The first settlers and the rural industries

By Jack

Before the first settlers, native people lived in the area now known as Liberty Township. The first settlers came to the area at the beginning of the 19th century. Garrett Smith was one of them, and he came to this area in 1812.

Garrett Smith was an apprentice saddle-maker, but did not take up that trade. He instead moved to the area which is now known as Lake Just It. In fact, he built Lake Just It. He actually dug out the lake.

Can you guess why he did it? Maybe it would help if I told you his trade.

He worked in a saw mill that he also built himself. He needed a body of water to power the saw mill.

But that wasn't everything he did. He also built a distillery and made his own Apple Jack (also known as Apple Whiskey). He sold it to the hot, thirsty and tired miners who came out of the Oxford mines and made a lot of money that way!

Speaking of mines, during the period 1871 to 1900 a new mine opened in this area. It was called The Kispaugh Mine, and it was an iron mine that produced magnetite ore. It was located on the eastern slope of Jenny Jump Mountain, two miles north-west of Danville.

Farming was a very important rural trade in the Liberty Township area. But for growing good, healthy crops, the farmers needed good, healthy soil. The farmers spread lime on the soil to help the crops grow.

That meant that lime burning was very important in the area. There was a lot of limestone around, so there were a lot of resources for burning.

The lime from the lime kilns was so explosive that it sometimes burst into flames if it came into contact with water. There were also lots of strange stories about the lime kilns, which flickered and let off eerie noises when the farmers moved the burned lime.