PERRY TOWNSHIP — Perry Township, located in Ashland County, was first surveyed in 1807 by Jonathan Cox. It was organized on Sept. 14, 1814, and was one of the first townships in Ohio to go through this process.
It is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. This township is located in the eastern portion of the county and is 30.4 square miles. It is one of 26 Perry Townships located in Ohio.
The original surveyor’s notes indicated the presence of thick forest, marshes, lakes and streams. The area was described by settlers as a thick wilderness which only progressed very early on because of the tenacity of the hardworking and innovative pioneers that moved there.
The wilderness was filled with deer, wild turkey, and racoon which led to good hunting.
The southern area of the township was described as generally level. Much of the timber was burned by fire which was from Indian game hunting.
The northern area was described as somewhat rolling. The land was also depicted as anywhere from uncultivatable to rich for farming activities.
Corn, wheat, oats and hay became primary farm products. The areas along the Muddy Fork were desirable for settlers since they could provide water power for any grist or sawmills built in the early years.
Black oak, hickory, soft maple, elm, white ash, and black ash trees were abundant. There were also dogwood, white oak, and sassafras trees. The underbrush was very thick hickory.
It’s interesting that the forests were filled with ginseng root as many were in the eastern portion of North America.
Ginseng became a popular domestic crop with almost all of it shipped from 1821 to 1983 from the United States to the Far East. It was gathered and sold from this area as well.
The township was primarily occupied by Seneca, Delaware, Mohican, Wyandotte, Shawnee, and Chickasaws Indians and they had many wigwams built around the land. The Indians left this area in about 1822.
Land initially sold for 50 cents to $1 per acre in the township. As the settlers cleared land, built cabins and plowed fields, many Indian trinkets and jewelry items were located in the newly cultivated ground, including ancient pottery and tools made from flint and stone. There were two Indian mounds located near Muddy Fork.
There was a well-worn trail used in the southwest corner of the Township. It was known as the Wyandot Trail which carved out from Sandusky to Fort Pitt to DuQuesne.
The first attempted village to be established in Perry Township was named Elizabethtown.
In 1815, John Raver tried to sell lots at a public sale but no one was interested so the village never got started. It was located on US Route 250 between what is currently Rowsburg and the Muddy Fork.
Today, the township is home to the small villages of Rowsburg and Red Haw. There is still a sign marking Wiggletown at the crossroads of Township Roads 1150 and 353. No one seems to know how it got its name.
The first grist and sawmill in Perry Township was built by John Raver in 1817-18 on what was known as Raver’s Run. It was located about ¼ mile north of Rowsburg near present day County Road 175, but no remnants exist.
It operated for about four months each year, powered by water and operated by an undershot wheel, one set of stones and a hand-bolt. It worked for many years but was eventually replaced.
The mills accommodated residents of Perry and Montgomery Townships, along with adjacent townships in Wayne County.
An interesting story from the Raver Mill involves John’s 8-year-old son, Daniel, who was “Killed of Fright.” When Daniel was 8 and playing with other children, a mouse ran up one of his pant legs. This caused him to go into convulsions and he unfortunately died a few hours later.
There were no early schools in the area. The first teacher in Perry Township was John G. Mosier in 1818.
As most were, the first schoolhouse was made of round logs and was located in the western part of the township.
One of the early schools, Perry Township No. 5, burned down on Sept. 12, 1872 and was renamed the Phoenix School when dedicated on Sept. 12, 1873.
The school was located on County Road 1675 near County Road 175. The new name derived from the fact that the school rose from the ashes of the original school.
It was later dismantled and relocated to Jeromesville along with Pocock school from Mohican Township and made into a grade school on the site of Lewis Park.
Cemeteries in the township include Brandt, Meng, Old Rowsburg (Smalley), Red Haw, Rowsburg, Trinity Evangelical, and one unnamed.
Many Presbyterian families settled in this area with the first church being established in about 1820. It was named the Muddy Fork Church and located in the northeast corner of Perry Township. In about 1831, the church changed its name to Mount Hope Church.
Along County Road 1100 near Rowsburg there is a place to pull off the road. It was once referred to as the Elephant Trail because it was the road the circus elephants traveled upon to get from Wooster to Ashland for Circus shows and parades.
In the mid-1900’s that same road was called Lover’s Lane due to a pull-off for cars. Couples would stop there to spend some time alone.
Many prominent people got their start in Perry Township, including:
Phillip and Francis Myers, founders of the F. E. Myers and Bro. Company and makers of hay tools and pumps worldwide;
Jesse L. Clark and Dr. Gilbert Hess, founders of Hess & Clark and manufacturers of veterinary remedies around the world;
Jonas Freer, who with his brother Randolph, founded the Farmers Bank (now Huntington on Main Street in downtown Ashland;
William B. Allison from Iowa and Edmund G. Ross of Kansas, who both became US Senators;
Dr. Rufus Cole, who was affiliated with the Rockefeller Institute in New York City;
S.P. Countryman, a very successful farmer;
Jacob P. Cowen, local doctor who became a legislator;
The Studebakers of car manufacturing fame.
Legendary Spook Hollow is located on US Route 250 about ½ mile east of State Route 89 and various stories exist about it being haunted.
One story of how it got its name was because a man named Fred Hayes and a few friends were out hunting in that area one moonlit evening. Inside a house, they saw the figure of an elderly man wearing a nightshirt and cap but the figure eventually dissolved from sight.
The next night another friend of Hayes who didn’t believe the story, went to the house. While going up the stairs inside, he heard a series of noises and a door closing. But after investigating, there was no one in the house, and it, in fact, had been abandoned for years.
Stories from teenagers who went there to verify the haunting of the empty home also say figures were seen in the windows and there were sounds of doors slamming.
Another legend about Spook Hollow involves an Indian named Katotawa. He used to have a camp in the area near a small stream which was named after him. Although the Indians were generally friendly, someone felt the Indian was a threat to the area so he was beheaded one night.
Legend has it that Katotawa still wanders the banks of the stream today with blood gushing from his neck in search of his head on dark and foggy nights.
