District No. 1 was organized on Climax Prairie in the fall of 1836, while the township was still a part of Comstock. There are no records showing what territory it then embraced, by whom organized, or who were its first officers. It seems tolerably certain that Daniel Lawrence was the first director. About the first experience of the district was a fierce contention about the school-house. Judge Eldred built his new dwelling-house (the one now occupied by Dr. L. W. Lovell) in 1836, and moved into it that fall. He sold his old dwelling to the district for a school-house, moved it upon the hill about eighty rods south of the corners, and put it in good repair, ready for use. A part of the district, led by Maj. Willard Lovell, claimed that the judge made use of his influence with his family connections to get an exorbitant price for the house, and they denounced the transaction without stint. They were in the minority, however, and the difficulty never went beyond hard words.
The first school was taught in the winter of 1836 and ’37, by a man from Prairie Ronde named Hoyt. The measles stopped the school before it was half out. Emily Harris, a daughter of Rev. John Harris, and now the wife of Hon. George Willard, was the next teacher. She taught five months in the summer of 1837, and had for her patrons pretty much all the settlers within two or three miles. Among those who sent children to her school were William Eldred, William Harrison, William Jourdan, Isaac Davis, John C. Beach, and John Waterhouse, who lived at a long distance, as well as all the prairie settlers who lived nearer by. Miss Harris used to go home to her father’s, in South Battle Creek, occasionally, on a Saturday afternoon, and on such occasions rode a pony belonging to Daniel Lawrence. The only road was a slight trail indicated by blazed trees. The first time Miss Harris rode home, she lost the way soon after crossing the Willow Plains, and wandered about in the woods for several hours. At last she gave the rein to the pony to go where he pleased, and in a short time he brought her to the trail at the very point where she had left it. From there she pursued her way safely home. On some occasions Catharine Eldred accompanied her home, both riding the same pony. The next winter George W. Lovell taught the school, and in the summer of 1838 it was taught by Helen J. West.
The first record of any kind that we find relative to the district is the directors’ report to the school inspectors, in September, 1838. From this report we learn that there were 38 scholars in the district, and there had been, four months’ summer school. The books used were “Webster’s Elementary Spelling Book,” ” English Reader,” ” Historical Reader,” ” Daboll’s Arithmetic,” ” Kirkham’s Grammar,” and ” Olney’s Geography.” The director was John C. Beach. Until 1843 there are no records except the directors’ annual reports to the inspectors. The school was kept up, and prospered as country schools usually do.
In 1851 a new brick school-house, costing nearly $500, was built on a site adjoining the old one on the south. It stood in the corner of forty acres of wood, owned by Nelson Eldred, and within a few rods of the “old fort,” mentioned elsewhere*. A year or two before the new house was built, some of the boys who went early to school were not a little startled to see two bears jump out of the woods by the corner of the school-yard and cross the road into a meadow opposite. The writer was one of those boys, and hastened to give the alarm at the “Corners.” A crowd of people well armed were soon in pursuit of the bears, who retreated into the wood. The woods were soon surrounded, and a brisk fusillade kept up till the bears were both dispatched. Not much studying was done in school that forenoon. The bears were cut up and distributed about the neighborhood, so everybody had a piece.
The school continued to grow and flourish, increasing in size and importance with the settlement of the district, till in 1868 it became necessary to build larger and better, and a commodious brick school-house was erected on a beautiful site in the burr-oak grove nearly opposite the Baptist church. The total cost was nearly $3000. There are, in 1879, 92 scholars in the district, giving employment to 2 teachers in the respective departments. The officers for 1879 are C.B. Guchess, Moderator; H.N. Elwell, Director; O.W. Eldred, Assessor.
The following is the list of teachers as nearly as we have been able to procure them:
1836-37, —Hoyt; 1837, Emily Harris; 1837-38, George W. Lovell; 1838, Helen J. West; 1840-41, Florinda Eldred; 1842, Roxy Whitford and Nancy Whitford; 1842-43, Blackman B. Nichols; 1843, Calista Potts; 1843-44, E. M. Bird; 1844, Minerva Miles; 1844-45, Isaiah J. Babcock; 1845, Louise Eldred; 1845-46, Jacob Van Middlesworth; 1846, Sarah Holden; 1846-47, R. i. Sutton; 1847, Sarah Holden; 1847-48, Louise Hawley, Sarah Jane Davis; 1848, Elizabeth Ransom; 1848-49, Myron Towsley; 1849, Electa C. Eldred; 1849-50, Samuel C. IHodgman; 1850, Electa C. Eldred; 1850-51, E. G. Flanders; 1851, Esther Rouse, Mary A. Mason; 1851-52, Diana Hall; 1852-53, Wm. L. Stark; 1853, Lucy E. Palmer; 1853-54, Chas. Rhoades; 1854, Amy Bailey; 1854-55, Ann E. Bellows; 1855, Elizabeth Spafford; 1855-56, Miles Seeley; 1856, E. Spafford; 1856-57, Victor Gardner; 1857, Nancy B. Diamond; 1857-58, G. H. Seymour; 1858, Sarah Powell; 1858-59, D. McCall; 1859, Maria Tuttle; 1859-61, Charles E. Baker; 1861, Amanda Sherman; 1861-62, Susan Lovell; 1862, Amanda Sherman; 1862-65, Mary McAlister; 1865, Ielen Thompson; 1865-66, Benjamin Babcock; 1866-67, Mary M. Bushnell; 1867, Caudace Gore; 1867-68, Ruel Seeley; 1868, Frank McAlister; 1868-69, Mary Williams and Sophronia Fisher; 1869-70, Nellie M. Stillwell and Mary E. HIodgman; 1871, Millie Gifford and Anna M. Gifford, Emma Bradley, Fanny L. Lovell, Chloe Bonney; 1872, Angie Davis, Emma Pearl; 1873, F. W. Jones, Julia Eldred, Miss Silburn; 1874, J. W. Parkhurst, Louise Elwell; 1875, J. W. Parkhurst, E. Norwood, Samuel A. Cole, and Mary Eberstein; 1876, Ella G. Haug and Emma Crawford, Frank L. Kern and Abbie Hanson; 1877, Frank Towsley, N. Hayden, and A. A. Addington; 1878, Alice Milliman, L. B. Sanders, and Maggie Warren; 1879, L. B. Sanders, Blanche Gifford.
District No. 2 was organized very early,—probably in 1837. A school was taught by Mrs. Hannah Keyes, at her residence on section 17, in 1836, before the district was organized. We have been unable to find any record showing the time and place of the first meeting, or who were the first officers. The first school-house was of logs, and stood on the opposite side of the road from John Carney’s house, now occupied by Simeon Roe, on section 17. The first directors’ report was made in 1840, at which time the district reported 44 scholars. Fifty-eight dollars were raised that year for building a school-house. The condition of things in the district in 1841 is indicated by the following extract from the directors’ answer to questions propounded by the superintendent of public instruction. He says, —
“1st. Present laws are not well understood. 2d. Much neglect in parents visiting the school. 3d. Inspectors do not visit the school. 4th. Discipline of school not good, in consequence of some of the parents disapproving of punishment by teacher. 5th. Hours of school, 6 per day. 6th. Teacher, male; age, 24; former salary, $12 per month 7th. No religious or sectarian views taught; we do not wish the minds of our children enslaved. 8th. Log house surrounded by trees, high ground, and imperfectly finished. School kept 3 months, winter. The average amount of sickness is itch.”
We are happy to say the health of the district has vastly improved since 1841. A few years after that the district built a better and more commodious school-house near the northeast corner of section 19. In 1874 the district received a considerable addition of territory from the partition of district No. 5, and soon after it became necessary to rebuild. After some difficulty it was determined to locate the site a half-mile east of the old one to better accommodate the eastern part of the district, and a new house worth $1000 was erected. It is one of the best school-houses in town. In 1879 the district reported 58 scholars. The list of teachers is very imperfect up to 1863. We glean from the school inspectors’ record that certificates to teach in this district were granted to
Miss Van Wert in 1844, Lewis Holden and Mary Cooley in 1847, Pliny Williams in 1849, Hannah Russell, Eli Clinton, and Enos Lovell in 1850, Mary Jane Miller in 1851, Mrs. Margaret M. Averill and Wellington Kidder in 1852.
Since 1862 the following teachers have been employed:
1863, Silas Stiles; 1864, Hattie Buck; 1865, James Powers; 1866, Anna Warriner; 1867, HIannah Powers, James Powers; 1868, Eliza Milliman; 1869, Almira Brown; 1870, Albert Hazelton, Lizzie Evans; 1871, E. B. Weeks, Kittie Van Middlesworth; 1872, Warren Wells, Emogene Bowen; 1873, Henry M. Jones, Frank E. Fields, Minnie Hull; 1874, G. W. Merry, Chloe Bonney, A. C. Milliman; 1875, James Powers, Emma Averill; 1876, Henry P. Kane, Emma Averill, Maggie Warren; 1877, Nellie Addington; 1878, Maggie Warren, Emogene Bowen; 1879, Geo. W. Jackson, Mina L. Haas, R. J. Van Woert.
District No. 3 was organized Jan. 15, 1839, and consisted of sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The first meeting was held at the house of William E. Sawyer, Jan. 26, 1839, and the following officers were chosen: Wm. E. Sawyer, Moderator; Wm. E. Bellows, Director; Prentiss P. Bowen, Assessor. It was also ” Voted to locate the school-house near the quarter post, between sections No. 4 and No. 9 in said district, on the east and west road between said sections.” February 1st a second meeting was held at W. E. Sawyer’s, and $220 were voted for building purposes. A building committee consisting of James D. Pierce, Lawrence S. Pierce, and William E. Sawyer was appointed to attend to the building of the house, which was to be finished ready for use by the 1st of June.
The first school in the district was a private one, taught in the spring of 1838 by Mrs. Moses Hodgman, at her residence on the north side of what is now Andries Lefever’s farm, on section 4. The first district school was probably taught by Nancy Whitford (ten weeks in summer of 1839, and three months in summer of 1840). At the annual meeting in 1841, it was ” voted to move the school house now in said district, on or near the four corners, one-half mile east of where it now stands.” They did not move it there, however, but instead took it a half-mile west, to the southwest corner of section 4. There are no records to show when or why this was done, but the following extract from the directors’ report to the superintendent of public instruction throws some light on that as well as on other subjects. He says,—
“With regard to the school system, there appears to be no particular defect. The fact is, we are all lawyers, and spend much of our time in quarreling about small matters, and let more weightier ones pass unnoticed. There is but little interest manifested by parents in the education of their children; they choose to spend their time in quarreling about the location of their school-house. Nothing short of a portable school-house will do for us. They never visit the school. The inspectors do not often visit the school; but as they are young men, and our school has been taught by a female of about eighteen, they are somewhat excusable. Religious instruction is not inculcated ind our school. We have a frame school-house, located on a high plain, surrounded by trees; size, 18 by 24. School kept in the summer. Scholars very healthy. We have no library. No forfeitures have been received, no proceeds from fines, nor any money from inspectors. The fact is, there is a leak in the bucket somewhere which we cannot find. Oct. 16, 1841.”
In 1857 the district had worn out their first school-house, and determined to build anew, which they did, moving the site again a half-mile west. The house was a cheap one, costing less than $200, but it has served the purpose for which it was built, up to the present time.
The first directors’ report gives the number of scholars in the district at 22, and the books used, ” Spellers.” In 1879 there are 33 scholars, and a good school is regularly sustained. There are almost no records showing who have taught in the district, and we are only able to give a few names of those who have taught there. Among those we do find are,
1839-40, Nancy Whitford; 1843, L. C. Barker, Sarah Gates; 1844, A. T. Jones; 1845, Geo. P. Stevens; 1846, Harvey Bush, Araminta Gardner; 1847, Jane Chipman; 1848, J. Van Middlesworth, Alma P. Durkee; 1849, Enieline Van Antwerp; 1851, Adeline Van Guilder; 1852, Emeline Van Antwerp; 1853, Charles Rhodes, Esther Cole; 1854, Ann Bellows; 1855, Martha Chapin.
The later teachers we are unable to learn, except a few since 1875. Among them are Mamie Sherman, Emmett Gray, Mary Ingalls, Charley W. King, Hattie Tuttle, Hubert Elwell, Elida Towsley, George Braden.
District No. 4 was organized by the board of school inspectors, May 17, A.D. 1847, and consisted of sections 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, southwest quarter of section 22, and the south half of section 21. The first meeting was held at a log house, near Aaron Souls’, Wednesday, May 12, 1847, and the following officers elected: Joseph W. Johnson, Moderator; Charles Moulton, Director; Aaron Soul, Assessor. For several years the district got along with three months’ school a year, taught in the little log house where the first school-meeting was held, and several times the district lost its share of the public money because they did not have enough school taught by a qualified teacher to entitle them to a share in the distribution. In 1854 they began to feel the need of more school and a better house. They accordingly leased a piece of land, 4 rods by 6, near the centre of section 28, of Alexander Harrison, and put up a new frame house. The length of the schools. were also increased to six or seven months per year. This was pre-eminently the “south woods” district, and settled up slowly for years; but at length it wore out and outgrew its second school-house, and in 1875 began to cast about for a new one. The district was large and some of the people lived a long way from school, so the determination to build a new house brought about a fierce contention about the site. Those living in the west part of the district desired to retain the site where it was, while those in the opposite part of the district wanted the school-house at Selbee’s Corners, half a mile east. Some ten or twelve special meetings were held before the matter was finally set tled. It was at last arranged by locating the school.house at Selbee’s Corners, and transferring several of the western people to the adjoining District No. 7. A handsome new house worth $1000 was built, capable of seating 72 scholars. The district is rapidly growing to be one of the strongest and best in town. The school census of 1879 shows 78 scholars. From the imperfect manner in which the records have been kept, we cannot give anything like a full list of its teachers, hence omit them entirely.
District No. 5 was organized February 17, 1849, and comprised the southeast quarter of section 8, the south half of section 9, the southwest quarter of section 10, the west half of section 15, the whole of section 16, except the south half of the southwest quarter, the northeast quarter of sect tion 21, and the northwest quarter of section 22. The first meeting was held at the house of Roswell B. Clark, on the third day of March, 1849, and Lawrence S. Pierce elected MloderaA(r; Paul Geddes, Director; and Leman Stewart, Assessor. It was voted to establish the site of the schoolhouse “on the line between lands owned by Roswell B. Clark and lands owned by James D. Pierce, at and near the quarter post, on the south side of section Number 9.” It was also voted to raise $200 for the purpose of building and furnishing a school-house. In the mean time they rented a log house near the southwest corner of section 9, and had a three months’ school taught that summer by Mary J. Hallock. Then came a hitch in the proceedings. The money voted was not raised for several years, and the district was without school or school-house until 1852. The house was completed in time for the annual meeting that year, at a cost of a little over $200. The first school in the new house was taught by Lydia M. Reading, for thirteen weeks, commencing Dec. 6, 1852.
The school-house was an octagonal one, and went for many years by the name of the “round school-house.” The district was never a very strong one, but schools were kept up regularly until 1874, when the house was burned. At the annual meeting that year it was voted to dissolve the district, and the board of school inspectors accordingly discontinued the district and attached the territory to the adjoining districts. Among the teachers who have taught in this school, we find on record the names of
Mary J. Hallock, Lydia M. Reading, Betsey Coe, James F. King, Sarah E. Coe, Susan R. Lovell, Cepha A. Milliman, Esther Cole, Frances A. Davis, Joanna Mack, Wealthy Dewey, George M. Buck, R. G. Smith, Mary Jane Adams, Mary E. Clark, Emma Higgins, Delia Dorrance, Mary E. Bradley, Nettie Van Ness, Eliza Milliman, Maria Haskins, Amanda R. Scott, George McCargar, Ida Sullivan, Ella Proctor, Julia Eldred, Lydia Gardner, Emogene Bowen, Hattie Sandal, Alice Templeton, and Grace Illick.
After the dissolution of the district a portion of its members, not recognizing the legality of the act, built a new school-house, which they used one or two seasons for school purposes. The result was a long litigation, which did not turn out to their advantage. A subsequent application to the board of school inspectors for the re-establishment of the district was not successful.
District No. 6 was organized Feb. 27, 1850, and consisted of sections 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36. The first meeting was held at the residence of Harrison Stimpson, March 16, 1850, and Harrison Stimpson was elected Mod erator; Horace Eastman, Director; and Harris Palmer, Assessor. They then raised $10 to fit up a school-room. A site was secured, and a log school-house put up on the northwest corner of section 36. The district had only 11 scholars when it was organized, and never has been a strong one. In 1866 they built a new school-house, costing them $450, and since then they have kept up their schools as steadily as any district in town. The number of scholars at present in the district is 68. We are unable to give the list of teachers, as they are not down on the, records.
District No. 7 was organized June 6, 1857, and consisted of the southwest quarter of section 29, the southeast quarter of section 30, section 31, section 32, except the north half of the northeast quarter, the southwest quarter and the south half of the northwest quarter of section 33. The first meeting was held at the residence of T. F. Husted, June 20, 1857, and H. P. Phillips was elected Director; L. R. Cooley, Moderator; and William Ford, Assessor. The school-house was built on its present site, on the northeast corner of section 31, in 1858, costing $230. The first school was taught in 1857 by Sarah Wheeler. There were 28 scholars in the district when it was organized, and in 1879 the number has increased to 30. The following is the list of teachers employed in the district:
1857, Sarah V. Wheeler; 1858, Lorinda Adams, Malvina Holden; 1859, Elizabeth Taylor, Esther E. Husted; 1860, Fanny Wolcott; 1861, Fanny Wilson, Cordelia Cheney; 1862, Caroline Lainmon, Eudora Gleason; 1864, Emma Higgins; 1865, Mary A. Cook, Hattie Buck, C. A. Milliman; 1866, Maggie Leighton; 1868, Alice Byington, Nelson Leighton; 1869, Mary Dorrance, J. P. Stein; 1870, L. T. Wells, Joanna Mack; 1871, Hattie Woodcock, George W. Merry; 1872, Nellie Ryan, George W. Merry; 1873, Hattie Sandal, Ella C. Proctor; 1874, George W. Merry, Nettie Lane; 1875, John Overholt, Jennie Andrus; 1876, N. E. Retalick, Nettie Lane; 1877, Dolly Stewart, F. C. Rapp; 1878, Maggie Warren, Alice Milliman; 1879, Estelle Cook, Hubert Elwell.
District No. 8 was organized May 6,1872, and consisted of sections 14, 23, north half of 24, south half of 13, east half of 22, east half of 15, and 11 acres off the northwest quarter of section 22. A school-house, costing $550, was immediately built, and good schools have been maintained. The district now numbers 68 scholars. Among those who have taught in the district are Emogene Bowen, Kittie Van Middlesworth, Frances M. Ingalls, Laura Bradley, Hattie Tuttle, Maryette Sowles, Linnie S. Alvord, Carrie S. Pierce.
Fractional District No. 1 (Climax and Pavilion), commonly known for many years as the Willson district, was organized by the board of school inspectors March 25, 1847, and embraced the following territory in Climax, viz., the southwest corner of the northwest quarter of section 19, owned by D. Woodin and S. B. Scott; the southwest quarter of section 19; the northwest quarter and the east half of the northeast quarter, and the south half of section 30. For some reason, the work of the inspectors at that time failed to operate. So they met the next year and tried it again, this time taking from the town of Climax sections 30, 31, west half of section 19, and southwest quarter of section 18.
The first meeting was held in the school-house near the town-line, in Pavilion, Dec. 18, 1848. John Holden was elected Moderator; Amos Willson, Director; and David Woodin, Assessor. The first school was taught by Edwin Stewart, commencing Dec. 25,1848, two and a half months, 43 I for $15 per month. The old log house in Pavilion was used until 1850, when a new school-house was built in the southwest corner of section 19, Climax. It was a frame house, not very large or expensive, but continues in use up to the present time in pretty good condition.
The Willson school-house was for many years the headquarters for religious meetings and other public gatherings for the west part of the town. The completion of the railroad, less than a mile north of it, has caused the growth of the thriving little village of Scotts, to which point it is probable the school will be removed at no very distant day. The number of scholars in the district at the time of its organization was 38; in 1879, 58. The roll of teachers, as near as we can learn them, is as follows:
1849, Edwin Stewart, Rhoda Craw; 1850, Jacob Ramsdell, Urzelia Hall; 1851, Jonathan Tainter, Adeline Hunt; 1852, Graham S. Eddy, Delia D. Stone; 1853, Charlotte A. Rowe, Harriett Taylor; 1854, Eunice Cole, Elizabeth C. Dimock; 1855, Frances P. Crandall, Clarissa A. Holden; 1856-57, M. D. Imus, Harriet Wrightman; 1858-59, J. S. Wheaton, Nancy M. Cook; 1860, J. S. Wheaton, Joanna E. Mack; 1861, R. S. Aldrich, Joanna E. Mack; 1862, Ettie Swaddle, Lucy M. Byington; 1868, Ellen R. Gleason, Nellie A. Torrey; 1869, Lida J. Milliman; 1870, Warren Wells; 1871, Mary E. Estes, Alice Milliman; 1872, Jane Steele, Ruth Smith; 1873, George W. Brewer, Hattie Sandal; 1874, Alice Dean; 1875, D. T. Mallory, Mary E. Gould; 1876, Abby Hanson, Jeannette Fraser; 1877, George Eberstein, Nelson R. Norris, Fanny Westbrook; 1878, Hiram Hampton, Mrs. H. D. Anderson, Sarah Beckwith; 1879, Alice Milliman, Luther H. Long.
The number of scholars in 1879 was 58. Present officers: Whitford Milliman, Director; Samuel S. Skinner, Moderator; David K. Snyder, Assessor.
Fractional School District No. 2 (Climax, Leroy, and Battle Creek) was organized Oct. 30, 1848, and the first meeting held at the house of Isaac Davis, Dec. 30, 1848. Sections 1 and 12, in Climax and portions of Leroy and Battle Creek, were included in the district. The first officers elected were Andee Noble, Moderator; James Foster, Director; and C. W. Cole, Assessor. Foster soon after moved out of the district, and Feb. 20, 1849, H. G. Monroe was elected to fill the vacancy.
Schools had been kept in the district some time before its organization. As near as we can learn, the first was taught in Lysander Cole’s barn, on what is now Warren Smith’s place, opposite the school-house. The first teacher was Amy Bailey.
Schools were also kept in a log house on Isaac Davis’ farm by Mr. Davis’ daughters and by Mary Ann Mason. At the special meeting in February, 1849, it was voted to locate a site for a school-house on the county line. In the words of the record, “Said district to have three rods square in the northeast corner of Isaac Davis’ land and to embrace the northwest corner of Mr. T. Hoge, contains three rods squair.” In October, 1849, they voted to raise $150 for building purposes.
In April, 1850, Henry Monroe, Isaac Davis, and Ezra D. Rouse were elected a building committee. The schoolhouse was built that summer, and was used for the winter’s school. The house was small and inconvenient, but still serves the purpose for which it was erected.
The list of teachers, as near as we have been able to procure them, is as follows:
E. Abram Spencer, 1850-51; Susan Olney, 1851; Ezra G. Carpenter, 1851-52; Amy Bailey, 1852; J. Alonzo Eldred, 1852-53; Albert Gove, 1853-54; Hilinda Newton, 1854; Susan Lovell, 1854-55; Matilda Baxter, 1855; Jane M. Eldred, 1845-56; Laura E. Baker, 1856; George Burdick, 1856-57; Nancy Beadle, 1857; A. Kinney, 1857-58; Susan Lovell, 1858; Daw. Figg, 1858-59; E. E. Husted, 1859; Miss Blodgett, C. S. Montague, 1860-61; Miss Bailey, 1861; Martha Marsh, F. Hodgman, 1861-62; Mary McAlister, 1862; F. Hodgman, 1862-63; Phebe Hiscock, 1863; Hannah Flint, 1863-64; Effie E. Husted, 1864-65; Julia B. Sterling, 1865; Mary Hickman, 1866; Jennie Wolcott, Frank McAlister, Susan Lovell, Dell Slawson, Caroline Chapin, Josephine Cotton, Eliza Guiteau, Emma Bradley, Chloe Bonney, Mary Bailey, Louise Elwell, Emma Crawford, Adelle O. Evers, Charles H. Brady, James R. Monroe, Ida C. Seeley, Fidelia Eldred, Esther W. Bodine, Loella P. Brooks, Ella Gove, N. E. Retalick.
It is not attempted to give the names of the teachers in the order of time after 1866. The number of scholars in 1879 was 27. Efforts are in progress to secure the erection of a new school-house as soon as practicable.
* “When the town was first settled this hill was covered with a growth of large oak-timber. As soon as the annual fires were stopped from running a vigorous growth of young oaks, hickories, and hazel-bushes sprang up, which soon covered it with a dense thicket. At that time the ditch was about three feet deep and ten or twelve feet wide. Large trees were growing in its bottom and along its banks, showing that a very long time had elapsed since its construction. The early settlers called it the old fort, and that name still clings to it. The land is now cleared and has been plowed over many times, but the line of the old ditch is still visible.”