy complexion. As a pedestrian, he was without a peer. Rev. William Haller well remembers of seeing him start with good trotting horses and keep ahead. A tract of land, still in the possession of Uncle Sam, was well timbered with poplar. Shocky was in the habit of

hauling the timber to his mill. One evening as he was coming in with a log, he met Judge Runkle, who said to him: "You cannot haul any more logs from that land, for I have sent Joe Sims to Cincinnati this morning to enter it." But Shocky realized the real worth of the land and determined to have it at all hazards. He borrowed the necessary money, and on that same night started, on foot, for the Queen City. On the morning of the second day, as Sims was going to Cincinnati, he met Shocky going home, who revealed to him that he had entered the land in question. The fact was confirmed, and Sims and Shocky went home together, one on foot, the other on horseback. On another occasion, Shocky offered to bet that he could walk from Urbana to Cincinnati in one day, but met with no takers. He accomplished the feat, however, to the great delight of the settlers. At another time, he undertook to make better time than the Xenia and Urbana stage. In this, also, was he successful.

Up Nettle Creek, on the northwestern part of the township, there was a neighborhood of Shenandoah Valley; Virginians, consisting of the Wiants, Kites, Loudenbacks, Runkles and Jinkinses, most of them enterprising citizens. John Wiant was a tanner, and highly useful in his day. His sons are yet among the living, and one a talented and prominent figure in the Baptist Church. Adam Kite settled here in 1807, one-half mile east of the present residence of his son George W. He entered 200 acres at the Cincinnati Land Office. He died in 1842. Although the lowlands of the Mad River Valley could be purchased at a more reasonable figure than the highlands of this section, it was supposed by the Virginians that a land on which grew the trees of the forest could not be utilized into a grain country; therefore, they settled on the highest lands in the township.

Thomas Kenton (Simon's nephew) was a native of Virginia. He came to the Mad River Valley in about 1801. Was well made and of splendid stature, and noted for his great endurance and energetic industry. The first election held in the township, in 1805, was held at his house. He lived to a ripe age and possessed a remarkable memory up to the time of his death. Ezekial Arrowsmith, a brother-in-law of Kenton, emigrated from Mason County, Ky. They left on the 3d of December, 1801, and arrived in the township in the same month. His actual settlement was made in Concord Township some years after.

John Kain entered a tract of land in the river valley in the year 1808. In 1810, he sold it to one Hill, and left for the West. On the western boundaries, settlements were made by William Hendricks, Jessie Goddart and a man named Dibert. Jacob Arney, a native of North Carolina, settled near the site of Terre Haute. Two Kentuckians, John Rouse and Elijah Standerford, were his nearest neighbors. The locality settled by Owens received, in the period of 1801 to 1806, the families of Mark and William Kenton and of William and Elijah Harbor. Henry Ritter was another early pioneer; he afterward removed to Adams Township.

A Pennsylvanian named Archibald McGrew settled on a fine tract of land and was a valuable addition to the enterprising class of settlers.

Basil West settled near the town of Westville in 1805. When he came he was poverty stricken. He negotiated for a cow and agreed to pay for her at s stated time in the future. When the time expired, he paid the money as promised, remarking that it would certainly have been impossible for him to support his family had it not been for the cow.