This and That

Old Fort Jennings

By Helen Kaverman, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Monday, March 24, 2008 (3 months, 4 weeks ago)
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This is a continuation of the information given by Ruth Wilhelm during her Power Point presentation of the history of Fort Jennings. Ruth is the curator of the genealogy and local history department of the Putnam County Library. Due to the damage sustained at the library in Ottawa during the August flood, the records were moved to the Branch Library in the old music room of the old high school on Water Street. It is open 5 1/2 days a week.
Fort Jennings was one of the earliest settlements in Putnam County. Its beginnings go back to the War of 1812, when it was a supply fort on the Auglaize River between Fort Amanda and Fort Defiance.
Many native Americans made their homes in the area because the various rivers provided transportation through this dense forest, known as the Great Black Swamp. The rivers provided plentiful fish and all kinds of wild life abounded, including wolves, bear, deer, raccoon, wild turkey and any more wild animals. It must have been a very scary place for those early pioneers. Some began arriving in what is now Jennings Township as early as the 1830’s. They were Samuel Washburn, Isiah Closson, William Cochran, Thaddeus Harris, Henry Harris and Jim Thatcher. The names of the women were seldom mentioned but there must have been some here because Samuel Washburn’s son, Thomas, was the first white child born in the township. That was in 1825 and he had to have a mother. Then in 1833 along came the Raabe and Discher families. Also living here at that time were Edward Ladd and Henry Boda. The records also gave mention to the Window Walton living nearby. These were followed by Henry Joseph Boehmer, Henry Wellman, John Ferdinand Vonderembse and Henry Calvelage.
The town was laid out in 1847 for H.J. Boehmer by Lucius Hawley, county surveyor. The town became officially incorporated in 1881. They celebrate their founding with the founding of the Fort and soon the village will be 200 years old.
Wilhelm told her enthusiastic audience that Fort Jennings holds the distinction of having many “firsts” in the county. Among these was the first coroner’s inquest in Putnam County, which was about the mysterious death of an Indian woman. This was conducted by a Justice of the Peace (William Scott of Delphos, living in Jennings Twp.) He was commanded to summon 12 jurors on the 7th of March, 1839 at the place where by body was lying.
It was decided that Mary (the Indian woman), whose body was found on Henry Body’s farm behind the barn, came to death by violence, which they determined that the wounds were inflicted by her husband. She was stabbed repeatedly and choked. They had been drinking prior to the incident.
Also, the initial act of the First Putnam County Court was granting a license to maintain a tavern in Jennings Township for $5 to William Cochran in 1834. The first money paid to the county treasury, for fines by a citizen of the township was for a violation of liquor license law for selling 2 1/2 pints of brandy with no license. The violation cost the guilty party $10 in fines and court costs of $6.15 in November.
Then the first election in the county was held on 15 October 1834. There were 163 votes cast, 17 of them from Fort Jennings. At this time there were only seven townships in the county.
Henry Joseph Boehmer and the members of the Raabe family were extremely active in the formation of the village and the township. H.J. Boehmer’s sons were also active in the area. Boehmer was born in Vechta, Oldenburg, Germany in 1807. He sent several letters back home to his family which described life on the ship on the way over and how it was to find a spot for a new settlement.
Boehmer bought 1,000 acres, which he sold to the early settlers. Boehmer attended Normal School in Muenster, Westphalia to become a teacher.  He first taught school in Minster, Ohio and then was the first school teacher in Fort Jennings.
He taught in the old log house, which served as a church on Sunday mornings for the Catholics and on Sunday afternoon for the Lutherans. The rest of the week the building serves as a school.
Boehmer earned $12.00 per month as a teacher. Boehmer operated a general store, on the West Side of Water Street (SR 190) where the Post Office stands now. He dealt mostly with the Wyandot Indians, trading tobacco, crackers and whiskey for furs and skins. In 1847 he built a grist mill. It was rebuilt in 1866, remodeled in 1886 with a complete roller system and destroyed by fire in 1887. It was again rebuilt and could put out 8,000 feet of lumber per day.
Boehmer built a dam in 1850 of logs and a sawmill was attached with a horizontal wheel behind the present Memorial Hall. Three years later his steam powered sawdust fired sawmill began turning out clapboards for buildings. He served as Justice of the Peace for over 20 years, as county commissioner and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1855. People in Putnam and Henry counties elected him to serve 1856-7, 1864-5 and 1967-1868. Boehmer died in 1868.
Conrad Raabe cleared three acres and put in a crop of corn. They love don cornbread and wild game for many months. Conrad opened a shoe store and fur business. He died in 1908. His son, Henry, was a farmer and served as justice of the peace for three years. John Raabe was township treasurer for 11 years, constable for 10 years and was a township trustee. He also assisted in the building of the first Lutheran Church and held office in the parish. The Raabe family later operated several grain elevators in the area and a general store. The sons of Boehmer, Amos and William, were also active in county and state politics. Amos also served in the Civil War.
There is much more to be told but that will have to wait till next week. Many of the original buildings are still standing in Fort Jennings.

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