All was quiet, and nature reigned supreme in the unbroken wilderness on a day in June 1798, when young Titus Hayes entered Wayne Township near the corner of lot 28. He swam the Pymatuning Creek, becoming the first civilized man to enter the area. He had left Hartford, Connecticut, alone, with just his dog, gun, a loaf of bread and some salt, trusting a pocket compass for direction. His intention was to join the surveyors on the Western Reserve. He returned the winter of 1804-05, arriving with sleds pulled by oxen, to become a settler on Lot 33.
​
The township, named for general "Mad Anthony" Wayne was known as Township 8 of the second range, Connecticut Western Reserve. In 1800, the township was conveyed to Oliver Phelps of Canandaigua, New York, an original member of the Connecticut Land Co., by deeds of partition among the proprietors of the land company.
​
In the spring of 1803, aging Simon Fobes of Somers, Connecticut, bought 1500 acres of land in the township, one entire tier of lots south of and adjoining the east and west center line. He traveled to the new lands with his son, Joshua, and Joshua's wife, Dorothy, and his young brother, Elias, age 10, a trip of 49 days. They were joined along the way by a cousin, David Fobes. Simon returned to Connecticut for a while after the Fobes lands were ascertained.
​
Joshua and David began clearing land for a cabin, but were delayed when the work proved too much for the weary Joshua. It was October 8 before the family moved onto their own land, on lot 57, to become the first settlers in Wayne. They were the sons of Nathaniel Coleman, one of the Boston tea party "Indians."
​
Young Joshua R. Giddings had spent his first night on the Reserve in the shelter of a deserted Indian wigwam in Wayne Township. He was a child of 10 at the time, recalling later the experience. His family's was the first wagon that crossed the Pymatuning Creek into Wayne, and the sixth family to settle there. The next day, the 22nd of June, the group continued to lot 45, where Joshua Sr. had arrived earlier and constructed a typical cabin. It contained one room, without hearth or chimney, or windows. Their furniture having been left at Buffalo, they were without chairs or tables. Only the bare necessities of cookware, bedding and items needed on the journey, now furnished the little cabin.
​
Colored wool with dye made from butternut bark, tinted with copper was carded, spun and woven. J.R. Giddings proudly remarked in later years, that he first appeared as an attorney and counselor before the Supreme Court of Ohio, in hand spun shirt and pants.
​
The settlers were apparently a congenial group, with a notation made at the 50-year celebration, that no resident was ever arrested for a crime, not even for the minor offense of assault and battery.
​
Prior to the organization of Ashtabula County in 1811, Wayne was a part of Trumbull County. After becoming a part of Ashtabula County. the electors of Wayne named their governing officials for the first time.
All was quiet, and nature reigned supreme in the unbroken wilderness on a day in June 1798, when young Titus Hayes entered Wayne Township near the corner of lot 28. He swam the Pymatuning Creek, becoming the first civilized man to enter the area. He had left Hartford, Connecticut, alone, with just his dog, gun, a loaf of bread and some salt, trusting a pocket compass for direction. His intention was to join the surveyors on the Western Reserve. He returned the winter of 1804-05, arriving with sleds pulled by oxen, to become a settler on Lot 33.
​
The township, named for general "Mad Anthony" Wayne was known as Township 8 of the second range, Connecticut Western Reserve. In 1800, the township was conveyed to Oliver Phelps of Canandaigua, New York, an original member of the Connecticut Land Co., by deeds of partition among the proprietors of the land company.
​
In the spring of 1803, aging Simon Fobes of Somers, Connecticut, bought 1500 acres of land in the township, one entire tier of lots south of and adjoining the east and west center line. He traveled to the new lands with his son, Joshua, and Joshua's wife, Dorothy, and his young brother, Elias, age 10, a trip of 49 days. They were joined along the way by a cousin, David Fobes. Simon returned to Connecticut for a while after the Fobes lands were ascertained.
​
Joshua and David began clearing land for a cabin, but were delayed when the work proved too much for the weary Joshua. It was October 8 before the family moved onto their own land, on lot 57, to become the first settlers in Wayne. They were the sons of Nathaniel Coleman, one of the Boston tea party "Indians."
​
Young Joshua R. Giddings had spent his first night on the Reserve in the shelter of a deserted Indian wigwam in Wayne Township. He was a child of 10 at the time, recalling later the experience. His family's was the first wagon that crossed the Pymatuning Creek into Wayne, and the sixth family to settle there. The next day, the 22nd of June, the group continued to lot 45, where Joshua Sr. had arrived earlier and constructed a typical cabin. It contained one room, without hearth or chimney, or windows. Their furniture having been left at Buffalo, they were without chairs or tables. Only the bare necessities of cookware, bedding and items needed on the journey, now furnished the little cabin.
​
Colored wool with dye made from butternut bark, tinted with copper was carded, spun and woven. J.R. Giddings proudly remarked in later years, that he first appeared as an attorney and counselor before the Supreme Court of Ohio, in hand spun shirt and pants.
​
The settlers were apparently a congenial group, with a notation made at the 50-year celebration, that no resident was ever arrested for a crime, not even for the minor offense of assault and battery.
​
Prior to the organization of Ashtabula County in 1811, Wayne was a part of Trumbull County. After becoming a part of Ashtabula County. the electors of Wayne named their governing officials for the first time.
Named for general "Mad Anthony"
Named for general "Mad Anthony"
Township Cleared By Early Settlers
Township Cleared By Early Settlers
By Catherine Ellsworth (1976)
By Catherine Ellsworth (1976)
