The
eastern portion of Sandy Creek township was detached and made French
Creek township in 1805, and in November, 1849, Mill Creek township was
formed from the south half of the original French Creek. In 1806 the
officials of French Creek township were: Samuel Kilgore,
constable Patrick Kilgore, supervisor; Jacob Reed and James
Montgomery, appraisers.
The valley of French
Creek, which cuts across the corner of this township, was a route of
the early French explorers, settlers and soldiers in passing from Lake
Erie to the site of Pittsburg. Therefore this portion of the county is
the most historic from the point of connection with the colonial period
of American history. No permanent results, however, were left from
these early passages of French and English parties. The actual
settlement of the township was begun during the first decade of the
last century. Robert Robb, John Smith, Hugh Moore, Thomas Jones were
pioneers. French Creek is a rugged country, in an early day was a
paradise of hunters and trappers, but the permanent settler preferred a
region less difficult to bring under the dominion of the plow. During
the twenties and thirties [1820s and 1830s] several industries were
started, among them a tannery, sawmill, grist mill and a pottery.
The settlement called Milledgeville was officially begun in
1851, when the plat was surveyed. One or two mills had been operated
here some years before, and after the laying out of the village a
congregation of the Christian denomination was organized (in 1852) and
in 1858 the Milledgeville Presbyterian church. The Deer Creek Methodist
church had been organized a little after 1840, and their house of
worship was about a mile and a half from the village. The postoffice
was established in August, 1839, under the name of Deer Creek, with
William R. Cooper as postmaster. The name was changed to Milledgeville
in 1852. Rural delivery brought about the abandonment of this
office.
After the building of the Franklin branch
of the Erie Railroad early in the seventies, passing down the east side
of the valley of French creek, a railroad station was established in
the corner of Mercer county called Carlton. A postoffice was opened in
July, 1874, with Nelson J. Reynolds as postmaster, and the office is
now the only one in that corner of the county.
Source: Twentieth
Century History of Mercer County, 1909, page 164 - 165
|
| Transformation of French Creek Twp. |
| Formed in 1805 |
From Sandy Creek Twp.
Then divided into Mill Creek Twp. |
|
|
