Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/241

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��The Commissioners granted petitions for roads, provided for the use of the block-houses as court house and jail, and such other business as came before them, from time to time, until August 9, 1814, when a division of the county was made in accordance with a request of a majority of the inhabitants therein. This was the first division of the county after its organ- ization, and, as shown l\v the old Commission- ers" records, was as follows :

■' Ordered that said county l)e divided into four townships, and that said townships lie bounded as follows, to wit : The range line between Range 17 and 18 to be the division line north and south, and that the second town- ship line from the south lioundary of the county be the division line east and west be- tween said townships. Ordered further, that the northwest township in said county retain its original name, to wit, Madison Township ; and that the name of. the southwest township in said county be Jefl'erson Township ; and that the southeast township retain its original name, to wit, (Ireen Township ; and that the northeast township in said county be named Vermillion Township, and that they are hereby named as above. "

This division gave (Ireeu Township a bound- ary of twelve miles each way; Vermillion and Jefferson, twelve by eighteen, and ^ladison. eighteen, the southeast corner of the present Madison Township being the point from which the division lines between each of the townships radiated.

The line defining the western boundar}- of (rreen and Vermillion Townships was made by this last division four miles west of the line established by the Commissioners of Knox County in 1812. Whether these oflficers failed to understand the proper township lines, or made the division as indicated Ijy the settle- ments, is not stated ; probably, however, the latter cause was the reason of its establishment. This division seems to have sufficed but a very

��short time, for, on September 5, Jeflei-son Township was divided on •• the first township line from the southern boundary- of the county," the southern township retaining the original name, Jefl'erson, while the northern one was called Troy. Each of these new towaiships was six miles wide from north to south, and eighteen miles long from east to west. December 5, Vermillion Township was divided in like man- ner, on a north and south line, making a new township of its western half called Miflilin. the eastern part retaining the original name, Ver- million. This left Richland County, at the close of the year 1814, with six townships, one of which, Madison, was eighteen miles square ; another, (Ireen, twelve, and four others, ^'er- million, Jefferson, Troy and 3Iifflin. six by eighteen in extent.

The opening of the season of 1815 brought a fresh arrival of settlers to the county, neces- sitating a new^ division of the townships. June 6, the Board divided Crreen Township "^on the range line running through the center of the said township," enacting that the part " l3nng east of the said line, retain the original name, to wit. Green, and that the part lying west of the line lie named Worthington."

They further " orderetl that the township of Vermillion be divided in the following manner, to wit : That Township No. 21 of Range No. 16 he and liereb}' is set apart a sepai'ate and distinct township, which shall retain the orig- inal name, to wit, Vermillion, and that alt the residue of said township constitute one other township, and that the same l)e and is heix^by named Montgomer}'."

This last division left Vermillion Township six miles square, or the same as a government town- ship, it being the first to be reduced to its final limits ; the division left Montgomery six miles wide, from east to w'est, and twelve miles long. These were the only changes made that 3'ear.

The spring of 181G brought large numbers of settlei's, and hence more chanoes were

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