The Country

The Marietta Intelligencer, October 6, 1858

The township of Aurelius, to which we made our first visit last week, though considerably curtailed of its once fair proportions by having a large slice cut off to make up the new county of Noble, compares well in most respects with other townships in the county. It is quite hilly, but the soil is good and in ordinary seasons yields the farmer a fair remuneration for his labors. This year they have been more unfortunate than their neighbors in the western part of the county and along the river bottoms; their wheat was an entire failure. Hardly sufficient has been harvested for seed. Oats there are none and corn is only middling. Still the farmers are hard at work, nothing discouraged but earnestly engaged in preparations for the coming year. Most of the wheat is already sown and a good deal up.

Macksburgh, which is the only village in the township, is a small collection of houses, boasting two or three stores, a tannery, a flouring mill, a smithy or two, a good school house and neat little Methodist church. Something can be said of Macksburg which is not true of many villages in the county. No liquors are kept there for sale.

The hills in Aurelius are full of coal and a very good article can be delivered at 5 cts. a bushel.

We shall expect better things of our Aurelius friends at election this fall than the meagre majority of 8 or 10 votes which they gave last year. They rolled it up to thirty-five in 1856, and they can do it again. Will you not, Republicans of Aurelius, see that not a vote is lost. Let each man do his duty and we have nothing to fear. Sham Democracy will receive a defeat that will make it ashamed ever to show its head again.

Salem is even more hilly in some parts than Aurelius, and how they cultivate many of the hills is a mystery to us. But if they can only get the surface plowed and the grain sown, an abundant crop is almost guaranteed. Some of the farmers in this township had, even this year, a fair crop of wheat. It is a limestone soil, strong and productive.

The village of Salem is a very brisk little place; the streets often present a very city-like appearance when crowded, as they often are, with people. The Steam Flouring Mill of Stanley, Feldner & Co., has been greatly instrumental in giving an impetus to business. It was erected in November last, is built of wood, 30 by 40, three stories high, with an engine room 20 by 30. It contains two run of burrs, and is capable of grinding 30 barrels of flour per day. There is also a steam saw and lath mill owned by Mr. Alden. There are four stores in the place - E. Lindner's, F. Kueck's, Darrow & Davenport's, and Stanley & ____'s -  one hotel, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, and a tin shop.

A select school has recently been opened by Miss Wetherby of Lowell, under quite flattering prospects. She has already an attendance of 24 scholars. They have two churches, Methodist and Presbyterian, in each of which services are held every other Sabbath.

Mr. James Stanley is just preparing the foundations of a brick Hotel which will be an ornament to the place. The main building will be 20x83, three stories high, with a piazza 6 feet wide. This will be connected with another building already erected, thus making the entire frontage over 40 feet. In the rear is a kitchen 12x16. The style is to be Swiss. Charles DeLong is the architect and builder.

Boye's flouring mill on Duck Creek, a mile or two from the village, enjoys an excellent reputation for its flour. As we passed we found him engaged in putting in a new dam. 

We congratulate the Salem people in having at last got rid of their worthless postmaster. They have been imposed upon long enough. Under a new administration we trust their interests will be better attended to.

The village of Bonn, a couple of miles south of Salem, does not present an appearance of great thrift, though we observed some recent improvements in the way of building and painting.

There are several things we should like to speak of suggested by our trip, were not our columns so crowded with other matters.