History

1811-1816: In an except from “The Pioneer Women of Liverpool, Medina County, 1811-1835 Urania Warner is described, “Urania Warner was a great nurse and was often called to care for the sick. Only this much can be learned about her. Her life seems completely overshadowed by that of her husband, who was a very peculiar man, and many anecdotes are told of him. He lived many years longer than she, and he often remarked: “If I’d known my life would spin out to such a dreadful length I’d got married again, I would, and setup another family. He had great faith in “Mistress Warner”, as he called her. He said, “I never knew when I’d eat enough, I didn’t; I guess I’d killed myself, I would, but when Mistress Warner said I’d eat enough hitched right back, I did.” Although deprived of Mistress Warner’s watchful care, he lived to the great age of one hundred years. From Connecticut, these pioneers brought cattle and horses and other necessary items for farming. The journey from Connecticut usually took about 20 days. As early as the summer of 1811, land was cleared for farming. The first crops of potatoes and corn were planted in 1812 by Alpheus Warner. From the Indians in the area, Justus Warner learned of a large salty spring located on his farm. Mr. Warner found the spring so salty that salt could be easily manufactured from the water. Since salt was scarce in the wilderness, the salty spring offered Mr. Warner a splendid source of additional revenue and Mr. Warner immediately dug a broad, deep well at the spring. Mr. Warner found that by boiling the water in large iron kettles (obtained from Canton) a brine could be obtained the consistency of syrup, which when cooled, turned into salt crystals. Mr. Warner soon discovered that more money could be obtained through the manufacture of salt than farming. He consequently devoted his time to the manufacture of salt and hired men to clear and improve his farm. As much as a barrel of salt was manufactured each day and this was sold quite readily. Settlers would travel as far as 50 miles to purchase the salt. As more settlers arrived in the area, additional salt springs were discovered but none as extensive as Mr. Warner’s spring. The salt manufacture continued until the opening of the Erie Canal that lowered the cost of transportation so much that Mr. Warner’s salt manufacture was no longer profitable. The spring was located on the west bank of the Rocky River, a short distance above Marysville (Hardscrabble). The presence of salt in the area was a great inducement for settlers to move to Salt Spring Town, as it was then called. On June 6, 1811, a daughter was born to Alpheus and Minerva Warner. Sally Urania Warner became the first white child born in Liverpool Township and so far as know, the first in the County. The first frame building was a barn erected by Moses Demming in 1812. Minerva Warner planted the first apple orchard in Medina County in 1812. The first apple cider in the Township came from that orchard and was pressed September 15, 1826 by Justus Warner. During the summer of 1812 word spread that the British and Indians were landing at Huron, Ohio to the northwest on Lake Erie. The settlers held Council, Deming said that if any of the Indians wanted anything they must come and get it. Some of the settlers fled to Euclid, Ohio, but most built a blockhouse to the north in what is now Columbia Township, where the women and children stayed, while the men returned daily to Liverpool to feed the cattle and work the land After Captain Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory over the British on Lake Erie the danger passed and more settlers arrived, including H. H. Coit, and the community settled down. The Indians would remain around the settlement until 1829 when they were finally run off. John Cossett came to the Township in 1814 at age 79 from Connecticut and located near what is now called Cossett Creek, he died two years later in 1816. Henry Mallet and his sons settled in the southern part of the Township near a stream that is now called Mallet Creek. The name Mallet Creek would later be given to what is now the intersection of SR 18 and SR 252 in York Township. Liverpool Township was created, organized, and named in 1816. It is thought that the name “Liverpool” came from the city of the same name in England, where there were extensive salt works. The first officers were Moses Deming and H. H. Coit, both Justices of the Peace. Moses Deming was also the first Coroner of Medina County.