The facts clearly establish that there was an early community in this area in the early 1800s. Silas Dean, a rich bachelor and very large land owner in Ames township, made his first Ames land purchase in April 18, 1798 while in Waterford. He held many county and township offices beginning in 1804. He permitted the establishment of the second township school, the first in its own building, on his farm in 1804 at the entrance of what would later become the Brown Family/Mudsock cemetery. The presence of the one-room log school suggests that there were sufficient children in this area in 1804 to support it by subscription. The other, earlier Ames school was three to four miles to the north in the upper settlement in a room of Ephriam Cutler's home. Silas' role in this early community is unclear. Silas was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts September 10, 1767. He first appears in Waterford, OH in 1796 at 29 years of age. His name is listed in the 1800 Middletown [Athens] census and among the 33 pioneers present in Ames township in 1802 according to Walker's History. He held a series of township and county offices, among them, one of the first three Athens County Commissioners in 1804. Some legal papers among Ephriam Cutler's private papers dated 1807 suggest that he was acting in a peculiar manner during a land deal involving a Mary Armstrong. In 1809 he was declared insane and his affairs were placed by court order under the care of John Brown, Silas Bingham and Ezra Green for the remaining year of his life. All but Bingham had property in or near the lower settlement. Dean's estate records show that he continued to live on a farm and raise hogs. He died in 1810. They also show that a neighbor was paid to look in on him regularly and frequently had to help him find his hogs. Court records show that his heirs included a brother and three sisters in central and east-central New York State. His vast property was sold by brother Stephen to several persons yet to be determined by the writer's study of early deeds. Beyond the written listings of his elected and appointed offices, property records, and legal documents establishing his insanity, heirs, and settling of his estate, little is known of Silas. His ancestry beyond his parents is unknown. Also, unknown are his source of wealth, source of military rank [too young to be a Revolutionary War officer], cause of death, and burial site.
There are early references to homes and incidents in what was called the lower settlement. John Brown's home, family cemetery, and stage stop have been mentioned. Brown maintained the public house for travelers some 15-20 years. The earliest mail carrier, James Dickey, is said to have stopped here regularly on his rides to and from Marietta and Chillicothe; Dickey was employed as post rider 1806-1814 before later settling in Bern township. John Brown's property location is shown in a later 1876 county atlas; it was approximately 1/4 mile further west and near a bend of the Dodge branch of Federal Creek upstream from Mudsock. Today this is the Birchfield property. There is reference to early religious events in this community. Deacon Joshua Wyatt, a revolutionary war soldier and local clergy, preached on some Sundays in the log school house until the Presbyterian Church was established in 1828; at that time he became an elder. Taylor, describing the early Presbytery of Athens, writes that this was as early as 1805.
After Silas' death this land was sold off by his brother, Stephen, in behalf of his heirs. Among those purchasing were Claudius Fisk, Samuel McCune and Samuel Gillette, men from whom Col. Nathan Dean later acquired title to several properties beginning in 1820. This writer is unaware of any specific written or oral information that describes village activity in this short time period.
Terms: Coonskin, Ames, Amesville, Athens County, Silas Dean, Nathan Dean, Richard Dean, Northwest Territory, Ohio Company, Marietta, Ephriam Cutler, Rufus Putnam, Mudsock, Thomas Ewing, Benjamin Brown, Revolutionary War, Western Library Association, Presbyterian Church, early postoffice, tourism, Silas Bingham