Willow bark of the willow tree have been mentioned in ancient texts from Assyria, Sumer and Egypt as a remedy for aches and fever, and in Ancient Greece the physician Hippocrates wrote about its medicinal properties in the fifth century BC. Native Americans across the Americas relied on it as a staple of their medical treatments. It provides temporary pain relief. Salicin is metabolized into salicylic acid in the human body, and is a precursor of aspirin. In 1763, its medicinal properties were observed by the Reverend Edward Stone in England. He notified the Royal Society, which published his findings. The
Asa Townsend Asa Townsend Asa Townsend (c.1775-alive 1851) was an early settler in Westminster Township near what became the City of London, Ontario. His lands ultimately became incorporated in London's Springbank Park. By the 1820s he removed westward to settle on the bank of the Ausable River in what later became Bosanquet Township in Lambton County. Here he operated a salt well. He and his wife—whose name is not known—are credited with being the first white settlers in the area of the present village of Arkona, Ontario. Asa was still living at the time of the 1851 Bosanquet Township assessment, living just