Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/694

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��HISTORY OF KICHLAN^D COUNTY.

��the history of the village are J. C. Johnston and Solomon Harding. The former was born in Beaver County, Penn., in 1818, and came to Ohio in 1821, locating near Perrysville with his father. He came to Blooming Grove in 1836. He married Miss Logan in 1838, and built the first dwelling in the village, and has been en- gaged in business there ever since. He joined the Baptist Church in 1842, and has been an active member through a period of nearly forty years. Solomon Harding, the proprietor of the town site, came to Bloomfleld about 1834. He laid out the town, and sold some of the lots, and removed to Gallon in 1864, where he died in 1872. His family consisted of seven sons and two daughters. One son resided here till 1859.

The town site of the village of Blooming Grove was laid out in 1835. It was surveyed by John Steward and acknowledged before David Kilgore, who was then Justice of the Peace. This occurred March 5. The location is a very pleasant one. The town stands upon a little eminence, the ground descending to the east and west. As already stated, the first building was a small, humble dwelling, erected by Mr. Johnston. He also built a blacksmith- shop about the same time. The house stood on Lot No. 8. The post office was established in 1845, with U. G. Baker as Postmaster. The route has often been changed, and at present they have a tri-weekly mail from Gallon to Fredericktown and return. The village em- braces about one hundred souls. The village school is a common district school of a single department. There are three churches in the village— Baptist, Methodist and Adventist. The Baptist Church was organized October 23, 1843, by Rev. Frederick Freeman. There were fifty-three members at the time of organization, while at present only thirty are enrolled. The meeting-house was erected in 1840. It is a frame house, forty-four feet long and thirty feet wide, costing about $400. This building was

��replaced, in 1870, with a substantial brick, forty-five feet long and thirty-four feet wide! Its cost was near $2,500. The ministers have been Dr. Newton, Rev5. Freeman, Neflj; Pearson, Mothland, Morrison and Hall. A good Sunday school of thirty or forty members is sustained. The annual contributions are about $300. The Advent Church is a neat, frame build- [ ing in the southern portion of the town. A series of meetings were held during the winter of 1878-79, which resulted in a permanent or- ganization, consisting of twenty-seven members. An efl^brt was soon made to build a church, and resulted in the erection of a commodious chapel, forty-six feet long and twenty-eight feet wide. It is nicely painted, furnished and in- closed by a good board fence. The building cost about $1,600. The society was organized March 16, 1879, by Rev. A. 0. Berrill.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organ- ized in early days, and has varied in numer- ical and moral strength. The church edifice stands just opposite the Advent, and is a brick structure. The village aflfords two stores, three blacksmith-shops, one physician— Dr. McFar- land^and a few artisans. A beautiful ceme- tery lies just west of the village. It was laid out in 1840. The first grave was made in 1823. In 183(j, only three graves had been made, but at present, about four hundred and thirty bodies rest in the quiet retreat.

The village of West Point is located on the adjacent corners of Sections 31 and 32, in Bloomfield Township, and Sections 5 and 6, in Congress Township. It embraces an area of eight acres, two acres from each section. It was laid out by Mathew Boben in 1848, who sold goods a few years in the village, but was soon thereafter elected Recorder of Morrow County, and removed to Mount Gilead. Many pieces of land were entered, and various settle- ments made before the town was laid out. The Government patents of various parcels of land joining the town, are in the possession of the

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