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Front Text: Bradford began, in 1852, as a construction camp of the Columbus, Piqua, and Indiana Railroad. When the Richmond and Covington Railroad made a junction here in 1864, the village grew with the railroad yard. There were 60 miles of track, a 50-stall roundhouse, and jobs for 2000 men. Community life in Bradford centered at the Railroad YMCA. Back Text: Blank
Address: NE corner of N Miami Ave/OH 721 and School Street, Bradford
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Front Text: To Commemorate the first church erected in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, this log replica was constructed in 1976 by the Union Township 4-H Clubs and the West Milton area Camp Fire Girls. The Laura Lions Club established this historic marker which stands on the site of the West Branch Quaker Burial Grounds near the location of the original church. Back Text: Same
Address: Across from 7031 W. Frederick-Garland Rd, West Milton
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Front Text: You are now traveling U.S. 40, the "Old National Road" used in the westward expansion of our country. In 1837 notice was given that this section of the road would be constructed. A toll house was located at the east edge of Brandt. Back Text: Same
Address: U.S. 40, Bethel Twp., Tipp City
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Front Text: Beginning in 1794, Colonel Johnston was a prominent Mason for 66 years. While serving as secretary of Washington lodge No. 59, F. & A. M. (Philadelphia), he was delegated to participate in President George Washington's Masonic funeral. Colonel Johnston became a member of Warren Lodge No. 24, F. & A.M., in Piqua in 1843. He was buried with military and Masonic honors in the family cemetery on February 23, 1861. [Masonic Emblem] Back Text: Same
Address: N. Hardin Road, Piqua
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Front Text: African-American history began in Piqua with the settlement of Arthur Davis in 1818 and expanded with the settlement of the freed Randolph slaves of Virginia in 1846. African-American religious heritage in Piqua began with the Cyrene African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1853 and the Second Baptist Church (Park Avenue) in 1857. Segregated education started in 1854 at the Cyrene Church and ended in 1885 at the Boone Street School. Several Piqua African-American men circumvented Ohio's early ban against Civil War military service by joining the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments. Following the Civil War an African-American Co-operative Trade Association established Piqua's first African-American retail store. Continued on/from other side) Back Text: Continued from other side) Goodrich Giles (1846-1927) exemplified the enterprising spirit of the first African-American Co-operative Association. During his fifty plus years in Piqua he became the first local African-American to become a prominent employer (Cottage Livery Stable), to run for public office (election of 1886), and to become a large scale capital investor (stockholder of the Third National Bank). In 1927 Giles and Carl P. Anderson built the Classic Theater in Dayton, Ohio, one of the first Ohio theaters run by African-Americans for African-American audiences.
Address: S Main Street/N County Road 25A, Piqua
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Front Text: Completed in 1837, the limestone lock nine served as a catalyst for the growth of Piqua. The lock helped connect the village to Cincinnati (1837) and Toledo (1845) by way of the Miami and Erie Canal. German immigrants traveled up the canal from Cincinnati and settled within a five-block area of the lock. Industries used the lock as a source of water power and developed products as diverse as flannel, flour, and flax seed. Lock nine remained as a functioning part of the canal until its destruction during the flood of 1913. Back Text: Same
Address: 125 E. Water Street, Piqua
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Front Text: In the mid-1700s, France found its influence waning among midwestern tribes as it contested for Native American trade and military alliances with Great Britain. Shortly after Miami chief Memeskia (also known as Old Britain or La Demoiselle) moved his village to Pickawillany, British traders were given permission to establish a small post in the village, which was deep in the territory claimed by France. When French demands to evacuate the post failed, Charles Langlade led a party of 250 Ottawa and Ojibwe warriors and French Canadians in a surprise attack on the Miami village on June 21, 1752. The trading post was destroyed, British traders were taken to Detroit as prisoners, and Memeskia was executed. Pickawillany was completely abandoned soon after. As a prelude to the French and Indian War, the Battle of Pickawillany fueled land claim and trading right conflicts between France and Britain. Back Text: Same
Address: N. Hardin Road, Piqua
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Front Text: Founded in 1921 as the Weaver Aircraft Company and located in Lorain, Ohio, the Waco Aircraft Company relocated to Troy in March 1923. It was the first aircraft company to use assembly line production and shock strut landing gear. Leading all civilian aircraft production at a ratio of two to one from 1927-1929, the company had sales distributors in 24 countries worldwide. The United States government became the prime contractor of Waco Aircraft Company's troop/cargo gliders (CG-4A) used extensively during World War II. The company also managed the U.S. Army's glider program for 15 companies that produced gliders nationwide. The last WACO, model W "Aristrocrat," was built in Troy in June 1947. Back Text: Same
Address: 1865 S. County Road 25A, Troy
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Front Text: On the evening of August 3, 1920, at 10:30, two men hurrying home after working at the local Railway Y.M.C.A. discovered smoke and flames at the D. Arnold & Sons Lumber Company. Bradford firemen, with the help of area firefighters, could not contain the raging fire because of the intense heat and lack of available water. By the early morning light, townspeople saw that their town had been almost totally destroyed. Thirty-four businesses and twelve homes were burned to the ground with losses totaling over one million dollars. Many businesses never rebuilt and claimed huge losses due to the lack of insurance coverage. The Ohio State Fire Marshal investigated the fire and ruled arson as the origin. Authorities never apprehended or charged any suspects. Back Text: Same
Address: Iddings Park, E Main Street, Bradford
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Front Text: On November 14, 1935, the rural electrification movement got its start in Piqua with the installation of the first electric pole financed by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). In partnership with the Miami Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc., the pole was constructed to support a power line of 193 miles, bringing electricity to nearly 700 farms in the county. At the time the REA was established by the federal government, only 10% of the rural population had electricity. Today, electric cooperative lines reach more than 36 million consumers in 47 states. Back Text: Same
Address: 344 W. US Route 36, Piqua
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Front Text: Local views on the Vietnam War mirrored national attitudes of pride and confusion. Piqua citizens participated in the "Letters for Life" campaign in 1970 for prisoners of war. Piqua Daily Call assistant news editor James W. DeWeese traveled to Paris in a frustrated attempt to deliver the letters to the Hanoi Peace delegation. The state activated the local Ohio National Guard unit in 1970 to help suppress anti-Vietnam student rioting in Columbus. The military conflict came home in 1966 when William Pitsenbarger became the first of eleven men from Piqua to die in Vietnam. In 1967, Piqua High School graduate Air Force Major William J. Baugh was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. He remained a P.O.W. until 1973. Back Text: William H. Pitsenbarger graduated from the Piqua High School in 1962 and joined the Air Force in 1963. After extensive training he qualified for Air Force Pararescue duty. In Vietnam, Pitsenbarger served on more than 250 combat missions to rescue individuals, including saving a South Vietnamese soldier from a burning mine field, for which he was awarded the Airman's Medal. On April 11, 1966, Pitsenbarger volunteered for a helicopter medical evacuation mission. When the rescue mission came under Viet Cong fire, the helicopter became disabled and withdrew. Pitsenbarger stayed on the ground to help the wounded. He was killed in action saving the lives of others. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on December 8, 2000.
Address: Veteran's Park, S triangle of OH 66 & Washington Avenue, Piqua
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Front Text: On February 15, 2005, Senate Bill 156 designated Ohio State Route 48 as USAF PARARESCUE MEMORIAL PARKWAY. The Parkway honors the memory of all Pararescuemen who perished in the performance of their duties. It is also a tribute to the Air Rescue men and women who died so "That Others May Live." They made the ultimate sacrifice while attempting to save lives and provide aid to the injured, whether on training, civilian or combat missions. This selfless devotion is the finest example of Air Force Core Values: " Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do." Pararescuemen Sgt. Jim Locker, MSgt. Bill McDaniel, SSgt Bill Pitsenbarger and AIC Jim Pleiman were all killed in action while trying to save their fellow man. Remarkably, they all hail from this general area of Ohio, the heart of America. They, and the others, will never be forgotten. Back Text: (Diagram of hometowns of area Pararescue members) Sgt. James D. Locker - PJ, Sidney; A1C James E. Plieman - PJ, Russia; MSgt. William L. McDaniel II - PJ, Greenville; SSgt William H. Pitsenbarger, Piqua, Medal of Honor. "Valley of the Jolly Green Giants" General John P. Jumper- June 12, 2005
Address: 7875 N Crescent Rd/OH 48, Covington