The History of
Mount Erie
By
Charles Fishel
Transcribed by Laurie Selpien
In the fall of 1818, Alexander Ramsey,
a Revolutionary War veteran, accompanied by his son (?),
James Alexander Nesbit, William Farmer,
William McCormick, Michael Book, and possibly Andrew Bratton,
constructed a pirogue or dugout boat and started on a prospecting trip up the
Little Wabash River from a settlement in White County, where they had come in
1816 from Hopkins County, Kentucky. They arrived at the mouth of Miller Creek
the day before Christmas, and seeing smoke to the Southwest, they approached the
place about three miles distant and came to the remains of an Indian campfire
although the Indians had departed. Here they found a beautiful hill covered with
nice large white oak trees and a nice large spring of pure water.
They built their camp here and the place was known as
Ramsey’s Grove, for several years. It was where the present village of Mt. Erie
is now located. The surrounding country was covered with groves of fine oak and
hickory trees, with prairies having fertile soil and a plentiful supply of pure
water furnished by many springs. These men finding everything they desired for
new homes in the location had their families soon join them.
FIRST SETTLER
A Mr. Thrasher came from
Kentucky in about 1820 and settled in the community. A few years later he passed
away and was the first white man to die in the community. Other early settlers
moving to the community were the families of William Whitford; William Fitch;
Andrew Farley; Joseph, Hugh, and James
Walder; Charles and James Vandaveer;
Larkin and Gillison Price. Within the next few
years these families arrived: Blakeley, Crews, Fishel, Bradshaw, Eli Miller,
known to everyone as “Pap” Lockwood, Borah, Douglas, Truscott, Yohe, Holmes,
Frederick, Ake, Mills, Young, Daubs, Kagy, Porterfield, Cazadd, VanFossan,
Gardner, and Travers.
The village of Mt. Erie is located on the crest of a hill
with a gradual slope in each direction and having the highest elevation in Wayne
County. It is in northwestern Wayne County in Section 17 of Erie Township. The
original plat, consisting of ten acres of land was sold by Alexander Ramsey
to Nathaniel Travers and Jonathan Copley with the stipulation in
the deed, they lay out a town. This was done in 1853 with William Whitaker,
County Surveyor, doing the surveying. They wanted to name the town “Ramsey” but
Mr. Ramsey preferred the name “Mount Airie”. This name was given it but was
later changed to Mount Erie. The first building in Mt. Erie was a frame house
built by William Copley and used by him as a dwelling and store.
RAMSEY’S MILL
At that time one of the necessities of great importance to
any community was a mill for grinding grain. In 1825, Alexander Ramsey brought
in a horse mill and operated it until 1840, when James Bradshaw built a mill in
what is now the west part of town and operated it for several years. The first
steam mill was erected in the village in 1866 by William Schwarberg.
Later a grist mill and a carding machine were added. It was sold to Price and
Nesbit, who operated it for about five years then sold it to Price, Baldridge &
Co., who shortly afterwards built a new mill known as Gem Mills, which was
operated by Miller and McCollum. This mill made bolted flour
and shipped it to St. Louis and other cities. The mill furnished employment to
several men as the fuel used was cordwood and was bought from local men who
sometimes accepted flour and meal in exchange for the wood. The flour was hauled
to Clay City to the nearest railroad and later to Noble after the bridge was
built across the Wabash River in 1880. A Post office was established in 1856
with Andrew Crews being appointed first Postmaster. Mail was brought to
Mt. Erie by a Star Route from Clay City until 1931 when due to improved roads
the Star Route was changed to Olney from where they still continue getting the
mail.
CREW”S STORE
Andrew Crews also had the first
General store in Mt. Erie. Later John Holly and Lou Mayo started
another store and Frank Israel started a harness shop. Some later stores
were operated by J. T. Price & Co.; A. F. Nesbit and Son; Vandaveer and
Bradshaw, and Camp and Quimby. A hardware store was operated by Carson and
Bradshaw. There were two blacksmith shops kept busy repairing farming tools in
farming season and shoeing horses in the wintertime. Mt. Erie at one time had a
very nice millinery store. Merchandise was hauled in by wagons. When roads were
bad in winter, four horse teams were used to make the trip, starting early in
the morning and getting back late at night. Dr. John B. Handley was one
of the first doctors. Dr. Mundy came in 1862 from Mt. Carmel, Illinois
and later ones were Dr. Blackford, Dr. Shelton and Dr. E. E. Roberts.
The first Society of the M. E. Church in the community was
Organized in 1839 by Rev. Alexander Blakely. It was on the Fairfield
Circuit at the time and they met in the homes and the schoolhouses. The First
Methodist Church was started in 1856 and dedicated in October 1808 and was on
the lot where the present Methodist church now stands. The pastor was Rev.
James M. Massey. This church was used until 1903 when it was moved and
another church was built. It was used until 1915 when it was torn down and the
present building built. A Presbyterian church was built in the east part of town
in 1856 with Rev. William Finley the first pastor. Later this building
was bought and used for several years by the United Brethren. Following a
tabernacle meeting, the Christian church was organized. The present church was
built and dedicated in 1912. In addition to the two churches above, the Nazarene
Church was built in 1944 and the Pentecostal in 1945. Mt. Erie Lodge No. 331 A.
F. & A. M., was organized in 1858 with seven charter members and has continued
until the present date, owning their temple and in a thriving condition.
THE FIRST SCHOOL
The first school in the village was built in 1866 and was
used until 1904, when it was replaced by a four room school. This building was
in use until 1954, when the surrounding districts voted for consolidation and a
modern brick building was constructed. The present district is made up of the
following former districts: Moutry, Miller, Creek Farmer, Gerber, Number Four,
West Vandaveer, Number Seven, Heidinger, Walker, Brown and part of Lincoln.
The Mt. Erie State Bank was organized about 1915 by some
citizens and farmers and has remained a strong bank until the present time. In
1954, the bank was reorganized and a new building was erected. A hotel was built
and operated by David Holmes on the Southwest corner of main street one
block east of the Methodist Church. A livery stable was built across the street
east from the hotel and did a good business until the coming of the automobile.
In addition to being a good farming community, there were
several good orchards nearby. At one time, every farm had a small orchard. In
the 1880’s a cider mill together with a molasses mill was set up. This mill was
operated by steam and blew up at one time killing George Runyon. The
cider mill operated for several years, and although there were no saloons in Mt.
Erie, a plentiful supply of hard cider was available.
During the civil War, Wayne County was one of the few, if
not the only county, where no draft was made as volunteers more than supplied
the quota, and Mount Erie more than supplied its number. After the war, about
1870, the James Mayes Post of the Grand Army of the Republic was
organized with Van R. Price elected as commander, which station he held
until his death. There was a membership of over 130 as there are 130 Civil War
Veterans buried in the cemeteries in and near Mount. Erie. The Women’s
Relief Corp No. 42 of the James Mayes Post and auxiliary of the G. A. R. was
organized in July 1899, with a large membership.
VETERANS GROUP
Later a “Sons of Veterans” was organized and the greatest
occasion of the year was Memorial Day, when the G. A. R. veterans would line up
by two’s, accompanied by the Sons of Veterans, who were carrying guns, and march
from uptown to the Methodist Church for the Memorial Services. From the church
they marched to the cemetery where a salute was fired for those who had passed
on. On this day, every veteran, who was able was there, as was nearly everyone
in the community. I believe the largest crowds ever to gather in Mount Erie,
were on Memorial Day. In addition to the Veteran of the Civil War, there is one
Revolutionary War Veteran, Alexander Ramsey, buried in Mount Erie
Cemetery. Other veterans buried in the cemetery are as follows:
Alexander Nesbit, David H. Night, William
McCollum and A. Dalton or the War of 1812
Isaac Street of the Black Hawk War
David and Sam McCullom of the Mexican War
LaFayette Keyser of the Indian War buried in the
Brown Cemetery
In addition to the reasons given above for the early
settlers liking the location, another attraction was the abundance of wild game,
deer, bears, wild turkeys and all smaller game is plentiful. These early
settlers enjoyed hunting and were expert shots with their muzzle loading rifles.
Many of their descendants still live in the community and have inherited this
trait of their forefathers, as no one enjoys a hunt more than some of the
locals.
Additional Information…….
Alexander Ramsey born 1765
died Sept 8, 1855 90 years buried in the Mount Erie Cemetery
Mr. Thrasher died about 1821
1st white man buried in the Mount Erie Cemetery
Alexander Nesbit born Sept 2,
1792 North Carolina – July 8, 1874 buried in the Mount Erie Cemetery
Obit found in Wayne County Press July 23, 1874
Married Miss Dorcas Ramsey in 1816
NOTE: Story above states he is the son of Alexander Ramsey
– I think he is the Son-in-law
Andrew Farley (Fairleigh) Apr
11, 1824 – Jan 26, 1893 Obit found in Wayne County Record Feb 2, 1893 “Uncle
Andy Farleigh” buried Mount Erie Cemetery
Buried in Locust Grove Cemetery
James Vandaveer
born Oct 31, 1802 – Mar 16, 1890 Obit found in
2 of the Wayne County Record (newspaper) March 20, 1890 & March 27, 1890
Gillison Price born Mar 21,
1789 – May 28, 1859 married Mary
Larkin Price Born Dec 5, 1791 –
Oct 8, 1856 married Sarah died Aug 29, 1863
Andrew Crews Born Sept 1, 1822 –
Nov 22, 1871 Obit Wayne County Press Dec 14, 1871 died of Consumption
Andrew Crews married Nancy b. Feb 4, 1826 – Sept 3, 1891
Bolted
Flour A type of whole-wheat flour
in which nearly 80 percent of the bran has been removed. Bolted flour may also
be referred to as reduced bran wheat flour.