PIONEER REUNION

    The reunion of old citizens, which took place here on Thursday, the 10th inst., transcended in interest all that had been anticipated from it. Quite early in the day the streets began to be thronged with men and women of the olden time. There were those here who had seen Youngstown when scarcely a score of houses stood to indicate the future that was in store for her. The greetings on all sides were interesting to hear, and the jokes that had not been told for many and many a year were revived and provoked a laugh as fresh and hearty as if they had happened but yesterday.

    Of those that gathered on that day there were not a few who had not seen the business and hum of life for many years. Weighed down with age, they had remained at home, passing in quietness and rest the close of lives which had begun amid the excitements and toils and vicissitudes of settling a new country. Some could tell of Indian wars and massacres, of the hard battle for existence which was fought in an unsubdued wilderness with the savage foe. There were here on that day soldiers of the War of 1812, and men who had lived in Ohio while she was yet a Territory. It is the story of three-quarters of a century - the history of the Western Reserve.

    The oldest man present was William Smith, now living in this township, near Lanterman's mill, about ninety years of age. Of the veterans of 1812, there were present James Foster, aged 83; Samuel Fitch, 80; Jacob Vail, and Rev. Wilson. Of the widows of soldiers of 1812, there were Mrs. Polly Jackson, Mrs. William M'Farland, and Mrs. Polly Smith. Among the oldest persons, Jacob H. Baldwin, aged 84, now of Kinsman; William Rice, aged 80, now of Painesville; John Kimmel, aged 79; Philip Stambaugh, aged 79; Alexander M'Kinnie, aged 75; Peter Kline, aged 72; Dr Lemuel Wick, aged 71; J. F. Hogue, aged 70; B. P. Baldwin, aged 73; Ray Noble, aged 70. The oldest native of Youngstown was Osirus Case born 1804. The oldest lady present, Mrs. Nancy Hine, of Painesville, aged 84.

    The meeting at the Opera-house took place at 11 A.M. The house was filled, and a deep interest manifested in the exercises. The oldest of the pioneers occupied seats on the stage, while the body of the house was filled with men and women who were residents of Youngstown thirty five or more years ago. In the dress circle and galleries were the citizens of the city and neighborhood, who, though not among the pioneers, yet were many of them their children, and therefore deeply interested in the exercises.

    H. B. Wick, Esq., having been designated by the Committee of Arrangements to act as chairman, called the assemblage to order. 

He said:

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, We have met here today to have an old-fashioned love feast - to recount our early experiences, and live over again our early days. It is to be hoped that speeches will be short and to the point."

    The Chairman then read the order of exercises for the day.

    This was followed by a very earnest and appropriate prayer by Alexander M'Kinnie, Esq., After which, the President introduced J. M. Edwards, Esq., of this city, who delivered the address of welcome.

    "This address is, in every respect, worthy the occasion, and an invaluable contribution to the history of the Western Reserve. To extract from tradition the facts of history, to examine ancient and, sometimes, contradictory records of courts and of land offices, and the memoranda of men, often carelessly made; to discriminate between the accounts of transactions given by early settlers, separating the true from the false, requires an amount of patience and a kind of ability which few men have. This task has been performed for Youngstown by Esquire Edwards with remarkable success, and, while we give him the credit due, let us also acknowledge the obligation we are under." (Mahoning Register, Sept. 17, 1874.)

Address of Welcome by John M. Edwards, Esq.:

    "My Friends, The pioneers of the West, of this land we now inhabit, were a race of heroes. Less than one hundred years ago the State of Ohio, and more especially the Western Reserve, was an almost unbroken wilderness, the haunts of savage men and savage beasts. To subdue this wilderness, to convert the pathless forests into fertile fields, to replace the wigwam of the Indian with the comfortable abodes of civilization, and eventually to make this wilderness to blossom like the rose, those noble pioneers, taking, as it were, their lives in their hands, left their homes of comfort and luxury in the East, and, with stout hearts and strong hands, struck their axes into the huge growths of the forest, and prepared for us, their descendants and successors, a land whose superior in all the resources which, properly used, may make men prosperous and happy, is not to be found in any other portion of country on this earth.

    "Those pioneer men and women have mostly passed away. To cherish their memory; to recall the history of those early days; to renew ancient friendship; to greet, as of old, companions and acquaintances from whom we have been long parted, we, their successors and early settlers of this, one of the earliest settled townships of the Reserve, have assembled here today. To all those present, to those who were residents of this township thirty-five or more years ago, to our invited guests and visitors, and those, as well, who have become residents at a more recent period and are here as spectators, we extend a cordial welcome.

    "I have said that within one hundred years this country was a wilderness. I might have said, with truth, that it was so within three quarters of a century, within the lifetime of many now living, and, perhaps, of some here present. And yet it seems to the more youthful portion of those now on the stage of active life as if the period of the settlement of the Reserve, so recent, in fact, comparatively, was an event so remote in time that its facts and incidents are among the dim and hazy memories and traditions of antiquity.

    "A large portion of the history of the settlement of the Reserve is unwritten, and exists only in tradition. It is peculiarly so of this township. And yet this history is well worth collecting and preserving in durable form. We trust that this will be one of the results of our reunion today. I have gathered a few facts and incidents of this history, partly from records and documents, and partly from conversations with the pioneers and with our early settlers, which may be of interest, and propose to occupy your attention for a short time in their narration.

    "In 1662 King Charles II granted a charter to the colony of Connecticut, and defined the limits of the colony to be Massachusetts on the north, Long Island Sound on the South, the Narragansett River on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west, excepting certain portions granted previously. By virtue of this charter, subsequent to the Revolution, Connecticut claimed the land west of Pennsylvania. The controversy in relation to this claim was at length settled by the cession, by Connecticut to the United States, of all land west of the State of Pennsylvania, reserving a tract one hundred and twenty miles in length, and between Lake Erie and the forty-first parallel of north latitude. This cession was accepted, and was considered an acknowledgment that the claim of Connecticut was well founded. This tract received the name of the Connecticut Western Reserve.

    "Excepting the "Fire Lands", containing half a million of acres on the western end of the Reserve, so-called from being given by the State of Connecticut to certain sufferers by fire and the destruction of their property in that State during the Revolutionary War, and the Salt Spring tract lying in the townships of Austintown, Jackson, Weathersfield, and Lordstown, and a few other parcels previously sold or negotiated, this tract was sold by the State in 1795 to the Connecticut Land Company.

    "In 1796 the survey of the Reserve into townships five miles square was commenced, and, in January, 1798, the survey being then completed, the land was partitioned among the stockholders of the company by draft. When the partition was completed, the stockholders of the company received from the trustees deeds of the land they had drawn. Many of the grantees removed soon thereafter to their land, and made it their future home. Others sent out agents. Purchasers from the grantees removed to the new country, clearings were made in the forests, log-houses were erected, crops were put in the ground, and thus, in the Spring of 1798, was commenced the regular settlement of the Reserve.

    "Prior to the draft some portions of the land had been sold by the company to individuals not stockholders. Youngstown was not included in the land partitioned in the draft, and the name of John Young does not appear among the stockholders of the company. Hence, we infer that he contracted for the purchase of the township directly from the company and prior to the draft. But at what time or in what manner this contract was made, the records do not show. The records, however, do show that on April 9, 1800, the trustees of the company conveyed to John Young township No. 2, in the second range, called Youngstown, containing 15,560 acres of land, for the consideration of $16,085.16. On the same day Mr. Young executed to the trustees a mortgage of the township to secure the payment of the purchase money.

    "Mr. Young, according to tradition, visited the township about 1797 with Alfred Wolcott, a surveyor, for the purpose of surveying it into lots and commencing a settlement. The late Col. James Hillman, who then resided in Pittsburg, and had been for a number of years engaged in trading with the Indians on the Reserve, making his voyages up the Mahoning in a canoe, in returning from one of his expeditions, saw a smoke on the bank near Spring Common. On landing he found Mr. Young and Mr. Wolcott. He stayed with them a few days, when they went with him to Beaver, on the Ohio River, to celebrate the Fourth of July.  Col Hillman, at the instance of Mr. Young, returned with him to Youngstown, and they commenced the settlement of the town by the erection of a log house. This house stood on the east bank of the Mahoning River, near Spring Common, and, as I have been informed by some of the earliest settlers, on Front Street, on the site of the house occupied until recently by William S. Crawford. This was, probably, the first log-house erected on the Reserve, and the first regular settlement on the Reserve was, probably, commenced in this township.

    "Mr. Young laid out a town plat, which is now embraced within, and is only a small part of, the present city, and divided it into building lots. Adjoining the town plat he laid out lots of a few acres each, which he named out lots, and the rest of the township he surveyed into larger tracts, suitable for farms. The town plat was not recorded until August 19, 1802.  On June 1st of that year, Mr. Young executed an instrument, commencing, "Know ye that I, John Young, of Youngstown, in the county of Trumbull, for the consideration of the prospect of advancing my property, have laid out and established in the township of Youngstown aforesaid, on the north side of the Mahoning River, a town plat of the following description, namely: Federal Street is a hundred feet in width, and one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two feet in length, beginning at a corner-post standing in front of Esquire Caleb Baldwin's house, a little west of his well, running south 62o 30' east through the middle of the plat and public square". The well here spoken of still exists, and is in daily use in the yard in front of the residence of Dr Timothy Woodbridge. The post, a little west of the well, has disappeared; but its precise location has been carefully recorded by surveyors, and can be readily found. North, now Wood, and South, now Front Streets, parallel with Federal, are then described, and bound the plat on the north and south, and these three are the only east and west streets named. The other streets, running north and south, and the public square, are then described. There are one hundred lots in the plat contained in the instrument, the south-east lot being No. 1, and the north-east lot No. 100. Lots No. 95, on the west, and No. 96 on the east side of Market Street, and bounded north on North Street, are designated on the plat as "burying ground", but are not so noted in the deed. The instrument concludes as follows: "And all the land contained in the before mentioned streets I have appropriated to the use and benefit of the public, to remain public highways so long as said plat shall remain unvacated". The instrument is signed and sealed by John Young , and witnessed by Calvin Pease, but not acknowledged before a magistrate. The city, a few years since, obtained a quit claim from the heirs of Mr. Young, which cures any defect in the execution of the instrument, and conveys to the city the title to lots No. 95 and 96 above named.

    "The Western Reserve was organized, under the Territorial Government, in the year 1800, as Trumbull County, with Warren as the county-seat. The first Court of Common Pleas and General Quarter Sessions was there held on August 25, 1800. At that Court the county was divided into townships for civil purposes. The township of Youngstown, as then organized, comprised the now townships of Poland, Coitsville, Hubbard, Liberty, Youngstown, Boardman, Canfield, Austintown, Jackson, and Ellsworth. George Tod was appointed prosecuting attorney of the county, and James Hillman was appointed constable of Youngstown, and the oath of office was administered to them. 

    "At the Court of Quarter Sessions, February term, 1802, it was ordered that town-meetings be held on the first Monday of April next. Our first town-meeting was held, accordingly, on that day. The record of this meeting is in the handwriting of the late Judge Tod, and we copy it entire and verbatim:

    "At a legal township-meeting, begun and held in and for the township of Youngstown, in the county of Trumbull, at the dwelling-house of William Rayen, on the fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and two, the following proceedings were had, namely:

    "The persons hereinafter mentioned were chosen to the offices respectively affixed to their names:

    "John Young, Chairman;  George Tod, Town Clerk.

    "Voted, that there be five Trustees chosen.  Accordingly, James Doud, John Struthers, Camden Cleveland, Samuel Tylee, and Calvin Pease, were duly elected.

    "Voted, that there be three overseers of the poor chosen.  Accordingly, Archibald Johnson, James Matthews, and John Rush were duly elected.

    "Thomas Kirkpatrick and Samuel Minough were duly elected fence viewers.

    "James Hillman and Homer Hine were elected appraisers of houses.

    "George Tod was chosen lister of taxable property.

    "William Chapman, Michael Seamore, James Wilson, Benjamin Ross, William Dunlap, Amos Loveland, John Davidson, William Service, and Thomas Packard were elected supervisors of highways.

    "Calvin Pease and Phineas Reed were elected constables.

    "Attest: George Tod, Town Clerk.

    "Of the above-named trustees, James Doud resided in the present township of Canfield, John Struthers in Poland, Samuel Tylee in Hubbard, and Calvin Pease and Camden Cleveland in Youngstown.

    "Their first meeting was held 'at the dwelling-house of William Rayen, innkeeper,' on April 18, 1802. This house, as we are informed, was a log-house erected by Mr. Young on the lot where William S. Parmelee lives, to which, however, from time to time, additions were made. The township-meetings were held 'at the dwelling house of William Rayen' until after 1813, he being, most of the time, township clerk.  Dr Manning, on his arrival at Youngstown, in 1811, stopped at that house, or, as he stated it, 'at Col. Rayen's Tavern.'  He described the house thus: "It was a two-story white-house, shingled on the sides instead of weather-boarding. There was a log-house attached to it on the north, and a kitchen at the back built of round logs. Between the log and frame part was a wide hall, open at both ends, and wooden benches on the sides for loungers."

    "The first mail route through Youngstown was established and opened in October, 1801. Prior to that time the nearest post-office was at Pittsburg. The route then established ran from Pittsburg through Beavertown to Georgetown, on the Ohio River, and thence through Canfield and Youngstown to Warren. The contract for carrying the mail, once in two weeks for the term of two years, was made with Eleazor Gilson, of Canfield, at the price of $3.50 per mile per year, counting the distance one way. Samuel Gilson, a son of the contractor, carried the mail the principal part of the time, and generally on foot, carrying the mail-bag on his back. This was the first mail route on the Reserve. 

    "Calvin Pease was appointed postmaster at Youngstown, Elijah Wadsworth at Canfield, and Simon Perkins at Warren; and these gentlemen were the first postmasters on the Reserve.

    "The first building for public worship was a log edifice erected by the Presbyterian Society on the brow of the hill north of the public square, and stood near what is now the south-east corner of the Rayen school lot. It was, probably, erected in 1801 or 1802. Rev. William Wick officiated for some years in this church. From a public record, which I shall quote presently, it appears that he was here officiating as a minister of the Gospel as early as November, 1800. He, probably, came here before that time. He was the first minister, in Youngstown, of the Presbyterian Church, and, perhaps, of any Church, although traveling preachers or missionaries may have preached here occasionally before Mr. Wick. In the old cemetery, near the scene of his labors of usefulness, stood a gravestone, now removed, we presume, to the new cemetery, with the following inscription:

    "In memory of the Rev. William Wick, who died March 29, 1815, aged forty-six years and nine months. The father of eight sons and five daughters. He was a native of Long Island, New York; ordained a preacher of the Gospel September 3, 1800; was pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Youngstown and Hopewell fifteen years. In the course of his ministry preached 1,522 sermons and married 56 couples. He was highly esteemed as a faithful minister of Christ, a respectable and punctual member of the judicature of the Church, lived much-beloved and died much-lamented. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance".

    "The first school-house was a log building, which stood on the south-west quarter of the public square. The late Singleton King, Esq., informed me that when he came here in 1805 the house looked new, and might then have been built two or three years.  James Noyes, from Connecticut, a tall, slim man, was the first teacher after he came. Per Lee Brush, a gentleman who afterwards resided in Trumbull County, and whom some of you may remember, also taught in that school before Mr. King came, and was, probably, the first teacher. Mr. King, remarked, also, that "there were very few scholars to attend at that time."

    "Dr. Manning, in speaking of the condition of schools and schoolhouses in 1811, when he came here, says: "There was a log school-house on the Diamond, there was another building used as a school- house near the residence of Isaac Powers (near the south line of the township), one that served both as a church and school-house at Cornersburg, and another near Parkhurst's mill. Besides these, a few old buildings where schools were occasionally kept. The qualifications for a school-teacher in those days were few and moderate. If a man could read tolerably well, was a good writer, and could cipher as far as the rule of three, knew how to use the birch scientifically, and had firmness enough to exercise this skill, he would pass muster."

    "I have in my possession an ancient document which may throw some light on our school-history a few years later. It is a contract to teach school in the Summer of 1818. As it is brief I will quote it in full:

    "This article, between the undersigned subscribers of the one part, and Jabez P. Manning of the other, witnesseth, That said Manning doth, on his part, engage to teach a school at the school-house near the center of Youngstown for the term of one quarter, wherein he engages to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and English grammar; and, furthermore, that the school shall be opened at 9 o'clock, A.M., and closed at 4, P.M., on each day of the week (Saturday and Sunday excepted), and on Saturday to be opened at 9 and closed at twelve o'clock, A.M. And we, the subscribers, on our part, individually engage to pay unto the said Manning one dollar and 75-100 for each and every scholar we subscribe, at the end of the term; and we furthermore engage to furnish or to bear the necessary expense of furnishing wood and all other things necessary for the use of the school. 

    "Furthermore, we do engage that unless, by the sixth day of April of the present year, the number of scholars subscribed amount to thirty-five, that the said Manning is in no way obligated by this article.

    "Furthermore, we allow the said Manning the privilege of receiving five scholars more than are here specified.

Youngstown, March 31, 1818.

    "Subscribers names and number of scholars, George Tod, 3;  John E. Woodbridge, 4;  Homer Hine, 2;  Henry Wick, 2;  Philip Stambaugh, 1 1/2;  Samuel Vail, 2;  Robert Kyle, 2;  George Hardman, 1; James Davidson,  2;  Polly Chapman, 1;  Jerry Tibbits, 3 1/2;  John F. Townsend, 2;  Henry Manning, 1;  William Bell, 1;  Jonathan Smith, 1;  Moses Crawford, 1;  William Cleveland, 1 1/2;  Margaret Murdock, 1;  William Potter, 2;  William Rayen, 1 1/2;  William Morris, 1;  Noah Chamberlain, 1;  Richard Young, 1/2;  James Duncan, 1;  Mrs. M'Cullough, 1/2;  Byram Baldwin, 1/2.     Total, 40 1/2.

    "The township was first divided into school districts on May 22, 1826. There were seven districts and two fractional districts. The first or center district, which included the present city and some additional territory, contained fifty-four householders. The whole township, as then enumerated, contained two hundred and six householders, of which twelve were women.

    "The first mill was erected by John Hill and Phineas Hill about 1798 or '99, at the falls on Mill Creek, in the south-west part of the township, on the site where German Lanterman's large flouring-mill now stands. It was built of round logs, and contained machinery for both grinding and sawing. Mr. William Powers informs me that his grandfather, Abraham Powers, one of the earliest settlers, who was a practical millwright, put in the machinery. It was a small and rather primitive affair, but answered, in a measure, the needs of the inhabitants. It was one of the first, if not the first, mill on the Reserve. 

    "The late Nathan Ague, who was, at that time, a lad about seven or eight years of age, and residing at Flint Hill with his parents, who had recently arrived, informed me that he was at the raising of this mill. He said there were not men enough in the neighborhood to raise it, and they sent to Greersburg, now Darlington, in Pennsylvania, for hands, and got a keg of whisky for them. On that day his father killed a bear, which furnished the meat used by the men who raised the mill. The family used the bear's skin afterward for a bed.

    "When and where did the first marriage on the Reserve occur, and who were the parties married?  is a question of some interest. On the records of Trumbull County we find the following certificate:

    "This may certify that, after publication, according to law of the Territory, Stephen Baldwin and Rebecca Rush were joined in marriage on the third day of November, 1800. 

                                                                                                    By William Wick, V.D.M.

    "On the 11th of February prior, according to a record kept at Canfield, Alfred Wolcott, the surveyor who came out with Mr. Young, and then resided at Youngstown, was married to Mercy Gilson, of Canfield. They were married in Pennsylvania for the reason that no person in this vicinity was authorized to solemnize marriages. Hence, we infer that the first marriage in Youngstown was that of Stephen Baldwin and Rebecca Rush ; and this was, probably, the first marriage solemnized on the Reserve.

    "The first male child born in the township was Isaac Swager, son of John Swager. The first female child was a daughter of Robert and Hannah Stevens. They were born prior to 1800; but I have not the date.  John Young Shehy, son of Daniel and Jane Shehy, was one of the earliest children born here, and tradition says that John Young deeded him a town lot for his name. In corroboration of this, I find on record a deed from John Young to John Y. Shehy, dated March 24, 1807, of town lots 83 and 84, which are located on the east side of North Market Street, and south of the graveyard lot. The consideration expressed is one hundred dollars, received of Daniel Shehy. Tradition also says that Mr. Young gave lots to the two other children, but I do not find deeds on record.

    "The first funeral was the burial of Samuel M'Farland in the north-west corner of the west lot of the old graveyard. All the population, including Mr. Young , as stated to me by Mr. Nathan Ague, were at the funeral. The following is the inscription on the gravestone: At the top the figures "1811," probably the date of its erection. Then, "In memory of Samuel M'Farland, teacher of vocal music, late from Worcester, Massachusetts, who departed this life September 20, 1799, aged twenty-eight years". This stone is now removed to the west part of the Mahoning Cemetery.

    "I now pass to a brief notice of our industrial interests. At an early day mineral or stone coal was discovered in different localities in the township and vicinity. It was ascertained to be good for blacksmith fuel, and was used to some extent by smiths in this section of country. It was not to any extent used as fuel for domestic purposes, as wood was plenty and cheaper. The early citizens little thought that this black stone, which would burn, cropping out here and there in the ravines, was destined to become a source of great wealth to their successors, and, while some of them were still living, to develop this valley into one of the most wealthy manufacturing regions of our country.

    "After the opening of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal in 1840, our late fellow-citizen, David Tod, sent from his Brier Hill mines a few boat loads of coal to Cleveland as an experiment. The coal was tested for steamboat and other purposes, and approved. It soon became a regular traffic, and the transportation, now by railroad, has continued, constantly increasing to this day. An idea of its extent may be formed by witnessing the long trains of cars, loaded with the precious black diamonds, passing almost hourly.

    "About 1846 it was ascertained that the Brier Hill, or that variety of coal termed block coal, could be used in its raw state as a fuel for the reduction of iron ore, and the first blast furnace in Youngstown, constructed for its use, was erected in that year. This was the Eagle Furnace, built by William Philpot, David Morris, Jonathan Warner, and Harvey Sawyer, on land purchased of Dr Henry Manning, lying between the present city limits and Brier Hill. The coal used was mined from land contiguous, leased from Dr Manning. The terms of this lease, as to price, were one cent per bushel for the first 25,000 bushels, and one-half cent per bushel for all over 25,000 bushels dug in any one year, and to mine not less than 75,000 bushels per year, or to pay for that quantity if not mined. The money paid for coal not mined in any year to be applied on the excess mined in any other year. The bushel of coal to weigh seventy-five pounds. The lease to continue in force for twenty years. This lease, Dr Manning stated, was the first coal lease made in this township.

    "We copy from Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio", published in 1848, but who collected his materials in 1847, his statements of the condition of the coal and iron interest, and of our township generally at that time:

    "Youngstown is the largest and most flourishing town in Mahoning County.  It contains about twelve hundred inhabitants, has twelve mercantile stores, three warehouses for receiving and forwarding goods and produce on the canal.  Four churches, one Presbyterian, one Episcopal Methodist, one Protestant Methodist, and one Disciple.  The Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal passes through the village, and the products of the surrounding country are sent here for shipment.  Few places in Ohio are more beautifully situated; few have greater facilities for manufacturing,  or bid fairer to become a place of wealth and importance.  Bituminous coal and iron ore abound in the immediate vicinity of the village and along the line of the canal, adequate, it is believed, to the wants of a large manufacturing place.  Several of the coal banks are already opened, and successfully and profitably worked. The mines of the Hon. David Tod furnish about one hundred tons of coal per day, and those of Crawford, Camp & Co. about sixty; all of which have hitherto found a ready market at Cleveland for steamboat fuel.  It has recently been ascertained that the coal in the valley of the Mahoning is well adapted,  in its raw state,  to the smelting of iron ore,  and three furnaces,  similar to the English and Scotch furnaces,  each capable of producing from sixty to one hundred tons of pig metal per week,  have been erected in the township and near the village.  A large rolling-mill has been erected in the village, at which is made the various sizes of bar, rod, and hoop iron, also sheet iron, nails, and spikes. The "Youngstown Iron Company" and the "Eagle Iron and Steel Company" contemplate the erection of machinery for the purpose of making T and H rail, and it is more than probable that the various railroads now projected in Ohio and the adjoining States will be supplied with rails from this point.  In addition to the above there are quite a number of small manufacturing establishments for making tinware, cloth, axes, wagons, etc. The amount of capital invested in the manufacturing of iron is probably $200,000."

    "The three furnaces, spoken of above, were the Eagle and Brier Hill furnaces, since rebuilt and capacity greatly enlarged, and the Mill Creek furnace, built in 1826 for a charcoal furnace, but being in an unfavorable location in regard to transportation facilities, and getting old and dilapidated, it was taken down some years since. The large rolling-mill, chronicled by Mr. Howe, was the old mill north of the canal, which was the nucleus, and but a fraction, of the present extensive mills of Brown, Bonnell & Co., which are among the largest in the State.

    "The growth and prosperity of the township from that day to this have been onward and constant, as is evidenced by our eleven furnaces, capable, when in full blast, of pouring out over four hundred tons of pig metal daily, and our four rolling-mills, one of them a rail-mill, and the other three manufacturing the best qualities of bar, band, round, and hoop iron, nails, etc., all employing a capital of not less than five millions of dollars; by our foundries and machine-shops, spike, nut and washer, boiler, carriage, and other manufactories and mills; numerous and extensive mercantile stores, six spacious school houses, eighteen churches, and fifteen thousand inhabitants. And our progress is still onward.

    "A few words as to the day we have selected for our reunion. In 1812, Hull's surrender, and the dark and doubtful times which followed, cast a gloom over the north-west. Men were in dread of the destruction of their families and homes by the hostile armies of Great Britain, aided by the merciless Indian savages. On the 10th of September, 1813, sixty-one years ago, the glad tidings spread through the length and breadth of our Union that the gallant Commodore Perry and his noble and hardy tars had achieved a brilliant victory over the British fleet on the waters of Lake Erie. His brief dispatch, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours", as it ran through the land, was every-where hailed with loud acclamations of rejoicing.

     "The contest was then virtually decided.  The West was safe. The gloom was dispelled, and the pioneers, scattered sparsely over the Reserve, felt secure in their homes.

    "This day has ever been considered, in Ohio and the West, as second only to the anniversary of our National Independence. What day more appropriate for our reunion?

    "Again, I bid you all welcome; may we have a "good time", and may this be the precursor of many happy reunions of the early and the later settlers of Youngstown."

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