OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
LORAMIE AND
PICKAWILLANY.
[The following articles concerning the
stations, forts and early set-
tlements known respectively as
Pickawillany and Loramie were obtained
by the Editor of the Quarterly from
the Rev. William Bigot, now a
resident of Dayton. These articles
contain much first-hand information
relating to the location of the historic
points in question. The sketch
of Father Bigot - pronounced Bego -
is by the Editor. For further dis-
cussion on this subject, see article on
Forts Loramie and Pickawillany
by Prof. R. W. McFarland, in Vol. VIII,
p. 479 Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Annuals- E. O. R.]
Among the earliest white settlements in
Ohio of which we
have definite record are those known
respectively as Pickawillany
and Loramie. The origins of these places
and their proper dis-
tinctive locations are much confused by
tradition and the histor-
ical accounts. Mr. Henry Howe was one of
the first to attempt
to give accurate statement concerning
these memorable stations,
in his first edition of Ohio Historical
Collections, published in
1846. He relied mainly upon tradition,
which is more likely to
be faulty than otherwise. In his second
edition (1893) he some-
what revised his former recital. With
the purpose of securing,
as far as possible, correct data
concerning the points in question
the Editor of The Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly not only visited the respective sites of Pickawillany
and Loramie station, but availed himself
of interviews and
correspondence with the Reverend William
Bigot, a Catholic
priest, who for thirty years resided at
Loramie, now Berlin, and
made a thorough study of the origin and
history of both Picka-
Vol. XVII-1. (1)
2 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
willany and Loramie. Father Bigot deserves more than a pass- ing word. His career is quite unique and worthy of record, for |
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Western France; and the Catholic College of Paris. He became proficient not only in the classics and leading modern lan- guages, French, German, Celtic and English, but also ac- quired profound scholarship in Philosophy, Theology, History, and the Liturgy of his church. He was ordained a priest in 1864 and sent to the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany, where he was made Director of the Institute for Aged and In- valid priests at Kaiserwerth (Caesaris Insula) near Dusseldorf. When the Franco-Prussian war arose Father Bigot was sent as Military Chaplain to Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and other points, having the religious care of over 15,000 French captive soldiers and nearly a thousand wounded and sick. After eight months of severe service among the French prisoners he was made Su- perior of the Old Monastery at Marienthal in the Archdiocese of Cologne. The Franco-Prussian war over, Father Bigot was designated by both the French Minister of War and the German Minister of War to be chief commissioner of a bureau for the |
Loramie and Pickawillany. 3
collecting and tabulating officially the
death records of all the
French soldiers who died as prisoners of
war in Germany. It
was a great undertaking. Thousands of
circulars of inquiry
were sent to all the fortresses and
localities, some 260 in number,
where the 400,000 of the French soldiers
had been quartered, were
in action or confined in prison. More
than eighteen thousand of
these mortuary records were secured.
This work was followed,
under his direction, by the erection of
monuments in all the ceme-
teries where the fallen French soldiers
found their final resting
places. For his faithful execution of
this great commission the
French government bestowed upon Father
Bigot the Cross of
Chivalry, the badge of the Legion of
Honor. By the order of
the Culturkamp Law, the Monastery of
Marienthal, where he
had taken refuge, was suppressed June,
1873. The members of
the monastic community were expelled and
driven homeless into
the world. Father Bigot chose the United
States for the home of
his remaining life. Hither he came in January, 1874. He
offered his services to Archbishop
Purcell, then a resident in
Cincinnati. The Archbishop gave him warm
welcome and as-
signed him the parish of St. Michael in
Loramie, Shelby county,
Ohio. Loramie was then a small berg, the
settlers of which were
almost exclusively immigrants from
Germany. It was indeed a
typical village of the Fatherland,
transplanted to the banks of the
little Loramie Creek. Here for thirty
years the good Father was
the Parish Priest, beloved and respected
not only by his own
people, but by all with whom he came in
contact. Under his un-
tiring efforts, the little modest church
edifice was replaced by a
magnificent church costing $60,000, with
a beautiful priest resi-
dence costing $10,000. It is a worthy
and enduring monument to
the zealous work of the Father. In 1890 Rev. Bigot
made an
extended journey to Europe, visiting his
former friends and rel-
atives in France and Germany. He was
given audience by the
Pope at Rome and celebrated Christmas in
Bethlehem. He has
written a history of the Parish of
Loramie (now Berlin) which
is now in process of publication. His
devotion to historical re-
search led him to acquire all
information possible concerning the
old Loramie Fort and Station and its
relation to Pickawillany.
4 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
Concerning these most
historic of Ohio sites, Father Bigot
furnished the editor of
this Quarterly with the following memo-
randa:
PICKAWILLANY ON THE
MIAMI.
The history of
Pickawillany is comparatively well known.
After the destruction
of the stockade and the big Indian village
(1752) this post was
never rebuilt. All authors agree on this
except Knapp (History
of Maumee Valley) who says: "The
commandant of Vincennes,
Ind., tried to establish some business
place at Pickawillany,
but the place did not possess enterprise or
spirit."
PIERRE LORAMIE.
Various vocations are
given to Pierre Loramie and various
places named whence he
came. I. Howe and Sutton called
him: "The first white man in Ohio and
French-Canadian
trader." 2. Colonel Johnston-"The French
Father." 3. Ed-
itor C. W. Williamson
(History of Auglaize County) called him
"The French Jesuit
and trader." 4. Professor H. Wildermuth
describes him as a
"Jesuit priest and missionary." 5. Editor J.
O. Amos (Shelby
County Demlocrat), Sidney, gives to Loramie
the designation of
"French Jesuit priest."
6. Various other
writers in Shelby
county give him the latter title.
In the first edition of
his Historical Collections (1846)
Henry Howe says:
"The first white man, a French-Canadian
trader, came to the
Indians in Northern Ohio (Shelby county)
in 1769, where he
established a store and station which was
destroyed in
1782." When Howe called Loramie a Canadian
trader he accorded to
him the fact that he came from Canada
(Quebec) by way of
Vincennes to his place at Pickawillany
stream. In his first
edition Howe located Loramie's store and
station at Pickawillany
on the Miami. But Loramie was not the
first white man at
Pickawillany, because other white men were
there prior to his
time. White men were there in 1749. In his
second edition (1893)
Howe was better instructed and located
Loramie's store on
Pickawillany stream, 17 miles north of the
Pickawillany village,
at the same place, where 13 years later,
General Anthony Wayne
built the Fort Loramie. Howe says:
Loramie and Pickawillany. 5
"The fort was erected at the same place as was the store and station." Knapp located Loramie's store at Pickawillany village (Miami) and the Fort Loramie at the right place, 17 miles north on the Pickawillany stream. Knapp, like many others, con- founded Pickawillany village with Pickawillany stream. Colonel Johnston says: "The French Father Loramie pos- sessed entire control over the Indians, and was in this respect |
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fully equal, if not superior, to any of his countrymen. The reason why he possessed the control over the Indians in a higher degree than his countrymen was because he possessed a higher character and not because he was a priest and Jesuit." Professor Williamson, in his History of Northern Ohio and Auglaize County, and in also his address to the Pioneers of Shel- by County at Sidney (1896), says: "Loramie was a Jesuit and trader." To me personally, Williamson said: "As a boy, my grandfather living in Auglaize county, told me many times it |
6 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
was generally known that Loramie was a
Jesuit and priest."
The grandfather of Williamson could
easily have received this
information from people living at the
time when Loramie's store
and Fort Loramie were still flourishing.
Henry Wildermuth, an able young editor
who died of con-
sumption about 1887, wrote some articles
in German concerning
the life of Loramie as a priest and
missionary. He says: "After
the Braddock war for the purpose of
saving and restoring the
Catholic missions among the colonists
and the Indians in Illinois
and Ohio, the Archbishop Oliver Berand
of Quebec, sent three
missionaries to his Vicar General
Gibault at Vincennes. One of
these priests was Pierre Loramie, who was
sent back to the
Northern Ohio, by way of the Wabash, the
Miami and the west
branch of Pickawillany, 17 miles north,
where he established his
store and station." Wildermuth
furthermore says he gathered
all his knowledge from good English
authority and authors. The
statement of Wildermuth is in accordance
with the Church His-
tory of J. G. Shea. In this history it
is said: "In the year
1769, Vicar General Gibault of Vincennes
and Father Meurin,
S. J., of Kaskaskia on the Mississippi,
asked the Archbishop of
Quebec to send some priests for the
purpose of safeguarding the
privileges accorded to the Catholics and
Indians by the treaty of
peace after the Braddock (French and
Indian) war at Paris in
1763. The archbishop sent the above
mentioned priests, and
Loramie was sent to the Wyandottes and
the Shawnees in North-
ern Ohio. Neither the archbishop nor V.
G. Gibault nor T.
Meurin could have had any idea that all
the Jesuit missions
would be destroyed and annihilated by
the suppression of the
Jesuit order by the Pope Clement XIV, in
1773. From that
date, therefore, Loramie could not
publicly exercise any function
as priest or Jesuit. But it is
concluded, in my opinion, that
Loramie was a Jesuit priest and a trader
and that he came from
Quebec by way of Vincennes to this place
(Loramie)." Editor
J. O. Amos in his article on the
Centennial of the Village of
Loramie gives many proofs which
corroborate the above men-
tioned opinions.
James Furrow, one of the oldest pioneers
of Shelby county,
Loramie and Pickawillany. 7 died at the site of Fort Loramie in 1866. He was the first owner of land after the evacuation of the fort in 1812. Furrow was liv- ing at the time when Loramie's store was burned in 1782. He told to many people, that in the night, when the store was plun- dered and burned, a high American officer was killed and buried not far from the ruins of the store. After the evacuation of the |
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of the American officer. Furrow owned the farm from 1812 to 1846. Jonathan Schell, an old pioneer of Loramie, died at Berlin in 1867, an octogenarian. He was a young man in 1810-1820, and |
8 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
he told many young people at Loramie
that he saw the fort
standing and many times (he said),
"we were there playing and
dancing."
Messrs. Short and Harper, very old
people, when I came to
Loramie (1874) like Bernhard Pille, Sr.
(94 years old), told me
that Loramie's store was at the same
place as Fort Loramie, and
they heard from other old people that
Pierre Loramie was a
missionary priest.
I have in my possession the silver
cross, nine by six inches,
found in 1873, at the site of Loramie's
store, and some silver
coins and fire stones and other
evidences of the existence of the
store and fort.
By order of the government, General
George Rogers Clark,
left Cincinnati in the fall of 1782, to
punish the Indians
in the northern part of Ohio, especially
the Wyandottes and
Shawnees at Loramie's store. On his way
Clark destroyed many
big Indian villages and their crops.
When he reached Lower
Piqua at the Great Miami, he met a
peaceful people and no dam-
age was done them. From there he reached
Upper Piqua, about
a mile north from Lower Piqua. At Upper
Piqua, Clark de-
stroyed the terrible Indian fort. This
place was widely known as
an old Indian fort. Some monuments may
be seen there and
some relics were found there. Clark did
not reach Old Picka-
willany, about nine miles northeast from
Piqua.
From Upper Piqua Clark with his army was
going north
through the forest, to the place now
called Houston or Jefferson.
From there he had to go six miles
further north to Loramie's
store. He reached this important place
in October, 1782. He
took the store by surprise, plundering
and burning the property.
Some old people have told me the
surprise was accomplished
by use of whisky. One or two days before
the surprise, Clark
sent spies with some kegs of whisky to
the Indian village near the
store, with the assertion that the
Indians might rest in quiet, as
Clark would not be ready for an attack
at that time. In the com-
ing night the Indians became drunken and
the surprise was ac-
complished.
Pierre Loramie escaped that night from
the hands of his
enemy and took refuge with the Shawnees
at Wapacanatre.
Loramie and Pickawillany. 9
Some time after the destruction of the
store, Loramie made ar-
rangements with Col. Johnston, agent for
the Indians, by which
he was permitted to emigrate with
several hundred Shawnees to
the country west of the Mississippi. The
country is known today
as Wyandotte and Shawnee Reservation.
After this first emigra-
tion nearly all the Indians in the
Loramie locality later followed
their dear French father Loramie to the
western country. Some
years after this Loramie died in the
west among his Indians.
General Harmar left Cincinnati in
October, 1792. On the
loth day of October, he reached the
ruins of Loramie's store,
passed over it and was defeated at all
points.
In 1794, General Anthony Wayne and
General Scott came
with an army from Greenville to the
Wabash, where they defeated
the Indians and built Fort Recovery.
From here he continued
north to the big Indian village (Maumee)
captured them and
built a fort with his own name, Fort
Wayne. From Fort Wayne
he came to Defiance, St. Mary's and
Loramie's store. He admired
the mighty ruins and ordered the
rebuilding of Fort Loramie.
The people in their enthusiasm called
from this hour the old
Pickawillany stream, Loramie's creek;
then came Loramie's Res-
ervoir; Loramie's Postoffice; Loramie's
village and Loramie's
township; all Loramie's. The place of
Loramie's store was held
by Wayne as an important strategic point
in the war for a pro-
visioning post for the army.
The Fort Loramie built by Wayne in 1794,
was occupied as
a military post till 1812, when the fort
was evacuated and by
James Furrow converted into a trading
post on the line between
Dayton and Piqua, St. Mary's and Fort
Wayne.
THE VILLAGE OF LORAMIE.
[This article is by J. O. Amos and
appeared in the Shelby County
Democrat October 12, 1894, in which year Loramie celebrated its
centen-
nial anniversary. - EDITOR.]
There lurks around the early history of
Loramies some of the
most interesting portions of the early
history of Ohio. Located
away from the rivers, the great highway
of travel by early traders
and adventurers of this country, much of
its early history and tra-
ditions can only be gathered together
from fragments. The
10
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
writer of this article has from time to
time given the early history
of the place his study, and in what we
have gathered together
we have been greatly aided by a lecture
delivered recently at Lo-
ramies by Father William Bigot and the
address of Prof. W. C.
Williamson before the Shelby County
Pioneer Association.
In 1749 a company of about twenty
English traders estab-
lished themselves at Pickawillany for
the purpose of forming
friendly relations with the Twigtwee
Indians and trading in the
northwest. This was done the year after
Governor Hamilton had
formed an alliance and made a treaty
with the Twigtwees. In view
of the fact that the Indian population
in the Miami and Maumee
valley were very numerous, this trading
station became prosper-
ous and a large population of Indians
was drawn around it. The
French and English were trying to
control the Ohio valley and
each looked upon the advance of the
other in the valley with a
very jealous eye. In 1752 an expedition
of French and Indians
was sent to drive off the English
traders and bring the Indians
around the station over to the French. A
battle was fought re-
sulting in killing and capturing the
English and destroying the
station. In 1750 Christopher Gist, an
agent of the Ohio Land
Company, of which Washington was the
head, traveled through
the Ohio Valley and visited the
Pickawillany station. No suc-
cessful efforts were made to revive this
settlement until after
Wayne's victory on the Maumee in 1794,
although numerous ex-
peditions were sent against the Indians.
Just where the station of Pickawillany
was is a matter of
doubt. Sutton's history fixes the place
on the Miami river at the
entrance of the Loramies creek in Shelby
county. He is in error
about the county. The mouth of the
Loramie is in Miami county.
Father Bigot in his lecture says it
might have been at Locking-
ton, that when the country was covered
with forests, and waters
of the streams were at a higher stage
and the boats and canoes
used for travel could have come up to a
point near Lockington.
Howe in his late history of Ohio,
printed in 1893, says, "it was at
Johnston's prairie, one mile south of
the mouth of the Loramie."
In his history published in 1846, Howe
says: "The forks of Lo-
ramie creek, in this (Shelby) county,
sixteen miles northwest of
Sidney, is a place of historic interest.
It was the first point of
Loramie and Pickawillany. 11
English settlement in Ohio. As early as 1752, there was a trad- ing house at this place called by the English, Pickawillany, which was attacked by the French and Indians that year; but little is known however of its history" Howe in his new history makes no explanation why he named a different location in his late his- tory than is given in his first history. Again in his history of 1846, Howe says: "In 1749 it ap- pears that the English built a trading house upon the Great Miami at a spot since called Loramie's store. * * * The fort or |
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trading house was called by the English Pickawillany." In some of the old journals and reports, Pickawillany is referred to as on the west branch of the Miami river at the point where Fort Loramies was afterwards built. All agree where Loramie's store was located. In the library of Hon. F. Bourguin, of Cam- den, New Jersey, is an old French atlas, a copy of which we have examined. The title of it is, "Atlas published at Paris, France, Par C. Rouge, Ing'r, Georgraphe da Roe, rue des Grands Au- gustine, 1777, and corrected by Brig. Gen'l. of the King's army in 1776." This map has upon it portages, lines of travel made |
12
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
by traders, dates of settlements, times
forts were erected, etc.
There are two routes marked upon it.
One, "Route de march-
ands," or route of traders running
east and west, through the In-
dian towns of "Hockhocken,
Delaware, Villa Margaret and Pick-
awillanees," and on westward. The
other a south easterly course,
through the last named point to the
mouth of the Scioto river,
called the "Bampal Route des
Marchands," or principal route of
of the traders. "Pickawillanees, L.
Ohio" is marked "Fort Eng-
lois established in 1753." The portage
is marked from this latter
point to the St. Mary's river. A
comparison of these lines mark-
ing of lines of degrees of latitudes and
longitudes on this map
with maps of the present day would fix
this "Englois" Fort at or
near the present location of Loramies.
There is an old book
called "A Journey From Niagara to
Pickawillany" which refers
to this place as the same point as
Loramie's store.
After the destruction of Pickawillany
station, the Indians
still remained in possession of the
country. It was their best
hunting ground and they were loth to
give it up. The French
Catholic priests, who were the pioneers
of the French settlers in
Canada and all the northwest were very
successful in retaining the
friendship of the Indians by personal
kindness to them and giv-
ing to them such things as they needed.
In 1769, Bishop Ryan,
of Quebec, authorized his Vicar General,
whose name was Father
Gibault, and who was established at
Kaskaskia to send priests to
the Indians on the Miami river. He went
to Vincennes, another
important French post to do so. On his
arrival there he found
that Peter Loramie, a Jesuit priest, and
some others had already
gone to convert the Indians on the
Miami. They went by way
of the Wabash, Ohio river and up the
Miami and established
their headquarters at what was called,
Loramie's store. St.
Mary's was made another missionary and
trading point shortly
afterwards.
Father Bigot says that Loramie and those
who first came
with him, brought with them at first
only such articles as would
enable them to gain the love and
friendship of the Indians, and
that the traders came afterwards and
reaped the benefit of the in-
fluence exercised by Loramie upon the
Indians It is his opinion
that Loramie had a chapel in connection
with the store. This is
Loramie and Pickawillany. 13
no doubt correct as Loramie exercised
great influence over the
Indians.
During the time that the French held
Canada and England
the colonies, there was great rivalry
between the colonies of
the two countries as to which should
gain control of the
Ohio valley. The Indians were jealous of
both, but were
controlled most by the influences that
were most kindly to them.
The Jesuit priests, who were zealous for
their conversion,
usually exercised the greatest influence
upon them, hence the
Indians were generally the allies of the
French. After Canada
passed to the control of England, this
feeling still existed in the
northwest and when the Revolution broke
out the English took
advantage of it and encouraged the
Indians in their hostility to
the colonies. They managed to keep up
this hostility until after
the Greenville treaty in 1795. Under
these circumstances the
large Indian population in this part of
Ohio was very hostile
to the advance of the American
civilization in the Ohio valley
and they had the encouragement of
Loramie and the French
traders who resided among them.
In 1780, on account of the Indian
depredations in Kentucky,
General George Rogers Clark marched an
army into the Ohio
country and fought a battle with the
Indians in Clarke county,
destroyed their towns and corn crops. In
1782 Clark organized
an army in Kentucky of 1,500 men and
marched into this coun-
try again. A battle was fought with the
Indians in the vicinity
of Loramies and the Indians were
defeated and dispersed. Lor-
amie's store and the mission he is
supposed to have organized
was broken up. Clark in his journal says
"Loramie's store at
old Pickawillany stream was destroyed.
The property destroyed
was of great amount and the provisions
surpassed all idea we
had of Indian stores." He describes
the store as being at the
south end of the portage between the
head waters of the Miami-
of-the-lakes (now the Maumee), and the
Miami of the river, or
Great Miami. The headwaters of the
Miami-of-the-Lakes is the
St. Mary's river, and the headwaters of
the Great Miami, as
involved in the portage, alludes to the "west
branch of the Big
Miami river," or Loramie creek. The
Greenville treaty de-
scribing the line between the
territories ceded by the Indians and
14
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
what they reserved has this clause,
"thence westerly to a fork
of that branch of the Great Miami river
running into the Ohio
at or near which fork stood Loramie's
store and where com-
mences the portage of the Miami of the
Ohio and the St. Mary's
river." This treaty was made one
year after Wayne had rebuilt
Fort Loramie, and he evidently knew when
he described the
portage as commencing at Loramie's
store, that supplies had
been brought there by boats for his
army.
When these facts are all taken together,
they lead to an
uncertainty as to just where
Pickawillany was located. Its ex-
act location is clouded with
uncertainty. It would seem that first
the French in 1752 and the Americans in 1782
were determined
to destroy every evidence of what was
there before. The bulk
of the evidence, as we have been able to
collect it in scraps from
different sources, would seem to point
out the fact that Picka-
willany and Loramie's store were located
about the same place.
Howe says the destruction of
Pickawillany must be considered
the real beginning of the French war,
that resulted in Canada
being ceded to Great Britain. This
station was a wooden fort
and at times contained as many as fifty
traders. Most of them
were absent when it was destroyed. It is
very evident that Lor-
amie and those who were with him did not
remain where they
were for thirteen years without building
a fort of some kind to
prevent surprises. Clark does not
mention the fort, but it is fair
to presume there was one that was
destroyed by him.
Howe says that Loramie with a colony of
Shawnees emi-
grated to the Spanish territories west
of the Mississippi and
settled at a spot assigned them at the
junction of the Kansas
and Missouri rivers where the remaining
part of the nation at
different times joined them. General
Clark was a man of great
ability and conducted several
expeditions against the Indians.
He was also chosen as commissioner to
make treaties with the
Indians, and was several times a member
of the Kentucky Leg-
islature. The place was considered of
sufficient importance as
early as 1749 for the Governor of Canada
to send as distin-
guished an officer as Celoron de
Bienville to visit it on his way
burying plates announcing the possession
of the country by the
King of France.
Loramie and Pickawillany. 15
No further effort was made to establish a post here again until 1790, when it was occupied by General Harmar. He here first saw Indians in his march northward and captured three of them. He made no effort to rebuild the fort. There is no evi- dence that St. Clair visited the place with his army in 1791. In 1794, General Wayne built Fort Loramie. That it was built of timber is evident from the fact that there is no indications of earth works, the outline of which could still be seen had it been |
|
an earth work fort instead of being built of logs. Forts built of logs were sufficient protection against such arms as the In- dians had. Fort Loramie stood on the bank of the creek, one-half mile north of the present town and about where the Arkenberg house and farm buildings stand. This is also supposed to be the site of the Loramie store. There are two reasons why this place should be selected by the Indians as a headquarters, the mission- |
16
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
aries and army officers. First, the
large springs of excellent
water in the vicinity-a matter of great
importance, as the water
in the streams and ponds in the unbroken
forest was very bad.
Second, it was near the fork of the
creek and the highest point
to which small boats were pushed during
high water. A man
who would attempt running boats up the
Loramie, or even the
Miami river now, would be considered
crazy, but when the forest
was unbroken both streams were used for
canoes and light boats
for shipping furs out and bringing in
articles to trade with the
Indians and supplies for the army.
Fort Loramie became a prominent point in
the Greenville
treaty line. That line extended in a
southwesterly direction from
Fort Laurens on the upper Muskingum to
Fort Loramie
where it changed to a northwesterly
direction to Fort Re-
covery. All south of it was credited to
the United States by
the Greenville treaty. A land section,
six miles square at the
fort and north of the line became a
government reservation.
The fort remained in command of Captain
Butler for some time
after the Greenville treaty. History
says his family remained
with him while in command at the fort,
and one of his children
died while at the post. The grave was
marked, but during the
war of 1812 the fence around it was
destroyed. The fort was a
military post in the war of 1812, but was only
used as a way
station when sending forward supplies to
the army at Detroit.
About the only importance attached to it
after 1795, was that it
was one of the line of posts from
Cincinnati to Fort Wayne,
along which government trains and
traders made their way until
the country became sufficiently settled
to furnish accommoda-
tion to these civil or military trains.
After 1815 it ceased to
have any importance as a military post
and was used only as a
hostelry or tavern. The land passed into
the hands of a private
owner for farming purposes. James E.
Furrow is believed to
have been the first purchaser of the
land where the fort stood,
and the first permanent resident of the
place.
It is not known who were the first
settlers at Loramies for
farming purposes. Those of the earlier
date being either trad-
ers, hunters or soldiers. Among the
first to take up land for
farming purposes were James E. Furrow,
who settled at Fort
Loramie and Pickawillany. 17
Loramie, Joseph, Christian and Nathan Mendenhall, and Wil- liam Prillman. James Pilliod came after these early settlers and took up a farm west of Loramies. Isaac Edwards came in the year 1833 and was the first school teacher in the bounds of what was afterward made into McLean township. This was several years after the first settlers came to the township. The first school house stood not far distant from where the boat yard is now located north of Loramies. From John Edwards and Mike Schiltz we gleaned the following facts about the early settle- ment of the town. The original proprietor of Loramies was William Prillman. It was laid out west of the canal and was a |
|
part of Prillman's farm. His brother, Christian Prillman, owned the land on the east side and both their farms were north of the Greenville treaty line. The town plat was surveyed by Hon. Jonathan Counts. The land south of the street passing the Tecklenburg hotel was at that date government lands. The canal was staked off, when the town was laid out, but no work had been done on it. The postoffice was kept by James E. Furrow at the old Fort near where the Arkenberg homestead now stands. Mr. Furrow kept a small store and a little general store was kept by J. M. Pilliod west of Loramies. The original road cut through the country was made by the army when the campaigns were made against the Indians. These Vol. XVII -2. |
18
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
roads were corduroyed in the worst
places by laying logs and
poles over them As soon as settlements began at Piqua, Min-
ster, New Bremen and St. Mary's, these
towns were supplied with
groceries, clothing and other
necessaries by wagoners, who made
regular trips through from Dayton to Ft.
Wayne. That they
might assist each other through the
swamps the teamsters went
in parties of half a dozen or more at a
time. When night came
on these teamsters stopped with the
settlers along the road or
camped out. Almost every resident along
the road from Piqua
to Ft. Wayne was known as a tavern
keeper. Returning from
the north they carried south furs and
other things purchased from
the Indians and such produce as the
farmers sent to market. As
population increased these wagon trains
became more numerous
and afforded better facilities of
reaching the markets with grain,
pork and hoop poles, which were the
principal articles the farm-
ers had to sell. Taxes were low but had
it not been for the hoop
poles that were sent to market in these
wagon trains many a set-
tler would not have been able to pay his
taxes.
The first farmers in the vicinity of
Loramies were of En-
glish descent. The first German who
settled in this vicinity was
named Whitebread. He located near where
the reservoir bulk-
head now is and was called "The
Dutchman" by his neighbors.
When the town was laid out the lots were
sold at auction and
sold readily. J. M. Pilliod was the
largest purchaser and at one
time he was the largest land holder in
the neighborhood, owning
about four hundred acres. Joseph
Mendenhall, who was after-
wards a county commissioner, kept a
tavern in a log house where
John Gaier's new bakery now stands. The
old log house was
torn down to make room for Gaier's house
about two years ago.
The first frame house was built as an
addition to this tavern by
Joseph Mendenhall. Dr. Clark Ayres was
the first resident phy-
sician and built the first brick house,
a small one story residence,
on the ground where Stephen Kirner's
house now (1894) stands.
The nearest mills were Sidney, Piqua and
St. Mary's. The town
was called Berlin and the name was given
to it by J. M. Pilliod
and Charles Schiltz, who had come from
New Berlin in Stark
county. It was named for their former
home. The first build
ing erected after the town was laved out
was put up by Ishmael
Loramie and Pickawillany. 19
Lattimore and stood south east of the
old warehouse. Bernhard
Meyer started the first store in the
town. He carried his goods
at first on his back from Piqua.
When work was commenced on the canal
there was a large
immigration of people, most of whom were
low Germans and
Catholics. Among these were H. H.
Dressman, Bernhard Pille,
Ignatz Schell and others. Mr. Pille is
still living near Loramies.
They first came as laborers on the
canal, but soon took up land
and become permanent settlers. The first
cemetery was the old
army cemetery near Fort Loramies. It is
not now known just
where it was, but is supposed to be
adjoining where the Furrow
family are buried on the Arkenberg farm.
James E. Furrow,
who died March 11, 1842, told the old
settlers that during the
Indian wars a general in the American
army was killed at a bat-
tle fought at Loramies with the Indians
and was buried at what
is now the Furrow cemetery. Furrow
marked the place where
the general was buried and requested to
be buried by his side.
His request was complied with. The grave
of the officer is not
marked and neither history nor tradition
records who he was. In
excavating in a gravel pit one-fourth of
a mile further north re-
mains of human bones have been found who
some suppose to be
soldiers, but it is more probable they
are Indian remains of an
earlier date as it is known that these
forts built by Wayne and
other officers were only for temporary
purposes and soldiers, who
died were buried a short distance from
the forts. The Furrow
family cemetery is surrounded by a stone
wall and this family is
supposed to be the first settling near
Loramies. An old ceme-
tery was established near the canal on
an elevation about one
half mile north of the town. Many of the
early settlers are
buried here, but time is rapidly
effacing the evidence that it ever
had been a cemetery, and unless some one
takes charge and has it
enclosed the graves of the early
settlers will soon be unknown.
The Catholic cemetery near the St.
Michael's church was conse-
crated shortly after the work was
commenced on the canal and
before any steps were taken to build a
church.
The canal was finished in 1841 and as
soon as it was opened
the wagon trains, which had done a
flourishing business, stopped,
and the taverns along the road became
simple farm houses. The
20
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
first boat to arrive at Berlin was the
State boat. It came up on
Sunday and stuck in the mud just south
of town. It was visited
by the whole population of the place and
its arrival hailed with
great joy. The first packet freight boat
that went through was
called the Belvedier. It was commanded
by Captain Ira Wilder.
As soon as the canal was opened the
trade became extensive.
Merchants from Cincinnati shipped their
dry goods, groceries,
salt, hardware and such articles around
through the Erie canal,
of New York, Lake Erie and down the
canal, while they sent
north in exchange sugar, grain, pork,
whisky, etc. The produce
of the country was bought by local
dealers and shipped north or
south as the best markets demanded it.
Hoop poles and cord
wood always found a ready market south.
Grain was usually
sent north. Every town along the canal
was a busy place of
trade and grew rapidly. Business was
prosperous and packet
boats numerous. The railroads have
worked a great change in
business since.
The Catholic church was organized about
the year 1838.
The first brick church was built in
1849. It was a plain structure
thirty by sixty feet, afterwards an
addition of twenty feet was
built to it. In 1853 Father August
Berger came to Loramies and
took charge of the congregation. He
remained until 1857. Dur-
ing the time he was there the priest
house was built. He was
succeeded by Father Nuckerheide, who
remained until 1863. He
was succeeded by Father Meyer, who
remained until 1873, when
his health failed and he was succeeded
by Father William Bigot,
who is the present pastor of the church.
When Father Bigot
came to Loramies he was told by
Archbishop Purcell that he
would find enough to do; that besides
the regular work as pastor
there was need of a new church. The work
was commenced and
October 21, 1879, the cornerstone for
the new church was laid.
The day was as hot as midsummer and
2,000 people stood in the
sun and witnessed the ceremony of laying
the cornerstone. On
the 2d day of July, 1881, the church was
completed and was con-
secrated by Bishop Elder in the presence
of 3,000 people. It is
sixty feet wide and one hundred and
sixty-five feet long. It is
well finished both inside and outside
and one of the finest country
Loramie and Pickawillany. 21
churches in the State. It has a
congregation made up of over
two hundred families.
From the earliest history of Loramies
its population as well
as the country around the place have
been members of the Cath-
olic church. This is not only the case
with the actual settlers for
farming purposes, but when under the
control of the French at
the earliest period of which we are able
to gather from traditions
and early history of the northwest. As
stated before, and we
think conclusively proven, Peter Loramie
was a Catholic mis-
sionary among the Indians at Loramies
for thirteen years, and
his great influence among them is to be
attributed to that fact.
Another evidence aside from these given
is that in the year 1871
Mathias Utes while making an excavation
west of Loramies dug
up a solid silver cross about eight
inches long that had been lost
or buried there. This cross was
fashioned after those worn by
French and Spanish officers during the
eighteenth century. The
finding of this cross and the gold cross
found near Rhine, as de-
scribed by a resident of Botkins,
together with the scraps of his-
torical facts that we are able to
obtain, prove the fact that Lora-
mies and the early French posts in this
section of Ohio were
Catholic missionary stations among the
Indians as well as trading
posts.
Loramies has had a very popular hotel
for many years. It
was formerly called the Vondrelie House.
It is now called the
Tecklenburg House and is under the
management of Henry Teck-
lenburg.
THE PIONEERS OF WESTERN OHIO.
[An essay read before the Shelby County
Pioneer Association at
Sidney, Ohio, Sept. 1st, 1894, by
Prof. C. W. Williamson.- EDITOR.]
Nearly two hundred years have passed
since adventurous
white men began to penetrate the
wilderness of western Ohio. It
was the greatest wilderness west of the
Allegheny mountains, and
was the ideal hunting grounds of the
Indians. Game of nearly
every description was found here in
greater abundance than in
any other section of the Mississippi
valley. It is not to be won-
dered at that the Indians parted with
this vast domain with such
great reluctance. The forest of that
time is not represented by
22
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the few patches of timber, now to be
seen at remote distances over
the country.
In the year 1680 the French governor of
Canada, Count de
Frontenac, sent a detachment of men up
the Maumee river to
establish a trading post. They chose a
site just below what is
now known as Maumee City and built a
small stockade. This
was the first point occupied by white
men in western and north-
western Ohio. About 1698 the same party
abandoned the Mau-
mee post and moved further to the
northwest and established a
trading post at what is now known as
Fort Wayne. Between
the years 1698 and 1770 French trading
posts were established
at Vincennes, Loramies, St. Mary's,
Wapakoneta, and at points
on the Ohio river. The colonists always
jealous of the French,
also established posts in Ohio and
Indiana and along the great
rivers of the west. From 1740 until
after the American revolu-
tion a great rivalry existed between
English and French traders
each endeavoring to control the trade
with the Indians. As a
consequence of this rivalry, there were
frequent conflicts be-
tween the occupants of the different
posts. The Indians em-
ployed by the contending parties, having
no regard for the rights
of property or feelings of mercy,
frequently robbed the weaker
posts and devastated their inmates. In
the year 1748 Governor
Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, negotiated a
treaty with the Twig-
twee Indians, who occupied the country
to the south of this place,
and to preserve the relations
established by the treaty, he sent out
in the fall of 1750, a company of
twenty-five traders who estab-
lished a trading post at the mouth of
Pickawillany creek, a point
on the Miami river about eight or nine
miles from Sidney. Be-
fore the next spring a blockhouse was
completed and several
stores and dwellings were erected. The
traders did a flourishing
business until an incident occurred
which gave offence to the
French. In the fall of 1751 four
deserters from some French
trading post delivered themselves to the
English traders at Pick-
awillany. The Twigtwees who had suffered
much at the hands
of the French and their Indian allies,
wanted the deserters de-
livered to them for purpose of revenge.
This the traders hu-
manely refused to do, and to save their
lives sent them to an
English trading post on the Muskingum
river, commanded by
Loramie and Pickawillany. 23
Colonel George Croghan. When the French governor of Canada heard that deserters from his service were received and protected at Pickawillany, he became greatly enraged and ordered a de- tachment under Sieur de Joncaire to proceed to Pickawillany and destroy the post. In May, 1752, he left Detroit and on the twenty-first of June at early dawn reached Pickawillany. An at- tack immediately commenced and after a spirited resistance the fort was surrendered. In the skirmish fourteen Twigtwees and one trader were killed. At the conclusion of the surrender |
|
the buildings were all burned and the goods appropriated. The English traders were taken to Canada, but tradition says but few of them reached there. The Twigtwees king, Old Britain, was killed and boiled in a kettle and eaten by the Canadian Indians who accompanied the expedition. At the time of the attack Pickawillany numbered four hundred Indian families. After the defeat of the English traders the Indian village was broken into and the fort was never rebuilt. The French paid no further at- tention to this location until Peter Loramie, a French Jesuit and |
24
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
trader came over from Vincennes and
established a store on
Pickawillany creek about nine miles
north of its junction with
the Miami river. Loramie was a great
hater of the Americans,
and his store was, for thirteen years,
the headquarters from which
expeditions were sent against the
pioneers of southern and east-
ern Ohio. Loramie so endeared himself to
the Indians, that he
was able to exercise absolute control
over them. "I have," says
Colonel Johnston, "seen the Indians
burst into tears when
speaking of the time when their French
father had domain over
them." Soon after Loramie
established his store, other stores
were established in what is now Auglaize
county. One of them
was located on the St. Mary's river,
about two miles east of the
village of St. Mary's. It was what is
called in the west, a dug-
out, that is, the apartments occupied by
the traders were excava-
tions made in the bank of the river,
protected in front and on the
sides by pickets. But little is known
concerning this post, be-
yond the fact that it was occupied by
French traders. They no
doubt left at the time General George
Rogers Clark visited
Loramie's store. About the same time
that the St. Mary's post
was established, Francis Deuchouquette
and two other French-
men established a trading post at
Wapakoneta. They built a
stockade on the Auglaize river on what
is known as the Shafer
farm. A spring in the southeast corner
of the stockade fur-
nished the inmates with an abundance of
good water. This
stockade is called Fort Auglaize in some
of the earlier histories.
I must recur again to the date of 1782.
In that year and
for four or five years prior to that
date the pioneers of Cincin-
nati suffered much from the atrocities
committed by the Indians
sent out from Loramie's store. So noted
had the place become
in 1782, that General George Rogers
Clark marched against
the place with a regiment of Kentucky
volunteers. The post
was taken by surprise and Loramie had
barely time to make his
escape. The Indian village was destroyed
and Loramie's store
was plundered and burnt. For a few years
afterward the pio-
neers around Cincinnati were not
molested. Seven years after
the dispersion of the Indians at
Loramie, General Harmar re-
ceived orders from General Washington to
proceed to Cincin-
nati, and from there to march on the
Indian towns adjacent to
Loramie and Pickawillany. 25
the lakes and inflict on them such signal chastisement as should protect the settlements from future depredations. On the thirtieth of September, 1790, he left Cincinnati and on the eleventh of October passed through Pickawillany. The next day they passed the ruins of Loramie's store, taking a northerly direction. He must, therefore, have passed through where the villages of Berlin, Minster, New Bremen and St. Mary's now stand to the Auglaize river and the towns on the Wabash. Har- |
|
mar's campaign was a failure, owing mainly to the incompetency of the commander. The subjugation of the Indians was next intrusted to General Arthur St. Clair, who, with 2,300 men, left Cincinnati on the seventeenth of September, and reached Greenville, Darke county, on the twenty-fourth. On the second of November they left Greenville and on the third of November reached what is now called Fort Recovery. It will not be nec- essary for me to rehearse the particulars of the terrible battle |
26 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
that occurred the next morning. Shelby
county and Auglaize
furnished their full quota of Indians on
that occasion. Two
hundred Shawnees left Wapakoneta a
little after midnight on the
fourth and arrived at Recovery while the
battle was in prog-
ress. Their arrival was announced by
hideous yells and cheering
which was noted by the soldiers in St.
Clair's army. By nine
o'clock the defeat was complete. Nine
hundred dead and wound-
ed soldiers lay on the field of battle.
No prisoners were taken
by the Indians. Every prisoner found on
the field was toma-
hawked and scalped. I saw the bones of
these dead men at the
time I attended the centennial exercises
at Fort Recovery in
1891. The cut of the tomahawk and marks of the scalping
knife
were noticeable on nearly every skull in
the large coffins exposed
to view in the church. The Indians from
around Sidney, Wapa-
koneta and St. Mary's, the day before
the battle, sent all their
women and children and old men to a
point on the Auglaize river
somewhere near Fort Amanda. Among the
number was a cap-
tive boy, John Bickwell, who afterward
stated that on the fifth,
the day after the battle, he and a large
number of women and
men went over to the battlefield to
gather plunder. On the road
somewhere between St. Mary's and
Recovery they found the
bodies of three white men who were
horribly mutilated. The
Indians remarked to him that it was too
bad. That it had been
done by Indians from Canada, who had
eaten portions of them.
After they returned to the Auglaize
river in the evening an old
squaw told him that her arms were so
tired from scalping white
men that she could hardly raise it to
her head. It will not be
necessary for me to repeat the remainder
of the history of this
disastrous defeat. The return of the
routed army spread con-
sternation throughout the country. Many
people thought it best
to relinquish all the country north of
the Ohio river to the In-
dians and make that river the northern
boundary of the United
States. On the return of the remnant of
the army to Cincinnati,
General St. Clair was relieved of his
command, and was suc-
ceeded by General Anthony Wayne. The
government decided
upon a third campaign against the
Indians of the northwest.
Wayne was appointed by the government as
the one above all
others most capable of managing a
critical campaign. On the
Loramie and Pickawillany. 27
seventh of October, 1793, he left Cincinnati, and on the twenty- second reached a point six miles north of Port Jefferson, where they erected Fort Greenville and went into winter quarters. The army remained here for nearly a year. The soldiers in the mean- time were being drilled preparatory to the great campaign of the next summer. On the sixteenth of July, 1704, he was joined by General Charles Scott, with 1,600 mounted Kentuckians, who on the twenty-eighth commenced the construction of a road to Lora- mies where they built a bridge and erected a fort. From there |
|
they constructed a road on Harmar's trail to St. Mary's and erected a fort and called it Fort St. Mary's. After its completion General Scott marched to Fort Recovery and joined General Wayne on his way to Defiance. It would be a waste of time for me to give the details of that campaign, knowing that it is related in many histories. From Defiance, Wayne marched down the Maumee, fought the battle of the Fallen Timbers, gaining a victory that forever settled the Indian controversy concerning the northwest. The |
28 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
horde of savages who had assumed to dictate terms to the Ameri- can nation, abandoned themselves to flight. They were compelled to sue for peace on the conquerors' own terms. Negotiations with the Indians commenced in the winter and continued until August 3, 1795, when the red men came to a permanent peace |
|
with the Thirteen Fires. The treaty sent a thrill of relief through the country. The treaty ceding to the Union two-thirds of the present state, guaranteed the safety of all settlers who respected the Indian's rights and set in motion once more the machinery of immigration. When it became known that a treaty was |
Loramie and Pickawillany. 29
about to be made, people with anxious
faces from Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, began to
assemble at Greenville.
The word had gone out that the white
captives among the In-
dians were to be brought in. They were
there to meet the lost
ones.
During the war everything had been at a
standstill. At the
return of peace the settlements broke
into cheerful activity and
new schemes of peaceful invasion were
set on foot. Within three
weeks after Wayne's treaty General
Jonathan Dayton and others
marked off the town of Dayton.
Cincinnati at the time of St.
Clair's defeat had but thirty log
cabins. Four years later it had
a hundred and thirty, and over five
hundred inhabitants. At each
succeeding month the tide of immigration
become stronger. Set-
tlements were commenced at Hamilton,
Greenville, Piqua and
Sidney. These conditions of peace and
prosperity continued un-
til the breaking out of the second war
of the revolution; com-
monly called the war of 1812. The
pioneers of southern Ohio
were not so much affected by the war, as
were those who were
located at points along the lake. During
the time of the war
the armies formed a barrier between the
pioneers of southern
Ohio and the troublesome Indians of
northern and northwestern
Ohio. Three more years of war again
brought peace to the
pioneer state of the west. The armies of
Wayne, Scott and
Harrison were composed of men who were
looking for homes.
They were fascinated with the beauty of
the scenery and the
fertility of the soil in the Miami and
Maumee valleys. Large
numbers of them made immediate
preparation upon their return
home to immigrate to the valleys of
Ohio. Covered wagons
from the east and the south were to be
seen every hour of the
day traveling along the great army roads
leading to the north.
Flat boats could be seen every hour of
the day coming down the
Ohio river and landing at Marietta,
Cincinnati and other towns
lower down the river. My paternal
grandfather, who was a
civil engineer, came down the Ohio river
and settled at Marietta.