. Early in 1837 Messrs. Benj. Clark, John J. Charles, Timothy Condit, and William Mackey conceived the idea that a town should be built near the centre of the county, and they accordingly employed Judge E. Gilmore, then county surveyor, to make the plat. The judge left New Boston, with his instruments and assistants, and on foot they wended their way for fifteen long miles eastward, the day being bright and warm. Unfortunately a storm came up in the night, the thermometer rapidly fell, and the next morning broke clear and cold, with the ground covered with snow. The chain-bearers refused to work, and the judge, facing a cold west wind, made his way back to New Boston, arriving worn out and chilled to the bone, the trip resulting in a serious illness.

A second attempt was more successful, and on March 30, 1837, the lines were run and the stakes driven that marked the town of Mercer, situated on the N. E. 4 of Sec. 21, T. 1-1 N., R. 3 W. of the 4th P. M.

But the expectations of the proprietors were never realized. But one house was erected, and the only inhabitant of this, so far as known, was a large white owl, who held for years undisputed possession of the lonely tenement. The house rotted down in 1851

 

History of Mercer and Henderson County

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