Belmont County, Ohio

Belmont County Townships

History of Goshen Township

This is one of the inland townships of Belmont county. It lies about fifteen miles west of St. Clairsville and is the highest township in the county. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad passes through it from east to west, entering near the north east corner, and running a little south of west, leaves it near the middle of its western line.

The surface configuration is a high rolling land—in many places. These hills are indented by countless numbers of ravines which checker the whole country, and intersect each other in every variety of way, whith their little rivulets and brooks, that are formed by springs of clear, pure, water, issuing forth along the bases of the hillsides, and winding their way along these every varying paths, babbling as they go. The scenery of the whole, as viewed from the higher points, is highly picturesque, and beautiful. The union of these pretty little rivulets, and brooks, as they eventually make their way southwardly, form creeks and streams, that have a water power of some value. In an early day this water power was of great benefit to the pio neers, who utilized it by erecting mills along these streams, that supplied most of the breadstuffs used by their families.

It is a noticeable fact that there is but very little valley or bottom land along the streams, the steep hillsides—especially along the smaller streams—running nearly to the water's edge.

Mineral Resources

The whole township is underlaid with strata of Bituminous coal. These strata are of various thickness. The one most available is about four feet thiek and is known as the Barnesville Veln.

It lies nearly horizontal but slightly dips toward the north west and crops out near the bottom of the deeper ravines. This vein is worked more or less in most parts of the township, but the principal banks are about two miles north of Burr's Mills, at a Place called Badgersburg. About fifty thousand bushels are annually sold at these mines. The land having been mostly cleared of its timber, the people use coal almost exclusively for fuel; it is used for culinary as well as domestic purposes. Beneath, this cool formation is a stratum of water lime or cement rock, but this has not been utilized yet, to any extent.

Soil and Productions

The soil is a loamy clay, and produces well, all the crops that are useful to man, such as wheat, corn and all the other grains and grasses. Tobacco grows exceedingly well, and has been grown here from time, almost, immemorial—as a money crop. Its cultivation is still continued on a considerable scale, and the tall log houses in which they cure, or dry it by fire, are to be seen all over the township.

The original timber that covered the land was white oak, black oak, chestnut, poplar and hickory. Three-fourths of these forests have been cleared away, and the land put in cultivation,

The lands of Goshen all belonged to the general government and was within the first seven ranges northwest of the Ohio river. Section two was reserved by the government, and afterwards sold at $4 an acre; the other lands were sold at $2 an acre. The last lot sold in Goshen township was entered by David Heskett in 1827, and is now the residence of John Bolon.

Condition of the Early Settlers

The first settlers in Goshen township hardly found it a land flowing with milk and honey, but one covered with a dense forest of timber; the branches of the trees interlaced and festooned by the twining vines of the wild grape, which grew every where, while the tops of the smaller undergrowth of brush was covered with their foliage, as if nature had been trying her hand in covering the land with awnings of green, presenting difficulties to be encountered that would have dismayed men of less nerve than these, but they bravely met and overcome all the obstacles nature had seemingly placed in their way. There were, however, some favoring circumstances; the land was covered over with the wild pea and other forage plants, which proved so beneficial to the pioneer, in making provender for his stock. The soil also seemed genial; yielding bountiful crops with little labor, and readily supplying the breadstuffs for the sustenance of his family and other purposes, while the countless numbers of deer, wild turkeys, and other smaller game easily supplied the family with a very considerable portion of its meats. These advantages were to some extent counterbalanced by other annoyances. Unnumbered multitudes of wolves, bears, panthers, foxes and wildcats and other prey, lurked in the thickets of the hills, and in the hiding places in the deep and secluded ravines along the valleys, to issue forth at night and prowl around the farmers' premises seeking what they might devour. The only safe motto for the farmer was, “eternal vigilence is the price of safety.” Of all these beasts of prey, wolves were the most troublesome; for besides making night hideous by their doleful howls over the hill tops and through the valleys, these audacious animals would approach the farmers' dwellings and carry of small hogs and sheep, that were enclosed in pens that were joined to the houses themselves. Sometimes they would even venture to poke their noses into the cracks between the logs of the building, or the door.

In these early days men had to work late and early; so did all the family, and the child that could lift a brush and pile it, had to do so. George N. Burns, a respected citizen, and now venerable in years, so briefly and tersely related to the writer a little incident that so vividly brought to mind early days, that he cannot refrain from relating it: Little George was about seven years old, and had been picking brush on a bright pleasant day in the early fall, after his father, who had been grubbing in the woods some distance from the house. Tired with his day's work. as the early twilight began to appear, he sat down at the foot of a tree to rest and enjoy the still cool atmosphere of the quiet October evening, waiting for his father to quit and go home. Presently the insects of the lonely woods began to chant their solemn matinee among the ferns that grew all around him, and as the gathering shades of night began to deepen, the wolves on all the surrounding hills joined in their doleful howls, which so overcome his young mind that he burst into tears, and had to be taken home. He says the impressions of his feelings on that evening remain as vividly in his memory as the day the event happened,

Another annoyance was the great numbers of reptiles that infested the country, the most troublesome of which were the big yellow rattlesnake and copperhead, whose poisonous bites frequently injured, and sometimes proved fatal to stock: The rattlesnakee has disappeared; the copperhead is occasionally met with yet.

But the time had come when these wild denizens of the forest as well as the scarcely less wild red man should be overwhelmed and disappear before the resistless advance of civilization; their abodes be made to blossom as the rose, and become the happy homes of white men.

About 1800, or a little earlier, was seen the first cabin in Goshen township. Presently other cabins were here and there to be seen among the trees, along the hillsides, and in the little valleys, with small patches of cleared land around them. The number of cabins now increased yearly, and the fields gradually extended; the smoke from the clearings rising above the forests in all directions; while dim paths or roads, scarcely visible, wound their devious ways among the trees; the traveler being guided more by marks or "blazes" on them, than by the outlines of the roads themselves. These things unmistakably indicated that a lodgement had been made by the white man.

These early cabins were very primitive in their construction. They were built of round logs with roofs of loose clapboards, held in place by the weight of small, straight, round logs, called weight poles.

The chimney was made by cutting out the logs at one end of the house, like a wide door, behind which was built a frame work of slabs or logs, as high as the mantel, at which point it was contracted, and thence built up above the top of the roof, with split lath well laid in with clay mortar, and was also plastered inside with the same material. This is what was called the old stick chimney. Inside of the frame work were built at the back and sides walls of stone to protect it from the fire. These were called the back wall and jams. Within these walls were piled plentiful quantities of wood, that made the fires that warmed the building. The floors were made of puncheons split in the shape of planks, and smoothed down and straightened with the broadaxe.

The upper floors were generally made of clapboards loosely laid upon the joists, which were commonly of round logs. The doors were also made of clapboards pinned upon a frame work; sometimes, however, a quilt or blanket was made to answer the purpose of a door.

The dress of the early pioneers was equally plain, being of material manufactured at home. The wool from their little flocks of sheep was carded by hand cards, spun into yarn and woven into cloth by the female members of the family for winter clothing for themselves, as well as for the male members; while for summer wear, flax and the tow therefrom, was by the same hands manufactured into linen goods; the flax being made into finer cloth for Sunday clothes, and the tow into coarser cloth for every-day wear.

The ladies gathered from the coal banks a material that made a copperas color, with which they colored the thread to “stripe" the linen designed for their own dresses, which they considered somewhat stylish, but when they learned to checker the stripes, and make plaid, they considered they had reached a high point in the art of tasty dressing.

Young ladies thus attired in meat copperas colored plaid linen dresses, manufactured and made by their own hands, and the young men clothed in cloth of the same material, but made plain, would gaily sally forth to church, or other public gatherings, with hearts as light and happy and pure, perhaps, as the modern lady decked with jewels and arrayed in costly silks, with flounces and long train behind, or the modern young gent who adorns himself in faultless clothes, gold watch chains and finger rings.

The buttons for pants and heavier clothes were made of pewter, run in moulds made for the purpose, while buttons for shirts and lighter clothes were made of linen thread,

In collecting the material for this article, the writer stopped at the house of a pioneer, and while “taking notes,” the lady of the house made a perfect old-fashioned thread button, and presented it to him, which is kept as a memento of the olden time.

First Settlers

It is difficult now to decide, with certainty, who was the first settler in Goshen township, or in what year he came. The probability is, however, that it was John Adams, and that he came in 1797 to 1800, and settled on section 1, southeast corner, on the farm owned by Abel Ray. It is said by some that he squatted on Congress land five years before any other settler came; that he lived eight years without seeing an apple, and that he lived on corn meal and pounded hominy; that some hunters came along one day and gave the children some biscuit, but not knowing what they were for, used them for playthings.

The most authentic account of the early settlers is gathered from a diary kept by the late Nehemiah Wright, whose father came from Ireland and settled early in 1802 on the land where the village of Belmont now stands, From this diary we learn that William Philpot, Ralph Heath and Joseph Wright, jointly—per William Philpot-entered September 4, 1802, at Steubenville, section 12, township 7, range 5. At this time land could not be entered in less quantities than sections.

There is reason to believe that this was the first land entered in Goshen township, for the diary goes on to say, “there were four squatters on Congress land when these men came. These squatters were Joseph Dunlap, Christian Wyman and –-- Keeler, on Stillwater, and John Adams, who lived on the Bend fork of Captina creek, on the southwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 1, township 7, range 5." This diary, taken in connection with the verbal reports, renders it more than probable that John Adams was the first white man that ever settled in this township. The next settler was, perhaps, John Gregg, who came in November, 1802. George and John Ewers came in 1803 or 1804. Darling Conrow probably entered a section of land in 1804, at what is now called Burr's Mills. David Fawcett and Ezekiel Smith came in 1805. Joseph Danner and Nathaniel McNichols came sbout 1806–7, and William Phillips, Stephen Gregg and George N. Burns came near the same time,

From this time forward the tide of emigration was steady, and the township rapidly settled up. The date at which the township was organized cannot be ascertained with certainty, nor a chronological list of the Justices of the Peace had, because the township records extends no further back than 1835, the previous records having been sold to a paper maker in Wheeling as useless rubbish. It is probable, however, that it was organized about 1809 or 10, and that the name Goshen was given it, at the suggestion of Jesse White and a few others who had emigrated from Goshen township, Chester county, Pennsylvania.

We learn further from Wright's diary that Joseph Wright planted, April 20, 1804, the first orchard in the township, containing fifty trees of natural fruit, that he cleared seven acres of land, which he planted in corn on the 17th day of May, 1803, and that a snow fell three feet deep January 21, 1804.

The first church in the township was probably the Friends; the deed to them for their grounds being executed March 16, 1808.

The place where the Indians who captured the two Wetzel boys, Lewis and Jacob, encamped for the night, and from where the boys made their escape, is believed to be on the farm now owned by Hendly Gregg, near the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad about midway between Burr's Mill's and Burton's station. A review of the historians who have mentioned the incident, and a personal examination of the ground, convinces us that this was the place of their encampment that night.

The sad death of James Shannon, father of ex-governor Shannon, occurred in this township. The details will be found elsewhere in this work.

few years ago John E. Hunt, in cutting down a large poplar tree, found chips taken out, with an axe, near the heart of it, towards each of the cardinal points of the compass. Mr. O. A. Dowdell, near whose residence the tree grew, counted the growths since it was boxed, and it ran back to 1782, the year of Crawford's expedition against the Sandusky Indians.

Henry Lamp built the first mill in the township, on the Benfork of Captina creek, and Jacob Lamp built the second mill on another branch of the same creek, Horse mills were used before water mills were erected, and even afterwards in dry seasons. The flour made at these early mills was bolted by hand.

The last deer killed in the township was in 1832, at what was called a circular fox hunt. The territory within the limits of the circle embraced the whole township. The last bear wa killed by Samuel Russell.

Belmont

This was the first village laid off in the township. Joseph Wright came from Dublin, Ireland, and settled where Belmont now stands in 1802, and in 1808 laid out a town on the same plan as his native city—Dublin. The town plat was recorded by Sterling Johnston, in book B., page 288, August 8, 1808. Here was, perhaps, the first church organization in the township; "The Friends Church." The deed for their lot and graveyard is dated March 16, 1808, and here was built the first house in the township. It was a cabin house, and Joseph Wright who commenced a school in May, 1807, was the first teacher. The first store was owned by Nathan Pusey, on lot 45. It was a hewed log house, one and one-half stories high, and was used as a dwelling house as well as a store room, The building still stands, and is occupied as a dwelling by the Misses Lowry. The first death was that of Mrs. Hannah Wright, wife of Joseph Wright who died May 25, 1805, and was buried at Plainfield, Joseph Wright was the first post master, his commission bearing date March 25, 1818.

The first burial, in the Friends' burying ground, was Mary Tompkins, in 1817.

The first school house in Belmont was a cabin (round logs); the second a hewed log house; the third a frame, built about 1836; the fourth a brick, built in 1861, the fifth a brick and built in 1875, and now in use. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad passes through the village.

Belmont contains two dry goods stores, two grocery stores, pne drug store, three hotels, two blacksmith shops, one tin and hardware store, one sale stable for horses, and two churches, the M. P. church and the M. E. church, and contains a population of about 350 inhabitants.

Fairmount - Burr's Mills

This village lies on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, about two miles west of Belmont and six miles east of Barnesville. It is at or near the highest point on the line of the railroad between Wheeling and Zanesville, being about 483 feet above the former place, and 600 feet higher than the latter.

When the railroad company located their road in 1852, Merrick S. Burr put up a saw mill, and the company made a station here and called it Burr's Mills, in honor of the proprietor of the saw mill. Afterward, in 1855, Mr. Burr laid off a village, which he called Fairmount, from its high and beautiful location.

Previously to this, there was a store kept about two miles South, near Bethesda church, and a postoffice, named after the church. William Patterson was proprietor of the store and the postmaster.

After the village was laid off, Mr. Patterson, in 1854, removed his store to it, and by common consent the postoffice was also removed, but retained its name of Bethesda. Thus the name proper of the village is Fairmount, the railroad station Burr's Mills, and the postoffice Bethesda. The place is, however, more generally known as Burr's Mills.

In 1855, Messrs. McNicholls, Frost and Martin built a steam flouring mill which is still in successful operation, but now owned by Edward Combs.

Just north of, and adjoining the village, is a beautiful grove of 18 acres of land, belonging to the M. E. Church, set apart and used as a campmeeting ground. These premises have forty or fifty neat little cottages built on them for the use of those attending. They are also well supplied with ample quantities of pure, clear water, that flows from never failing springs on the grounds.

The premises are within five hundred yards of the station, and well adapted to the purposes for which they are used, and are capable of accommodating ten or twelve thousand people. Camp meetings are held here yearly. This society has near their grounds a neat frame church edifice, in which they hold regular worship. It is called Shirer Church, in honor of Rev. John Shirer, an esteemed minister, who once served the congregation as their pastor.

The village school house, a good brick structure stands near this church.

The population of the village is about 150. There are two dry goods stores, two grocery stores, two blacksmith shops, a steam flouring mill, two hotels, one church, two doctors, and a lodge of Sons and Daughters of Temperance, and a good district school graded in three departments in winter, and two in summer.

The Friends

These pious people were quite numerous in this township in early times, and they had several meeting houses, where worship was regularly held, but their numbers have been so thined out by removals and deaths, that their organizations have ceased, and their meeting houses are abandoned and torn away. There are, however, a number of families of that faith still remaining, but they have united with other churches of their faith outside of Goshen township. IN fact, the first church organized within the township, was probably teh Friends Church at Belmont. Their deed for a lot for a meeting house and grave yard was executed March 16, 1808, and it appears they met for worhip at the school house previous to this time.

In the earlier days of the township the Society of Friends, seems to have had two churches wtihin its limits—one at the village of Belmont, called the Belmont church, the other in the southwestern part of the township, called the Center church.

The church at Belmont held their first meetings there, in the log school house, till abou t1808 or 1809, when they built themselves a brick church, in which they continued to meet for worship till about 1828 or 1829, when occurred the great schism, brought about by the preaching of Elias Hicks, that rent asunder the Socity of Friends throughout the land, from which sprang up two parties, called Hicksites and Orthodox.

The Belmont church also had its division of Hicksites and Orthodox; the Hicksites being in the majority, held the property. The Orthodox party then built a log church on the waters of McMahon's creek, about a mile and a half northeast of the village, in which they held regular meetings for some years, but becoming scattered, their meetings ceased, and the organization and building were abandoned.

The Hicksites continued regular worship in the brick building at the village for many years, till finally its members becoming weakened in numbers by removals and other causes, regular meetings were no longer held, and the organization was abandoned. The church building itself was sold and removed and nothing now remains but the cemetery, which is still used as a burial place for the dead.

The Center church shared a fate similar to the one at Belmont. It was divided into Hicksites and Orthodox parties. The Hicksitas held the church building by superiority of numbers and the Orthodox party built another church about three-fouths of a mile from the old one, where they held meetings for a while but their organization finally ceased, and their meeting house is now occupied by a private family. The original building held by the Hicksites was abandoned and torn away, and nothing remains but the cemetery, which is still used.

Ebenezer Baptist Church

Previous to 1832, the Baptist denomination had a church on the National road in Union township, called Stillwater. The members composing this church partly resided in Union and partly in Goshen township. Thomas Campbell, father of Alexander Campbell, had occasionally preached to the church, and probably paved the way for the introduction of the doctrine so ably and successfully inculcated by the son, and which culmimated in the formation of the church known as the “Disciples." A division arose on these doctrines among the members of the Stillwater church, and upon the appearance of Alexander Campbell to preach a sermon in the church, a separation occurred; about one-half of the members favoring the doctrine preached by Campbell; the other half adhering to the old Baptist faith. These differences appearing irreconcilable, some division of the common church property became necessary, and to effect this object, the Disciples proposed to the opposite party to give or take a certain sum of money for the church building. The adhering Baptists chose to take, and were thus left without a place of worship. A part of their members living in the neighborhood of Rockhill and the other part in the northwest part of Goshen township, it was mutually agreed for the convenience of the remaining members, to organize two new churches from the dismembered half of the old Stillwater church, still adhering to the Baptist faith.

A new church was organized at Rockhill, for the accommodation of that portion of the members residing in that neighborhood, and another church was organized in the neighborhood of the members residing in Goshen township, which was called Ebenezer church, and in 1833 a hewed log house was built for a church, Thomas Atwell taking the contract for building it at eighty-five dollars.

This church seems to have been formally organized and dedicated December 5, 1835, and the dedication sermon was preached by Elder Hugh Broom. There were present on the occasion, Elders William R. McGowan, William Stone and C. Skinner.

It appears from the church records that the following were the original members composing the church at its organization, to-wit: Hugh Rogers, William Livingston, Rebecca McGeath, John Williams, Landon Heskitt, Eli McKnight, Olivia McKnight, Rebecca Conrow, John Gray, Nancy Atwell, John Skinner (now an elder at Adamsville), Martha Skinner, Sarah Faris, Peter Gray, Sarah Gray and Ury Turner.

The following ministers have officiated as pastors: Rev. W. R. McGowan served from 1835 to 1839; Rev. R. H. Sedgwick, 1840; Rev. William Storrs, 1841; Rev. T. M. Erwin, 1842-49; Rev. W. R. McGowan, 1849: Rev. G. Cyrus Sedgwick, 1850-55; Rev. W. R. Mayberry, 1856 to 1858; Rev. B. Y. Seigfried, 1859; Rev. S. Seigfried, 1860 to 1864; Rev. W. R. Mayberry, 1865. In 1866, the church had no regular pastor. In 1867, the Rev. W. H. McKinney had the pastoral charge, and then the Rev. D. Seeman served from 1868 to 1871; Rev. C. H. Gunter, from 1872 to 1873; Rev. J. S. Covert, from 1874 to 1875; Rev. F. Hodden, 1877. Since 1877, there has been no regular pastor, though the church organization is kept up. In 1853, the old log house was replaced by a neat frame building.

Methodist Protestant Church, Belmont

But very few facts could be gathered in regard to the history of this church. The only items to be tathered from the members, was that the church was a frame building, erected in 1838, and that the society held worship in the school house previous to the building of the church.

Hurdle Methodist Church

This was one of the earliest church organizations in the township— some think the first. A hewed log house was built and a church organized about 1809 or 10. Rev. James B. Findly preached the dedication sermon, and preached there for several years as he traveled on his circuit, which extended from Zanesville to the Ohioriver. among the original members were John Hurdle, Jeremiah Harris, Ephraim Thomas, John Harnburg and Wesley Ellis, who was a local preacher. This was always known by the name of the “Hurdle meeting house,” because it was built on the land of John Hurdle. This building was used as a church, till it was no longer suitable for the purpose, and in 1832 a new brick house was elected at what is now Burton's station, about a mile west of the old one. Rev. James Taylor preached the dedication sermon in 1832 or 33. This was known as Goshen church. The regular church organization was kept up till about 1860, when meetings ceased to be held and the church dissolved, but the property is still owned by the M. E. society.

Belmont M. E. Church

This church was organized in May, 1868, by the Rev. Josiah Dillon, of the Pittsburgh Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. The following persons constituted the first class formed at the time: Alonzo P. Miller, Elizabeth R. Miller, Jacob Mays, Eliza Mays, Jane Calhoon, Sarah A. Schooley, Margaret Mays, Margaret Dillon, Alice Wright, Claretta Miller, Emma L. Miller and Nancy Lowery. The following year a house of worship was erected, costing $3,210. It was dedicated by Rev. J. A. Pearce preaching in the forenoon, and the Rev. J. S. Braskin in the afternoon, assisted by Rev. Josiah Dillon, pastor. During said meetings a subscription of $1,029.70 was raised to free the church from debt.

The pastors who have had charge of the church since its or#anization to the present time, are in order as follows: Rev. F. J. Swaney, Rev. John E. Hollister, Rev. J. R. Cooper, Rev. A. G. Robb, Rev. S. Cummins, Rev. L. H. Baker and Rev. W. Darby,with junior preacher, Rev. Umpleby, who are now (1879) in charge.

The trustees were A. P. Miller, J. Mays, J. D. Mays, William A. Dowdell, S. T. Beans, J. A. Grove, J. B. Hollingsworth, T. E. McKisson and David Perry. The building committee was A. P. Miller, Jacob Mays, J. A. Grove, J. B. Hollingsworth and J. D. Mays.

Bethesda M. E. Church

About the year 1834 or 1835, the M. E. Society organized a church about one and a half miles south of where Burr's Mills now stands and built a frame church building and called it Bethesda, and the Rev. R. Merrimon preached the dedication sermon. This edifice they used till about 1860, when they built a new frame church at Burr's Mills, just north of the village and adjoining their campmeeting grounds. This new church they named Shirer Chapel in honor of the Rev. John Shirer, and esteemed minister, who had preached for them.

This new church was dedicated november 8, 1860, the Rev. John Moffat preached the dedication sermon.

The following ministers have officiated as pastors since its organization:

Rev. S. Y. Kennedy and Rev. D. M. Hollister had charge in 1862— then Rev. George McKee, Gideon Martin, R. Hamilton, Josiah Dillon, F. J. Swaney, John Hollister, A. G. Robb, J. S. Cummings, L. H. Baker, have successively served as pastors of the church down to the present time, 1879, which finds Rev. W. D. Starkey in charge.

The present membership numbers 82. The cost of this building was $640. The old Bethesda building was sold to John Heskett, at public sale, and the proceeds applied to the payment of indebtedness for building Shirer chapel.

Source: History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio by J.A. Caldwell, 1880