Melvin Osband, nephew of Marcus Swift, one of the first white settlers in Nankin Township, came to this area as a baby in 1826 .  In his recollection of growing up in Nankin Township, Osband remembers Nankin Township "with dense forest in every direction and the howling of wolves sometimes made night hideous. Yet, he also mentioned that his uncle and other family members settled the land because they thought it was as "near to paradise as any locality they were likely to find."