1816-1916 Cedarville Centennial Souvenir

They strictly kept the Sabbath, they ceased from toil to rest, They gathered at the "meeting-house" to worship and were blest. The orthodox hour for worship was eleven by the clock, None dared to be much tardy in the gathering of the "flock." The parson with a solemn mien explained in course the psalm, And preached to them long sermons till the evening clear and calm, Or, dispensed the sacred emblems on the sacramental day, Each member must have a "token," or forever stay away. The psalms were sung to music in quaint and solemn tone, Led by an old precentor, standing in front alone To "line-out" all the verses and to lead the sacred song, For to omit this ancient custom was deemed a fearful wrong. Thus years passed swiftly onward, the pioneers to the grave, But a generation was raised up that is worthy, strong, and brave; And the influence of the church and school has t.ruly made its mark, For men and women now till the soil, or in merchandise embark, Whose fathers and mothers were pioneers, and trained their children well, To be honest, steadfast in their ways, their "birth-right" never to sell. A hundred years have passed away, the wild beasts are no more, The Red Men too with tomahawk roam not as they did of yore; We find their graves, their forts, and darts, but their war-whoop in tbe fray, And antlers wild they hunted here, have long since passed away; The cabins of frontiersmen, the homes of the pioneer, Have oassed to the womb of Mother Earth-gone this many o. year, And instead of cabins in the woods, and rude implements of toil, We see palatial homes on farms, tools moJern for the soil. Modes different too in church and state so marvelous and strange, Progression looms on every side, intelligence marks the change! Instead of the plain log meeting-house are temples with a bell, Large houses for the schools are found on hills and in the dell; Springed carriages and autos fine', long trains on rails of steel, While neighbors talk upon the phone and ride the cycle wheel. The implements to farm the soil and gather in the grain Have all been changed, and now we find inventions by the brain Have made it easier to farm, or work in any way, Machines indeed which pioneers ne'er dreamed of in their day. Long years have passed, those days are gone, but still their wealth is ours, The golden grain on many a field, the orchards and the bowers, The lowing herds, the bright plumed birds, the homes with love made dear, That cro!Y_n the land won by the toil of the brave old pioneer. CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE Cedarville Township was organized in 1850. It lies ep.tirely within the Virginia Military Uistrfot. Its area is 23,000:-acres. The village of Cedarville was laid out in streets and lots in 1816