Hubler history W. R. Hubler, Jr., M. D

Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio

Native Americans populated the eastern Ohio territory thousands of years before the arrival of the white Europeans. The mysterious Mound Builders left 8,000 earthen mounds in the Ohio Valley, but the people disappeared centuries before modern man arrived. The only historical Native American Indian tribe, the Eries, was of Iroquoian ancestry and roamed around the Mahoning Valley. The area had a natural salt springs which drew many nomadic peoples, but they did not seem to stay. The Delaware probably were the most populous in the area.⁹⁹⁰ Cavalier LaSalle claimed the Ohio territory for France in 1670 and is reputed to be the first "white man" to have trod the soil. The American Indians controlled the wild area for 120 more years. The French usually became allies of the Native Americans while the English antagonized the natives. The French trader was often cut from the same metal as his host and was more interested in commerce than settlements, so was less a threat than his English counterpart who invaded the land with eyes for claiming it as his own. Also, the French seemed to attempt to convert the "heathen" to Christianity with gentle persuasion in juxtaposition to the English demagogue who demanded total and immediate civilization of all Native Americans. So, the French traversed the western and central Ohio territory with impunity while the English claimed the eastern fringe.

The French and Indian War resolved European claims to Ohio--England obtained Ohio. However, settlement by the white man was infrequent because of the hostility of the Native American resident. The American Indians allied with their old enemy, the English, against the land hungry American who always moved west in search of space and farmland. But the Indians lost out again. Ohio was ceded to the United States by the treaty, which ended the Revolutionary War. Several Eastern seaboard states extended their western borders to engulf the newly annexed territory. Connecticut claimed the area of 5,000 square miles south of Lake Erie, including Mahoning County.⁹⁹¹ The land was called the Western Reserve and it slightly larger than the modern state of Connecticut. The hostile natives were finally chased out on 1794 by General Anthony Wayne. The was no peaceful coexistence possible; the Native American was simply forced to moved west, and their homeland was filled with Connecticut immigrants. The last altercation between settlers and Indians in Mahoning County was in 1800.

John Young and a group of settlers purchased 15,500 acres of land for $16,000 from the Connecticut Land Company in 1797, managed to clear 3 acres of brush that was as high as a man's head when mounted on horseback and built a cabin. His name was given to the settlement, Youngstown. Coitsville Township was begun nearby in 1798 by Amos Loveland. By 1802, a sawmill and tavern served the immigrants to Coitsville.⁹⁹²

During the latter part of the 1700's, settlers arrived by three roadways, which had been hacked through the wilderness. Forbes Road (later known as the Pennsylvania State Road) was a military supply road from Philadelphia through Lancaster and Pittsburgh into Mahoning County. Braddock's Road (Cumberland Road) was a more difficult passage as it went from Virginia, across the Appalachian Mountain from Fort Cumberland. The third way to Mahoning County was the most circuitous, the Wilderness Trail through the Shennandoah Valley, across the Cumberland Gap and along the Warrior's path. Steamboat travel down the Ohio River and Lake Erie brought American settlers; and a series of canals crisscrossed Ohio by the early 1800's.⁹⁹³ When the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, hordes of people flowed into the state of Ohio.

Ohio became a "territory" in 1799 and the 17th state in 1803. The Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio was divided into ten counties. Mahoning County was carved from Trumbell and Columbiana Counties in 1846.⁹⁹⁴ Moses HUBLER (1803-1855) was a pioneer in eastern Ohio when he braved the wildness in 1832 and carved out a farm for his family in the hamlet of Coitsville (located just west of Youngstown), and later moved to Youngstown proper. The population of Coitsville in 1840 was 1,009 and Youngstown village was 1,630.⁹⁹⁵

Travel in Ohio in the 1830’s was limited to a few trails and the rivers winding through the wooden terrain, but that changed in the 1850's as trains replaced and supplemented canal, river and road transportation. By 1860, the population of Youngstown had skyrocketed to 5,377. It would no longer be called a village. In the Youngstown area of old Ohio, the farming fields of Coitsville were replaced by urban centers.

When in 1845 coal was discovered in nearby Pennsylvania; Youngstown used the element and 19th century technology to develop an iron smelting industry. The Civil War fanned the growth and prosperity of Youngstown. The war machine of the North needed cannon, bullets, and more iron products for its survival, and Youngstown filled the need. In addition, thousands of Mahoning County men volunteered for service in the Great Army of the Republic.⁹⁹⁶

Youngstown made it through the gay nineties, despite the national economic panic of 1893, and emerged even stronger. By 1900, Youngstown had grown to over 150,000 residents and was one of the major industrial metropolitan sites in Ohio. Steak cost 15 cents a pound, a very good home in the best part of town was $2,200 and spinach sold for 20 cents for 3 cans. Life in Youngstown was good and prosperous. An opera house graced the town square; a hospital severed the people; monuments and fountains sprouted throughout the parks; and the lifestyle was comfortable.⁹⁹⁷

Once more, war strained the smelting capacity of Youngstown as World War II erupted. But this time, steel, as well as, iron and lead was the smelting product in demand. Steel was for ships, helmets and guns; lead was for ammunition. The prosperity of Youngstown surged ahead when World War I began in 1917. But prosperity was also combined with sacrifice. Food was in short supply. "Meatless" and "wheatless" days were the way American citizens shared hardship with the soldiers in Europe.⁹⁹⁸ The War ended in 1918; a surprise to almost all Americans.

An unwanted immigrant from Europe arrived in 1918--the Spanish influenza. The pandemic killed 400,00-500,000 Americans. The disease might have been carried to France by Chinese coolies; and from there, the virus went to Spain, then to America. Mahoning County saw scores of its residents die from the disease. Almost no street escaped a funeral. The medical community was hard pressed since many doctors and nurses were away in the War.⁹⁹⁹