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Merion Village was named for the Nathaniel Merion family, who in 1809 settled what is now the South Side of Columbus on 1800 acres of the Refugee Lands. Entrepreneur William Merion operated “Merion’s Landing” in the 1830s to capitalize on the canal trade from the Columbus Feeder Canal. This area saw a large influx of German immigrants as the South Side industrialized in the mid-nineteenth century. Later, many Irish, Italian, and eastern European immigrants who worked in the local steel mills and foundries made their homes here.
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The nine-car funeral train for President Abraham Lincoln departed Washington, D.C. on April 21, 1865. It arrived in Urbana on April 29 at 10:40 p.m. Urbana’s citizens erected an arch of evergreens and flowers near the station west of Main Street. A large crowd of mourners received the train. The arch was hastily removed, too narrow to allow the train’s passage. Other memorial gestures included a large cross, entwined with evergreen wreaths.
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John Young included a public square in his town plan of 1798. A one-room log schoolhouse opened in 1803. In the decades that followed, the Market and Federal Street intersection became the social center of Youngstown with wood-frame houses, churches, and an opera house surrounding the square. Horse-drawn streetcars, running from Brier Hill through the square, became the first form of public transportation in 1875. From 1869 to 1969 the nationally known Tod Hotel dominated the southeast corner of the square. Guests included seven U.S. presidents. Federal Street was paved in 1882, and electric street lights were installed in 1886. The “Diamond,” as the square was sometimes called, became the transportation hub of the city, especially after the Market Street Bridge opened in 1899. Marker for “Central Square (1900-2004)” across the street.
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First Baptist Church of Dayton organized on May 29, 1824. A council met on the porch of William Huffman’s home at Third and Jefferson and approved 9 members as a congregation. The next day Lydia Huffman was baptized in the Great Miami River, the first recorded Baptist immersion in the city. Their first church building was erected in 1827 on Main Street. In 1829 the congregation suffered a Campbellite schism. Those resolved to remain Baptist incorporated on February 25, 1837, as The First Regular Baptist Church of Dayton, Ohio. The foundations for the Monument Avenue building were begun prior to the 1913 Dayton flood and the cornerstone was laid May 31, 1914. The building was completed, furnished, and ready for worship on June 26, 1915. (Continued on other side)
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Mesopotamia Village District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 24, 1974. Many consider it to be “the most unspoiled nineteenth century central green type of village in northeastern Ohio.” The district includes houses, commercial buildings, a town hall, churches, and a cemetery. Surrounding the 1600-foot-long public green these structures represent Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, Italianate, and vernacular architectural styles constructed between 1820 and 1902. One of the oldest buildings in the district is the colonnaded Greek Revival commercial building at the southwest end of the green. Built in the 1820s for early resident Isaac Clark, it was operated as a store by F.C. Peck. Over the ensuing centuries it has served as a barber shop, post office, and an undertakers. (Continued on other side)
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Fout Hall was one of three original buildings on the Bonebrake Theological Seminary campus. Constructed 1920-1923, it was named for Dr. J. E. Fout, who managed campus construction. Bonebrake Seminary was founded in 1871 by Dayton’s United Brethren in Christ Church and became co-educational in 1873. Generous cash and land gifts (1909-1911) enabled the construction of a new campus. Fout Hall, the administration building, and a powerhouse were designed by Dayton architect Frederick J. Hughes in the Jacobethan Revival style. The three-story buff-brick dormitory was the largest of the buildings and cost $250,000. As well as dining hall, laundry, and storage facilities, it featured 12 single rooms, 54 two-room suites, and 6 three-room suites. Fout Hall was an integral part of the National Register listing of the Dayton View Triangle Historic District in 2022.
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The Village of Poland officially incorporated in August 1866, a year after the end of the Civil War. In April 1867, the citizens elected John Leslie as mayor. As of 1880, Poland’s population exceeded 400. Through its history, the village has consisted of a four-acre village green, churches, schools, hotels, a sawmill, gristmill, post office, tannery, and foundry, as well as carriage, tin, and cabinet shops; drug, dry goods, and hardware stores, and doctors, blacksmiths, and shoemakers. Residents swam in and skated on Yellow Creek. The Poland Municipal Forest was established in 1938 and annexed later as the Village continued to grow. In 1966, the residents held a three day Centennial Celebration, featuring an address by Governor James Rhodes. The centennial year also saw the publication of a history of Poland and the restoration of Centennial Gardens.
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Founded in 1842, Salem Lutheran Church is Toledo’s first and oldest Lutheran congregation. Located in Toledo’s oldest neighborhood, Vistula, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the church was originally composed of German immigrants and incorporated as “Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Congregation” under the guidance of Reverend George Cronenwett. The first sanctuary was erected in 1844. Ten years later, a Lutheran constitution was accepted and the name “Salem” was chosen. The current church structure was built in 1871at a total cost of $12,000. Major renovations occurred in 1889, 1916, and the mid 1960s. A Wicks pipe organ was installed in 1967. (continued on other side)