Criders

Ephraim Crider Polly Crider Isaac Crider founders of Cridersville Duchouquet Township Auglaize County Ohio grist mill Main Street local family history Cridersville Historical Society. Ephraim & Polly Crider FOUNDERS OF CRIDERSVILLE Duchouquet Township Auglaize County, Ohio Historians credit Ephraim Crider as the first miller or grain processor in the area. He is thought to have built a steam-powered grist mill in 1859 on his farm adjacent to the village he and his son Isaac had founded in 1856. The mill was located on the north side of E. Main Street in the middle of the present 200 block. The Crider mill was a large three-story frame structure with a tall smoke stack at the rear for the steam engine that powered the millstones. The grist mill was the place local farmers brought their corn and wheat to be ground into meal and flour. Ephraim sold his mill in 1877 for $7,500. Ephraim and Polly remained on their small 32-acre farm — the eastern most portion of the 80 acres they had purchased in 1854. By 1873 their farm became part of the village proper. On December 3, 1880 Ephraim Crider died at age 74. Polly remained in Cridersville until her death on September 4, 1886. They are buried amidst a lovely grove of trees at the St. Matthew’s Lutheran Cemetery. The Crider steam-powered grist mill on E. Main Street ABRAHAM CRIDER Ephraim and Polly Crider’s second son, Abraham, became a successful farmer in Allen County. In 1882 he was elected a commissioner of Allen County. It is interesting to note that although Ephraim did not live to see his son elected a county commissioner, Polly did. In fact, she was also proud to see her son-in-law, John Reichelderfer (Susan’s husband) , elected Auglaize County Commissioner in 1884. Dur- ing the last years of her life, Abraham and John were helping to lead both counties. Cridersville Historical Society 111 W. Sugar Street PO Box 2444 Cridersville, Ohio 45806 419-645-4782 Ephraim Crider was the fourth of six children born to Abraham and Leah (Larrick) Crider. Abraham Crider’s ancestors had immigrated to America from Cantonberne, Switzerland in the early 1700s. They settled in...