In 1840 a young boy, his newly widowed mother, and her brothers left Allegheny County, New York State and traveled by steamboat to Detroit and beyond finally settling in a place about 20 miles inland from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

At that time Milwaukee was a town of about 700 souls and had no docks. Their boat anchored a half mile from the shore and goods and passengers were then transferred to lighters. A gentleman who helped them from the fledgling town through the wild country to their destination turned out to be their only neighbor. It was a rather small community. That same neighbor also had the only barn in the area.

The family set up housekeeping in a log cabin without doors or windows replete with an earthen floor. In the "parlance of the age", they lived in a rather wealthy environment. The boy would later recall that it was not unusual in those days for an 18 x 24 foot cabin to house a family of six to twelve persons. And there, in what was then very much a part of the wild wild west this boy, Benjamin F. Bond, grew to manhood.

His early years in this new wilderness were not without event. One day when he and his mother were alone a group of whooping and hollering Indians marched up the hill where their cabin was situated and burst inside. With savage gestures and much incoherent babbling they tore through the family's belongings. And as quickly as they had come they departed. All the time young Benjamin clung to his mother's skirts.

Bond, however, soon outgrew his fear of these wild men. Along with his uncles he became a trader trading whiskey, shot, and calico for animal skins and sometimes a bit of money; "But very little (money)." And as civilization drove the Indians further into the wilderness so this family of traders followed.

Benjamin received his early education from his mother. Eventually he found his way to Oberlin, Ohio and at the ripe old age of 21 his formal education began. For the next 9 years he worked and studied hard. He became an expert carpenter and cabinet maker. During his vacations he worked on the railroads. Finally he began to study medicine in the office of one Dr. Heywood in Oberlin. Following that he studied medicine at the Cleveland College in Cleveland, Ohio, and continued his studies in Detroit, Michigan, and in Philadelphia, PA.

In about 1872, after beginning his practice in Elyria and also taking a wife, the new Doctor B.F. Bond moved to the thriving metropolis of Vermilion, Ohio (pop. 1180). For two years he taught school in Henrietta Township where M. Wilbur (P.J. 1-23-03) who would later live on State Street was a student. And for over the next half century the good doctor served folks from Berlin Heights (southwest), to Birmingham (south), to Amherst (southeast), and all of Vermilion (Village and rural areas) with unmatched expertise and dedication.

He kept eight horses, driving one after another during his travels. One he kept in reserve. It was his favorite. He bought her when she was three years old, and drove her for 30 years thereafter. It was not uncommon for him to work three days at a stretch going from home to home to home without a change of clothes, very little sleep, and without much to eat. At one time when scarlet fever raged through the area Dr. Bond worked continuously for 13 full days.

As the days of his youth gave way to age the good doctor sought some respite from the demands of a country doctor by retiring to his drugstore located where Exchange (A.K.A. Rubberneck) Park is now located - later moved to a spot just west of his home on Liberty Street (in the picture). But his work was not entirely done.

More than a few folks in the vicinity would have anyone other than Dr. Bond when illness visited their homes. Whether it was his expertise, his wonderfully flavored medicines, or just his kindly bearded face his patients always felt better after "Doc" Bond called upon them. When youth was his he spent it wisely. Seldom have others done as well.

Ref: The Vermilion News: 12-14-1922; Ancestry.com; U.S. Census Statistics - 1920, and Ohio Department of Health - Ohio Deaths 1908 -1944.

First Published in the Vermilion Photojournal

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© 2006 Rich Tarrant