HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY
CHAPTER 3
EARLY MILLS
In the very first settlement, bread was made from grated corn. This grating process was usually conducted at night, when enough would be prepared for the following day. Sometimes the corn would have to he soaked in order to "grit" it well, else it would shell off the cobb and could then not be grated. The first mill to which the people were permitted access was Hamer's, now in Lawrence County, and here they resorted in large numbers for the luxury of ground corn. Phillip Sutherland built the first mill of any kind now in Orleans Township. It was what is known as a "tramp" mill, where the horses or oxen were put on to grind out one's own grist. This had a big run for some time, and was going both day and night. John Denny built a water-mill about 1825, and Samuel Lynd another horse-mill in 1830.
Like the most of Orange County it was originally very heavily grown with the finest of Indiana lumbering timber, but much of it has been cut down and shipped to other markets. Through these primeval forests the wild deer browsed in native tranquility, disturbed only by the twanging bow of the stealthy red man, or perhaps startled by the sharp, shrill cry of the panther starting on its nightly errand of prey. Here buffaloes roved in careless herds, and here the untamed bear, monarch of his native glen, shambled his undisputed way. Nearly all the game incident to the forest wilds of America were here in abundance, when the advanced guard of civilization came upon the scene. But at the approach of the irresistable white man, the astonished deer, gazing for a moment at the intruder, threw his proud antlers back and hastened away through the woody thickets, and the panther prowled in silence to its lair. The buffaloes scatted wide in alarm, to herd again in other and distant glades, while the bear, reluctant to leave his empire, retired with an angry growl to his home amid the rugged rocks.UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
A majority of the early settlers here were from the Southern States, having left that section of the country while slavery was flourishing in all its glory. They were as a class bitterly opposed to that institution, and when they had settled in their new land where mankind was not a chattle subject to disposal on an auction block, no deed or act that they could do to thwart it was left undone. Fugitive slaves were given aid and comfort, and assisted on their flight toward freedom. In almost every community there were men who thought it almost a religious duty to do these acts even though in direct and open violation of law. They soon came to know one another, and a systematic method of spiriting away slaves was established. This was called the underground railroad, and many amusing as well as exciting things occurred along the route.
One station of this "underground" system was at Chambersburg, and one at or near Orleans. The former was usually the first place for stopping after leaving the Ohio River, and they were there taken in charge of by some of the many Quakers in that neighborhood, among whom Mr. Thompson was one of the leaders. Upon arriving at Orleans, such men as J. H. Steers, Abner Freeman, Dr. Prosser and a few others were the foremost in the cause. From here the absconding slaves were sometimes shipped by railroad, but more often continuing their flight on foot, the next night bringing them to the town of Bedford, in Lawrence County.SETTLEMENT OF ORANGEVILLE TOWNSHIP
In the year 1817 nearly all the territory now embraced in Orangeville Township was a part of Northwest Township, which then extended to White River in Lawrence County. The boundary of Orangeville Township was fixed as it now exists by the County Commissioners. It contains twenty-eight sections of land, being four miles east and west, and seven north and south, lying between Orleans and Northwest Townships, and bounded on the north by Lawrence County.
Tradition gives John Pruett the honor of being the first white settler in this part of the county, but if so, he was only a squatter, as he never bought any land of the Government here. If the stories that are told of him be true, he was indeed an eccentric character. Those pioneer days were just suited to his taste when hunting was the chief occupation. He is said to have often boasted that when he first came to the county he did not need to work more than two days in a week, and that was to raise a ltttle corn for their bread. The balance of the time was spent in roaming through the woods in quest of game. Powder and lead were the standards of value then, and the first white man that ever came to Pruett’s cabin had lost his way, and he offered a "load of powder," if Pruett would show him the way to his home two or three miles away. This was readily accepted and the powder delivered. John Pruett was not long permitted to enjoy in solitude his wilderness home. Several others with equal fortitude were crowding to the frontier.
In this township the first entry of land was made by Henry Shirley April 3, 1811. This was 160 acres in Section 6, at the present site of the town of Orangeville. The next was made by Valentine Shirley. south of this in Section 7, 480 acres, July 8, in the same year. No other entries were made until 1813, when John Dougherty came, and in 1814 James Wilson. Prior to the year 1820, the following entries were made: In 1815, Andrew Wilson, Charles Shirley, Jacob Shirley, Joel Halbert, Adam Miller, Henry Shirley, Nicholas Blair, James Shields, George H. French, Samuel Blair and Stephen Jessup; in 1816, Thomas Inman, Isaac Scott, Charles Downs, John Marpin, Josseph Nichols, Moses Mathers, Jacob Shirley, John Blair and William Redmon; in l817. Thomas Evans, Robert McCracken, Edward Bryant, Samuel Wilson and Michael Pipher; in 1818, John Field, Abraham Osborn and Neely Rayborn.