Anderson, the southeasternmost township in Hamilton county, and the only one of this county lying east of the Little Miami river - that is, in the Virginia Military district - is bounded on the south by the Ohio river, on the west by the Ohio and the Little Miami, on the north by the latter stream, which divides it from Columbia and Spencer townships, and on the east by a line drawn from the southeast corner of fractional section numbered twenty-two, in Columbia township, or from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami, south of its intersection with the Ohio at the mouth of Eight Mile creek. By this line it is separated from Clermont county on the east, and is the only township of Hamilton which immediately adjoins Clermont, without the intervention of a stream. The greatest length of the township, about nine miles, is on this line, but the length of that portion of the Little Miami that touches Anderson township is very nearly the same. The other sides, being bounded altogether by the Ohio and Little Miami rivers, are exceedingly irregular in their boundary lines; but the township, varying from the breadth of a few yards at its northeasternmost and southeasternmost points to its greatest breadth of six and a half miles on an east and west line from the mouth of the Little Miami, has an average width of five miles. Its area is equivalent to nearly thirty-seven sections, or twenty-three thousand five hundred and seventy-one acres. A large part of this tract, on the west and north sides of the township, lies in the broad, flat, and fertile valley of the Little Miami, upon which the site of Newton lies, and near which, in a commanding position, Mount Washington sits upon the hills, easily overlooking a broad view of the valley. The general level of the hilltops in this township is high, Mount Washington being five hundred feet above low-water mark in the Ohio, and other heights almost as lofty. One or two points in this township are said to be the loftiest in Hamilton county. The ancient plateau of this region has been deeply cut through, not only by the greater waters of the Ohio and the Little Miami, but by several small streams, prominent among which is Clough creek, with its two principal headwaters or branches taking their rise, respectively, in the eastern and southern parts of the township, uniting east of Mount Washington, and flowing thence in a general northwesterly and westerly course to the Little Miami below Union bridge. Its valley and the bordering hills are exceedingly picturesque, and comprise many valuable farms and fine farm buildings. Five Mile creek is another stream of some local importance in the south of the township, likewise formed by the junction of two headwaters, one rising a little northeast of Cherry Grove, near the county line, and the other just south of the Ohio turnpike, a mile and a half west of the same place. They unite their waters - like Clough creek, also receiving a very small stream near their point of junction --about a mile north of the Ohio, and after a westerly and southwesterly course of some two miles, reach that river about midway of its course along the southern border of the township. Three or four minor tributaries of the Ohio also aid in breaking down the hills on this side of the township, the highlands here, as in Columbia and all the river districts of Cincinnati east of the old city, crowding closely upon the river, and leaving scarcely room enough for the wagon-road long existing there and the track of the projected Ohio River & Virginia railway. A few rods above the mouth of the Little Miami a petty stream sets into that river, bearing the name of the noted creek that ploughs through the western hills of Cincinnati - Lick run. Three other brooks, more or less ramified toward their sources - two of them bearing the names, respectively, of Little Dry run and Big Dry run - feed the Little Miami at various points in the township above Clough creek; and channels or mill-races of some size, in two instances, connect points on the river northeast, northwest, and north of Newtown, thus virtually forming islands of two and a half to three miles in circumference, which nearly adjoin each other just opposite Plainville, and about a mile due north from Newtown. It is a remark-

Besides the natural features of Anderson which vary its topography, its broad surface is further intersected by the Batavia turnpike in the northern part, which takes Union bridge and Newtown on its way; the Richmond turnpike on the extreme south, passing California and hugging the river closely until its exit from the county, shortly after which it trends rapidly northeastward; the Salem and Ohio turnpikes, also in the southern half of the township, the latter passing through Mount Washington and Cherry Grove; a number of other good wagon roads; the Cincinnati & Eastern narrow-guage railway, along the valley of the Little Miami, by Newtown, in the north part; with a branch from a point a mile and a half east of Newtown, running up the valley of Dry run, to a point due east of Mount Washington, where it leaves the township; and the Cincinnati & Portsmouth narrow-guage railway, cutting the southern and eastern parts in an exceedingly tortuous line, as compelled by the broken country, from the crossing of the Little Miami southwest of Mount Washington to the departure from the township and county considerably to the northward, near Mount Carmel, in Clermont county. As well as the nature and demands of the township will permit at present, it is served with means of transportation; but. other railroads have been projected, as that already mentioned along the Ohio.
 

ANCIENT WORKS.

The observations of an intelligent man, who saw the mounds and other ancient remains in this region in the early day, must ever be of interest. The following remarks were made by the Rev. Philip GATCH, who came to Anderson township in 1798, in his autobiographic sketch:

This beautiful land has been a hidden space to civilization for many ages. There are traces in many parts of ancient fortifications and other works which could not have been made by the Indians, but by a people much further advanced in civilization than they now are. The growths of timber upon these works, consisting of mounds and elevated embankments, seem to be the same as on the ground generally, which shows their great antiquity. What people or race constructed these works is not now known, and probably never will be. Some think these formations were before the flood; but this notion, it appears to me, is refuted by timbers being found in the earth to a great depth. I saw timber that was found on digging a well on high land; also by salt water shells being found in high places. Nature is a grand laboratory, and it is ever in progress--imperceptible it may be to the eye, but its doings are marked by centuries. The process of change in the natural world is ever in progress.

Much later, but still so far in the past as to lend some special interest to the narrative - in Mr. E. D. MANSFIELD's Monthly Chronicle for August, 1839 - one "T. C. D." (said to have been Timothy C. DAY) gave an interesting description of the works as they were to be seen in his time:

In perhaps no portion of this State are these gigantic vestiges of an unknown and populous age so abundant as in the alluvial bottoms and adjacent neighborhoods of the Miami. They are to be met with at almost every step, and in groups so numerous that the eye can scarcely embrace their number. Mounds of every description, size, and shape, circular forts, embankments miles in length, and of great size, point out the immense labors and workmanship of a mysterious people. Allowing for the probable absence of the requisite implements for their erection and the washing of their friable soil for centuries, they may be truly reckoned as successful rivals to the greatest of their prototypes of the sandy plains of Egypt. Some are even so stupendous that, were it not for the evident signs of human mechanism that mark their construction, they might claim the impress of a mightier hand.

About a mile east of Newtown, in this county, on the farm of Levi MARTIN, is a mound of the largest class. Its shape is an oval oblong, rounding to its apex with the most perfect accuracy. It is situated on a shelf of land about thirty feet above the alluvial bottom of the Little Miami. The soil around it is gravelly, but the material of its structure, as usual, is a brick clay. Near its summit is a large beech, probably two feet in diameter, and its sides are covered with a thick growth of Underwood, with several large forest trees. It is within three hundred yards of a high range of hills, and could not, therefore, have been erected as a watch-tower or a place of defence. It has never been opened, but the most probable conjecture is that it is the monument of some mighty chief, who lies interred in its centre. The plain around its base is perfectly level, except within twenty feet of what was probably its original circumference; the washing of rains has filled it up to a considerable height. The dimensions of the mound, from actual admeasurement, are as follows:

Circumference at the base.................................6oo feet.
Width at the base...............................................15o feet.
Length at the base.............................................250 feet.
Perpendicular height...........................................40 feet.
covering an area of about an acre.

Last summer the workmen, in procuring gravel for the Batavia turn- pike, immediately in the rear of Newtown, in the bank of a small stream called Jennie's run, disinterred an immense number of human skeletons. This ancient burial ground is on a gravelly point that juts out from the bank into the run, forming an acute bend. The graves are not, on an average, more than two feet in depth, though probably they were originally a great deal deeper, as the ridge has evidently washed to a considerable degree. As far as caved, the point is a solid body of coarse gravel till within about two and a half feet of the surface, which is composed of sand and loam. The skeletons lay in the sandy stratum, between the gravel and earth; and so far as preservation is concerned, it has answered the purpose well. Whole anatomies have been exhumed in an excellent state of soundness - the teeth particularly, some of them, as white as ivory, and perfect in every respect. Forest trees, such as beech, sugar, and oak, some at least two feet in diameter, were growing immediately over the graves, and their gnarled roots twisted fantastically through the skulls of these remnants of an ancient people.

A fall of gravel would frequently leave bare the whole front of a grinning skeleton, seemingly thrust in the grave feet foremost; and, in fact, the whole of the bodies bore evidence of a promiscuous burial, some placed horizontally facing the west, others level, anon a group of four heads within the space of two feet, and in every imaginable position. About twenty feet from the first discovery of the bones, the workmen came to a large body of charcoal and the remains of a stone fireplace. An earthen vessel was found by some boys, which was broken and destroyed before an actual description could be obtained. Several of the skulls exhibited traces of violence, such as would lead one to suppose that this had been a scene of carnage, and the dead bodies thus furnished a rude and hasty burial.

Several curiosities have been found in the neighborhood, such as pipes, earthen pots, and copper plates. Two small limestones, hollowed out from an inch on the outer edge to an eighth in the center, were found in a ploughed field. They are perfectly round, and are very neatly carved, the one about two-thirds the size of the other. The largest is about four inches in diameter.

The principal prehistoric monuments in Anderson township, as previously intimated, are found, like those generally in the eastern parts of Hamilton county, in or near the valley of the Little Miami. They are:

1. A large mound in the doorway of the old TURPIN homestead, now occupied by Philip TURPIN, esq., about a mile northeast of the Union bridge, on the Batavia turnpike. Although undoubtedly much smaller than when first heaped, it is now ten feet in height, with a circumference at the base of one hundred and seventy-five feet. It is situated directly in a line between the front gate and front door of the premises, and the foot-way between these points runs around it. It thus forms a com-

2. Nearly a mile and a half across the hills from the TURPIN homestead, and about three-quarters of a mile south of Newtown, in the valley of a small tributary of the Little Dry run, on colonel JEWETT's farm, is a large mound. This reaches fifteen feet in altitude, and is two hundred and twenty-five feet in circumference at the base. It is further in the interior than any of the important tumuli of this part of the valley.

3. In Newtown itself formerly, immediately before the old Methodist church, at the junction of the Plainville road with the Batavia turnpike, was a mound of size enough to make its removal worth while for the sake of the material, which was used in the construction of the Plainville highway. We do not learn that any specially noticeable relics were discovered in the process of removal.

4. Near this spot, east of Newtown, and on the line of the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, is the Odd Fellows' cemetery, in which is a beautiful mound of ten feet height and a base circumference of two hundred and ten feet. It is a very appropriate mark and ornament of the cemetery.

5. A tumulus existed until recently on the Plainville road, three hundred yards northwest of the cemetery mound. It was about seven feet high and one hundred and fifty feet around at the base. It was thoughtlessly and remorselessly removed two or three years ago, simply to fill hollows in the road; and in the process of removal sundry bones, pieces of charcoal, and other objects came to light, unmistakably identifying it as an artificial work and a veritable relic of the Mound Builders.

6. Southwest of both of these, on the bank of the Little Dry run, on the "first bottom" of the Little Miami, and at the foot of the hill cut by the Batavia turnpike, was a mound which was destroyed when that road was built, and some bones and other relics were found in it, as described in the article of "T.C.D."

7. A few score yards due south of this site is an artificial eminence of about three feet high – much reduced from its ancient height by the long processes of cultivation upon it, its surface having been annually plowed over for many years. Its site is upon the Levi MARTIN estate, south of Little Dry run.

8. Upon the same property, three hundred yards south of east from the last mentioned, is the "Big Mound," as it is familiarly known. Says Dr. METZ, in his article on "The Pre-historic Monuments of the Little Miami Valley" (Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, October, 1878):

This is the largest mound in this vicinity, and in the country. Its present elevation is about thirty-nine feet, with a circumference of six hundred and twenty-five feet at base. It has been cultivated for the last thirty years, with the exception of the last two years, and is now overgrown with blackberry bushes. It was at one time covered with forest trees. A large oak on its top had a diameter of four feet: this I have from reliable authority. It has not been explored; the proprietor desires to let the dead rest, as he expresses it.

9. Recrossing Little Dry run nearly half a mile north of east, we come upon two low mounds, near the Batavia turnpike - one five feet high and the other three and a half above the general level.

10. North of these, across the turnpike on the estate of William EDWARDS, is a scattered group of four mounds, but nearly in a line from east to west, with an average distance from each other of two hundred feet. The easternmost of the four is in the first bottom of the Big Dry run, and but a few yards west of that stream. It is excellently preserved, very regular in its form, eight feet high, and about eighty feet in diameter at the base. Upon an elevation of thirty to forty feet above the level upon which this mound stands - that is, upon the second terrace or bottom of the Miami valley - are the other three mounds. The two in the centre of the group are each about four feet in height; the fourth, or westernmost, is ten feet high, and has a circumference about the same as that of the mound at the foot of this terrace. The smaller tumuli were once, very likely, as high as this; but they have been plowed over annually for a long time.

11. Two miles northeast of this group, almost in the northeastern corner of the township, on the farm of Michael TURNER, is another very interesting series of ancient works, consisting of one large and one smaller enclosure and four mounds. The large enclosure, north and west of the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, which, together with a small stream, passes between this and the other members of the group, is designated as No.1 upon Dr. Charles L. METZ's chart of the pre-historic monuments of the Little Miami valley; the smaller enclosure, about a fifth of a mile north of east of the other, and the northernmost of the four works east of the Cincinnati & Eastern track, as No. 2; the two mounds next south of this, in order, as Nos. 3 and 4; and the eminence east of No. 3 as No. 5. This explanation will render intelligible the following description, which is extracted from Dr. METZ's article accompanying the chart, in the journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, for October, 1878:

No. 1 is the largest and most interesting work in the Miami valley. An extract from an article by T. C. DALE, or DAY, on the antiquities of the Miami valley, published in the November number of the Monthly Chronicle, in 1839, is as follows: "The site of this stupendous fortification, if we way so call it, is a few rods to the right of the road lead-

At the time of its formation it was probably cut to the base of the ridge, but the washing of the rains has filled it up to its present height. Forty feet from the western side of the ditch is placed the low circular wall of the fort, which describes in its circumference an area of about four acres. The wall is probably three feet in mean height, and is composed of the usual brick clay, occasionally intermixed with small flat river stone. It keeps at an exact distance from the top of the ditch, but approaches nearer to the edge of the ridge. The form of the fort is a perfect circle, and is two hundred yards in diameter. Its western side is defended with a ditch, cut through the ridge in the same manner as the one on the eastern side. Its width and depth are the same, but its length is greater by two hundred feet, as the ridge is that much wider than where the other is cut through. The wall of the fort keeps exactly the same distance from the top of this ditch as of the other, viz., forty feet. Its curve is exactly the opposite of that of the other, so as to form two segments of a circle. At the southeastern side of the fort there is an opening in the wall thirty-six yards wide; and opposite this opening is one of the most marked features of this wonderful monument. A causeway extends out from the ridge about three hundred feet in length and one hundred feet in width, with a gradual descent to the alluvial bottom at its base.

The material of its construction is evidently a portion of the earth excavated from the ditches. Its easy ascent and breadth would induce the belief that it was formed to facilitate the entrance of some ponderous vehicle or machines into the fort. To defend this entrance they raised a mound of earth seven feet high, forty wide, and seventy-five long. It is placed about one hundred feet from the mouth of the causeway, and is so situated that its garrison could sweep it to its base. The whole area of the fort, the wall and causeway is covered with large forest trees; but there is not a tree growing in either of the ditches, and there are but a few low underbrush on their side.

At present the circular wall is almost leveled, but can be readily traced by the color of the soil and the large number of flat river-stones. The ditches can be easily recognized. The mound is still prominent. It measures now in height five and one-half feet, diameter twenty-five yards, circumference seventy-five yards. The causeway is cut through by the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, the forest cut away, and the soil cultivated annually.

No. 2 of this group is a large, circular embankment, with a diameter of about one hundred and twenty-five yards. The material forming the embankment is evidently taken from within the enclosure. This work is a perfect circle, with an opening or gateway thirty feet wide to the south. It is about three hundred yards distant from the first work of this group.

Two hundred yards to the south of this circle are two mounds, No. 4 on chart being the larger. It has a circumference at base of two hundred and fifty feet and an elevation of twelve feet. One hundred and fifty yards east of these mounds is another of very regular shape (Group D, No. 5, on chart); height, four feet, circumference one hundred and fifty feet.

Members of the Madisonville Scientific and Literary society have done much excellent work in the survey and description of the works in this part of Anderson township; and to the chart and accompanying article, of Dr METZ, of that society, we acknowledge invaluable aid in preparing the above notice.
 

THE ORIGINAL LAND OWNERS.

Anderson township, as already intimated, is distinguished above all other townships as the one subdivision of Hamilton county which lies on the Virginia military tract, reserved between the Little Miami and Scioto, for land bounties to the soldiers of the Virginia line, serving in the war of the Revolution, on Continental establishment. The history of this reservation, with many interesting facts pertaining thereto, will be found in the chapter on land titles, in the first division of this work. The following memoranda indicate the original owners of the respective surveys noted in that part of the Military tract which is now Anderson township:

No. 395. Bennett TOMPKINS, one thousand six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds acres.

No. 410. Major John CRITTENDEN, one thousand acres. He was the father of John J. CRITTENDEN, the Kentucky statesman, and was an officer in the Revolutionary war, settling afterwards in Woodford county, Kentucky. His tract was one of the finest in the Little Miami valley; and yet, so little was the value of land esteemed in those days, that he traded the whole thousand acres of splendid bottom and hill land to Major John HARRIS, of Mannicantown, near Richmond, Virginia, for a mosquito bar. HARRIS in his turn sold it to Dr. TURPIN, of the same place, for a pair of blooded mares; and TURPIN made a present of it to his son Philip, who settled it, and developed it into a rich estate, which is still held by his descendents.

No. 427. John ANDERSON, seven hundred and fifty acres.

No. 500. Holt RICHARDSON, five hundred acres.

No. 535. Robert BLAIR, William CASSEL, John DEMSEY, Benjamin GRAY, John HALFPENNY, Daniel SAHON, one thousand acres; also John GREEN and James GILES.

No. 536. John STEELE, six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds acres.

No. 552. Robert POWELLS, six hundred acres.

No. 608. Abram HITES, one thousand acres.

No. 609. Joseph EGGLESTONE, one thousand acres.

No. 618. Robert MORROW, two thousand acres.

No. 620. Theodore BLAND, one thousand three hundred and thirty-three and one-third acres.

No. 624. A. SINGLETON, five hundred and fifteen acres.

No. 637. William TAYLOR, one thousand acres.

No. 706. Jacob FEARS, James FRIGGIN, James MCDONALD, James PAYTON, one thousand acres; John BROWN, two hundred acres.

No. 916. William MOORE, one hundred and sixty acres.

No. 1,115. William MOSILEYE, one thousand acres.

No. 1,126. John PARKE, one thousand acres; James PENDLETON, one thousand acres.

No. 1,581. General James TAYLOR, five hundred and fifty acres. This gentleman was the well-known Newport pioneer, father of the venerable Colonel James TAYLOR, who still resides upon the old place on the Kentucky shore, and retains large landed interests in Anderson township. We here acknowledge much indebtedness to him in the preparation of this work. General TAYLOR became possessor, first and last, of a very large share of the lands in the township, most of which he re-sold.

No. 1,618. HITES and ROBINSON.

No. 1,674. Edward STEVENS, one thousand acres.

No. 1,677. Colonel Richard Clough ANDERSON, four hundred and fifty-four acres. He was the chief surveyor of the Military district, appointed to that office by the State of Virginia. He resided ten miles south of Louisville, where he kept the office for many years, and until it was removed to Chillicothe, in this State. He was father of the late Hon. L. ANDERSON, of Cincinnati and Marshall P. ANDERSON, of Circleville, also a well-known citizen, more recently deceased. The township takes its name from Colonel ANDERSON.

No. 1,679. Edward CLARK, four hundred acres.

No. 1,680. Joseph NEVILLE, two hundred acres.

No. 1,682. John MEAD, four hundred and thirty-four acres.

No. 1,775. General George WASHINGTON, President of the United States, nine hundred and ninety-seven acres. A very appropriate number for the greatest of Revolutionary heroes to hold. It was in the year 1775 that he took command of the Continental armies, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His was the triangular tract next the present Clermont county line, the northeasternmost survey in the township, the point of it resting on the Batavia turnpike, but a little way from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami.

No. 2,204. Nathaniel WILSON, four hundred acres.

No. 2,276. General Nathaniel MASSIE, six hundred acres. This owner was one of the most active and enterprising surveyors in the Military district, and the founder of the earliest towns within its borders - Manchester in 1794, and Chillicothe in 1796.

No. 3,393. John NANCARROUS, two hundred and seventy acres.

No. 3,394. P. HIGGINS, ninety acres.

No. 3,817. John HAINS, two hundred and fifty acres.

No. 4,243. Frank TAYLOR.

No. 6,532. John ENGLISH, two hundred and fifty acres.

No. 8,903. George C. LIGHTS.
 

COVALT'S STATION.

The first settlers upon the present soil of Anderson township were probably Abram or Abraham COVALT and companions, who pushed up the Little Miami in 1790 or 1791, and established a station on Round Bottom to protect themselves, about twelve miles from the mouth of the river, as it runs. This was known as COVALT's Station, and was considered important enough in 1791 to secure a garrison of twenty soldiers from Fort Washington. In the absence of the soldiers, however, Mr. COVALT, while hunting with two others, was attacked by the Indians, killed and scalped near the station. Wood was sent to Columbia village, and a relief party started out at once; but without much effect. Mr. Daniel DOTY was of this party, and left some interesting notes of the affair. He then saw for the first time a scalped man, and was naturally much shocked. He records that "when a person is killed and scalped by the Indians, the eyebrows fall down over the eyeballs and give them a fearful look."

The following account of the killing of COVALT is derived from the narrative of Thomas FITZWATER, a descendent of William FITZWATER, who had personal knowledge of the affair. It is contained in the history of Clermont county:

Towards noon on the first day in which BUCKINGHAM, FLETCHER and COVALT started on their hunt, COVALT began to get very uneasy and to urge the others to return home, saying there might be Indians about. The other two told him there was no danger, but this did not satisfy him. The nearer night approached the more importunate he became, and the more he urged them to return. This uneasiness in COVALT's mind BUCKINGHAM always viewed as a bad omen. His entreaties finally prevailed on the others and they consented to return. So they left the 'licks' in order to reach the station while it was yet daylight.

Arriving opposite to where BUCKINGHAM's mill now stands, while COVALT and FLETCHER were walking close together, and BUCKINGHAM about three rods behind, suddenly three guns were fired about twenty yards distant. BUCKINGHAM looked forward and saw COVALT and FLETCHER start to run down the Miami, and also saw three Indians jump over a log, yelling and screaming like demons. As BUCKINGHAM wheeled to run up the river he tried to throw off his blanket, but it hung over his shoulders like a powder-horn, as the strap passed over his head. When he did get it loose it took his hat with it. He ran up but a few poles, then took up the hill, the river and hill being close together. As he went up the hill he looked back several times, but saw no one in pursuit. When he arrived on the top he got his gun ready for emergency, then stopped, looked back, and listened. While thus standing he heard the Indians raise the yell down in the bottom, thirty or forty rods distant, then he knew they had caught one or both of the others. When he found the Indians were that distance from him, he knew that he could make tracks as fast as they could follow him. So he steered over the hills and came to the Miami, at what is now Quail's railroad bridge. Getting to the station he found that FLETCHER had got there a few minutes before him. By this time it was night.

FLETCHER's story of the affair was that he and COVALT ran together some distance, when FLETCHER's feet became entangled in a grape-vine, and down he fell, where he laid perfectly still until the Indians passed him. One passed close to him, no doubt thinking he had fallen to rise no more. And they all kept on in hot pursuit of COVALT. As soon as they got out of sight FLETCHER made his escape down the river. Next morning a party of men left the station to look for COVALT. Arrived at the place they found his body, his scalp, gun, tomahawk, powder-horn, blanket, knife, hat, and part of his clothes gone, and an old broken rifle left near his body. The Indian traces showed that they had crossed and re-crossed at Indian ripple. They were not traced any farther.

Enoch BUCKINGHAM (one of this party) continued with his family at Columbia, from the spring of 1790 to 1795. Some time this spring they moved into a log cabin on the banks of the Miami, on the lower BUCKINGHAM farm.
 

A FORTIFIED STATION.

Probably as early as 1790, the eyes of some of the settlers, or newcomers to Columbia, were turned to the broad and fertile tracts in the valley east of the Little Miami, and a party of colonists soon attempted to make a home there. Their first settlement was opposite Turkey Bottom, at the foot of the hills on survey number five hundred and thirty-six, about a mile below the present site of Union ridge, on the land now owned by Colonel James TAYLOR. Here, for their protection against the Indians, as the custom then was, they built a small block-house, or stockade, which, from the principal man of the party, the father of the late John H. GERARD, ex-sheriff of Hamilton county, received the name of "GERARD's Station." Other settlers to be protected by it are said, by Colonel TAYLOR, to have been Joseph WILLIAMSON, Stephen BETTS, Stephen DAVIS, Major STITES, Captain FLINN, and others. He says that the block-house stood on the side of the hill near what is called Big spring, and not far from FLINN's ford across the Little Miami, which

Anderson township was erected by the court of general quarter sessions of the peace, in 1793. It was then bounded by the Little Miami to the east fork, from the mouth of which a line was described to a point nine miles east, thence another due south to the Ohio, and from the point of intersection the Ohio formed the boundary to the place of beginning. It must have been afterwards enlarged, as settlements increased, since it is otherwise said¹ to have included all of Hamilton county between the Little Miami and the Elk river, or Eagle creek. So lately as 1803 it is officially described as "all that part of Hamilton county east of the Little Miami river," which then, however comprised only the present limits of the township or about the same. The voters were then to meet at the house of Thomas BROWNE, in Newtown, and elect three justices of the peace.

In the latter part of 1799 two townships were set off from the eastern part of the large old township of Anderson -Washington township, which included all the northern part of the present Clermont, and the south part of Warren county; and Deerfield township, which covered all the southern and central portions of Clermont and Brown counties to the aforesaid Eagle creek. The same year a county called Henry was set off by the territorial legislature along the river next east of the present Hamilton, with Durhamstown (now Bethel) as the county seat, but the act was negatived by Governor ST. CLAIR, who pocketed it with several other bills of similar character, as he claimed that the legislature in passing them usurped his own prerogatives; the next year he, by proclamation, erected the desired new county in this direction by the name of Clermont, when Anderson township and Hamilton county, on the southeast, were reduced to their present boundaries.

Anderson, as the fifth township created in the old Hamilton county, was directed by the court of quarter sessions to take for its cattle-brand the letter E. The first township officers were as follows: John GARRARD, clerk; Jesse GARRARD, constable; Richard HALL, overseer of roads; Joseph FRAZEE, Jacob BACKOVEN, overseers of the poor; Joseph MARTIN, Jonathan GARRARD, viewers of enclosures and appraisers of damages.

We have the following notes of justices of the peace in later times:

1819, Jonathan GARARD; 1825, Jonathan GARRARD, William E. WHITE, Richard AYRES; 1829, Jonathan GARRARD, Clayton WEBB; 1865, R. L. WRIGHT, Abner JONES; 1866-71, R. L. WRIGHT, Abner JONES, A. DURHAM; 1872-6, R. L. WRIGHT, Abner JONES, K. H. VAN RENSSELAER; 1877, JONES, WRIGHT, VAN RENSSELAER, D. A. GARRETT; 1878-9, George W. JONES, George JONES, D. A. GARRETT, August CRANCE; 1880, JONES, JONES, and CRANCE.