, OH
Through the terms of his will, absentee British landowner Samuel Gist (c. 1723-1815) freed his 350 slaves in Virginia. Gist intended that these freed people would remain on the land and receive instruction in Christianity and that schools would be established for their children. The settlement of Gist’s estate funded the relocation of the freed slaves to Ohio. Gist’s executors acquired over 2,200 acres of land in Ohio. These lands included two large tracts in Scott and Eagle Townships in Brown County in 1819 and another 207 acres in Fairfield Township (now Penn Township) in Highland County in 1831 and 1835. As of 2010, no descendants of the freed Gist slaves lived in the original Scott Township settlement.
, OH
In 1854, Samuel and Rebecca McClellan Collins deeded 1.28 acres to Beavercreek Township, Greene County, for the purpose of building a schoolhouse. The first two schoolhouses were constructed of stone with fireplaces for heat. Collins neighborhood children in first through eighth grade were educated in the present red brick building until 1944, when decreased enrollment forced Xenia Township to close the school. Virgil and Helen Bryson Brantley, great-granddaughter of Samuel and Rebecca Collins, purchased the school property in 1982 and began the restoration of the vandalized and deteriorated schoolhouse. The pony/coal shed and privies were rebuilt on their foundations. (Continued on other side)
, OH
Edmund Munger was born in 1763 in Norfolk, Connecticut, and later moved to Vermont. In 1799, his wife Eunice Kellogg and five children traveled by wagon and flat-bottomed boat to claim land in Washington Township. A blacksmith by trade and a farmer, Munger was deeply interested in community affairs. In 1804, he was elected a Montgomery County Commissioner and four years later to Ohio’s Seventh General Assembly. From 1809 to 1826, he served as Clerk of Washington Township. His militia men elected him a Brigadier General in 1809 to take command of the Second Brigade, First Division of the Ohio Militia. During the War of 1812, Governor Return J. Meigs instructed Munger to defend the frontier within his command. His quick action protected settlers and kept vital supply routes open. General Munger died at his farm here in 1850 and is buried next to his wife in the Old Centerville Cemetery.
, OH
In 1907, the Goshen School Building, later known as both Goshen Intermediate School and Sheila Green Elementary, was erected. The two-story, buff-colored, pressed-brick building was the first attempt at school consolidation in Goshen Township. The last of twelve one-room schools was closed in 1916 and students transferred to the Goshen School Building. As a result of the consolidation, four rooms were added. In 1930, a free-standing auditorium/gymnasium was built next to the 1907 building. Approval of the first bond issue, in 1937, made possible twelve new classrooms and the renovation of the building. (Continued on other side)
, OH
The earliest settlers to Lexington Township were members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, many who came from Virginia and New Jersey between 1805 and 1807. They chose this site for its proximity to the Mahoning River, which in early days held great promise as a commercial waterway. Amos Holloway platted the Village of Lexington in 1807. Pioneer Jesse Felts, who died in 1818, is reported to be one of the first interred at this site. The cemetery is still used occasionally for burials.
, OH
At 440 feet in length, the Lakeshore Park Main Pavilion, now known as the Ashtabula Township Park Lakefront Pavilion, is thought to be the longest and oldest lakefront pavilion in continuous use on the Great Lakes. Built in 1919, the pavilion, with its bandstand/gazebo in the middle, is of steel frame construction, and stood unchanged for the most part except for the swept wing design roof replacement. Extensive Civilian Conservation Corps improvements were made in the park near the pavilion during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since its founding, people from all over northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia have chosen this site for family outings and company, union, and political gatherings.
, OH
Pioneer Pavilion, one of the oldest structures in Youngstown, is a rare surviving example of early nineteenth-century industry. James Heaton constructed this sandstone building in 1821 as a mill for carding and fulling wool. A millrace from Mill Creek and a waterwheel on the west side supplied the power. In the 1830s and 1840s, the woolen mill was converted to a storage facility for the nearby Mill Creek Furnace and later served as a cattle barn. In 1891, Youngstown attorney Volney Rogers purchased the property for Mill Creek Park, renovating the building in 1893 as a dining and dancing facility, and naming it Pioneer Pavilion. Generations of area residents spanning three centuries have celebrated social events in this historic landmark.
, OH
Men from Franklin Township were among the first from Ohio to leave for the war and participated in many of the conflict’s great campaigns. Individual companies of the 1st Ohio (90 day), 2nd Ohio, 75th Ohio, and 79th Ohio infantry were raised locally. Other Franklin men served in the 60th (1 year), 69th Ohio, and 93rd Ohio Infantry Regiments, the 4th Ohio Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery Regiment. The township’s regiments served from First Bull Run in 1861 to Bentonville in 1865, participating in the battles of Perrysville, Stone’s River, Chicamauga, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, among many others.
614.297.2300
Contact Us
