Remarkable Ohio

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Front Text: The inn was built 1800-01 by Peter Wickerham, a Revolutionary War veteran. It was used as an overnight stagecoach stop and tavern on Zane's Trace until ca. 1850. Runaway slaves were hidden here when the "Underground Railroad" was in operation. Confederate soldiers, commanded by General John Hunt Morgan, slept in the inn on the night of July 15, 1863, when "Morgan's Raiders" passed through Adams County. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: Massie's Station, built in 1791, was the fourth permanent settlement center in Ohio and the last stockade settlement built in Ohio. It provided protection from the Indians for Manchester's settlers until 1794. Manchester was the first settlement in the Virginia Military District and the site of the first court held in Adams County, September, 1797. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: Platted in 1881 by Isaiah Custer at the junction of Zane's Trace (1796-97) and the Cincinnati and Eastern Railway (1881). Incorporated 1886. Named after John G. Peebles, Portsmouth, Ohio, businessman. David Nixon constructed the first house in town, operated for many years as the Nixon Hotel. Annual chautauquas were conducted on grounds south of the railroad beginning in 1906 and continuing through 1917. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: (Stout Post Office) A thriving riverport in the 19th Century, founded in 1835 by William Stout. Elisha Stout, son of William, born and raised here, was one of the founding fathers of Omaha, Nebraska, and Denver, Colorado. Former site of Adamsville which served as the county seat of Adams County from Dec., 1797, to Dec., 1798. A log courthouse and jail were erected here to serve the public. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: Originally a vigilante group, the Bentonville Anti-Horse Thief Society was formed here in March 1853 by area landowners to recover stolen horses and mules and to prosecute thieves. Horse theft was a serious offense in the antebellum era. Trustees nominated a captain and riders, who received a $10 reward upon the capture of a thief or stolen horse. As horses lost their former importance in society in the early 1900s, the organization evolved into a social club. Its annual banquet, held each April, celebrates the continuity of this Adams County tradition. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: The First Presbyterian Church of West Union, built in 1810, is known as the "Church of the Governors." Although the date is uncertain, the congregation was organized circa 1800 on Thomas Kirker's land on Eagle Creek, about three miles from West Union. Kirker, Ohio's second governor, was influential in organizing the congregation and raising funds for the construction of the building. Stonemason, Thomas Metcalfe, Kentucky governor from 1828-1832, was awarded the contract to build the walls for $250.00; the total construction cost was $500.00. The first three regular ministers - William Williamson, Dyer Burgess, and John P. Van Dyke - all held strong anti-slavery sentiment that was felt throughout the congregation. During the Civil War, soldiers of the 70th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment of recruits from Adams County and eastern Brown County, were said to have been temporarily quartered in the church before leaving West Union in 1861. Back Text: Born in Ireland in 1760, Thomas Kirker settled in Adams County in 1794 and began a long career as a public servant. A leading man in Liberty Township, he was elected as a delegate to the first Constitutional Convention in 1802. In 1803, Kirker was a member of the Lower House of the Legislature from Adams County. Later that same year, he entered the Ohio Senate and served continuously until 1815. As speaker of the Ohio Senate he became acting governor when Edward Tiffin resigned his governorship in 1807 to accept his election to the United States Senate. Kirker filled the vacancy in the governor's office from March 4, 1807 until December 12, 1808. From 1808 until his death in 1837, he was a ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church of West Union.