Remarkable Ohio

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Front Text: Medicinal value of springs promoted by Charles Matheny, 1840. First hotel built 1864 and resort named Sodaville. Under ownership of General Benjamin Coates 1888-91, Smith Grimes 1891-08, and J. W. Rogers 1908-20. Mineral Springs Health Resort Nationally known for its large hotel complex and recreational facilities. This hotel destroyed by fire, 1924. Smaller hotel built 1904, quarter mile north, continued operation through 1940. Back Text: Same

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Front Text: Founded 1887 by John Q. Roads on the Cincinnati & Eastern Railway (1881) and the Old West Union Road (1807). Incorporated 1911. Named after Franklin Seaman who donated land to the railroad for a station. Home of Will Rogers, "The Black King of the Air," the only black hot air balloonist in the U.S. in the 1890's. "Adopted hometown" of Daniel Homer Webster (1878-1943), poet, humorist and Dayton, Ohio, journalist. Back Text: Same

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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: 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.