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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY 141
limit. There Avere very few Germans here then. When I first knew
Castalia it did not have a dozen houses. This Avas when I was about
ten years old. There was a store kept by a man named Barnum. The
Congregational church Avas built in 1850. There were three or four
houses at Venice. Jessup named Venice and Castalia. The decline of
Venice Avas due to the shallowness of the water which prevented large
vessels coming there. There Avas no disease that had anything to do
Avith it though the whole country had plenty of fever and ague."
Three years later Daniel Alack built a saAvmill near the mill that had
been owned by Snow, and in the corner AAHS a run of stone for grinding.
In 1824 he built a good grist mill with tAA'o runs of stone, and this
subsequently passed into the hands of a German named AVeber in 1827.
Mr. Alack had long years of litigation over certain mill rights with Pettingill
and others, because of damages done them by floAving the back
THE BLUE HOLE
water upon them. This was only ended in 1832 by transfer of the entire
property and 510 acres of land to Burr Higgins. This gave him entire
control of the water power, and he at once began to improve his mill
for custom work. This was the coldest year ever known in this latitude, -
and every stream Avas frozen except Cold Creek. Southern Michigan,
as well as Northern Ohio, were dependent for grinding on this single
stream. In 1835 Higgins sold his entire interest to Davidson, Hadley
&Co.
The first flouring mill in Venice was commenced in 1832 and finished
in 1833, with three runs of French burrs for merchants and three runs
for custom work. The completion of this mill established the first permanent
cash market for Avheat on the Firelands.
The second mill, IV2 miles Avest of south of Venice, was begun in
1839, but not finished until 1841. It had eight runs of stone and cost
$50,000. This was built of timber and Avas destroyed by fire in 1848.