INTRODUCTION
In the pioneer history of Lost Creek Township, nothing, beyond
the ordinary routine of incidents connected with the early
settlement will be found. Here, as to other places, came the hardy
pioneer, armed with his trusty ax and a heart to be subdued by no difficulties, and, on the banks of the beautiful stream which has
given its romantic name to the township, he erected his log cabin
and cleared a patch of land. The men of those days have, with few
exceptions, joined "the innumerable caravan," and those
who remain, notably Gen. Webb and Alexander McDowell, Sr., find the
infirmities of years bearing heavily upon them.
Alas! how few are left to tell
How they lived long ago;
The grass is growing o'er their graves,
On hill. in valley low.
The plowshare strikes a musket old,
That tells with silent tongue,
The story of the good old days,
When the pioneer was young."
ORIGIN OF NAME
The origin of the name "Lost Creek " is involved in
much obscurity, but, as usual in such cases, tradition is called
upon to tell its story. This case is no exception. It is said
that, away back, before the white settler planted his foot in this
region , a Shawanoes Indian, having found himself lost after a long
and unsuccessful chase, reached the banks of the stream in his
wanderings. It was a creek which he now saw for the first time, and
he eagerly followed it, with the hope that it would lead him out of
his unpleasant dilemma. But in vain. The glittering water drew him
on and on, until the warrior concluded that, like himself, the
stream was " lost," too. From that day, so says
tradition, the stream bore the name of Lost Creek, and the naming,
of the township through which it flows was, of course, a natural
sequence. There is, in the topography of Lost Creek Township, much
that would encourage early settlement. The land is gently rolling,
the soil rich and fruitful, And the country well watered. Natural
springs, whose supply of cool water is exhaustless, abound
everywhere, and of these the early.settler was not slow to take
advantage. Lost Creek Township is to-day one of the best grain-
producing townships in the State, her soil yields readily and in
abundance, and to her rich acreage she justly points with
pride.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION
On December 10, 1818, the Comraissioners of Miami County,
assembled at Troy, ordered that the thirteenth township should be
known by the name of " Lost Creek," and; on the 25th of
January of the succeeding year, they proceeded to fix substantially
its boundaries. At the latter meeting (January 25), Brown and
Staunton Townships were laid out and bounded. But, before this,
the settler had erected his cabin in Lost Creek Township. As early
as 1802 to 1804, Willis Northcutt and John Rogers had settled here,
and, later, Gen. John Webb, Alexander McDowell, Sr., and a number
of others. Gen. Webb says, in his manuscript autobiography, from
which we shall quote at length further on, that, as early as 1808,
he taught school a short distance from where the village of
Casstown now stands.
FIRST RECORDS
The first records of the Township Clerk's office, which are
still well preserved, show that at the first election held under
the permanent establishment of boundaries, John Lenon, George W.
Green and James Buckles were elected Township Trustees, and J. K .
McFarland, Clerk. Of these parties, but one, James Buckles is
living at this date. The election was held at the house of George
Puterbaugh, a short distance east of the Lost Creek Baptist Church,
and on the old Puterbaugh farm, now owned by Harrison Youtsey. The
poll-books of that election, could they be unearthed, would show,a
meager poll, for the inhabitants of Lost Creek Township were "
few and far between " at that time, and it would be safe to
say that there was no " log-rolling " at that election.
The pioneers went to the farmhouse, deposited their ballots, and,
after discussing local affairs, which meant the common good, not
politics, mind you, they returned to their work. In the spring of
1820, Jonathan Yates, J. K. McFarland, Jonas Sutton and John Webb
were drawn as grand, and Levi Westfall, Willis Hance and James
Frazee, Sr., as petit jurors. The Township Clerk of that date
denominates the last mentioned gentlemen as " petty
jurors."
EARLY ENTERPRISES
Prior to the formal organization of the township, as has already
been said, a number of settlements had been made. Beside dwelling
houses at that day, principally log-cabins, George Green had
erected a grist-mill, with which a distillery was connected, and
James Frazee had also put up a still. In 1814, John K. McFarland
put up a carding and fulling mill near the site of Casstown but, as
the new venture did not yield the desired profits, we believe it
was abandoned a few years later. During this time, the several
accomplishments were not entirely neglected, for, as already
mentioned, Gen. Webb had taught the young idea, and John E. Cory
had conducted a singing-school. Mr.Cory opened the school in his
own house, in 1814, and probably numbered among his scholars,
nearly all the young folks in the community.
THE WAR OF 1812
During these times, the early settlers of Lost Creek Township
were not wholly without fear. The outbreak of the second war with
Great Britain was calculated to seriously interfere with their
repose. The Indians were not far distant, and more than once, the
pioneer and his little family cowered, as it were, in the shadows
of the tomahawk. Almost within the boundaries of the township,
David Gerard and Henry Dilbone and wife fell before the merciless
hatchet of the Shawanoes. Alexanaer McDowell, Sr., with Gen. Webb
and others whose names have, unfortunately, been lost to your
historian, entered the army and guarded the frontier posts. In
1811, Gen. Hull's troops, en route to Detroit, passed through this
section of the county. A halt was made at Rogers' bloclihouse, that
occupied the site of George G. McDowell's dwelling, and the pioneer
women relieved the wants of the troops, many of whom were shoeless
and in a suffering condition. It is supposed that anterior to this
event, Gen. Wayne marched through a portion of Lost Creek Township
on his way to punish the confederated tribes at the rapids of the
Maumee. After the war of 1812, our pioneers enjoyed the blessings
of peace, and settlements rapidly increased. As houses sprang up
everywhere, the distances between neighbors became lessened,
acquaintance was extended, and society received the long needed
impetus.
FIRST CHURCHES
The year 1821 saw the erection of the first regular meeting-
house in Lost Creek Township. This structure was built of hewn
logs, near where the present brick church of the Lost Creek
Baptists now stands. Its dimensions were 30x36 feet. On the minutes
of that early congregation is found the following queer contract
pertaining to the old church: "Agreed to employ Brother Abia
B. Martin to lay two floors in the meetinghouse, to plough and
groove both floors, to plain one side of the upper floor, and to
make two doors and casings, for which the church agree to pay
Brother Martin $20 in work at Mr. Fordyce's, if said Martin should
want it there; if not, to be paid in corn, wheat or young,
cattle." In 1837, a secession from Lost Creek Baptist Church
resulted in the erection of another log-house,of worship, known as
Providence Meeting- House, on the Casstown and Addison turnpike.
This latter landmark, like its predecessor, has disappeared before
the ravages of time, and, overgrown with weeds, is the site around
which " the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
Afterward, the log church of the Lost Creek Christian Congregation,
was erected on the Barnett Rapp farm, and then followed the houses
of worship that dot and beautify the township at the present
day.
FIRST JUSTICES
Gen. Webb was the first Justice of the Peace within the
boundaries of Lost Creek Township. The certification of his bond,
by the Township Clerk, bears date of December 11, 1819, and he
served uninterruptedly, we believe, until 1849. Among the other
early Justices were John Lenon, Abraham Buckles, James Fordyce and
Thomas Shidler. The last named gentleman represented Miami County
in the Ohio Legislature. He died only a few years ago. John Wilson
also served as Justice.
THE "CHOLERA YEAR."
In 1832, the cholera devasted the happiest homes in the
township. Its blows fell everywhere without mercy, and in more
instances than one, husband and wife, or parents and children were
buried in the same grave. There are several incidents connected
with this terrible visitation that approach the domain of the
thrilling. One night a merry party of neighbors gathered at the
house of Mr. John Martin. Reports from districts then ravaged by
the pestilence, at once became the theme for conversation; but, by
the merriest of the assembled party, they were lightly treated, and
a dance was proposed. A violin was soon found, and before long its
merry strains awakened the echoes of the night. Louder and louder
grew the sounds of pleasure. The hand at the bow knew how to use
it, and the motto seemed to be, " no sleep till morn." At
last some one suggested a "cholera tune," which was
played; but at the close of it, so say the few living participants,
frightful noises were heard among the horses in the barn, and
almost every cheek became blanched. The soberest said it was a
death token, and the assembly, silently and soberly dispersed. Not
long afterward, a few hours at the farthest, the cholera did come.
It entered that very house, and smote its people with death, and
many of the participants in that merry gathering fell victims to
the dread plague. The hand that drew the bow that night has not
lifted another since, although its possessor still lives, an aged
and venerated citizen of the township. In 1836, the dread scourge
again visited this section of the count but did not rage with the
violence that characterized its former visit. At that time the
nearest physicians resided in Troy, and more than once they were
hurried out on Lost Creek, to at tend a cholera patient.
CASSTOWN
The only incorporated village within the limits of the township
is Casstown,. which is situated in the southeast corner thereof.
It is now a village of 375 souls, a beautiful and thrifty place. It
was laid out in 1832, by Rankin Westfall and Luke Daney, from land
purchased of James Frazee. At the time of the survey only three
cabins occupied the site of the town, which was called
Trimmensburgh, in honor of ------ Trimmens, a man who helped to lay
it out. Afterward the name was changed to Casstown, in lionor of
Lewis Cass, united States Senator and General, and an unsuccessful
candidate for the Presidency. Mr.Daniel Knoop put up the first
brick house in the town, a small affair, only fourteen feet square,
and Joseph Green an Joseph Campbell opened the first stock of
goods. Knoop also brought on a lot of goods, and continued in the
business at the original stand until a few years since. He is now
dead but his widow still resides in Casstown. Casstown is noted for
civility and good morals. Not a drop of liquor is sold within the
corporation. It contains three churches, and one hall devoted to
the I. O. O. F., which order is in a flourishing condition. Small
as it was during the late civil war, it sent out an entire company
of soldiers, who did good service around Washington, for which they
received the personal thanks of President Lincoln. Several miles
north of Casstown, and in the township, is a small collection of
houses which bears t he name of Sodom, or Pencetown but it has no
post office: and is hardly called a village.
EDUCATIONAL
In education, Lost Creek Township has a good record. Forty years
ago the total number of school children enrolled in the township
was 647 the school buildings were mostly log structures, and poor
affairs at the best but now a substantial brick building graces
every district, and the school furniture is of tile latest pattern
and cannot be excelled. In Special District No. 1, which includes
the village of Casstown, a large and handsome brick building has
been erected within the past few years, In this a thorough graded
school is kept nine months of the year, and the result is that it
ranks among, the best schools in the county. More than forty years
ago, when Thomas Long was Superintendent and Visitor of the common
schools of Lost Creek Township, the system of school visitation was
strictly adhered to. Mr.Long was a careful, methodical and
painstaking man, and the entries in his journal exhibit the
condition of our country schools at that day. Of a visit to the
school in District No. 1, January 22, 1839, he says: "The
order in the school is not good, too much confusion, but little
Government exercised by the teacher, very little exercise of moral
influence, and but very little time is spent to convince the
scholars of the propriety of such measures as would be conducive to
their good." He found in the schools at that day not enough
system in writing, the philosophy of arithmetic illy taught, and,
finally, noisy schools. The Board of Education of Lost Creek
Township profiting by Mr. Long's experience, have brought the
schools to a high grade, and all today are in a flourishing
condition.
RELIGIOUS
The Lost Creek Baptist Church. The oldest religious body in Lost
Creek Township is the Lost Creek Baptist-Church. The nucleus were
members of the old Staunton Church, now torn down, and an
organization was effected at the house of Jonathan Cavault, in
1816. Samuel Deweese was the first minister, and Rachel Webb was
the first accession. David Archer had the honor of being the first
Moderator, and John Wilson, afterward Judge. and a member of the
Legislature, Clerk. The history of the building of the church
structure has already been given. The Pastors of the church, since
its organization to the present time, have been Samuel Deweese,
Moses Frizee, Robert Stapleton, Willis Hance, Thomas A. Warner,
William Fuson, Thomas J. Price, N. Martin, John Blodgett, David
Scott, David E. Thomas. James Harvey, W. R. Thomas, W. A. Welsher,
I. M. Chapman, W. S. Hamlin, and N. B. H. Gardner. At present the
membership does not exceed forty souls. The Christian, Church.
This church was organized by Elders Samuel Kyle and William Dye in
May, l821, with about twelve members. For the first nine years no
extensive records of its proceedings were kept. The first regular
Pastor was Elder Joseph Kirby, and Thomas Long served as Clerk for
forty-two consecutive vears. While this conoreoation has made no
noise in the world, it has pursued the even tenor of its way, doing
much good. The Pastors of the church, since it's organization to
the present time, number some of the best and purest men to be
found in the ministry. They are Samuel Kyle, William Dye, Joseph
Kirby, Adam Thomas, M. D. Briney, Daniel Long, Josiah Knight, D. W.
Fowler, John McMillen, H. Y. Rush, C. A. Morse, Thomas Wells,
Thomas A. Brandon, C. T. Emmons, E M. Rapp and Joel Thomas.
CASSTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH
The Casstown Baptist Church was organized between 1850 and 1852,
by memhers from the Staunton Baptist Church and the Salem
Congreoation at Troy. The first-named church had become reduced in
numbers, and, being too near Troy, it was decided to establish a
new one, and thus the present flourishing congregation at Casstown
became a Christian body. The first meetings of the Casstown
Baptists were held in the old Universalist Church (now Odd Fellows'
Hall) in that village until their own new church was dedicated, May
25, 1856, Since that time the chnrch has kept steadily forward, and
is in a prosperous condition at the present day. Among the able men
who have sustained a pastoral relation with the Casstown Baptist
Church, we record the well-known names of Willis Hance, Sr., Robert
Stapleton, Samuel Deweese, William Sutton, Moses Frazee, L. C.
Carr, E. D. Thomas, Daniel Bryant, David E. Thomas, John Blodgett,
J. G. Tunison, J. W. Weatherby, J. W. Miller, W. S. Hamlin, and A.
B. Nixon, the present Pastor. Many of the above Pastors rest from
their labors. Casstown Lutheran Church. The Casstown Lutheran
Church was established between 1835 and 1840. The congregation not
possessing a house of worship of their own, meetings were held in
the Methodist Episcopal Church until a Lutheran Church was erected.
This was a substantial stone structure, which gave way, in 1867, to
a handsome brick edifice, in which the congregation still worship.
Among, the pastors of the Casstown Lutheran Church, since its
formation, have been Revs. Link, Anghe, Harris, Weills, We lsh,
Hershiser, Lilly and Helnig. Casstown M. E. Church. This religious
body was formed a few years prior to the establishment of the
Lutheran Church. A house, now used as a planing, mill, was the
first place of worship, but a beautiful brick church replaced it a
few years ago. The congregation is in a flourishing condition. Its
pastors are selected atinually by the General Conference.
GEN. JOHN WEBB'S NARRATIVE
We believe that we can no better illustrate the life, trials,
triumphs and experiences of a pioneer than by giving the history of
one written by his own hand and such a document we introduce at
this point. It is from the pen of Gen. Webb, and we preface it by
saying that what the old gentleman says of other places is
peculiarly applicable to the early settlement of Lost Creek
Township:
"I was born of Baptist parents, at May's Lick, Mason
County, State of Kentucky, May 17, 1793. My parents were church
members before I was born. In the Month of November, 1797, my
father removed to Ohio, six years before the State was admitted
into the Union, and wintered near Waynesville. In March following,
he settled in the dense wilderness between the two Miami Rivers,
near where the city of Dayton now stands. There was no mark of an
ax (excepting those of Indian tomahawks) there until my father and
brothers cut logs to build a cabin, into which he put his family.
At that time, the cabin was hardly up and covered, and it was
without floor, chimney or door. Our nearest neighbors were Indians,
bears, wolves, foxes, wildcats, turkeys, deer and raccoons. Spring
opened early, vegetation grew rapidly, the ground was loaded with
hickory-nuts, walnuts, etc., and the woods swarmed with different
kinds of singing birds. I was not nine years old, and, not
realizing our lonely situation, I thought it a paradise. About
forty or fifty rods east of our house stood a little prairie, in
which we made our first garden, but we were soon compelled to
inclose it with a high staked and ridered' fence, to keep the deer
from destroying the fruits of our first planting.
We had to watch our cornfields, to prevent the squirrels and
raccoons from pulling, up the corn in the spring, and from eating,
the ears in the fall. The wild pigeons were very plentiful and
destructive, picking up the wheat almost as soon as sown.
"My father sowed the first wheat and clover seed, and
planted the first apple and peach trees and built the first cabin
in that region. After eight years of life there, father exchanged
farms with my brother-in law, Timothy Green, and moved three miles
west, near the present site of Beavertown.
There being, no school near us then, my mother taught my
youngest sister and myself at home. Our main books were the
spelling book, Testament and Bible. l was eight years old before l
saw a schoolhouse, and never went to school in any house but a log-
cabin. ln 1811, father sold his farm of 240 acres for $2,000,
intending to purchase land in this (Miami) county for his sons. One
day he mounted a young, hard-mouthed horse, intending to select a
location, and started off. But the horse, becoming frightened, ran
a quarter of a mile, threw my father against a stump, broke his arm
in two places, and crushed his shoulder and skull, of course
killing him instantly. This occurred on Thursday, November 28,
1811.
On the day following father's funeral, our family assigned to
mother all the money and property that he left, and shortly
afterward I purchased the land I now occupy, two miles north of
Casstown, from John Rogers, for $320. At that time Rogers owned an
entire section. There were two cabins on my piece, a lot of land
inclosed; and I gave Rogers in payment, an order on my mother, for
I was but eighteen years old, and engaged in "keeping"
school. Two years before this I taught the first school ever held
in this region.
In the following spring, mother and I, with my brothers Elisha
and Joseph, moved to this neighborhood. Joseph having no house on
his land, moved into one of my houses. He had purchased a quarter-
section of land, where John Mitchell now lives (i.e. the present
Hyatt farm-ED.), and subsequently built a cabin there. He afterward
exchanged it for a quarter-section then owned by Richard, Palmer,
my brother-in-law, and now owned by George Hammon and Joel Burton,
adjoining the village of Casstown.
"In the latter part of the winter of 1813, I volunteered as
a soldier, expecting to go to Detroit. But the surrender of Hull's
army there, left our whole northern and northwestern frontier
exposed to Indian depredations. The general Government, therefore,
caused a line of block-houses to be built along the frontier of
Ohio and Indiana, and called out a large portion of the frontier
militia to be stationed in them. So we were marched to Greenville,
Darke County, under Captain Charles Hilliard, where we remained six
months. John Sconer and Gosberry Elliott, two of our soldiers, were
killed by the Indians, also Philip Taylor, an Indian trader, Mr.
Rush, a settler, and two Iiitle girls, daughters of a Mr. Wilson.
In August of the same year (1814) the savages killed David Gerard
within a mile of our house, and the same evening Henry Dilbone and
wife further up on Spring Creek.
"In the month of March, 1815, our two houses were consumed
by fire, and we removed to Roger's until I built another cabin. I
was teaching school in one of my own cabins at the time of this
calamity. During this year, Priscilla Knight and I were married,
and lived happily together for more than half a century. At our
first company muster, after our return from Greenville, I drilled
the company at the request of our captain. I was twenty years old
at that time (1813). Having been appointed Orderly Sergeant, I was
shortly afterward elected Captain. My company's membership extended
as far north as there were inhabitants at that time. As there were
a few settlers scattered along the Miami as far as where Sidney now
stands, our place of company drill was on the ground where Elder D.
E. Thomas' house now stands (i.e., near the D. &,M. R. R. depot
adjoining Piqua). I afterward acted as Major at regimental
musters, and shortly after was elected Lieutenant Colonel and
Colonel successively. A short time subsequent, I was elected
Brigadier General, receiving every vote in the county but one, and,
by the resignation of Gen. Young, I became acting Major General of
the Tenth Division of Ohio Militia. The division embraced the
counties of Montgomery, Darke, Shelby and Miami, and consisted of
ten regiments of infantry, riflemen, cavalry and artillery.
In 1819, I was unanimously elected Justice of the Peace of Lost
Creek Township, in which office my whole term of service extended
over thirty years. During that time, I married more than one
hundred couples. I was a trustee of the original survey of the
township, and, assisting in the survey, wrote all the leases. I
also assisted in the survey of a number of county roads, and
administered on many estates. In 1838, I resigned my military
commission, and, many years after the war of 1812, I received two
warrants for eighty acres of Government land each, and I now
receive a yearly pension for services rendered the nation.
"In 1861, at the outbreak of the rebellion, the young men
asked me to drill a company of Home Guards, which I consented to
do. A company was speedily recruited, and made rapid improvements
in the tactics. The patriotic ladies raised funds for the purchase
of a beautiful flag, which was presented to the company at
Casstown. On that day, the company was drawn up in a hollow square,
the ladies and speakers facing inward. George C. Clyde presented
the standard in the name of the ladies and D. E. Thomas accepted it
in behalf of the company, in a neat speech. The whole affair was a
grand and success.
"In speaking of the " financial frauds " of the
old days, Gen. Webb says:"in 1819, I was appointed
administrator with the widow on the estate of ------. Her bad
management and the confused condition of the estate came near
ruining me. The first difficulty I encountered was to clear it of a
judgment for $18,000, in favor of John H. Piatt, of Cincinnati.
There were other jndgments and other claims, and the result was
that the estate proved to be insolvent, with but 40 cents on the
dollar. The widow bought and kept it at its appraisement, for
which she gave no security, and paid nothing, and I had to foot the
bill! At various times I bailed---- ---- and others, and was left
to pay the amounts. Many years after, I bailed -------; he availed
himself of the bankrupt act, and, as usual, left me to pay his
debts. I took stock in the Troy Manufacturing Company; it failed. I
took stock in the Addison, Troy & Covington Turnpike Co.; it
fizzled. Then I invested in two toll-bridge companies at Troy; one
of the bridges fell before it was finished, and the other was
washed away shortly after completion. I was generally called a good
fellow, and consequently was often imposed upon.
"These difficulties, poor health and a large family, often
seriously afflicted, have affected my progress. From the foregoing,
it would seem that I have been a poor economist and financier. This
is true, yet my family have been comfortably and respectably
raised."
Gen. Webb concludes his memoir by saying that, on the 9th of
Auoust, 1827, he was received into the Lost Creek Baptist Church,
and baptized by Elder Willis Hance. He was for many years Clerk of
the Mad River Association, and prepared its minutes for
publication. On one occasion, Mr. Webb went to Columbus on
horseback to attend to some business pertaining to the church
charter before the Legislature.
LOST CREEK IN THE WAR
During the war of the rebellion, no rural township replied more
liberally to the calls of the President than Lost Creek. Her
citizens were among the first to enlist in 1861, and from that
eventful period until the termination of the struggle, she had more
than two hundred soldiers at the front. They took part in some of
the most sanguinary battles without, so far as we are able to
learn, having a single one of their number killed outright. Of her
war record, Lost Creek Township is justly proud, and should her
citizens ever be called upon again to take up arms in defense of
principle, we doubt not that they will obey with the enthusiasm
that characterizes them in everything they undertake.
A LIST OF THE OLD SETTLERS
We here append a list, as complete as can be obtained at this
late day, of the old settlers of the township:
John Webb *, Elisha Webb, Asa Rogers, John Shidler, Alexander
McDowell*, Abram Cromer, James Buckles*, Timothy Green, James
Frazee, George Green, Willis Northcutt, ------ --Rogers, John W.
Martin, Willis Hance, Benjamin Hance, J. K. McFarland, George
Puterbaugh, Giles Johnston, Allen Ralston, William Babb, Daniel
Knoop, John Wilson, William Burton*, Thomas Shidler, Henry
Whitmore, William Wallace, Richard Palmer, Williim C. Knight,
William Saunders, John Lenon, David Archer, Jonathan Yates, Reuben
Westfall, John Darst, Thomas Stretch, Joseph Webb, Joseph Layton,
James Fordyce, Jonas Sutton, Daniel H. Knoop*, Thomas Long, Barnett
Rapp, Samuel McDowell*, John Shanks, Levi Martin, Jacob Youtsey,
Jonathan Cavault, Josiah Martin*, Peter Clyde, -----------Trimmens,
Andrew Egnew. Of all the foregoing, only those whose. names are
marked with an asterisk (*) are 'living at the present time. The
rest have passed down the " corridors of time," and rest
from the arduous labors which they performed so well. Truly, it can
be said of t hem, when looking, upon the fair land which they
helped to improve, Their works do follow them."
O, many a time it hath been told,
The story of these men of old-;
For this, fair poetry hath, wreathed
Her sweetest, purest flower;
For this, proud elequence hah breathed
His strain of loftiest power.
Devotion, too, hath lingered round
Each spot of consecrated ground,
And hill and valley blest;
There where our pioneer fathers strayed,
There, where they loved, and wept, and prayed,
There, where their ashes rest."
----Sprague.
RECAPITULATION
Lost Creek Township is now in a healthy condition. The roads
that bisect it are well piked, and in admirable condition for
travel. The farming land is well drained, and much of it clovered
in alternate seasons. Plenty of good water is afforded for stock,
and all the farms are highly improved. A great deal of corn is
annually raised in Lost Creek, which finds a ready market at Troy,
and the acreage of wheat and other cereals is large and constantly
increasing. Of her citizens, we have said much in the foregoing
pages. They are intelligent, industrious and energetic, worthy
successors to the men who cleared the unbroken forests, and brought
order and light out of " chaos and confusion." We predict
that the future of Lost Creek Township is one to be envied, for her
exhaustless resources are certain to place her in the first rank of
such organizations. She might well claim our State motto as her
own--Imperio imperium.