The county histories that follow are intended to be clear, concise, and comprehensive, without attaining to an exuberance of detail which would be tiresome to the reader, or dealing in glittering generalities and ?orid rhetoric that would convey the least possible information in the greatest number of words. The purpose has been to present to the reader successive statements of the most important facts relating to the growth and development of the individual localities, and such only as the proof of which has been sufficiently proven by the reiteration of corroborative testimony, and the presentment of official records. How well the work has been done, we leave it to the reader to decide. It may be, that, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts made for correctness, errors have here and there crept in. If so, it should be remembered that in a work of this character, containing the many names and dates which it does, they are almost unavoidable. We would gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness to our patrons who have aided us in the prosecution of the work by contributing from their stores of information, or in other ways assisting in making it what it is. Without their aid and patronage, it could never have been published.