Perry High School - Clock Yearbook (Massillon, OH)

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silver cup in competition in Baltimore, it was judged the best in the show from all parts of the United States. Actually this is the first rec- ord of any national competition won by an Ohioan. The Hardy Pioneers Most of the individuals who settled in this area, settled in Perry Township to farm the rich, fertile soil. With these settlers came in- dividualistic, hardy pioneer stock like Massum Metcalf. He enjoyed the open air, and sparsely populated area for several years, when the area began to get more settlers, he left saying, The country is too thickly settledg I must go Where I cannot see the smoke of my neighbor's chim- ney, nor hear the bark of his dogf, James Duncan In 1822, as business still stagnated, immi- gration almost ceased, discouragement per- vaded the whole township, land values decreased at a fast clip. Because of the horrible condi- tions, one individual- built a flatboat on the Tuscarawas River, loaded it with flour, whis- key, and potatoes, and set off for the New Orleans market by way of the Tuscarawas, the Muskingum, the Ohio and, finally, the Missis- sippi. Fortunately, he did not have to make the whole journey, he sold the boat and all of its commodities in Cincinnati. With his sale cul- minated, he walked back to Perry Township where he lived his remaining days. The man's name-James Duncan. Mr. Duncan figured prominently in seeing that the Ohio Canal passed through Perry Township on the eastern side of the Tuscarawas River on its journey from Cleveland to Portsmouth. He also was responsible for the laying out of a town along the canal,s route. The town was Massillon, and it gets its name, as suggested by Mrs. Duncan, who was somewhat of a Francophile, from Jean Baptiste Massillon, a celebrated Roman Catholic French Bishop of the days of Louis XIV. Robert Owen's Effect In 1824 the socialistic and humanitarian writings of Robert Owen made a great impact on some of the residents of the township. Resi- dents of Stark and Portage counties pooled their resources and purchased two thousand acres of SNR As population in the area increased, law and order came to the area. The first justice of the peace in Perry Township was a Francis Smith. land from the estate of Thomas Rotch so that they could create a so-called communistic com- munity. The group was reinforced by 28 New Yorkers who wished to participate in the ex- periment. But because of the poor business con- ditions of the times, the venture was not a suc- cess. Since they could not make their payments for the acreage, the group gave up its struggle and sold the holdings to James Duncan, Arvine Wales, and Alexander Skinner who divided it into town lots. Johnny Appleseed The first orchard planted in Stark County and Perry Township was planted by Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed Chapman, who received his nickname from his going through the country and asking for apple seeds at each so that he could plant them. Sup- posedly, the first orchard was planted on the Daum farm which was located on the south side of the Canton-Massillon Roadf Route 30j, probably located between Zern and Genoa Road. E0 WLING

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.fu-8 it-:H v- ff ' :avg ff 'J fiwiln ' '- 1 3 350 1..nwai l?i'v1 -s-' -1' ef 4, gg. .V 1,4 ii., L np qu . ,1 I ' rl 1, x N tl s. v X f lv 1 1. all thnx lp! . ww 1 f a, 0 Q 'il N lv I' i' ' X W! i ' r e t z ft 1 Mg ,, . ' . 47 .af Ny T 'NEXT' 4 X Q In 1 r t 3 .- vi ..- 1 fn .,--it . 'v , 1' .UA r 's , ' ,-Qgai ,rf , 'Z' ' X '..1 ...z 1 , . -.5 W- ,,.q .MX 'lla'!5 heg5 - 523-'F.'f? Q42 geafi! if 'X 1 6 4' 0' Q ' 1 3 3 '. Q a t . V ... lzrj- X 1' ff f K pb-r 'FJ 'Cs ' ! 1 f A lf P x J 1 'M 'X ww' ., 1 md, wb vi 4 mafia U was ,LZ X. l.fa,4, 3, 5 ,J i ' A A . . . n fb - . , JWMTXX The wliizzing of the axe made possible the clearing of the land arul the building of little log cabins. A similar cabin is where the first government in Perry Township originated. How they camel They came alone, in twos, in threes, in fours. The axe sounded through the wilderness with a vehemence that has since not been duplicated. Stories were told that the only thing that stopped the Whizzing of the axe was the dismal howling of the wolf or the far- off screech of the hungry panther. Finally, families carrying household goods moved into the area. The mills were built, towns were laid outg and merchants brought in their stores. -The building of Perry Township was now really on its way. War of 1812 Then came war-the War of 1812. Indians and the British teamed up and fought the Americans. In 1813 harassment by the Indians to many of the citizens of Stark County caused hardships that were not eliminated until years later. Groceries were abominably expensive. Tea, coffee and salt, were difficult to obtaing to obtain a small quantity of salt, Jacob Perry Cvwnshizf -.-.An farly History Grounds, living in the Tuscarawas Valley, walked fifteen miles to a clearing east of Zoar, got a tin cup full of the scarce commodity and walked back againg he was as happy as though he had received a whole sack of salt. Commo- dities grown by the settlers could not be sold. A bushel of Wheat, when it could be sold, re- turned 121Q cents, most of which was saved to pay taxes. No longer could these settlers bar- ter, the only thing that would bring another commodity was money, and that was next to impossible to acquire. The forest, the field and the flock substituted for ready-made ara ticles. Women could not enjoy what little com- forts of home that they had, they too had to earn their keep. It was not an oddity to see a woman rolling logs, and burning the brush. With the War of 1812 also came the man for whom Perry Township was named, Com- modore Oliver Hazard Perry who was vic- torious in the Battle of Lake Erie. Perry Town- ship was organized into a distinct district on December 7, 1813 by the County Commis- sioners, J. Latimer, H. Eberhard, and W. Fogle, An election for township officials was held in a little log cabin in Section 16 lsee mapj owned by a Benjamin Meek. Since no official records of the ,township are available until 1824, identity of these officials is unknown. Thomas Rotch A prominent figure during this time was Thomas Botch. Rotch and his wife Charity migrated to the area from New Bedford, Mas- sachussetts in 1812. He harnessed Sippo Creek and used its power to establish the first industry in the area, a woolen factory and a saw mill. Botch has many accomplishments to his credit: he ran the first store in Perry Township, he and his wife established the first school, he was the first postmaster West of Canton. He laid out the village of Kendall, now part of Massillon in the Spring Hill Farm area. Besides his industrial and business interests, Rotch raised Spanish merino sheep which were driven to the area from Hartford, Con- necticut, after being transported to the area from Spain in 1803. One of these sheep, owned later by Mr. William Dickenson won a

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