Upper Township

Upper Township History was written by R. C. Hall and published in the Ironton Tribune Sunday 13 March 1938

For many years now the Upper Township History of Lawrence County has been largely that of the city of Ironton.  However, the city does not entirely cover the township either geographically or historically speaking and, of course in days gone by, the distinction was even greater.  So we shall devote this sketch chiefly to that portion of the history of Upper Township least identified with that of the city.

Upper Township is the southernmost one of Range Eighteen although it is not a full-sized township according to public land standards.  Much of what otherwise might have been its southern portion is cut away by the Ohio river while two and a fraction of the section of the range on the west belongs to Hamilton Township, and four fraction sections on the east side of the range belong to Perry Township.

Upper Township contains twenty-one full sections and six fractional sections of land. According to the best available data, it appears that JOSIAH WOODWARD and his family together with some related families, were the first settlers of what is now Upper Township and that they settled in what later became Sedgwick, now a part of the City of Ironton, about the year eighteen hundred (1800).  The LAMBERT’S, (part missing), the LIONBARGER’S, and the  (part missing) VERS also came around the opening of the nineteenth century been the first to have secured. 

These families appear to have legal title to the land on which they settled or purchased it directly from those who had secured legal title to it from the government.  Hardesty’s History mentions GEORGE KEMP, JOSEPH and THOMAS W. KEMP, and  JOSEPH WARREN as among the early settlers of Upper Township but places the dates of their arrivals from eighteen hundred twenty (1820) to eighteen hundred forty-three (1843). 

Of course, many settlers had come to this region before the latter date and the records of the LAMBERT family indicate a much earlier settlement as we have just noted.  However, Mr. Hardesty does not say his list was the FIRST group but merely lists some names of some early settlers as AMONG THE EARLY settlers.  Upper Township is well-drained by Storms Creek, Ice Creek, and John’s Creek.

The first industry in the township was doubtless, as in most pioneer settlements, milling that is the grinding of corn in order to supply the settlers with a meal. the first of these establishments in Upper Township was probably a grist mill established on Storms Creek by Mr. TATE.  This mill was located in or near where the village of Coryville (note from Martha-there is another Corryville in Lawrence County, Ohio located on the Ohio River between Chesapeake and Proctorville, Union Township. The difference in the spelling, but both have been spelled the same in some records) was later established.

Of course, after about the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the iron industry overshadowed all others in this section for half a century or more.  Many prominent persons, beginning perhaps with JOHN MEANS, were identified with this industry but since their stories of them belong more to the history of the City of Ironton than to that of Upper Township itself, we shall reserve it for separate treatment.

The first important industrial settlement in the upper township was at Hecla Furnace.  Then after the iron business became established, JOHN CAMPBELL laid off Ironton with the building of the Iron Railroad, and LaGrange Station was established. Petersburg, Coal Grove, Newton, and Etna became communities about furnaces up the river from Ironton and later Sedgwick was established below that place.  Most of the outlying villages have long since become a part of Ironton so today Upper Township contains two municipalities -Ironton and Coal Grove with a few outlying villages.

ELLIS PAYNE WAS APPOINTED TRUSTEE OF UPPER TWP.

Submitted by Peggy A. Wells

Ironton Tribune, 10 February 1932, Wednesday, Page 2. 

Ellis Payne of Ironton was named trustee of Upper Township at noon today, as successor to his father, Jack Payne, who died last week after an extended illness and after serving out only one month of the two-year term for which he was elected last fall.

The appointment of Ellis Payne as successor to his father was announced by Squire P. A. Burke, who made the selection by law through his being the oldest justice in the township in point of service. The appointment becomes effective immediately, and Payne will serve through this year and through 1933. He was named from a list of twenty or more applicants after having received the stamp of approval from the Lawrence County Republican Executive Committee.

In addition to being a trustee, Jack Payne was a member of the Woodland cemetery board and that post remains vacant. A joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and City Council will be held soon to name his successor on the cemetery organization.

Samantha Payne, 82, Suffers Broken Leg

Ironton Tribune, 15 June 1932, Wednesday, Page 3.

Mrs. Samantha Payne, 82, who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Jonas B. Payne of Wilgus, abstained from a fracture of the right leg near the hip Tuesday morning. Due to her advanced years, her condition is believed to be serious. Dr. John Ramey of Rock Camp is an attending physician.

Miss Netta Payne, a graduate nurse affiliated with the Marting hospital and a granddaughter of Mrs. Payne, is attending her.

Mrs. J. C. Miller of Galena, O., has been advised of the accident and is expected is to visit her mother at an early date. A second daughter, Mrs. Blanche Payne, lives at Wilgus. Jonas B. Payne, with whom she has made her home for many years, is her only son.

Contractor Makes Find At Old Lawrence Co. Farm

Submitted by Lorna Marks

The Herald-Advertiser – December 11, 1966

IRONTON, Ohio – A Flatwoods, Ky. Contractor, engaged to move an old barn near Union Landing in Lawrence County, O., came up with an unusual find.

Paul BAILEY now displays a notebook filled with pages from two ledgers that date back to 1851. They are records of a store, once located along the Ohio River, on what is known as the Goldcamp farm, near Ironton.

Alfred F. GOLDCAMP of Union Landing says that the ledgers were filled by General KELLY, who operated the store. Mr. Goldcamp noted that the store building has vanished, but that the Goldcamp homeplace still stands, although vandals have practically wrecked it.

It was in the two-story brick house that Mr. Bailey, a collector of historical material, recovered the ledgers.

The entries on the well-preserved pages of the store records would turn today’s housewife green with envy.

A gallon of molasses cost 40 cents, 1-3/4 pounds of cheese cost 25 cents, a bar of soap went for a dime, and a wooden bucket brought 33 cents. Coffee was 15 cents a pound, and 15-1/2 pounds of choice meat cost $1.55.

For the quaffers of whisky, six gallons cost $4.50, and 8-1/2 pounds of codfish brought 60 cents. Ten pounds of bacon went for 80 cents.

A man, who came to board at the Kelly home in 1851, was paid $24.50 for driving the horses, or 50 cents a day. He paid his board $10.26 and 50 cents for his washing.

The Kelly store came into the Goldcamp family after a succession of owners.

The huge riverside home, built in 1852, has nine rooms, and suffered damage in the floods of 1913 and 1937. Mr. Goldcamp, whose service in World War I is chronicled in several letters accompanying the old ledger pages, noted that the Ohio Power Co. had acquired 650 acres in the area for the future development of an electrical generating plant. The site of the old house is included in the transaction, which was announced in November 1954.

Returning to the old Kelly store, Mr. Goldcamp observed that business was brisk, according to entries in the old books, that a man’s credit was good during the boom years of the Hanging Rock area when charcoal furnaces turned out iron ore, relying on the rich deposits in the western Lawrence County area.

Mr. Goldcamp, the last of nine children, now lives about half a mile from the old house.

In addition to the attraction of an ancient, empty house, the area has been a hunting ground for persons interested in Indian lore. Many “finds” in Indian arrowheads and other artifacts have been reported along the shore and riverbanks.

Mr. Goldcamp watches over an old cemetery, though, and reports that he has chased persons away from the burial ground for fear they might desecrate the old cemetery.

FIVE MILES OF CONCRETE ARE TO BE LAID ABOVE COAL GROVE BEFORE JAN. 1; WILL BRIDGE LICK CREEK

Improvement Estimated at $159,426 Planned For River Road

Submitted by Peggy A. Wells

Ironton Tribune, 28 June 1932, Tuesday, Page 2.

Bids are to be received by the state highway department for the improvement of a part of state routes 7 and 52 located partly in the village of Coal Grove and part in Upper Township and Perry townships at an estimated cost of $140,536.57 with an additional estimated expenditure of $15,840.02 for the construction of a bridge across Lick Creek.

The highway department has set December 30 of this year as the date for the completion of the road improvement and October 30 of this year for the completion of the bridge. The improvement will be 5.285 miles in length.

The road work will include grading for the roadway, drainage construction, and paving of the road with concrete. The pavement is to be 20 feet and the roadway is 36 feet.

The bridge will be of the box culvert type with a 21-foot span, 15 feet high, and a length of 25 feet.

Bids on the work will be received until 2 p. m., Friday, July 15.