Lorain County was formed December 26, 1822, from Huron, Cuyahoga and Medina. The surface is level, and the soil fertile and generally clayey. Parallel with the lake shore are three sand ridges, which vary from 40 to 150 rods in width; they are respectively about 3, 7 and 9 miles from the lake, and are fertile. Area about 500 square miles. Moravian mission. - The first actual settlement in Lorain county was made by the Moravian missionaries who came from Detroit in 1786, with the design of going to their old home on the Tuscarawas, the scene of the massacre of 1782. They had reached a point on Cuyahoga, as far as Independence township, known as "Pilgrim's Rest," when they received such information that they were fearful of proceeding farther inland. After remaining about a year, they journeyed westward until they arrived at the mouth of Black river, where they designed to make a permanent settlement. A few days only elapsed, when a chief of the Delaware’s sent them a message warning them to depart. They then settled on the Huron river, two miles north of Milan, remained five or six years, were persecuted and driven away, and found a permanent asylum on the river Thames, in Canada.