Among the earliest pioneers of Rollersville were Jeremiah Niles King and his family who had come from Rhode Island via New York in 1834. He built the first house in the village and then constructed a gristmill where Jeremiah also made and machined tools. His son Joseph Crawford “Kit” King joined his father in the milling operation. He continued to oversee it after his father's death in a railroad accident at the Isthmus of Panama.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, despite the responsibilities of the mill, Joseph Crawford King was filled with patriotism. He enlisted with his friends in the 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With him King carried a special weapon which can be seen in the nearby Civil War photo. It was a double-barreled back action rifle with a telescopic sight. John Smith, Hessville gunsmith, had made the weapon for Joseph using tools machined by Joseph's father. The rifle was never far from King's sight as the regiment traveled south into Kentucky.
An intelligent, exceptionally observant diarist, King recorded daily events at the regiment's camp as well as activities around Bowling Green, Kentucky. King soon began suffering from poor health, boredom, and disillusionment with military life. News from home added to his discouragement when he learned the mill and his finances were in disarray. In March of 1863, King received a disability discharge and headed for his home in Madison Twp. Over the next few years, with the help of Brice Bartlett, King put the mill on sound financial footing.
But in 1877, when King learned of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, he headed west. He prospected near Rapid Creek and settled at Hill City with five other miners. King managed to file more than 50 claims in an around the area, naming his stake the Buckeye Mining Company. Despite efforts at sluicing, digging, and ditching on his claims, King spent nearly as much time hunting game and building a winter shelter as he did mining.
Eventually King's partners became discouraged and left for home. But King persevered. Now alone, his rifle served as protection against raiding Sioux, claim jumpers, and thieves, When King became ill and desperate for food and clothing, he was forced to pawn his telescope, compass, gold scales, and revolver. Yet, he struggled on and eventually had some success. In early March of 1880, King stopped off at Rollersville to visit his family while enroute to New York to negotiate some of his mining claims. A few weeks later, the “Fremont Journal” reported his death from pneumonia at Hill City, South Dakota.
The gunsmithing tools made by Jeremiah King and a rifle similar to that carried by Joseph were discovered in Sheridan, California where John Smith, the gun maker, settled near his daughter. The collection is one of the finest 19th century gunsmithing sets known to exist. They have passed through the hands of several collectors. Today, the tools (some 600 pieces) and King's diaries are part of the permanent collection at the Frazier Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. However, typed transcripts of King's diaries (prepared by a King descendant) from his time with the 111th Ohio and in the Black Hills are part of the Hayes Manuscripts Collection.
