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1832 Greek Revival Style. The Kinsman House once served as classrooms for the Dana School of Music, Hiram College Branch. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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The first African-American elected to government office in the United States, John Mercer Langston (1829-1897) won the office of Clerk of Brownhelm Township on April 2, 1855. Born in Virginia and raised in Chillicothe, Langston graduated from Oberlin College in 1849 and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1854, becoming Ohio’s first black attorney. He served as the first president of the National Equal Rights League in 1864, and subsequently as professor of law, dean, and acting president of Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1890, he became Virginia’s first black congressman. Throughout his career Langston set a personal example of self-reliance in the struggle for justice for African-Americans.
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Built by William Stedman in 1816 of local stone, this building served as the Bank of the Alexandrian Society, which printed its own currency. The bank failed in 1817 and 1837. This building has also been used as a store, post office, and interurban railway depot. It was enlarged and opened as a museum during Granville’s Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1955, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Granville Historic District in 1980.
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Since 1868, Ironton’s annual Memorial Day parade has recognized those in Lawrence County who died while defending our country’s freedom. This was the same year in which the Grand Army of the Republic established May 30 as Decoration Day. Originally established to commemorate soldiers who died during the Civil War, the parade now honors those who served during all the nation’s wars. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971. The Ironton event is recognized as the oldest Memorial Day parade in Ohio and the oldest continuing Memorial Day observance in the nation.
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In 1839, Bishop John Baptist Purcell recruited European priests to minister to his Ohio flock. Father Louis Navarron, a young French missionary, was appointed to the French Catholic population of Darke and Shelby Counties in the area now marked by the villages of Russia, Versailles, and Frenchtown. St. Valbert, a centrally-located log church, was dedicated in December 1840 by Bishop Purcell to serve the region. In Russia, a log chapel was dedicated on Jean Jacques DeBrosse’s farm in 1846. Parish boundary lines were established in 1850, Precious Blood priests arrived, and a new church was dedicated to Saint Remigius in August 1852. As the congregation grew, so did the church buildings. The current Saint Remy Catholic Church, built between 1891-1892, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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The Village of Van Buren was laid out December 28, 1833, by John Trout and George Ensminger on the boundary of Portage and Cass Townships. It was comprised of 53 lots surrounding a public square, and was named in honor of Martin Van Buren, a prominent national figure (8th President, 1837-41). The village was incorporated in 1866 and Daniel Frick was elected the first mayor.
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Ground was broken for Mariemont by Mary M. Emery, the village’s founder, on April 23, 1923. This planned community was designed by eminent town planner John Nolen and twenty-five of America’s leading architects. As part of the “garden city movement,” Mariemont was influenced by English models. Mariemont was incorporated July 12, 1941, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1979.
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James Elrick, a local carpenter, built the Lane-Hooven House in 1863 for Clark Lane (1823-1907), a Hamilton industrialist and philanthropist. Lane, who first came to the area at age twenty-one as a blacksmith, resided in the house for more than eleven years. In 1866, Lane built the library, also originally an octagon, across the street. In 1868, he conveyed the library to the city. The C. Earl Hooven family resided in the house from 1895 to 1942. In 1943, Bertrand Kahn purchased the residence and presented it to the community for civic and charitable uses. It was donated as a memorial to his father, Lazard Kahn, a Hamilton industrialist and civic leader. The Lane-Hooven House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. (Continued on other side)