Salem Township - Continued
When Chester Bishop was digging a cellar for Asahel Booth in Clarington many years ago, he came across a skeleton. The bones were carefully removed by Dr. Richard Kirkpatrick. From his measurements, the height of the man would have been eight feet and five inches when he was alive. It is probable that these were the bones of the big Indian. The Indian at Mr. Jackson's further told me that there was lead on Opossum Creek, on Sunfish Creek, and on Captina Creek but that the 'veins were thin'."
Around 1860, an image of hard grey stone was found by Clarington where the river bank had caved in. The body was that of a wild animal resembling a lion with a human head and face. It was on a stone pedestal about eight inches by ten inches in size, eight inches tall, and smoothly finished.
The farm, where the Village of Clarington now stands, was willed by James Henthorn to his son, William Henthorn. He sold it to David Pierson who, in 1822 settled the territory and named it after his daughter, Clarinda. She became the wife of Thomas Ford of Woodsfield. The first store was operated by Elam Patterson and David Pierson in 1815. The first and only post office in the Township was established in Clarington in 1824. For many years, it was known as "Sunfish" and Asahel Booth served as the postmaster. The population of Clarington, in 1880, was 915 and the population of the Township, in 1880, was 2377.
The first church in Salem Township was built one mile from the mouth of Opossum Creek in 1820 by the Baptists. Reverend Joseph Junior Smith, a pious, zealous, and somewhat eccentric minister, officiated at this church and at all the other churches of the same denomination in Monroe County for many years.
The Methodists preached as early as 1802 but they did not build a church until 1842 when they built a church at Clarington. The Christians also built a church at Clarington in 1841. For many years prior to that, however, they held services at various places in the township.
Jonathan Rutter and John Vandevanter built the first mill in Salem Township about 200 yards below the old Jones Mill on Sunfish Creek in 1805-6. The mill stones were of blue rock from the adjacent cliffs. John Jones used burrs which were brought from Cheat Mountain, West Virginia, by John Henthorn for mill stones.
The first school was taught in a cabin on the farm of Charles Atkinson in 1804 or 1805 by his brother, Mitchell Atkinson. Soon after that time, he moved to Seneca Township and taught the first school there. The first school house in Salem Township was built two and one-half miles up the creek on the lands of Daniel Kyger (later owned by William Cochran) in 1815. The name of the first teacher is unknown but the second teacher was Robert F. Naylor. The second school house was built two miles up Sunfish Creek on the Walton farm. The first teacher there was a man by the name of Mr. Littlefield.
There were ten schools in Salem Township 70 years ago. Teachers were paid a salary of $29.00 per month. A total of 381 pupils were enrolled within the year.
There was one 3-room school with four teachers in Clarington. Each teacher earned $31.00 per month. High school teachers earned $55.00 per month. A total of 190 pupils were enrolled during the year.
The first married couple in Salem Township were James Henthorn, Jr. and Nancy Boman (or Bowen) in the spring of 1800. William Henthorn married Susan Parrott in 1807. There is no record of the first child born in Salem Township.
The following facts have been gleaned concerning the first burial in Salem Township. In 1870, Mr. Goodhue was excavating a barn cellar and, while doing so, disintered the bones of a woman. Research disclosed that, at about the time of the first settlement, a family by the name of Grimes was moving further West when it stopped to rest a few days with a family of settlers at the base of the hill between Ward's Run and the gravel plane. During their stay, their daughter became ill and died. She was buried in the woods on the level above around 1804.
The records of Belmont County show that, between the years 1803 and 1808 , John Vandevanter was paid the sum of $3.00 for a panther scalp. The records further indicated that Charles Atkinson, David Bowen, James Archer, and Seth Ward were paid for wolf scalps.
The Mayor of Clarington, in 1881, was R.E. Tilford. A total of 88,910 pounds of cheese were manufactured in Salem Township in that same year.