Ramsey's Grove

Mt. Erie

Donated by Betty Beeson

 Transcribed by Laurie Selpien

Letter written by John Wesley Nesbit and is listed in the Interview Column of the Wayne County Press Newspaper. Paper date Feb. 18,1926.

I'm from Mt. Erie, just arrived recently in your city.....you wanted some early history on Mt. Erie and I guess I know just about as much of the history of that section of Wayne county as the next man.

The place used to be called, in the very long ago, "Ramsey's Grove", named from my great-grandfather, Alexander Ramsey, my grandmother's father. Alexander Ramsey and my grand-father on father's side. Alexander Nisbet, first saw Mt. Erie along about 1815. They had come up the Little Wabash river in a "pirogue," a kind of a dug-out boat. They landed at the mouth of Miller Creek, some three miles northeast of Mt. Erie on what is now known as the Sam Berg place. As they landed they saw smoke ascending from the Mt. Erie Hill, and arriving at the scene found it had just been abandoned as an Indian camp. They did not see the Indians, however. Grandfather entered about 200 acres of land three fourths mile southeast of Mt. Erie, on the old Massilon road. At that time old Massilon was a sizeable village, a rough river town, where gatherings for drinking and fighting was the rule. When the 0. & M. railroad built through Clay City, old Massilon was abandoned, some of the people moving to Clay City, and others to Mt. Erie.

At the same time the Nisbets came, also some Farmer and McCormick families who settled west of father, over where Enterprise now is. Andy Crews (father of Seth F. Crews) had the first store in Mt. Erie, along in the early 50's. John B. Jolly, of Grayville, and Lou Mayo, (a son of the famous Walter L. Mayo, county clerk of Edwards County who mysteriously disappeared) ran a store in an old building still standing, and owned by Mrs. W. C. Ake. Frank Isreal in the early day had a harness store, later moving to Benkleman, Nebr., to become a very successful newspaperman, and two terms a county judge.

Dr. John B. Handley was a doctor. Mt. Erie had plenty of doctors in that day—but hasn't any at present. In fact, Mr. Erie is slipping the past fifty years. It is not as good a business place as it was fifty years ago. The stores brought their goods from Clay City, because there was no bridge across the Wabash until some forty-five years ago.

Father settled at the foot of the Mt. Erie hills because of the splendid springs thereabouts. A well he dug nearly a hundred years ago is still used, in the north edge ofMt. Erie, now on the Lon Miller place. The hill was covered with the finest grove of white oak trees, some of them four feet through. Dr. Mundy had a drug store there once, which was run by a Mr. Grove, of Fairfield.

Mt. Erie was incorporated as a village about fifty years ago. It had mail twice a week from Clay City. Bailey Borah, (father of Rev. J. W. Borah), and Wm. Douglas had a store, and the old name, Douglas & Borah, can yet be seen on the front of an old building in the village.

The Hard Shell Baptists had the first church in the edge of town, but the Methodists built a church about 1859 or 1860, and among the famous circuit riders was Rev. James Massie, father of my step-mother.

James Truscott was the undertaker and he made his own caskets, trimmed them with broadcloth and made his own rosetts for them.

Grandfather bought furs, and at one time had 700 coon skins and 300 mink skins. He traveled around over the country with a spring wagon and a team of mules and bought skins, which he sold to a representative of the Hudson Bay Fur Company, located at Vincennes. I saw, as a boy, 28 carcasses of deer hanging up at one time.

Among other early comers were Philip Yohe, from the east somewhere; the Blakeleys, from Tyrone, Ireland; the Mundays, the Akes, the Fredericks, the Forbes, the Mills, the Youngs, the Vandaveers, the Lockwoods, and Truscotts.

I was married to Miss Rose E. Lockwood, fifty-two years ago last January 1st. Was in the general mercantile business some twenty years or more. I am retired now, and wife and I are going to California soon.

Yes, Mt. Erie was a wonderful little village at one time.