A Lynx Hide (Defiance Democrat 12-24-1897)

    A few particular of the killing of a Lynx in the wilds near the English bridge (Power Dan Road Defiance, Ohio) have strayed into Defiance during lynx scare. The fragment that have been gather up related in effect, that on the day that Dave King had his sale in Defiance township, a young man named Sitterly and a companion were passing through the woods when they flushed a strange animal that took to a tree. After around of platoon firing that would have made cuba tremble, the varmint still remind intact. A lucky shot with a hand spike in the partance of the woods, barked the animal, and with a mighty "meow" the animal gave up the ghost and fell to the ground. The boys took the animal to King's sale and the oracles there said it was a lynx. 

    They skinned and stretched the pelt and at a later day brought it to Defiance and sold it to H.P. Miller as a lynx hide. The fur was fine and a good price was paid for it. Since that time the naturalist in Defiance have come to the conclusion that the animal could not have been nothing more or less a huge tomcat H.P. has been buying furs for fifteen years and that he was deceived in his instance makes whispers in very deep tones. He will have the hide tanned and placed at the side of his bed that he may be remind every morning that man born of woman is likely to be skinned at any hour though he be cuter than a fox, Lynx hunters, steer clear of Miller

Planting Redbuds Along River Bank East Of Defiance (Defiance Crescent News 26 March 1945

    Planting of redbud trees along the banks of the Maumee river between Defiance and the Henry county line will be continued next Saturday under auspices of the Defiance Garden Club.

    Last Saturday 250 of the seedlings taken from Independence State Park were planted by 20 prisoners of war from Camp Defiance, supervised by Henry H. Reineke and Harry L. Burden. State highway department trucks were used for transportation.

    Each spring the redbuds along the old canal bank east of Independence dam have attracted much comment to the present plan of the Garden club, in co-operation with the high way department to make extensive plantings along the river and canal banks.

The Great Elephant Hunt (Defiance Crescent News 15 Oct 1923)

    An elephant hunt was on in Northwest Ohio. 

    County officials through this section of Ohio have been asked to join in the search for for two elephants that escaped from the Coop & Lentz circus in Defiance. 

    The animals have been out of the jungles of Africa but three years and the trainers with the circus are fearful that freedom has brought back their natural wild and ferocious temperament. 

    Strenuous efforts are being made to recapture the beasts before they can harm anyone.

    Armed parties in automobiles went out early in the morning from a dozen Northwest Ohio cities and towns. They went prepared to shoot if the mammoth beasts proved defiant and refused to surrender their new found liberty.
    The posses of searchers have been handicapped by the attitude of farmers all the roads, who refused to take the elephant hunt seriously.
    "You're several thousand miles from Africa", replied one farmer as he stood up from hoeing his garden to answer a query asked by a party of searchers, to see whether the farmer had seen any traces of elephants.
    Another farmer thought a party of searchers were joshing him and still another telephoned to the Sheriff Stailey that a party of crazy men from Defiance were out in his neighborhood searching for imaginary elephants that had disappeared.
    The missing elephants, with keen sense that all has seen in circus performance, developed to such a high degree seem to realize that chains and stakes awaited them, upon their return, and they have succeeded in eluding all their pursuers. 
    Elephants foot prints were found at the farm of John Ruehle near the edge of Defiance, and further trace of the animals was found near Ayersville, but since that time nothing has been seen or heard of them.
    The animals appear to be acting on the theory that all mankind is their enemy and that their main object is to remain under cover. The forest in this section are being searched, as it is believed the animals have retreated to a safe place to await until darkness falls that they may continue their migration.
    In one place one of the elephants wrapped his trunk around the bottom of a fence post and lifted it from its foundation. Then the fence was torn down.
    The place that served as the bed for the animals was discovered. Or rather there were two beds; for both of the mammals leaned against trees and went to sleep. It was definitely established that elephants are unlike human beings and do not snore, for no one in the neighborhood heard any such noises that evening.
    In another place elephant tracks were discovered leading to the river, and it is thought the beasts went to get a  drink.
    Shortly after the performance, a herd of three elephants and two camels made their escape from the circus. A troop of cowboys rushed out and lassoed the camels and succeeded in finding one of the elephants. These were led back to the circus grounds and put on board the show special train for transportiont the next stop.
    There were rumors that a dissatisfied trainer had turned the animals loose because the company owed him back salary.
    Officials of the circus say that the beasts strayed away. They have placed no charges against any of their men, although two of them were arrested and held for a time in the city prison.
    The elephants at large are chained together.



               More later Dave

Paulding County First Railroad (Defiance Crescent News 13 March 1926)

Oxen Tram 

     The history of Paulding County railroad and of the old Noble stone quarry near Charloe, are closely interwoven.

    Paulding county first railroad was about a mile in length and extended from the stone quarry on the Auglaize river, at what is now known as the Frank Eakins farm, to the old Miami & Erie canal. 

    Cross-ties and rails were both made from native timber. The old grade is the only reminder that, is now Brown township, has the distinction of having the first railroad built in Paulding county.

    Oxen furnished the motive power. Small cars were used for the purpose of transporting stone from the Noble Quarry to the stone dock on the canal. L.M. Wolff was said to have been the first engineer on this railroad. The cars would carry from four to five cords of stone. 

    The stone quarried was fine magnesia limestone. A James Bobnmyer worked in the Noble Quarry and in the one at Junction for 22 years. Bobnmyer tells that the stones was quarried in strips from 60 to 70 feet in length and sawed into proper lengths for orders received, loaded on the team cars, taken to the canal and reloaded on canal boats and shipped.

    These stones strips were quarried by drilling holes at regular intervals and then the whole mass loosened by driving wedges into the holes. The stones taken from this quarry was used in the erection of many fine building at that time. Large shipments were made to Fort Wayne and Toledo. The fancy stones in the present court house at Defiance was taken from this quarry.

    In 1866 the quarry was sold to Thomas Nolan, William Christ and Henry Waggison. these Men built a stone saw mill at the stone dock and all stone was than dressed there ready for use.

    Later the stone mill was turned into a stave mill which was dismantled when stave making in Charloe became unprofitable.

Things Go In Home Town Of Junction By Maryetta Bowyer (Defiance Crescent News 28 June 1962)

Urfa Dotterers Grave Site Riverside Cem. Defiance Ohio

        Urfa Dotterer better known as Butch, has never given up the idea that he can make a go of things in his home town, Junction. From his parent's store, he fashioned, when business slacked a fine white semi-modern home, the last $30 that he had in his possion at that time to buy paint for it. 
    He was born on July 15, 1894 in the building where he now lives when his mother had a dry goods and millinery business in the front part. Although he is not old enough to be a true old timer, he spent his early boyhood watching men repair boats in the dry dock across the way, located where Ruby Yenser now has her garden. He remembers the canal boats and recalls that the last passed through to Defiance about 58 years ago.
    He also observed much in his grandfather Dotterer's store and in the saloon in the rear of the building. His grandfather, George Dotterer, not only was an importer and Junction business man, but he also owned a store in Paulding and the Forst grocery building and the Jaffe store building in Defiance. He also had several farms.
    Grandfather Dotterer was in partnership, for a while, with Mr. Naveau who made shoes. At the time that they dissolved partnership, they had 200 pair of boots on hand. These were hand sewn pegged, and turned, and quite uncomfortable to wear. They averaged making two pair each day. 
    Grandfather's store, said Mr. Dotterer was the kind that sold everything from crackers to whisky. Practically all wares came in a barrels including nails, crackers, raisins, flour, whisky, and even peanuts.
    The building was located at Main and Canal street, and was one of the most impressive in Junction, which was larger than Defiance before the coming of the Wabash Railroad. About that time, Captain Dania Columbia, a great grandfather of Mr. Dotterer, sold out a successful business in Fort Wayne in order to reopen in Junction. Lucky, he didn't live long enough to see the decline of the little metropolis. 
    The Village of Junction was laid out in 1842 by John Mason and Nathan Shirley. John Mason was the postmaster of the first post office built at that time. In 1849 the first church was erected and the first Sabbath School was organized by the Rev. Mr. Adams. Samuel Doyle, who had a quarry which stone was used to build the aqueduct one half mile south of town, and the first hotel a half mile east of Junction. Another quarry was owned by T.H. B. Columbia. This finer gray limestone was used mostly for construction purposes.
    Frederick Rufner constructed the first mill in 1855 along the canal at the south edge of Junction. The framework, with two mill stones, was run by a turbine water wheel with power furnished by the Miami-Erie canal. The first saw-mill in Junction was, built by William Daggot in 1841. It was about a mile north of town and was powered by water. The first schoolhouse in the vicinity was a log structure 28x30 feet with a clapboard roof and a puncheon floor. The place was heated by a stone-fireplace which had a stick chimney. Later, a frame building was constructed in 1854, with C. Arams as teacher. 
    The village reached its height during the times of commerce and travel on the Miami-Erie and the Wabash Canals, and began to decline rapidly after the building of the Wabash and B.O. Railroads.

John Egler Homestead (Defiance Crescent News 15 Jan 1933 By S.H. Green)

Old Adams Grinder

Rohm Cemetery, Richland Twp, Defiance County, Where  Indian Jake is interred

   

    At last we've had dinner in bachelor's hall with Henry Egler and Fred Egler and his son Robert in North Richland township. We dinned with these folks in the old John Egler brick homestead erected many years ago with bricks which were made of clay from a small knoll on the farm.

    This house contains ten good sized rooms a pantry and five closets. The ceilings of the downstairs rooms are nine and one-half feet from the floor while those of the the upper rooms are 9ft in height. There is a full basement under the entire structure. The west cellar room is floored with brick while that of the east room is of a special brand of cement imported from Belgium.
    An idea of the commanding location of this handsome house may be gain from the fact that the top of the foundation level is even with the roof of a barn which sits below the house in the Maumee bottoms along route 24 (now county road 424). 
    Fred Egler formerly resided near Lily Chapel, west of Columbus O. He was a section foreman on the Big Four railroad there at the time his wife died in 1923. He later returned to the old farm with the three children; besides Robert, three are Helen and Florence who attend school at Jewell.
    Henry Egler says that his father John Elger, purchased the first 80 of this homestead from the Findley heirs who lived in Pennsylvania and had never seen the farm. In order to do this he went to Pennsylvania with the tax receipts and a satisfactory price was agreed upon. During his lifetime John Egler constantly added to his farm until at his death it consisted of 320 acres. Besides Fred and Henry, other children are John who resides near by and Sarah, Mrs. Charles Overly, who resides at 903 Perry street, Defiance.
    This farm site is old; when the brick house was built a pioneer house of three separate parts was removed. These additions had evidently been added as needed and the entire structure was lathed and plastered on the outside as well as the inside walls. It contained five fireplaces, two up and three down stair. The one in the kitchen was so large that a swinging crane was used to handle an iron kettle of about the same size used in butchering today. It is said that lard was usually rendered in this huge fireplace.
    While the elder John Egler's brother Henry, assisted by William Shreve, was engaged in tearing away the last of the old house to make place for the new one, he found a brick bearing the date 1825. This old house was erected so long ago that the name of the builder is forgotten, but local court house records that John Plummer in 1826 deeded this land to Peter Durham.

    Fred Egler clearly recalls tales told how his grandfather was compelled to pack his grist upon his back to the fill at Brunersburg unless he was lucky enough to borrow an Indian pony; how Indians would flock into the grandparent's house to play with his Uncle Henry when he was a baby; how his grand mother was filled with terror as she feared the playful Indians might steal in sometimes when she was not watching and take her baby as their own; of the time when Uncle Henry, then a chubby lad of eight, was taken for a ride across the canal on Indian Jake's shoulders and in the water became frightened and grasped Jake so tightly around the neck as to nearly strangle him; and of how the brave Indian swam under water to the bank in order to keep the child's head above the surface and collapsed exhausted on the bank; and of how the picturesque doctor suffered from exposure during one of his habitual bouts with firewater and died of pneumonia on the Egler farm.
    His remains are interred in the old Rohn cemetery on the Truby farm the burial lot of the grandfather, Jacob Egler.
    Interest in the old farm is heightened by the fact that this was the place where the Indian doctor, Jake Konkapot, made his home and where he died. Here he raised his herbs and dug his roots and in the Egler home today reposes the crude old Adams grinder with which Indian Jake ground his roots. In a box in the cupboard is also some of the salve with which Jake gained much fame as a healer of wounds. For years were treasured here the recipes of the Indian doctor's mixtures for liver complaint and cholera, but  in the passage of years they have evidently been misplaced and lost.
    Contrary to general opinion Indian Jake was not wholly a quack. He was an educated Indian from New York state who came into Ohio because he was disgusted with the actions of his newly married squaw. This squaw was very fond of dancing and was apt to disregard Jake's commands about going too often. Seeing she would not obey him Jake deeded her his forty acre farm and came to the Maumee Valley.
    According to recollections of the stories told them by their father and grandfather, Henry and Fred Egler relate that Indian Jake's grandfather was also an Indian doctor of no inconsiderable fame and that Defiance county's Indian doctor had in his possession his grandfather's doctor book them a century old.
    After mixing up a generous supply of medicines and strapping them in a pack on his shoulders. Indian Jake would depart on his rounds. Sometimes he would be gone for a month and it is said that his visits extended as far as Findlay. Upon his return he often would have as much as $75 in his possession.
    His crude medicines played an interesting part in the acquirement of the old homestead by the Eglers. It seems that an aunt of the Findlay heirs had been in poor health for years. A copy of Indian Jake's recipe for Liver complaint was mail to her. She had it filled at a drug store and in a short time regained her normal health. In her will she specified that when the farm was disposed of that the Eglers be given the first chance.