Chapter 15 - Town of Dayton.

LOCATION - ORGANIZATION - SOIL AND SCIENCE - STREAMS AND WATERPOWER - SETTLEMENT IN 1852 - SETTLEMENT FROM 1853 TO 1856 - EARLY SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES - VILLAGE OF BOAZ.


    This town was established by order of the county board of supervisors in 1857. Its boundaries are regular, on the north by Marshall, on the east by the town of Richland, on the south by Eagle, and on the west by Akan. It was the last town to be organized of the sixteen that comprise Richland county. The town was formed by taking from the town of Eagle all of town 10 north of range 1 west. The first election was held at the house of Henry McNelly, on April 7, 1857, by order of the board of supervisors, and the officers chosen were G. W. Oglevie, Lorenzo Woodman and L. L. Leslie, supervisors; James S. Robinson, town clerk; Archibald Benjamin, superintendent of schools; Edmund Davis, treasurer; C. C. Walker, assessor; Lorenzo Woodman, Collins P. Pratt, John Noble and Lyman Wood, justices of the peace; Edward F. Wait, Martin Smith, J. Wood and S. Gravatt, constables.

    Dayton as a whole may be characterized as hilly and broken land. The soil is a rich dark loam, except on some of the ridges, where a tendency to clay is visible, and there are many farms under a high state of cultivation. The surface of the town is well watered by Mill creek, Fox branch, Horse creek and their tributaries. The first mentioned, Mill creek, is the most important stream in the town, and furnishes good water-power. Dayton is as well adapted to grazing purposes as it is to farming, and the industry receives careful attention with favorable results. Fruit culture is also carried on very profitably, apples being the staple in that line, though all kinds of small fruits succeed admirably. Much of the land is heavily timbered, except where cleared by the energy and industry of the settlers.

    Dayton was settled a few years before the town was organized, the territory then being attached to other jurisdictions. During the summer or autumn of 1852 John Messingill and his two sons, Thomas and Benjamin, and John and George Mathews came and selected homes within the present limits of the town. John Messingill entered the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 23, and his son Thomas entered the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 14. Benjamin mad a claim of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 15. In 1855 they all sold out and moved away.

    John and George Mathews were brothers, and were natives of Illinois. They were here as early as the Messingills and settled on the northwest quarter of section 25, where they erected a double log cabin and made a small clearing, remaining about one year. John was the first sheriff of Richland county, and he afterward removed to Arkansas. George died here. The Messingills and Mathews were probably the only persons residing in Dayton the year 1852.

    From 1852 until 1856 the settlement of the town progressed rapidly, the following named coming during that period: John H. Rizer, A. J. Parish, John H. Noble, Edmund Davis, Reason Barnes and his son James T., William Akan, William Robinson, Henry Robinson, Levi Hart, L. M. Keepers, Archibald Benjamin, John Purcell, Lorenzo Woodman, Comfort C. Walker, Lyman Wood, Peter Famm, Benjamin B. Norris, Jacob Dix, Jacob Berger, Martin Shumaker, Charles Hurless, Valentine Groh, John and Henry Wolf, Christian Tappy, C. C. Nevil, George Marsh, Alfred Durnford, Andrew J. Campbell, Levi Leslie, Martin Smith, G. W. Oglevie, Henry McNelly, Jacob Reed and Joel Berry.

    John H. Rizer, one of these pioneer settlers of Dayton, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1830. At the age of sixteen, his parents having died, he engaged with a tinner in Lafayette, Indiana, to learn the trade. He served three years, and then worked on a farm in Tippecanoe county of the same state, after which he rented a farm in the same county until 1854. In that year he and wife started for Wisconsin with an ox team, taking their household goods and provisions with them, and camping at night by the roadside. After traveling seventeen days they arrived in Richland county. He entered land on section 20 of the town of Dayton, and camped in the woods till he built a log cabin. In 1860 he, like many others, became excited with the so-called gold fever and started for Pike's Peak, where he was engaged in mining and prospecting a few months. He then returned to Richland county, and purchased timber land on section 12, town of Akan, where he claimed a farm and built a good frame house. In 1882 he bought a farm on section 11, moved there and engaged in the dairy business, which was a new departure in that town, but his example was soon followed by man of his neighbors. Mr. Rizer was a genial, pleasant disposition, and was generally popular in the neighborhood in which he resided.

    A. J. Parish entered the southwest quarter of section 19, but later removed to Oregon. John H. Noble was a native of Ohio. He came here in 1853 and located on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 29, where he lived until the time of his death.

    William Akan was a native of New York city. He came here from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1854, and entered land on section 14, which remained his home until the time of his death, January 3, 1881. The date of his birth was June 19, 1803, and in 1805 the family removed to Philadelphia, and in 1814 to Pittsburgh. There he learned the stonecutter's trade, and afterward worked on the construction of the first railroad in the United States. He was the third settler on Brush creek, and although he lived upon his farm he spent the most of his time at his trade.

    William Robinson was on of the pioneers of Richland county, and he first settled near Sextonville, in the year 1853, purchasing eighty acres of land on section 4, town 9, range 2 east, now included in the town of Buena Vista. He remained there but one year and then sold out and removed to the town of Dayton. He entered the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 34, built a log house and leased a portion of the land. In 1866 he purchased unimproved land on section 26 of the same town, and that place was home until the time of his death. He was a native of Anderson county, Kentucky, born July 5, 1805, and when a young man emigrated with his parents to Indiana and located in Washington county. Soon after he removed to Carroll county, where he engaged in farming, but, like many others, the fever and ague troubled him, and after living there three years he removed to Kosciusko county. There he purchased timber land, erected a comfortable log house, and cleared a farm. In 1852 he visited Richland county in company with Dr. Sippy, made a short stay, then returned to his home and remained until the following spring, when he sold his farm, packed up his goods and started overland, accompanied by his family, and settled near Sextonville, as before stated. His death occurred in the spring of 1875.

    Henry Robinson, also an early settler of the town of Dayton, was born in Anderson county, Ky., in September, 1805. In 1829, in company with his brother William and some others, he emigrated to Indiana and settled in Tippecanoe county, near the line of Clinton county, and was one of the pioneers in that section of the country. He remained there about ten years and then removed to Kosciusko county, where he was also an early settler. He there purchased timber land, cleared a farm, and made that his home until the fall of 1854, when he sold out and started for Wisconsin, traveling overland, bringing his family and household goods with him. After three weeks travel he arrived at the home of his brother William, at Pleasant Hill, in the town of Eagle, and there spent the winter. In the spring of 1855 he removed to Dayton and entered land on section 28, remaining there until 1871, then sold out and moved to Boone county, Nebraska, where he died two years later.

    Seth Miller settled on the north half of the northeast quarter of section 29, remained there about twelve years and then removed to Missouri. Reason Barnes was a native of Maryland, and had come to the county as early as 1848, entering land in the southern part of the county. In 1849 he moved to the county and settled at Richmond (now Orion), and in 1854, with his son James T., he entered the present site of the village of Boaz. The father lived to see a flourishing village grow up there. Edmund Davis was a native of the state of New York and he entered the southwest quarter of section 29, and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 30. He was a resident of the town until 1877, when he sold out and removed to Hancock county, Iowa. Comfort C. Walker, a native of the state of New York, came to the town of Dayton in 1854 and settled on the northeast quarter of section 25, where he erected a log house and kept travelers. In 1857 he removed to Dayton Corners, and there erected a large house which he opened as a tavern. When the Civil War broke out he went into the army and died in the service. Lorenzo Woodman was a native of the state of New York, he settled on the southwest quarter of section 14, where he died in 1858. Lyman Wood, a native of the state of New York, came here from Ohio in 1856, located in section 6, and lived there until the time of his death. Levi Hart, a native of New York state, came here from Ohio and entered the north half of the southeast quarter of section 28. L. M. Keepers came here from Ohio in company with Levi Hart, and entered the west half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 32. He cleared a portion of the place and erected a small log house. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted and died in the service. Archibald Benjamin, a native of the state of New York, came to Dayton from the southern part of the county and entered the northwest quarter and the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 28. He remained there five or six years and then removed to Richland Center and engaged in trade, a few years later going to Sparta, Wis., where he died. John Purcell came to Richland county from Indiana and located for a time at Orion, where he followed his trade, blacksmithing. In the spring of 1855 he came to Dayton and entered land on section 32, living there until 1883, when he sold out and removed to Missouri. Peter Fall was a native to Virginia. He settled on section 13, where he cleared a portion of his land and worked at blacksmithing, remaining several years. Benjamin B. Norris was a native of Ohio and settled on the north half of the southeast quarter of section 14. He was a cabinet maker, and erected a shop in which he manufactured chairs, tables and other articles of household furniture. In 1860 he sold out and removed to the northeast quarter of section 14, and when the Civil War broke out he enlisted and died in the service. Jacob Dix settled on section 11, where he improved a farm and lived the remainder of his life.

    Jacob Berger, Martin Shumaker, Charles Hurless, Valentine Groh, John and Henry Wolf and Christian Tappy were Germans. Mr. Berger was a cabinet maker and had been in the United States since his twelfth year. He entered land on section 15. Mr. Shumaker first settled on section 23, Mr. Hurless on section 5, Mr. Groh on section 21, and the Wolf brothers settled on section 22. John sold out a number of years ago and moved to Dakota, settling in Turner county, where he has since died. Mr. Tappy settled on section 10.

    C. C. Nevil was a native of Pennsylvania and settled on section 10. Andrew J. Campbell was a native of Indiana. He entered land on sections 12 and 13, which place remained his home until 1881, when he moved to the town of Richland. George Marsh settled on section 11, and afterward removed to Minnesota. A. Durnford was a native of England, and he located on section 1, where he improved a farm and lived for many years. He claimed to be a descendant of John of Gault. Levi Leslie first settled on section 6. He lived in different parts of the town and finally settled in Marshall, where he died. Martin Smith was a native of Ohio. He settled on the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 20, but afterward removed to Nebraska. G. W. Oglevie came to Dayton from the southern part of the county and settled on section 22. He was a miller by trade and worked on different mills in the county, but he remained only a few years and then moved away. Henry McNelly was a practicing physician-the first to locate in the town-and he settled on section 28, selling his land a few years later. Joel Berry settled on section 23 and improved a farm which he occupied for several years, afterward removing to Kansas. Jacob Reed was a native of Pennsylvania and settled on section 10, but he sold out several years later and moved away.

    Church associations and schools were formed as soon as the settlement of the town of Dayton began, as early as 1852. In an early day preachers of different denominations paid frequent visits to Boaz, among the number being Rev. Todd, a Presbyterian from Sextonville. Elder Knapp, a Methodist preacher from Buena Vista, organized a class at the schoolhouse at an early day. He was well liked there, and the class flourished under his charge, but the members moved away, and it was finally discontinued. The German Lutheran society at Boaz was probably organized as early as 1858, Rev. Wachtel being one of the first preachers. The society met to worship in different private houses until 1871, when they erected a church edifice. The Dayton Corners Methodist Episcopal church started with the organization of a class in 1856 at the house of Lorenzo Woodman, by Rev. John Walker, who was then located at Sextonville. Among the members of the class at its organization were the following: Lorenzo Woodman and wife, Simeon Gravatt and wife, Joseph Wheaton and wife, and Joel Berry and wife. Lorenzo Woodman was the first class leader. The United Brethren organized at an early day at the house of Peter Fall, on section 13, and they met for worship at the residence of Mr. Fall for a number of years.

    Dayton is an exclusively agricultural town. There are no villages of importance, and no manufacturing industries, aside from a few shops and the mill at Boaz. The latter is a little village in the western portion of the town, containing a store or two, a church, the Boaz mills, mechanical shops and a few residences. The population has remained stationery for many years, since Richland Center, with her better market facilities, has cut off the trade. The village of Boaz was platted in the winter of 1857-8 by Reason and James T. Barnes, and the first store on the village site was started in 1857 by Reason Barnes and M. Ripley. In 1861 Mr. Barnes purchased the store and ran it until the time of his death, being then succeeded by J. W. Briggs and William M. Barnes. The Boaz mills are the most important establishment in the town. The land upon which they are located was entered in 1854 by Reason Barnes and his son, James T. In 1855 they commenced the erection of a sawmill, which was ready for operation in September, 1856, being furnished with an "up and down saw." In 1857 M. Ripley became a partner and remained so connected for four years, during which time, in 1858, a grist mill was added. In March, 1869, the mill was destroyed by fire, but was at once rebuilt. In 1871 Reason Barnes died, and the firm name was changed to Barnes Bros. & Co., en personnel, James T. and William M. Barnes and J. W. Briggs. In 1874 Mr. Briggs withdrew and the firm name became Barnes Brothers, thus continuing until 1883, when William M. Barnes became sole proprietor, and has since conducted the business.


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