In the winter of 1804-1805, Edward Scofield and a small group entered the township in search of a creek suitable for a mill and good land for settlement. Within a few years, Walnut Run, a tributary of Mosquito Creek, was providing waterpower to a gristmill and a sawmill, and other settlers began to arrive. The area around the mill was called by various names: first, Leroy, as named by Scofield, or East Bazetta, referring to its location east of Mosquito Creek that divided the township nearly in half, then Baconsburgh because of the many settlers from the Bacon family, and finally Cortland following incorporation. Over the years, the area around Walnut Run flourished, churches were built, businesses and industries were established, and a lake was built during World War II. Then, as now, people worked very hard to make Bazetta Township and its only city a great place in which to live.