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Frances M. Wright Composition January 28, 1907

History of Graham Township

One of the first school houses built in Graham Township was the Monroe Schoolhouse on the south east corner of section three range eight east about a quarter of a mile due east from where Republican Schoolhouse now stands. The first Republican Schoolhouse was not built by the township but by the people of the neighborhood. The present Republican Schoolhouse was built by John Bennett in eighteen and seventy two.

Jesse Neal was the first man settled (died) on Neil’s Creek. He came down the Ohio River on a flat boat landing at Rising Sun and came to Graham Township when the country was still a wilderness. In the winter, all of the settlers for miles around for fear the Indians would murder them erected a block-house about a mile south of Kent close by what is known as Slippery Point Grave-yard.

One evening Neil went out and found that his cattle were gone. He went back and gave the alarm and said that he was going to hunt of them. There was a slight snow on the ground so he could track them and he found them that night back on Neils Creek at the same place where he had settled. He had no matches to start a fire so he crawled in a hollow log and froze to death before morning.

Another settler on Neils Creek was David Zenor. He had several girls and they had a blacksmith shop and shod horses. They also built a small silk house, picked mulberry leaves to feed the silk-worms and made silk enough to make a silk dress a piece for all of them. Lewis Creek got is name from a settler by the name of Lewis who lived just south of Deputy close by the creek.

The first grain mill in the township was built by Jacob Trumbo on the west bank of Big Creek, about one half mile north of Graham Post Office.

Years ago, a great many people would go to Trumbo’s Mill. Three or four dogs would always follow every man and they would have a whole pack of dogs in and around the mill. They would sometimes get too thick inside to suit old Jacob and he would sieze a large hickory cudgel and hist them out if they didn’t happen to turn on him.

In eighteen and eleven, William Wilson cut a chip from a large limb tree that stood in the north-east quarter of section ten town four range eight and made a bread tray out of it. The tray is still in use and part of the old stump is still standing.

Thomas Baxter owns and lives on the last forty acres in the township that was sold at government prices one dollar and a quarter an acre. His father John E. Baxter having entered in when it was all a woods. The deed was made and signed by the President James K. Polk, May first eighteen and forty five.

There was once a deer lick on the place and the settlers would go there watch for the deer and shoot them when they came for salt.

There are only three couples that are keeping house in the township that were there fifty years ago, all the rest having been married since that time. The three old couples are Mrs. Osborne Stout and wife, Mr. George McClanaham and wife and Mr. George Ammons and wife. Mr. Ammons just courted his wife just sixty days before they were married.

Mr. G.W. Pheasant in the township has a watch that is over one hundred years old. It was brought across the ocean from England. It still keeps good time.

July the eleventh eighteen and sixty-three General Morgan and his army went through the whole length of the township on the Paris and Lexington road taking everything that could be of use to them on their way. On their way through, they met an old gentleman that expressed his views pretty freely, so they put him a stride of an old bony horse without any saddle and took him along.

Coming up the road between the Jefferson County line and Republican Schoolhouse one of his neighbors hailed him and asked him where he was going. The good man yelled and replied, “I don’t know where in the hell they will take me.” This neighbor wanted to know if it wasn’t pretty hard riding and getting an answer in the affirmative, loaned the poor man a piece of carpet. The soldiers took him on to Paris Crossing and bid him goodby put him on his feet and started towards home.

Three of Morgan’s men got separated from the others and were captured just north of Pisgah Church.

The first church where Pisgah now stands was a log church which cost forty-nine dollars. The site was donated by John Troutman. The first Sunday School was organized in eighteen hundred and forty eight.