EXTRACT FROM J.H. STEWART'S SKETCH OF
LONG BOTTOM.
Long Bottom is situated in the eastern part of Meigs
county. The first settlers were Thomas Rairdon and the
Colmans, probably before 1800, as the date is not positively
known. William Buffington bought land in 1808, and several
families came about that time, the Whitesides, Collins' and
others. Thomas Rairdon built the first grist mill in 1815.
The first post office was kept on the Warner farm in 1815.
Robert Collins, Postmaster. The first Methodist Church was
built in 1844. The first Christian Church in 1847, and the
first store was kept by John Roberts and William Hicks in
1839, near the mouth of Forked Run. J.H. Stewart came to
Long Bottom in 1830. The leading business of the place has
been the working up of the splendid forest into staves, and
the manufacture of various kinds of casks. In 1819, this
locality was an almost unbroken forest."
Lebanon township was formed in 1813, taken out of Letart
township, and possesses a greater river boundary than any
other township in Meigs county. It was a dense forest at the
time of its organization. Trees of great size, and timber of the
finest quality, covered the rich bottom lands of the Ohio river
and the creeks of Old Town and Groundhog, while the hills
bore the best yellow pine and spruce for lumber. The sugar
maple, hickory, black oak and white oak, poplar, beech and
sycamore excelled in size and quality any forests of Europe.
The black walnut, white walnut and wild cherry were favorite
woods for the manufacture of furniture, and for inside work of
the best houses. Black walnut and cherry were used particu-
larly for the making of coffins in those early days. So these
trees of Lebanon had special attractions to the commercial
eyes of later emigrants. More than one farm was paid for by
cordwood cut and sold to steamboats for fuel, when steam-
