Beaver settled by pioneers
Photo from the Waverly News Watchman
Photo of Beaver Depot of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad around 1900.
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Here are some facts about the area for you readers:
Beaver Township - among the first to arrive here was Abraham Lawrence who first cleared a patch of ground and built a crude cabin on what is now the Givens Farm.
Note: this was written in 1888 and published in the book "History of the Lower Scioto Valley." This book is still sold by the Scioto County Genealogy Society.
Reverend Darly Kelly settled soon after on Beaver Creek, just beyond where Beavetown (the town part was dropped later) now stands, and all this section being nearly level, was soon settled and the log cabin were found dotting the valley.
A few years later about 1810, William Saylor settled the farm where William Kirk Patrick now lives.
This farm is now in Union township, formed later.
Beaver Township at this time included present day Union and Marion Townships.
D. W. James is the son of John James, who moved to the county from Pennsylvania in 1812 when this part of Pike County was a part of Ross County.
D. W. James lives in the old farm, has been a justice of the peace and is yet a prominent citizen of Beaver Township.
Beaver Township was organized by the commissioners of Ross County on September 8, 1814 and recovered all of the territory east of the Scioto river and north of the Scioto County line.
When Pike County was organized in 1815, Jackson and Seal Townships were formed from Beaver.
Seal included most of present Scioto Township.
Then Union was taken from Beaver on May 8, 1848 and Marion on December 4, 1848.
This left Beaver in her present size and shape except for three changes.
The first: on December 4, 1818 the line next to Jackson County was adjusted. The second: A portion of Union was given back to Beaver and the third: In March 1815 a portion of Beaver Township was given to Jackson and Union Townships.
Probably the biggest event to help Beaver town grow was the coming of the railroad in 1877.
This railroad was to become the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton RR in 1905.
The railroad started in Springfield and built to Jackson to bring coal to the many industries there as Jackson County at the time had much coal.
The first name of the rail line was the Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy as they intended to extend that far.
Shortly in 1879 the Company went bankrupted and James Emmitt of Waverly resigned as president.
Then a group of men organized the Springfield Southern RR and this lasted until financial troubles caused it to quit and the Ohio Southern RR was formed.
Rail lines were being extended to Wellston and beyond to coal mines and north ward to Lima.
After another re-organization, the RR became the Detroit Northern and then Detroit Southern and gained trackage rights south of Jackson on the B & O to near South Webster at Bloom and built a line to connect the Iron RR running north from Ironton which they purchased in 1902.
This gave them the three cities which made the name D. T. & I. which was formed in 1905.
After more money troubles the RR was again reorganized in 1914.
Still having money problems in 1920, Henry Ford bought the line and rebuilt it completely and used it as his car company supply and sale conveyor.
He sold it in 1929 to Pen Road a division of the Pennsylvania RR and it prospered until the 1980's when the main industries closed in Jackson and Ironton and the rails where removed by Beaver in 1984.
Many products were shipped out of Beaver, coal, sand, timber, grain and especially buckwheat flour from Adams Mill, which sat just east of Beaver.
The depot sat just west of Sr 335 and Keppler's Hardware.
The Keppler's bought the last depot and used the structure as part of their business in the 1930's.
This is dedicated to the Keppler Family including Anna Mae.
The Pike County News Watchman
Jim Henry, Author of Pike's Past
October 2003
Copyright © 2006
Pike Co. Genealogy Society a Chapter of O.G.S.
P. O. Box 224, Waverly, Ohio 4569