THE First Century of Piqua ОНІО COMPILED BY CONTAINING INCIDENTS OF EARLY EXPLORATIONS AND REMINISCENCES OF MANY OF ITS OLDER CITIZENS. ILLUSTRATED THE MAGEE BROS. PUBLISHING CO. PIQUA, OHIO 1916 I T is just at this period, when the old life of the town is passing into the new life of the city, and the individuals connected with its early growth are nearly all gone, it seems to me necessary that in order to preserve a correct record of early events-so distorted by various writers, to compile a volume which may be relied upon as authentic. For many years I have been incidentally gathering up local items of history, conversing with old pioneers, and searching records and old newspapers, so that I now believe I am in a position to record faithfully nearly all the essential happenings that will make up our "First Century of Piqua," and while no doubt some will criticise my literary incapacity, many others will take a deep interest in reading what has been a pleasure in compiling. I am indebted to so many for information that it would be unjust to name the few for which we have space, but will thank them all collectively and cordially for their willing interest and help. J. A. RAYNER. And to those who made possible the publication of this work by their subscriptions to the fund for buying my archaeological collection for the city of Piqua, I wish also to record my personal thanks. It was Mr. John H. Patterson, of Dayton, O., to whom I was indebted for the initial subscription to this fund, and others, not now citizens of Piqua, have liberally donated toward this object. Then the Rotary Club, of Piqua, took up the matter and by their liberality have completed the task, and our city now has the nucleus of a museum which only needs our combined interest to soon excel others in the State which had had a longer existence. Those out of the city who subscribed to this fund are: .Troy, O. .. Columbus, O. JOHN H. YOUNG. Washington, D. C. HORACE J. ROLLIN..R. D., Troy, O Those of the Rotary Club who subscribed are: JOHN P. SPIKER JAMES L. BLACK ACTON HALL A. J. STEVENS CHAPTER I MOUND-BUILDERS AND INDIANS IQUA, like many cities of the old world, is built over the ruins of other towns or habitations. The first known people to take advantage of this excellent location were a branch of that mystical perhistoric race commonly called Mound-builders. These people evidently had no regular written language, so outside of picture writing and engraved symbolical tablets, have left in their mounds and graves very little evidence from which to formulate a precise theory as to how they originated, how long and when they were here, and of their final dispersion. However, we know that their mounds and earth-works were built many years after the Glacial Epoch in Ohio. How long these people were here before they built mounds no one can say. Whether their occupancy was previous to, or cotemporary with the Pre-Columbian Indian is a question which is now paramount among the students of these races in Ohio. The investigations of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society have shown us two separate and distinct cultures, as has also been found by other field workers in the state. The dividing line between the two cultures has not as yet been definitely traced, but with more field study and scientific comparisons will ultimately be made plain. Our own study of the mounds, graves, and artifacts of the Miami Valley lead us to believe that the Mound-builders were a separate and distinct race, and occupied this territory before the Indian made his appearance here. Mounds were built, crops were planted and cultivated, and these people lived unmolested for many years. Then came the more warlike Indian, massacreing the people on the outskirts of their settlements, and forcing them to take up arms for their own protection. At this period the forts and larger defensive earthworks were undoubtedly built by the harrassed people, and the warfare continued for a long time. Eventually the Indian triumphed and the Mound people were killed, driven away, or assimulated by the conquering tribe. This happened so long ago that the oldest Indian tribes in Ohio at the time of its first invasion by white men, had no knowledge or tradition to account for the mounds and earthworks. And further; as far back as we can trace, no Indian tribe in the state had enough love for manual labor to perform the prodigious amount of hard work required to erect these immense earthen monuments. These Mound people left some very interesting evidences of their occupancy of this vicinity. In the present corporate limits of Piqua there were at least nine mounds or earthworks. These were mostly in the south part of town, and some of them near the river. When the canal was built some of these were destroyed, and many graves were |