Presbyterians was organized in this room between 1804 and 1806, Mr. McClintick, his wife and some of his children being the first members. Other members were received as time passed, and the organization was kept up until the death of Mr. McClintick and wife, after which the services were discontinued. Rev. Dr. Wilson, of Chillicothe, was the first preacher and organizing pastor. The church was in existence about fifteen years.

A Christian church was built in Londonderry about 1832, known as the Liberty church, and was designed for the use of all worshiping people. Previous to the erection of the church, public services were held in private residences, barns, and in the groves. The organization of a church was effected in 1820 by Rev. Enoch Harvey. Joseph Barker was a local preacher in the community, and other ministers from distant points visited the settlement in official capacity, among whom were Rev. Barton Stone, from Kentucky, and others equally renowned. The church building was burned in 1862.

The Londonderry Methodist Episcopal church was organized about 1820 as a culmination of the efforts of various traveling ministers covering a period of several years' labors. The home of William Jones was always open to the itinerant preachers, and he catered to their temporal wants in true pioneer style. As a precautionary measure, he placed a pitcher of whiskey at a point of easy access. The congregation met for services at the school house for several years before the church was built. A frame building was erected about 1830, which served the people for a quarter of a century, when it was sold and removed. In 1856 a comfortable brick building succeeded the old frame, and was built on the same site. The organization had been maintained from its first inception, and is now numerically strong and in a flourishing condition. Some of the first members of this church were William Jones and wife; Josiah and Robert Drummond, with their wives; Amos T. Mendenhall and wife; John Rains, Benjamin Drummond and wife, Mrs. Sarah Wesson, James and John Mendenhall, brothers, and Thomas Corken and wife.

Concord Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1826, in which year the deed conveying the church lot was placed on record by Leonard Weaver, the donor. Meetings were held in private houses for some years before the church was built. The first church building erected was a small frame structure which was occupied until 1878, when a handsome new church was built near the site of the old one. This building has been used, as desired, by other religious denominations, by temperance lecturers, and other meetings of a moral or religious nature. Among the early members of this society were the families of Leonard Weaver, Samuel King, John Climer, Caleb Odell, Thomas Orr, and others. Benjamin Drummond transferred his membership from the Londonderry church to this at a later date.

Concord church has been a source of great power and influence

for good in the community, and is today one of the best known and most influential religious organizations in the township.

The Friends church in Londonderry was organized in 1865 by John Henry Douglas and Gresham Perdue. The first meetings of this sect were held in the Methodist church, which the congregation occupied for three or four years. About 1869 they erected a church building in the west part of the village, which has been occupied continuously. Previous to the completion of the building, the names of some thirty or forty members were added to the organizing force, thus demonstrating that there was a liberal following of the teachings of Fox and Penn in the community.

A burial ground was established at Schooley's station about 1800, and this was probably the first within the bounds of the township. A few years later a graveyard was opened a short distance north of Londonderry, in which William Cox was buried in 1808. There is a cemetery connected with the Friends church in Londonderry, and another in connection with Concord church, located to the west of Rattlesnake knob.

A regular mail route was opened between Chillicothe and Athens in 1832. The first carrier was Jacob Minton, who traveled on horseback. A few years later, as the roads were improved, a regular stage line was put in operation, and continued until the completion of the railroad, when the latter absorbed its business.

CHAPTER XXIX.

R

SCIOTO TOWNSHIP.

REVIOUS to April 16, 1803, Scioto township existed under territorial authority for the convenience of the people in the adjustment of local affairs. Justices and other necessary civil officers were appointed by the governor. On the date above written, an act was passed by the State legislature, providing "That the associate judges of the court of common pleas, in each and every county within this State, shall meet on the tenth day of May next, at the places where courts are to be held, and shall proceed to lay out their counties, respectively, into a convenient number of townships." In accordance with the provisions of this law, existing boundaries were affirmed, changed or abandoned, according to the decisions of the judges, while some new organizations were effected. The second section of the act provided, further: "That the judges aforesaid shall, at the time and place aforesaid, appoint to each township a proper number of justices of the peace, who shall be elected on the twenty-first day of June, at such place in each township as the said judges may direct, agreeable to the provisions of an act entitled, 'An act directing the mode of conducting elections.'"

It is stated, and generally understood, that Scioto is the oldest township in Ross county, and this is probable; but the court record of the proceedings of the associate judges of Ross county shows that "Reuben Abrams, William Patton and Felix Renick, associate judges of Ross county, met at the courthouse on Tuesday, the tenth of May, 1803, and proceeded to regulate and establish the boundaries of the different townships in this county, and to apportion the justices of the peace to be elected in and for each." The same record shows that eleven townships were then established for Ross county, and defines the boundaries then determined for Scioto township, as follows: "Beginning at the forks of the road above the house of Henry Massie, thence south twenty-five degrees, west to the road leading to Swearingen's mill; thence with said road to Paint creek; thence up Paint creek to the big narrows, below Vincent Haller's; thence south from the lower end of said narrows to the upper boundaries of Pee Pee

township; thence with said boundary to the beginning." The qualified electors of this township were required to "meet at the courthouse in Chillicothe on the twenty-first day of the following June, then and there to elect four justices of the peace." Soon after this the board of county commissioners was created who, by virtue of their office, had jurisdiction of the matter of erecting new townships and chang ing township boundaries. Since that time much territory formerly embraced within Ross county has been absorbed in the organization of new counties, and some entire townships transferred. The remaining townships have been subdivided in the erection of new ones, Scioto contributing its share to this end.

September 6, 1806, the south part of Scioto and the northern part of Pee Pee (now in Pike county) were united in forming the present township of Franklin. August 13, 1807, the line between Scioto and Twin townships was readjusted as follows: "Beginning at Paint creek, at the upper of the narrows at the mouth of Cattail run; thence a due south line to the dividing ridge between Sunfish and Paint creeks." On the 23d of August, 1809, it was "ordered that the line between Union and Scioto townships be run as follows: Beginning on the east bank of North Paint, on the line between James Porter and Robert McDill; thence a straight line to the junction of the Deer creek and Limestone roads." June 20, 1810, a part of Union township was set off and attached to Scioto township "by a line beginning at the fork of the Deer creek and Limestone roads; thence a straight line to the southeast corner of Colman's survey on main Paint; thence with the southwest line of said survey to the creek." This action restored a portion of the territory previously detached by the order of August 23d, 1809. On the 5th of March, 1811, Scioto contrib uted a slice of territory from the southwest part, in forming Huntington township.

April 8, 1818, the last important change in boundaries was made, under the provisions of the following: "Ordered that Scioto township be extended from the mouth of the north fork of Paint creek, thence up the main Paint, with the meanders thereof, to the mouth of Cattail run; from thence a straight direction to the bridge on the north fork of Paint creek; thence down said creek to the intersection of a line run by Jeremiah McLene between Scioto and Union townships." The boundaries of the township are very irregular, as are nearly all of those in the military district. Scioto township has a greater extent of water boundary than any other township in the county, having about eight miles on the Scioto river and five miles on Paint creek. Adjoining townships are Springfield and Liberty on the east, Franklin southeast, Huntington on the south, Twin on the west, and Union on the north.

The topographical features of the township are peculiarly striking, and embrace a great variety of natural scenery. The broad and fer

tile valley of the Scioto, with the Paint creek valley, equally as rich and productive, are the principal sources of agricultural wealth. That this particular spot was chosen by the first settlers of the valley, who had the choice of a vast scope of country from which to select, is evidence sufficient of the wonderfully productive character of the soil. The adjacent hill lands, which in some instances approach the character of mountains, are also well adapted to agricultural and horticultural purposes. On the summit of some of the highest hills are found broad table-lands, or plateaus, which are well improved and highly productive. Near the city of Chillicothe, at the western edge of the valley, is a series of high hills assuming the form of a semicircle, from north to the south of the city, touching the city at one point. From the summit of this a magnificent view of the city is afforded, including a broad expanse of the valley, above and below. To the eastward may be seen the mountainous range of hills in Springfield township, including Mount Logan, of historic fame, and several others of almost equal altitude. On the lofty crest of one of these hills, within the limits of Chillicothe, is now located Grand View cemetery, the principal burial place of the city. From this point, which marks the angle between the Scioto and Paint creek valleys, and commanding a view of both, the sight is most entrancing. It is said that Daniel Webster, on one of his tours through this country, visited this now sacred spot, and afterward remarked that he "had seldom seen a more magnificent landscape than the one there presented to the eye." Bayard Taylor, the great traveler and naturalist, reiterated Webster's statement in 1853. Rocky Gorge or “Alum Cliffs," is a geological freak on the southwestern boundary of the township, which has been visited by many geologists of more than local celebrity. This interesting point is located on Paint creek, and is geologically termed the "new valley" of that stream, caused by the recession of the waters during the prehistoric glacial period. This phenomenon consists in a radical change of the course of the creek, wherein it was forced to leave the valley and cut its way through the rugged bluffs in a gorge which is estimated to be from one hundred to two hundred feet or more in depth, with steep, precipitous walls of rock. The adjacent bluffs are at some points along this course as high as five hundred feet, in a continuous wall of rock, broken occasionally on the north side by the passage of small streams which flow from the north. The waters of Paint creek pass through this new channel for a distance of about four miles, when they re-enter the old course, and pass on as before. It is assuredly a most picturesque spot, and has attracted the attention of noted geologists of the State.

The first settlers of this township were largely of the class of daring frontiersmen who accompanied the Massie party, and were identified with the settlement of Chillicothe. Some remained in the village for a time, and subsequently sought homes on the rich lands adjacent,