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After World War II, colleges across the country struggled to house students following surges in enrollments made possible by the G.I. Bill. Wilmington College was no exception. The College’s enrollment doubled compared to pre-war levels. On April 13, 1948, the president of Wilmington College, Samuel Marble, called a student rally and unveiled a plan to build a much needed men’s dormitory entirely with volunteer labor and materials. Ground was broken that very day. In the months that followed, there was a great outpouring of public support and donations as faculty, students, and community members worked together to build the dormitory. The building was dedicated in honor of President Marble’s leadership on October 27, 1950.
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With news of hostilities at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Ripley men formed one of Ohio’s first military units and established Camp Ripley on what was the 12-acre Ripley Fairgrounds. Chosen as Captain was West Point graduate Jacob Ammen. His unit would be a saving force for Ulysses S. Grant’s troops at Pittsburg Landing raising him to the rank of Brigadier General. Soon barns and buildings became military quarters, and tents dotted the landscape from William Street to Maplewood Cemetery. Camp Ripley, also known as Camp Ammen, served as a regional mustering point and military drilling location. Ripley gained distinction as being the only town in the United States to have soldier’s organizations fighting from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.
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Thirteen African American families migrated to Pebble Township in Pike County in the early 1820s from Virginia. Some of the families were former slaves while others were freeborn people of color. Their farm knowledge and skill helped to make them prosperous, angering some of their white neighbors who began a campaign of harassment. Ten of the original African American settlers eventually moved away, but despite the difficulties with the white population, other African Americans continued to arrive to the settlement. They founded a church, later known as the Eden Baptist Church, built a meeting hall, and organized a school. Several of the families were also involved in the activity of the Underground Railroad. The PP Settlement thrived until the 1950s when, for economic reasons, residents moved to other communities.
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Opened in the fall of 1930, Universal Stadium became the home of the Portsmouth Spartans professional football team. Earlier that summer, the Spartans had just become a member of the National Football League (NFL). Led by a few local businessmen, the Portsmouth National Football League Corporation raised money to help build the permanent stadium for the Spartans. The stadium opened on September 14, 1930 as the Spartans defeated the Newark (New Jersey) Tornadoes for their first NFL victory. Ten days later the Spartans played one of the NFL’ s first night games against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Portsmouth Times said, “Night football has come to stay, at least in Portsmouth.” From 1930 to 1933, the Spartans compiled a record of 19 wins 2 losses and 4 ties at Universal Stadium. (continued on other side)
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In 1809 the citizens of Zanesville erected a building on this site which served as the capitol of Ohio from October 1, 1810, until May 1, 1812. The 9th and 10th sessions of the Ohio General Assembly met here before returning to Chillicothe in May 1812. The building was then used as the Muskingum County Courthouse until the present courthouse was built in 1874. The 1809 date stone from the old building was incorporated into the new building and may be seen over the front steps.
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Built in 1833 as a health resort named the Mansion House Hotel, Elliott Hall is noted as Ohio’s oldest collegiate Greek Revival building. The closure of the Bank of the United States and an economic panic in 1837 created nation-wide financial difficulties, which led to the decline of the luxury resort. Under the leadership of Reverend Adam Poe, minister of William Street Methodist Church, the citizens of Delaware purchased the building for the establishment of a Methodist college for men. Ohio Wesleyan University was chartered on March 7, 1842, and the founding building was named for Dr. Charles Elliott, Ohio Conference leader who helped examine the site and establish the university. In 1877, Ohio Wesleyan University and the Ohio Wesleyan Female College merged into a co-educational institution. Elliott Hall was moved to its present location in 1892 when University Hall was built.
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Fowlers Mill (originally Fowler’s Mills) developed around a group of mills built in the 1830s on the Chagrin River. Opportunities from these mills led to Fowlers Mill becoming the commercial center of Munson Township. From the 1830s into the twentieth century, the community expanded with construction of churches, a post office, township hall, stores, hotel, blacksmith shop, schools, and houses built in such styles as Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne. This type of community center was common in rural, nineteenth century America, but rarely survives with so much original fabric intact. On Mayfield Road, the Disciple Church was built in 1842. East of the church, the brick central school built in 1913 replaced earlier one-room schoolhouses. The gristmill is the only mill standing in Geauga County. The cemetery contains burials dating from the 1830s. The Fowler’s Mills Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
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Around 1900, the newly formed Litchfield Cemetery and Park Association needed a band to lead processions to and from the town cemetery on Memorial Day. The Litchfield Town Band was born. Urial Crow served as its first director, so the group was sometimes known as “The Crow Band”. Although there were periods when the band was inactive, it has been a community institution for more than a century. The group plays a broad repertoire of standards and marches by John Philip Sousa at Memorial Day and other commemorations, ice cream socials, and various community events. Directors have included Urial Crow, Loren Hayes (c. 1915), Floyd Koons (mid-1920s), Raymond Bradley (1935-1939), Hal Leach (1939-1945), Kenneth Bradley (1946-2011) and Cynthia Bennett (since 2012).