NEWTON  TOWNSHIP
from Chapter 5 of 1909 History of Miami County Ohio

Newton Township, the second of the three known as the
"Stillwater townships," occupies the extreme western part
of the county. Newberry and Washington bound it on the north, Union
on the south, Concord on the east, and Darke County on the west. It
is watered by the Stillwater and tributary streams, and the land is
fair and fertile. There is no township the county that has better
roads than Newton. These pikes running in every direction, reach
every section of the township, giving every inhabitant an excellent
outlet everywhere.

The history of Newton Township is contemporaneous with the
greater history of the county. The same class of people that poured
into other parts of the Stillwater Valley gave Newton her share and
established the division which bears her name. They came, many of
them, from the South, from the Carolinas, from Georgia and adjacent
states, and not a few had seen service under the banner of
Washington. Hardy sons of the new republic were they, men inured to
every danger, strong willed and capable of making a home north of
the Ohio.

The first of these immigrants to Newton Township was Michael
Williams, who had heard of the land from General Harrison. He came
about 1799, and with his four sons, proceeded to build the new home
in the Miami wilderness.  In 1804 Marmaduke Coate, in spying out
the Stillwater Valley, entered Newton Township and became its
second pioneer. This family began at once to make an opening in the
forest which rang with the music of their axes and before long the
sunshine kissed soil it had never kissed before. There was
determination in everything the Coates did, and Newton Township
owes much today to this enterprising family.

Thomas Hill seems to have been the third settler to invade the
township, which he did about 1805. Among other things, he is noted
for having erected the first copper still ever seen in the
township, and it is on record that he made the best of whiskey.
After Hill came Thomas Coppock, the progenitor of one of the most
noted families of the county. He too, came from South Carolina.
Coppock might be called one of the first abolitionists, for he was
opposed to slavery and was not loath to leave a section where the
crack of the slave driver's whip rang continually in his ears. He
was a blacksmith by trade and obtained coal for his forge by
burning charcoal. He was one of the first men in the county to be
elected county commissioner.

One year after Coppock's arrival Samuel Teague, Benjamim and
William Furnas took possession of Newton Township land and cleared
the same. Jacob Embree followed the first newcomers, and William
Long left Virginia to find a home in Newton. Long was another good
citizen, and his household, it is said, furnished the third
preacher in the county. In 1807 Alexander Mills arrived to swell
the little colony in Newton; then followed the Iddings's,
Ballingers, Mileses, Leavell,  Perrys, Dicksons and others. Newton
was increasing slowly but surely in population and it was of the
best quality. There wasn't a drone in it. The Falkners, Renches,
and Freshours added to the Newton colony, and the Teeters and
Deeters established themselves near the Stillwater.

Industries soon began to spring up, primitive, it is true, but
it was a laudable beginning. Embree erected a saw-mill with a corn
cracker attachment and the people rejoiced. Next Robert Dickson put
up a saw mill on Panther Creek and George Freshour went into the
same business. Newton Township was surely moving along. In the
midst of these growing industries the War of 1812 broke out and for
a time business was stifled. A dark cloud hung over the township,
but when it was dissipated by the sunshine of peace, business
flourished again. There were now numerous openings in the township
where the forest had been and on every side was heard the hum of
prosperity.  Homes sprang up in every direction, farms were
cultivated throughout the township and villages began to spring
into existence. Newton Township bid fair to outstrip some of her
neighbors.

Pleasant Hill, or Newton, as it was first called for Sir Isaac
Newton, the philosopher, was surveyed by James Hanks in 1843.
I. K.Teeter laid it out. The town which now has a population of 700
souls is the only one in the township. When the post office, which
was first kept some distance from the town, was moved into it, John
Whitmore became the postmaster. In 1866 the village was duly
incorporated, its first officers being: Treasurer-Fred Deeter;
marshal- J.G. Ritter; trustees- William Patty, MD; John H. 
Williams, -D. Minnich, John Whitmore and Joseph Pearson. The
present official roster of the town is as follows: Mayor- D.M.
Coppock; clerk- C. Roy Coppock; treasurer- D. E. Rothermal;
Marshal- Sidney Strong; council- H. H.. Coppock, president; J.C.
Kriegbaum, Henry Martindale, Martin L. Gates, Daniel Hayworth,
Jesse Berry; board of public service- Dr. A. J.. Bausman, G. P.
Hoffman, Samuel Berger. In August 1908, council passed an ordinance
authorizing the sale of $16,000 worth of bonds for waterworks,
which sold at a premium. Council also granted a franchise to a
Covington firm to furnish electricity for lighting purposes.
Pleasant Hill has shown its loyalty and public spirit in numerous
ways, among these being the erection of a handsome Monument in her
public square to the memory of the heroic sons of Newton Township
who went forth to do battle for the Union in 1861 and 1865. The
township has one good bank situated in Pleasant Hill, where there
are also one newspaper, several handsome churches, and up-to-date
school building and several factories.

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