Barren Township lies east of Ewing Township. It was named Barren on the account
of the condition of the territory. It was very thinly settled and had so much brush and
waste land, that it was named Barren. The Big Muddy River flows through the township and
renders a large area of the township unfit for farming. John Sandusky is said to be the
first settler of the township.

Timothy, Boyles, McFatridge, Elkins, Martins, Phillips, Quillmans, Kirkpatrick,
Cockrums, were early settlers.

The township boast the distinction of having a very large coal mine at Keller, which
employs a great many miners.

Barren, though gently retarded by the Big Muddy bottom, has excellent farm lands.

The leading family's who have had a part in the development of Barren from the barren
waste of land, are the Cockrums, Kirkpatricks, Elkins, Jones, Mallorys,
Quillmans, Johnstons, Kirks, Franklins, Deputys, Samples, Browns, Harrisons, Eubanks, Kings,
Freemons, Cooks, Martins, Paynes, Galloways and others.

Barren Township has the distinction of having a great city on paper, that was never
built. It is not generally known, but a long time ago a scheme was hatched for building a
great city in Franklin County. The Centennial Committee of 1876 gives the following history:
" In 1840, Zodac Casey of Mt. Vernon, conceived the idea of building a
city in Franklin County and employed a man by the name of Perry as
surveyor, and they surveyed out and laid off a town in Section 14, township 5, range 2, on the Big
Muddy River, and called it Portland. They made fine plats and maps of the city showing the location
of the most important buildings, the river, streets leading to it, and also showing the city was
located at the head of navigation of Big Muddy.

They put the lots on the market and sold a good many of them to eastern capitalist, realizing about $4,000 out of the speculation.

Portland still lives upon our county records, and in the memory of only those who bought town lots but nowhere else, occupied by crawfish, frogs and tadpoles.

The south side of Barren Township, west of Big Muddy, is know as part of the Spring settlement, and the south part of the township east of the Big Muddy has been known as the "Diggins," (map below) which was the haunts of the celebrated "Joab" of old.

The churches of the Barren are: Baptist - Horse Prairie, and Palestine; Free Baptist - Palestine and Hazel Dell. The Schools of Barren are: King College, Red, McGlassen, Hazel Dell, Keller and Martin.

The country trading points in Barren are: Cypher's Store and Palistine.

Politically, Barren is Democratic and the present supervisor is J. A. Freeman.

[(1918) Franklin County History Centennial Edition by H.M. AIKEN]