30, 1882, cause of fire unknown. A new and substantial depot building was put up on the same spot of the first one; was built in the latter half of 1882. Nevertheless Franklin Township has two live villages—Ontario and Gilbert. Gilbert is situated on sections four and nine, and was laid out as a town, January, 1880.
Ontario was laid out January 16, 1869, on the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 31, township 84, range 24. The townsite of Bloomington is in Franklin, and situated on the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 25. It was laid out in June, 1857, but does not seem to improve. It once had a postoffice, called "Camden," but that long since was vacated. Frank Thompson and I. T. Evans were the postmasters.
Under the head of "Directories" can be found the names of the business men of Ontario and Gilbert.
Franklin Township is a township of much good land and is being settled and improved rapidly. At one time it had, and may have yet, more native timber in it than any other township in the county. It contains several streams of water along which timber in earlier times was quite abundant. Skunk river enters the township in the southeast quarter of section 12, passing southwesterly through section 13, and leaves 13 near the southwest corner; then passes through the northeast quarter of section 23, then southwesterly through 23 to the section line between sections 22 and 23, the line between the southwest quarter of 23 and the southeast quarter of section 22, crossing and recrossing said line about four times before leaving it in section 27; passing a little west of the center of section 26. It then enters section 35 near the north quarter section corner, passing south and southeasterly into and through the southeast quarter of section 35, then into the southwest quarter of section 36, then crossing the south line of said quarter into section one of Washington Township. Squaw Fork of Skunk enters the county at the west quarter section corner of section 7, township 84, range 24, passing southeasterly through sections 7, 18, 29 and 33, leaving the township eighty or one hundred rods east of the southwest corner of section 34, cutting off, in its passage, a little of section 19, and through southwest quarter of section 20 and a little off of the southwest quarter of section 34. Onion Creek enters the township in the southwest quarter of section 30, passing through the south half of south side of section and passing through the northwest and northeast quarter of section 32, and connects with Squaw near the center of the northwest quarter of section 33. Squaw enters the county at or very near the Squaw Creek Coal Banks. The small branch that passes the "big rock" and empties into Squaw Creek just above the west quarter corner of section 7, that branch forms a valley of coal and of most excellent quality. These banks are in Boone County but a short distance. Here quite a trading point has grown up, and Zenorville is the town. On Skunk and Squaw there are some stone quarries of fair quality.