Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/421

 HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��of them 3'et remain, grayhaired and bending with the weight of years, living monuments of days that are fast fading, and can scarcely be comprehended by the generations of to-day.

The Methodists seem to have been the pio- neer religious bod}- in this township. About 1816 or 1817, Bennajah Boardman held the first religious services, in the cabin house of John Long, on the site of the village of Planktown, or Richland. He was a missionar}. and continued preaching among the settlers several years before any church was erected. Money to build churches, or for any other pur- pose, was scarce, and the meetings were held in private houses, barns, and in the open air. In 1828, through the Rev. Boardman's influ- ence, a log church — the first one in the town- ship — was erected on the southeast quarter of Section 1. where a town was laid out which they called Salem, and the church received the name of Salem Church. The settlers came together and built this church b}" their united labors. Its first members were John, Cathai*- ine, Nancy, Betsy and Sarah Long ; Asa Mur- phy, who was considered a leader in the congregation ; Peter and Annie Maring, John and Hannah Bell. This church was of hewed logs, and about fifty feet long by forty wide, with rude puncheon benches for seats. Follow- ing Bennajah Boardman, the ministers were Erastus Felton, the Revs. Chase and Groddard. Adam Poe, a nephew of the famous Indian- fighter, also preached here occasionall}-. Board- man was, finall}', the local preacher ; settled here, and died in 1858. The log church was used until 1852, when it was torn down and a frame erected which cost $1,625. When the railroad (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis) came through the township in 1850, and the town of Shiloh began to gi'ow, the Methodists proposed building a church in that place, and the old one was neglected. It was finally sold, in 1874, to Wesley McLaugh- lin, for $300, who, in turn, sold it to the Dunk-

��ards, by whom it is now occupied. This is the only church in the township outside the towns.

As in other townships, the first schools were " subscription " schools, and were taught in private houses, there being no public funds for school purposes. The first schoolhouse was built in 1819, on Section 9 ; and the first teacher was A. D. Bodley. Bennajah Board- man, the Methodist preacher, also taught one of the first schools, before anj' schoolhouse was erected, in a cabin built for a dwelling, across the road, south of old Salem Church, on the land now owned b}' David Long. This cabin had been occupied b}- a famil}- of colored people — the first in the township. In this same cabin, Boardman also preached for some time before the log church was built. John Armstrong and an Englishman by the name of Simpson, also taught in this cabin. After sev- eral years, a hewed-log schoolhouse, which must have been the second one in the town- ship, was built on the present site of the town of Shiloh, and the old cal)in at Salem was de- serted, the scholars all gathering at this house. Armstrong and Bodley also taught in this house. Some of the scholars were Levi Brink, Enos, Sophia and Rebecca Dayhuff, Newton Osterhaut, Thomas Vail, Thomas, James and Alexander Pettit, Caleb Boardman, Eli Murphy, and Polly and Mary James.

The site of this schoolhouse is a little east of the present Lutheran Church, and is marked by a large s^'camore tree, which stretches its gaunt, white arms protectingly over the spot ; and, also, by a large white-oak stump, which has been a stump more than fift}' j-ears, and looks as if it were good for a century more, if undisturbed. William Gra3-don was one of the early teachers here, and it was during his time that the schoolhouse was burnt. Another log schoolhouse was built further east, toward Old Salem, which was also burnt ; and a third one built north of the present site of Shiloh. This was abandoned after a time, and a fourth

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