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from Atlas of Madison Co. Ohio by J.A. Caldwell, Condit, Ohio (1875)
Madison County contains an area of about 400 square miles and is divided in three principal slopes or water sheds by the streams of Big Darby, Little Darby, Deer Creek and Paint Creek. Big Darby heads in the north-east part of Champaign, thence through Union County, passing through Darby and Canaan Townships, and then on the boundary line of Franklin and Madison Counties till south of the national road. Little Darby rises in Union County and flows in a south-easterly direction across Pike, Monroe and Jefferson, and thence into Franklin County. Deer Creek heads in the western part of the County, and flows south-easterly across Somerford, Deer Creek, Union, Oak Run and Pleasant Townships, then into Fayette County. Paint Creek has its source in Clarke County, passing across Paint and Stokes Townships in a south-eastern course. These streams are fed by a number of smaller ones; these are, Oak Run, Bradford's Fork, Mud Run, North Fork of Paint Creek, and Thompson's Fork.
The townships of this county dip slightly towards the south-east, and possess a clay soil in the timber, better adapted to grazing than grain growing purposes, and a great many fine cattle are produced for the eastern market in the county. The bottoms along the streams, and the prairies, have a deep black loam, well adapted to corn growing. There are some fine springs along the streams in the county. The timber of this county consists principally white, black and pin oak, with some white and red elm and hickory. If it be true that the nature of the soil nearly always determines the occupation of a people, the inhabitants of this county, with but few exceptions, must pursue the delightful and manly avocation of tilling the soil, raising fine cattle, horses, flocks of sheep, and hogs, surrounded by abundance, with home blessed of God, and made comfortable by industry, frugality and integrity.
During the first years of the settlement there was a vast amount of sickness in the vicinity of the streams, which retarded the settlement considerably, but being only fever and ague, was more annoying than dangerous; but the prospective advantages of the country, the fine crops of grain and vegetables, the fine range for stock on the prairie land, and the abundance of game of various kinds, all conspired to reanimate and encourage the wavering settler to remain still onger, and soon the attachment became so strong that is [sic] was accepted as the home of their choice.
Madison County was organized in March, 1810, and named from James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. The soil is clayey, and the surface level. Almost one-third of the surface is prairie, the balance oak openings. Cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs are the principal stock. the productions are grass, corn, oats, and beef cattle.
The following is a list of the townships in 1840, with their population: Canaan, 607; Darby, 466; Deer Creek, 545; Fairfield, 505; Monroe, 385; Pike, 529; Pleasant, 936; Range, 820; Somerford, 761; Stokes, 770; Union, 1350. The population of Madison in 1820 was 4799; in 1830, 6191, and in 1840, 9025, or twenty inhabitants to the square mile.
The first settlement of this county by the whites was in 1796. In the fall of 1795, Benjamin Springer came from Kentucky, selected some land about a mile north of Amity, on the west bank of Big Darby, which stream was named by the Indians from a Wyandott chief named Darby, who for a long time resided upon it, near the line of this and Union counties. Springer having made a clearing and built a cabin, moved his family to the place in the spring of 1796. The next year Wm. Lapin and Joshua and James Ewing settled in the same neighborhood.
Jonathan Alder was a captive among the Indians for fifteen years, and remained with the Indians until after Wayne's treaty in 1795. Springer settled near Alder and taught him the English language, which much endeared the latter to him. He reciprocated by not only supplying him with meat, but others of the early settlers who, had it not been for him, would have been in danger of starvation. He also, on different occasions, saved some of the settlers from being killed by the Indians. In 1800 Mr. Joshua Ewing brought four sheep to his place which were strange animals to the Indians. One day an Indian was passing by, when the dog of the latter caught one of the sheep and Ewing shot him. The Indian would have shot Ewing in retaliation had not Alder, who was present, with much difficulty prevailed upon him to refrain. At the outbreak of the war of 1812, the Indian chiefs held a council, and sent a deputation to Alder to learn which side to espouse, saying that the British wished them to go and fight for them, promising to support their families. He advised them to remain neutral, and told them they need not be afraid of the Americans harming their women and children. They followed his advice, and became warm friends of the Americans.
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