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Among the fifty-four buildings that comprise the Mentor Avenue District are examples of Federal, Greek Revival, Early Romanesque Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, and twentieth century eclectic styles. Renowned master builder Jonathan Goldsmith (1783-1847), whose Federal and Greek Revival designs define the so-called “Western Reserve” style, built at least two of these houses; the Denton-Powers House (ca. 1820) is representative. The Mentor Avenue District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Painesville City Hall, the Sessions House (157 Mentor Avenue) and the Smead House (187 Mentor Avenue) are also listed individually on the National Register.
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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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In 1918, Charles Young made a desperate attempt to convince the U.S. Army that he was fit for duty. The Army’s highest-ranking Black officer, he had been medically retired and not given a command during World War I. To demonstrate his fitness, he rode 497 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. Leaving on June 6 he made the journey in 17 days, 16 on horseback and 1 resting. Averaging 31 miles each day, he rode 45 minutes and walked 15 minutes every hour. Upon his arrival, Young met with Secretary of War Newton Baker. Pressured by the Black press and the White House, Baker hedged. He recalled Young to active duty a year later and assigned him to Camp Grant, Illinois, just five days before the end of the war.
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Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks was born at this site on September 7, 1819. While still a baby, Thomas’ family moved to Indiana and he grew up and rose to prominence in the Hoosier State. Hendricks served consecutively in the Indiana State Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives during the late 1840s and the 1850s. From 1863 to1869, he was one of Indiana’s U.S. Senators. Hoosiers elected Hendricks to serve as Indiana’s sixteenth governor in 1872, making him the first Democrat to win that office in a northern state after the Civil War. In 1876, vice-presidential candidate Hendricks and his running mate, Samuel Tilden, lost the presidential election to Ohioan Rutherford B. Hayes. Hendricks joined Grover Cleveland on the Democratic party’s presidential ticket in 1884 and won. Hendricks died in 1885, after serving only eight months as vice president.
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Located in southern Wood County, the village of New Baltimore was founded in 1860, with the first plat of twenty-nine acres recorded by B.L. Peters in 1873. Official incorporation occurred February 7, 1876, with the name being changed to North Baltimore in 1880. The town flourished owing to the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, from which the town took its name, and the discovery of rich oil and gas deposits in 1886. First settlers included: Jacob Dirk, George Franks, Levi A. Tarr, and B.L. Peters. The population of the village grew from 700 in 1880 to 2,857 in 1890. One of the first buildings, which was erected in 1860, served as a school and meeting hall and was located on the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets. This area, then known as “The Great Black Swamp,” had given birth to a thriving town.
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James Sr. and Rebecca (Junkin) Galloway moved with their family to Greene County from Kentucky in 1798, constructing their first home, a small log cabin. Galloway built the present structure around 1799 near the bend in the Little Miami River near what is now Goes Station on U.S. 68. In 1936, the Greene County Historical Society moved the home to the corner of Second and Monroe streets and then to the present site in 1965. The 1974 Xenia Tornado caused serious damage to the building, which has been restored and maintained by the historical society. James Sr. served as a hunter during the American Revolution, procuring game for the army, and while in Ohio, was the first treasurer of Greene County. His son James Jr. served as the first County Surveyor.
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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)