Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/679

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��Ashland, the seat of justice for the count}-, was originally known as Uniontown, and was laid out July 28, 1815, by William Montgom- ery, who gave it the name of Uniontown in honor of his native town of that name in Penn- sylvania. When he laid out the town, it was all woods, and deer, bears and wolves roamed unmolested. There was not a cabin or build- ing of any kind upon its site. Henry Gamble and John Smith were in the neighborhood, and were the nearest settlers. Mr. Montgomery erected the first cabin on the site for his own use. James Kuykendall assisted in its erec- tion. It was of hewed logs, and occupied the lot upon which Treaces tavern was afterward erected. Mr. Montgomery kept tavern in it and entertained the travelers on the road be- tween Wooster and Mansfield. He was also engaged, at this time, in distilling whisky, which was looked upon as a respectable employment in those days. He was also proprietor of a tannery, which he subsequently sold to George Sweineford, and which occupied the premises afterward occupied by David Whiting.

In 1817, Joseph Sheets, William Montgom- ery, David Markley and John Croft, with their families, constituted the population of the town. Markley was engaged in selling gro- ceries, whisky, etc., and had the first store in the town. It was on the lot where the town hall was afterward erected. Samuel Uric came in shortly afterward and started the first black- smith-shop. Nicholas Shaffer soon arrived. He was a carpenter ])y trade, but found nothing to do except hew out door and window frames, as there was no frame houses being erected, and no mills to make lumber. John Antibus manu- factured hats. Croft conducted the tannery.

The first vehicle in the form of a carriage made its appearance in the new town in 1821. Its springs were of wood, and, excepting the tires upon the wheels, there had not Iwen twenty pounds of iron used in its manufacture. It was manufactured in Connecticut, and was

��brought here by Dr. Luther, who was probably the first physician in the place. In 1821, Fran- cis Graham came to Uniontown and brought with him a stock of dry goods and gi'oceries. He says at that time it was a village of four- teen or fifteen families, two distilleries, one saw- mill, one small tannery, one wheelwright shop for the manufticture of wheels for flax-spin- ning ; one blacksmith-shop, kept by Samuel Urie, and one physician — Dr. Joel Luther. David Markley, as before mentioned, was the first storekeeper, but he had no more than a one-horse wagon load of goods, and did not replenish his stock, so he soon ran out. Joseph Sheets kept the next store. He brought a small stock of goods from Steubenville, Ohio, in 1819. He did not replenish this stock, and soon sold out. There were so few people, and their wants were so simple, that store-keeping did not pay. Mr. Graham may, therefore, be considered the first store-keeper who carried a general stock and started a permanent store. The other two stores had disappeared, and he rented a room of Mr. Sheets, on ^Nlain street, and also engaged board of him at something less than $1 per week. Sheets was keeping a tavern at the time, the second one started in the place. In 1822, John Hull, the wheel- wright, opened the third tavern in a small build- ing which was, some years after, moved back to give place to the Slocum House, where the town hall was afterward erected. Graham found his goods in demand, but no money in the country to pay for them, and was com- pelled to part with them in exchange for prod- uce of various kinds, for which he found no market. Wheat was worth about 25 cents per bushel, but no one wanted to buy it for family use. and. as there was no market outside the immediate neighborhood, but little was raised. Oats were traded off at 12 to 15 cents per bushel ; corn was in better demand, and brought, in goods, from 1 5 to 20 cents per bushel, and became almost lawful tender, because it

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