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The Rev. Jacob Ward founded the Brunswick Methodist Episcopal Church in April 1817 with 13 members: Rhoda Stow, John and Lucy Stearns, John and Hannah Hulet, Samuel and Sarah Tillotson, Thomas and Phoebe Stearns, Solomon and Polly Harvey, Lydia Crittenden, and Olivia Ashley. In 1830, John and Lucy Stearns donated land for a cemetery, which included space for a church. A new church was completed in 1872. Bricks used for the building were fired locally and the first windows were glazed with clear glass and protected by shutters. In 1916, the church was extensively remodeled and redecorated. Stained glass replaced the clear glass, the church bell was relocated to the newly-added tower, and the main entrance was moved from the center of the building to the vestibule in the tower. (Continued on other side)
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In 1805, for $1.50 an acre, Jacob Miller purchased this property in the Congressional Land Office in Chillicothe, capital of the new state of Ohio. He and Somerset co-founder John Finck then each built a tavern on either side of town along the Zane’s Trace, laid out along existing Indian trails in 1796-1797 and Ohio’s first major thoroughfare. Finck built his home and tavern in 1807 and Miller his shortly after. From 1800 to 1815, Zane’s Trace saw significant traffic between the established eastern states and the newly opened Northwest Territory. A perpetual stream of emigrants rolled westward, giving constant occupation to hundreds of tavern-keepers. Besides operating his tavern and farming, Jacob Miller was a public servant. In 1809, he was appointed Overseer of the Poor as there was a need to “bind out” poor children to families who could take care of them. [continued on other side]
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The most notable feature of Mantua Center is the “Village Green,” which harkens back to the New England heritage of Mantua Center’s early settlers. The Green sets upon land donated by Hezekiah Nooney Sr. and was important to both the social and commercial interests of the town. The businesses located here were a furniture and cabinet maker’s shop, harness shop, blacksmith shop, post office, tannery, ashery, dry goods store, and distillery. The Methodist Episcopal Church, now the Mantua Civic Center, stands at the southwest corner of the green. Eastlawn cemetery, with a burial that dates to 1816, sits along the south border. The cemetery serves as the final resting place for soldiers of several wars, including the American Revolution, as well as many other early citizens. In 1835 Horace Sizer constructed the stone wall around the cemetery adjacent to Mantua Center Road. [continued on other side]
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With the Division Act of 1800, the U.S. Congress divided the Northwest Territory at a line essentially the present boundary of Indiana and Ohio. The Indiana Territory stood west of the line. The name Northwest Territory was retained for the land east of the line and Chillicothe became its capital. The legislature for the territory convened in Chillicothe in November 1800. Since there were no public buildings in which the legislature could meet, its session was held in a two-story log house that stood on this site called “Abrams’ Big House.” It was so called for its owner, Basil Abrams. During the War of 1812, the building served as the barracks for the 19th U.S. Regiment of Infantry. Thereafter, it was known as the “old barracks” until it was razed circa 1840.
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Deer Creek Quaker Cemetery was established on land donated by Isaac Coates, who brought his family from Chester County, Pennsylvania to settle in Lexington Township in 1820. The name Deer Creek comes from the nearby stream and it signifies the numerous deer that have abounded in the vicinity. The cemetery sits across from the former Deer Creek Quaker Meeting House. Isaac Coates is among the pioneers laid to rest here.
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The township of Kinsman was purchased by John Kinsman of Lisbon, Connecticut, in 1799 from the Connecticut Land Company. Kinsman has been the home of many notable citizens, some of whom include: Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876) and James McGrannahan (1840-1907) were hymn composers and religious musical directors for the nationally-known evangelical Dwight L. Moody Revival Meetings held in Kinsman for thirty years in the late 1800s. Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) was a famous labor and criminal lawyer who grew up in Farmdale and in the “octagon house” in Kinsman. Darrow in probably best known for his work as a defense attorney in the Scopes Trial. (continued on reverse side)
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Orrville was founded in 1852 at the railroad crossing that would later serve the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago and the Columbus, Mount Vernon and Cleveland railroads. The town was named in honor of Judge Smith Orr, who was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Wayne County. Orr persuaded landowner Robert Taggart to partition ten acres into town lots. After buying out the land owned by fellow settlers Christian Horst, David Rudy, and Peter Perrine, Orr engaged Jesse Straughan to create the first plat map that centered the newly-formed town on the railroad crossing. Incorporated on May 9, 1864, Orrville prospered and attracted manufactories of all kinds. Orrville was the largest manufacturing town in Wayne County by 1873.
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Union Baptist Church, established in 1819, is one of Ohio’s early Black churches. Its pastor and members were active on the Underground Railroad from that early date. Between the 1840s-1860s Black churches along the route to and from nearby Poke Patch assisted over 200 escaped slaves. Members met in their homes until able to obtain a log cabin (circa 1879) on a Blackfork farm. In 1919, a larger church was built on land given by The Cambria Clay Products Company. The adjacent cemetery has over fifty veterans from the Civil, Spanish American, both World, Korean, and Vietnam wars. Donald Russell Long, laid to rest in 1966, received a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor. Union Baptist Church, the historic foundation of the Poke Patch-Blackfork community, celebrates an annual Church Anniversary to honor its legacy.
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