History of Villages - People - Places in Eastern Holmes County 
by Clarence Troyer, 1975

Pages 7-11
                           
Beck's Mills - Where Is It?

Some time ago, I wrote an article on Fiat.  Beck's Mills has a history similar 
to Fiat in that at one time it also was a thriving business community.  It had 
a country store, a blacksmith shop, a saw mill, a large four story grist mill,
a mill for the grinding of flax, and a machine for carding wool.  All that 
remains today to remind us of Michael Beck and his sons, the founders of Beck's 
Mills, is the country store.

The history of Beck's Mills dates back to Doughty Creek and Doughty Valley.  
It is supposed that the creek and valley were named after Col. Doughty, who was
placed in charge of the newly created land office in Zanesville.  It was his 
duty to see that applications for entry claims were forwarded to Washington and 
deeds delivered to the new owners.

Col. Doughty is often compared to William Penn in that he assisted the Indians 
in obtaining their rights according to the treaties made with them.  As a result
of this, he was well-liked by the Indians.  When the Indian Chiefs took a 
special liking to a person, they would name their grown sons in honor of that 
person.  Thus, Chief Doughty was named in honor of Col. Doughty.  Many of the 
early pioneers remembered seeing Chief Doughty as a peaceful Indian, but also 
as a lazy fellow who went from home to home begging for food and clothing.  
However, there was another side to this Indian as related by Thomas Phillips.  
He stated that it was the custom of his father, George Phillips, to turn his 
horses out into the woods in the evening for pasture.  The Indians would drive
them away during the night and hide them.  The next morning they would offer 
to find them for a dollar.  Mr. Phillips soon caught on to their little game 
and put an end to it.

It was in this background of history that in the year 1822, Michael Beck and 
his wife, Catherine Long Beck, with their sons emigrated to the Doughty Valley.
They came west in a covered wagon and camped for a few days on a level spot 
of ground near the ravine running down to Beck's Mills from the north.  While 
here they discovered a spring nearby, but found that it was a weak one.  A much
stronger spring was found about a half mile east near Doughty Creek.  After 
cutting a road through the woods, they brought their team of horses and covered 
wagon with all its contents to this spring.  Here they built their first log 
cabin, and also a stable for their horses.

For a time the Becks cleared some land and did some farming.  Mr. Beck soon
discovered, though, that his talent lay in a mechanical rather than in an 
agricultural way, and so he built a dam across the "glens" and erected a saw 
mill.  This was probably the first saw mill on Doughty Creek.  As a result of 
this saw mill, he converted the timber into lumber and built a larger frame 
house to take care of his growing family.  This took place in the early 1830s,
and the log house which they had originally built, was used as a school house 
for the children of the community.  By this time the family had increased to 
eight, and thus a larger house was needed.

During the early 1840s, Mr. Beck Sr. built a new house near a spring in what is
now Beck's Mills and also a large bank barn nearby.  Again in 1848, Mr. Beck 
with the help of his sons, built a larger dam across Doughty Creek at the 
southern end of the "glens" and a mill race leading down into the village of 
Beck's Mills.  (As you get into Beck's Mills, you can still see traces of that
mill race).  When this was done, he began to build a four story grist mill 
equipped with large stone burrs for grinding wheat into flour and making corn 
meal.  In 1864, Mr. Beck bought the Aultman Hollow grist mill from Yoder and 
Eash, and removed the grist mill equipment to is grist mill at Beck's Mill.  
He acted on the hunch that the customers would prefer to drive a few miles 
farther rather than up and down the steep hills in the Doughty Glens.  This 
proved to be a good move.  Customers could now not only have their mill work 
done in Beck's Mills, but could also get to his store, blacksmith shop, and 
Post Office all on the same trip.

For more than 60 years the Becks did a thriving business in this grist mill.
Soon after the completion of the grist mill, they moved their second house, 
which was located near the saw mill, down the creek and erected it just back of
the grist mill.  They also built a mill for the grinding of flax seed and a 
machine for carding wool.
         
There is quite a story connected with this carding machine.  Carding of wool is
the first step in processing wool after it is washed and dried.  It prepares the
wool for spinning and combing.  The Becks operated this mill for some time, but
gradually found themselves so involved with the grist mill and the store, so that
not sufficient time was left for the proper operation of the wool mill.  Thus,
about in the year 1867, they sold the carding mill to Franklin Fisher - later 
a wool mill operator in Shanesville.  Simon D. Troyer, who had been operating 
a watch and repair shop in the vicinity of the wool mill, was taken in as a 
partner by Mr. Fisher.  In 1873, Troyer bought Fisher's interest and became the 
sole owner and operated the mill until his death in 1915.  Simon Troyer was the 
grandfather of Ralph Aling.  Troyer's Hollow was named after Simon Troyer, 
the name it bears today.

Mr. Troyer borrowed $6,000 and invested it in more machinery so that now he 
could not only wash and dry wool, but was also able to spin and weave.  Ralph 
Aling states that his home was just a short distance from the mill, and that 
as a boy, he was greatly interested in learning what made the wool mill tick.
He was particularly intrigued by the big water wheel which furnished the power
for the mill.  At the age of eleven, his grandfather hired him to work at the 
mill, and he continued to work there for the next seven years.  No doubt the 
experience gained in this mill prepared the way for his future vocation in the 
wool business, in which he has made a tremendous success.  Today, there are only
three individually owned pioneer type wool mills in existence, and his mill 
is one of them.

Ralph told me that at first he was given charge of one loom and thus had time 
on his hands and so he whistled to pass the time.  His grandfather told him that
if he had so much time to whistle, he would give him a second loom to operate.
He stated that even with the two looms to operate, he still found time to 
whistle.  However, after his grandfather gave him a third loom, the whistling 
stopped.  Simon Troyer worked hard at this mill for 42 years, but when he died,
he still owed $300 of the original debt.  During that time, he paid three times
the original debt in interest.  Part of his trouble came as a result of 
competition.  There were five wool mills within a radius of 25 miles - Wise,
Aultman, Lantz at Wilmot, Fisher at Shanesville, and Lytle at Fredericksburg.
Bris Fisher, Baltic, was appointed administrator to settle the estate at the 
sale, the carding was sold to a junk dealer, who smashed it and sold it for junk.
What a price the machine would bring on the market today, if still in existence.

Township lore says that Doughty Creek had at one time an average of one water
wheel per mile along its entire course from Berlin to its 1mouth in Clark 
Township in Coshocton County, where it empties into the Killbuck River.  Such 
a large percentage of the pioneer settlers in Doughty Valley were mechanics and
mechanically minded, that when the township was organized, it was named Mechanics
Township, later being shortened to Mechanic.

In the late 1850s, a postal route went from New Philadelphia through Beck's Mills
and on to Millersburg.  The Post Office in Beck's Mills was located in the office
of the grist mills, and Benjamin was appointed postmaster, a position he held 
for 40 years.
         
In 1872, Michael Beck Sr. and his son, Benjamin, erected a small one story frame
building and started a general store.  In order to get a supply of goods for the
store, Benjamin went to Philadelphia, Pa. to buy and had it shipped to Millersburg
[] whence it was hauled by wagon to the new store.  Toward the end of 1800, 
a much larger store was built, and the smaller one was used as a warehouse.  
For several years, Solomon Miller assisted Mr. Beck with the store business and
the post office.  Later, George Conkle was employed as chief clerk.  One of the
first men to be employed to run the grist mill was David Lautenschleger, and 
one of the last was Charles Beam.

A blacksmith shop was also built by Benjamin Beck which did a very successful
business for quite a number of years.  Also, the Becks built another saw mill 
and put in the first circular saw to be used on Doughty Creek.

In 1905, a Sunday School was organized in Beck's Mills by Benjamin Beck, and
preaching services were conducted by the Rev. A.E. Fair.  The meetings were held
in the town hail which was a remodeled old school building purchased by Mrs. Beck
and moved into the village.  Later, Sunday School and church services were held
in the Beech Grove School with Harry Logsdon as the superintendent of the Sunday
School and S.H. Miller and Abe Mast as ministers.
         
The great flood of 1918 washed out the big dam and that put an end to the grist
mill and the saw mill business.  The store continued to be operated by various 
people such as Miller and Weaver, Ed Arnold, Thomas McPherson, Miller and Schrock,
Sommers and Bixler, Black Miller, Junior Mast, Albert Amstutz, and at the 
present time, 1974, Archie Carpenter manages a new store that was built about 
a year ago.

During the years from 1830 through 1850, hundreds of wagons with farm products 
of Holmes County passed through Beck's Mills.  This was a time when farmers were
familiar with the village for it was known as a friendly and jolly place for a 
stopover.  However, as has been the case in so many small places, when the 
railroad came to Millersburg in 1854, nearly all this activity ceased in Beck's 
Mills, and from then the village became just an ordinary small hamlet along the 
roadside with its country store, blacksmith shop, and the grist mill.  By now 
the grist mill and the blacksmith shop are gone and only the old store remains 
to remind us of old Beck's Mills.
         
Blake Miller, who at one time operated the general store, a mill, and had 
a successful egg route in Beck's Mills, called me one day and stated that 
I should get into his pick-up truck and he would take me to Beck's Mills 
as it is today.  He certainly proved to be a good guide because he knew every 
main and side road in and out of this community.  By myself, I would have been
lost getting there and out.  I had heard about Beck's Mills, but could not 
recall ever having been there until Oscar Oswald reminded that I once sang 
in a quartette at the Beech Grove School during the time when Rev. Lester
Hostetler had meetings at that school.

Blake said there were two ways to get into Beck's Mills from Walnut Creek. 
We went in by taking county roads 125 and 70 into Charm.  This took us past the
first school that I taught - Shetlers.  A few miles west of Charm, we turned 
left up over the hill on Mechanic Township road 92 and Clark Township road 19 
into Beck's Mills.  On the way back, we took 19 and 60 into Charm.  This took us
past Troyer's Hollow.  I was told that this was the only way to get to this 
interesting place.

One of the things with which Beck's Mills has always been blessed, is the number
of good, strong springs.  The Indians discovered the springs long before Michael
Beck and his family made their appearance.  One of these springs is right in the
village, and is still strong enough to supply good, clear water for three 
residences and the store.  Another strong spring is on the Farver Run road 99,
also discovered by the Indians.  After all these many years, this spring still
supplies plenty of fresh water for the people living there.  I know that it is
good water because Blake and I drank of it.

We drove up to the W.E. "Pop" Farver homestead.  This is where Mr. Farver spent
most of his days, and without question, received most of his inspiration for his
articles on Indian Lore.  I was reminded that about one and a half miles from 
the Farver residence, occurred the one dark blot in Holmes County history with 
regards to the Indians and the pioneer settlers.  The incident was the burning 
of an Indian lad who became lost from his tribe while on a hunting expedition.
The man had been burning brush, and instead of helping the boy, he threw him 
on the fire and burned him to death.  The same pioneer later met his death while
making maple syrup, by accidentally falling into a vat of boiling maple sap.  
Many pioneer settlers felt that this was the wrath of God visited upon for the 
burning of the Indian lad.  Yes, this was Indian country around Beck's Mills, 
proven by the many Indian relics found here and the many strong springs.
         
In June of 1946, a terrible flood played havoc in and around Beck’s Mills. 
Five bridges were washed out - Valentine Erb Bridge, Farver Run Bridge, Russell 
Mullet bridge, Howard Conrad bridge, and the Clift Finley bridge.  The people 
got caught getting into the village, and those who were there, had trouble 
getting out.  You will notice that in one of the pictures, a group of men are 
sitting at the edge of a creek once spanned by the Erb bridge.  There is quite
a story connected with one of the men in the picture.  This young man had gone 
to see his girl friend - later to become his wife - the evening before the flood.
When he wanted to go home, he found the bridge gone.  His parents were quite 
concerned about him because it was well into the next day until he got home 
by taking another route which involved many extra miles.  How do I know that
this is true?  I talked to the man involved.

Blake and I also drove up to the abandoned Beech Grove school building.  It is
located a short distance out of Beck's Mills on the road to Saltillo.  Since 
the school was built on the edge of a woods on the Beck farm containing many 
large beech trees, it was called "Beech Grove School".  Sometimes it was spoken
of as the "Beck's School" because quite a number of pupils were from the Beck 
families.  At least a partial list of the many teachers who taught at this 
school included Samuel Logsdon, William King, Harvey Luke, H.P. Ledrich, Charles
Feikert, Albert Fair, Caroline Veiring, James Conrad, Bert Geaugue, Clara Heft,
Laura Martin, Tom Scheetz and Harry Logsdon.  Harry Logsdon, the author of 
"Silent Streams", taught in this school for five years.  It was in and around 
this territory that he must have received his inspiration for his book.  
I was thinking that W.E. Farver also taught at this school, but the people 
that I interviewed did not think so.

If this old school building could talk, there would be some real thrilling 
stories to be told.  Oscar Oswald, whose parents lived three fourth of a mile 
north of Beck's Mills, attended this school through all the eight grades.  
He told me of a trick he and other boys played on one of their teachers, 
Clara Heft.  He stated that they were in the midst of a spelling class when 
it was time for the noon hour.  During the noon hour, a group of boys went out
to the woods and caught a chipmunk.  They placed it into her desk with her 
spelling book and closed the desk.  When it was time to resume the spelling 
class, she opened the desk for her book, and to her surprise out jumped the 
chipmunk and ran up her arm.  I wouldn't be surprised that when some of you 
men read this article, you will say that I had a part in the trick, too.  
Ralph Aling, who also attended this school, told me about a boy who was 
a bully out on the playground, but that when it came to his studies, 
he didn't have it.  Ralph stated that the teacher once asked him to read 
the paragraph on  "How DeSota explored the Miss. River".  He read it this way,
"How DeSota exploded the Miss. River".
         
As I stated before, in 1872, Michael Beck Sr. and his son Benjamin, erected 
a small one story frame building and started a general store.  Later, a much 
larger two story building was erected.  Both buildings are still standing today
(1974).  A new more modern store was built about a year ago.  This is a general
store and sells a little of everything such as groceries, hardware, shoes, 
paint, toys, meat, drygoods etc.  Archie Carpenter is the proprietor.  At the 
time that I visited the store, Cindy Raber and Anna Schlabach were the clerks.
The dwelling place that was used by those who operated the old store, was 
originally a school building remodeled and moved to that location.  At present 
it is used for a dry goods department.  The old store is now used for storage 
and a number of deep-freezes are installed there and rented out to the people 
of the community.  Back of the old store and next to a small stream is where 
the big grist mill used to be located.  One can still see where it stood by 
the markings on the ground.

One of the sad experiences that occured in Beck's Mills happened twelve years 
ago this coming spring.  A young girl, two years and seven months old, was 
burned to death as the result of an explosion of an oil stove.  Blake and I 
visited in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Emmon Miller, the grandparents of the child
that was burned.  The Millers are the parents of Mrs. Paul Kauffman, Walnut 
Creek.  Mr. Miller stated that he was working in his shop back of the house 
when word came that the house was on fire.  When it was discovered that the 
girl was inside the house, he tried to reach her, but was driven back by the 
smoke and flames.  The Millers built a new house on approximately the same site
and are living there today.

Yes, very little remains to remind one of the times when Michael Beck and his
family built their houses, the large mill, and their stores, but oen can't be
in this community long until his mind will form a mental picture of the days 
when the Indians roamed through this section of Holmes County, and the early 
settlers ventured in to clear the land, plant their crops and raise their 
families.

In writing this article, I am indebted to Logsdon's "Silent Streams", Mr. and Mrs.
Emmon Miller, Paul Kauffman (picture), Oscar Oswald, Ralph Aling, and to Blake 
Miller for taking me on a visit to Beck's Mills and for pictures.
         
Pages 139-140

Beck's Mills Store And Post Office Robbed

The store at Beck's Mills, nine miles southeast of Millersburg, was visited by
professional burglars and safe-blowers on Friday night, June 5, 1896.

The burglars were, without doubt, the same two men who were through the sections
of Millersburg and Beck's Mills about three weeks before.  They were pretending
to sell goods with the object of obtaining an advance on the order.  Also, they
worked the game of getting large bills changed into smaller denominations.  
They stopped at the Beck's Mills store to change a bill, but their main idea 
was to case the store, and also to size up the contents of the safe when 
it was opened to make the change.

These two men arrived in Millersburg at 5 o'clock on Friday evening on either 
the C.A. & C. railroad or on the B. & 0. from the north.  About 8 p.m. they 
called on Robert Henderson, the local liveryman, for the purpose of hiring 
horses and a buggy to go into the country for about nine miles.  Mr. Henderson,
not liking the looks of the two men, said that the team could not go out without
one of his drivers.  This, of course, would not fit into their objective of 
robbing a store and a post office.  Thus, they evidently started walking the 
nine miles to Beck's Mills which resulted in getting them a late start in their
work.

Benjamin Beck was the proprietor of the store at Beck's Mills.  Like country 
stores in general, the stock was made up of various kinds of goods ranging from
plows to watches and jewelry, as well as groceries, dry goods and kerosene.  
The post office was located in the store and Mr. Beck served as postmaster 
since the office was established in Beck's Mills on June 1, 1868.

For a number of years, an old German, Christian Bowens, had lived with Mr. Beck
doing chores and odd jobs around the home, the store and the farm.  Mr. Bowens
slept upstairs in the large room over the store.  However, this was unknown to 
the robbers and so they started with their work unconscious of his presence 
above the store.  The contents of the safe was what they were after and proceeded
to drill into it with the intention of blowing it up.  They must have encountered
a lot of trouble in their drilling, and thus used up most of the night that was
left before they were able to get a blast.  Finally, by four o'clock in the 
morning, they managed to drill into the hollow space and made ready for the 
blast.  Lighting the fuse, they ran outside to await the explosion.

The noise of the explosion awakened the old German upstairs.  When the burglars
came back into the store following the explosion, they heard someone moving 
about upstairs which alarmed them and caused them to flee.  The old man came
downstairs, and even though he detected the odor of powder smoke, he went back
to bed without investigating.  If he had not gone back to bed and would have 
done some checking, he would have discovered the robbery and given the alarm.
The burglars could probably have been captured since it was already getting 
light in the east.  The attempt at burglarizing the store and post office was 
thus not discovered until 6 a.m. when the store was opened for business on 
Saturday morning.

An examination of the safe showed that they had failed to blow it open.  
A number of watches, chains, and quite a bit of jewelry were piled beside the 
safe which they had intended to carry away.  The noise made by the old German 
caused them to leave without the intended loot.  They did get away with about 
$30.00 from the cash register, a good shotgun, and a registered letter 
containing three dollars.  The safe, which they had failed to open, contained 
about $200.00 in money.  Fifteen dollars worth of stamps were not taken because 
it would {have} involved too much risk for them.  Thus, because of the fact 
that they were not successful in obtaining a livery rig and the noise upstairs 
by Mr. Bowens, their job at robbery was not a total success.

Night watchman, Leisy, noticed two men getting aboard the 11:20 p.m. train 
at Millersburg on Saturday night that aroused his suspicions because the 
descriptions sent out about the burglars tallied with the men.  After comparing
notes with other men, he became convinced that they were the right parties.  
He immediately sent a telegram to the police in Mt. Vernon to arrest them upon
arrival there.

Lieutenant of Police, Charles Lauderbaugh, with officers Plummer, Woolison and
Butcher met the 12:40 a.m. train at Mt. Vernon.  They expected the men to remain
on the train thinking that they were enroute to Columbus hut instead they got 
off, one of them on the south side of the track.  Office Butcher called for the
man to stop, and when he failed, he tried to shoot but the cartridge failed to 
explode.  On the following Monday night, this man was captured at Columbus.  
The capture of this man was very important as he was a much wanted criminal, 
thought to be the leader of a gang operating in various places in Ohio.  
He gave his name as J.W. Powell.

The other man stepped off the train almost in the arms of Lauderbaugh and
Plummer, and when the brakeman told them that he was their man, they both 
tackled him.  The man proved to be a very powerful fellow and a real struggle
took place.  The robber reached for his revolver, and as he drew, Lauderbaugh 
caught his arm, but the weapon discharged and the bullet passed through 
Lauderbaugh's scrotum and into his thigh.  Officer Plummer struck him but 
failed to floor him, who continued to shoot.  He was finally overpowered and 
taken to jail.  His valise was found to contain a complete set of burglar's
tools, including dynamite, cartridges and fuse.  It also contained pocketbooks,
a solid gold watch, chains, pins and other jewelry.

On June 8, the man was arraigned in court at Mt. Vernon under the name of John
Ray, as he refused to give his name.  He was bound over in the sum of $5000 and
placed back in jail.  Night watchman Leisy and J.R. Miller, a store employee 
at Beck's Mills, went to Mt. Vernon to identify the man.  They had no trouble 
doing that, but the Mt. Vernon authorities refused to give him up, stating that
they would surrender him only to United States authorities.  Upon further search,
they found a two dollar bill, and since he had spent a one dollar bill at 
Hochstetler's restaurant at Millersburg on Saturday night about 11 o'clock, 
it accounted for the three dollars the registered letter had contained which 
was stolen from the post office at Beck's Mills.

He plead guilty to shooting Lauterbaugh and was sentenced to 15 years in the
penitentiary.   It seems rather strange that the Federal authorities did not
book him on the post office charge of stealing a registered letter.  The man's
real name was Ralph Weshon.  He had been a burglar, a counterfeiter, Cuban 
soldier, a hobo and an all-around criminal in his eventful career.

Most of the material for this article was obtained from the Holmes County Farmer
dated June 11, 1896, and from the Columbus Journal.