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Established in 1879 by Chicago industrialist William P. Rend as a coal mining town, Rendville became a place where African Americans broke the color barrier. In 1888, Dr. Isaiah Tuppins, the first African American to receive a medical degree in Ohio, was elected Rendville’s mayor, also making him the first African American to be elected a mayor in Ohio. Richard L. Davis arrived in Rendville in 1882 and became active in the Knights of Labor. He was one of the labor organizers from the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region who helped found the United Mine Workers of America in 1890. An outstanding writer and orator, Davis was elected to UMWA’s national executive board and organized thousands of African Americans and immigrants to join the union. (continued on other side)
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In 1822 Josiah Hedges purchased the land that would become Tiffin from the Delaware Land Office. By March, this land, situated across the Sandusky River from old Fort Ball (War of 1812) was surveyed and platted by General James Hedges, the brother of Josiah. These events marked the founding year for the city of Tiffin, which was named after Edward Tiffin, Ohio’s first governor and a friend of Josiah Hedges. The legislature commissioned Thomas Henford, Isaac Minor and Cyrus Spink to establish Tiffin as the permanent seat of justice for Seneca County on March 25, 1822.
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The Milford Public Library, Clermont County’s oldest continuously operating library, was founded in 1900 by a local civic organization, the Milford Village Improvement Society. It was preceded by a circulating library–one that charges patrons for renting books–that was chartered in 1822. At the time of the Milford Public Library’s founding, circulating libraries were in decline and public libraries were increasing in number as an inexpensive alternative. To obtain support for their proposed “reading room,” the Society’s Literary Committee travelled door-to-door, soliciting members and books. To become a member of the library, adults paid 25 cents and children paid 10 cents in annual dues. The library’s first–and current–home is the stone building at 19 Water Street. (Continued on other side)
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Bellefontaine was a railroad town from the 1890s to the 1950s. The city was the site of one of the largest roundhouses and repair centers on the Big Four/New York Central Lines and trains stopped here to have steam engines serviced and to switch crews. Up to ninety freight trains and over forty passenger trains came to Bellefontaine each day. The railroad was a major employer in Logan County. Over two hundred employees worked at the roundhouse and shops at any one time and many others were members of train crews. Bellefontaine’s importance as a railroad center waned in the 1960s with the increased use of diesel engines, newer technology, and other modes of transportation. Yet, the railroad and its workers left an indelible mark on the history of Bellefontaine.
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Author, editor, and social critic William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was born in Martins Ferry, the son of an itinerant printer and publisher. Self-educated, Howells learned the printer’s craft early and took up journalism, rising to city editor of the Ohio State Journal (Columbus) in 1858. From 1871 to 1881, he was editor of the Atlantic Monthly magazine, a position of enormous influence in American literary tastes. Howells championed the work of Emily Dickenson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Stephen Crane, as well as several others. A prolific writer himself, he published over one hundred works. Howells is best known for his realistic fiction, including A Modern Instance (1882) and The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885). Many of his novels reflect his Ohio roots.
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When the Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railroad was finished in 1873, Ashtabula’s harbor became a direct route to ship iron ore to the booming steel mills of Youngstown and Pittsburgh. On the west side of the Ashtabula River, a brush-filled gulley became Bridge Street. New buildings and bridges attest to the harbor’s importance as a commercial and shipping hub from the late 19th through mid 20th centuries. Fires destroyed wood-frame buildings on the block closest to the river. A fire in 1886 nearly cleared the north side of Bridge Street. Another fire swept over the south side in 1900. Fire resistant brick buildings replaced frame structures and over the course of rebuilding, the level of the street rose approximately eight feet. In 1889, a swing-span bridge replaced the original pontoon bridge over the river. A bascule lift (draw) bridge replaced the swing bridge in 1925.
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Southern Park Stables, at 126 Washington Boulevard in Boardman, was the private training stable of Attorney David Arrel and was built circa 1912 to house his standardbred horses racing at Southern Park Trotting Track one block south. The Stables is the last remaining structure of a large complex known as Southern Park, which included not only the racetrack and accompanying stables, grandstand, and outbuildings, but a dance hall, picnic pavilions, and baseball diamonds. The park was a favorite destination for Youngstown city residents wishing to relax in the country, and many company picnics were held here. Janie S. Jenkins has lived at Southern Park Stables since 1946 and deeded it and 8.33 acres to the Boardman Township Park District in 1993 with restrictions that it be forever preserved. The wrought iron gates at the driveway entrance were originally the main entrance gates for the racetrack.
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Thomas Johnson first came to Norton Township in 1814, and within three years he had established the township’s first sawmill along the fast-moving waters of Wolf Creek. The enterprising Johnson also erected a tavern, store, and post office, all on the northeast corner of this town square. In 1830 a grist mill was added to the community. Predating the founding of Barberton by seventy-seven years, Johnson’s Corner existed from 1817 until 1929, when it was annexed into Barberton.
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