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The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917. Largely through the efforts of Chillicothe attorney John Poland, the War Department selected Chillicothe as the site of an army training camp for inductees from Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Construction began at Camp Sherman, named for Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, in June 1917. When the first recruits arrived in September, more than fourteen thousand workers had erected two thousand buildings on the 1,700-acre site. The rapid influx of soldiers increased Chillicothe’s population from 16,000 to 60,000.
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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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During the Second World War, the U.S. Army constructed a 131-building hospital on level farmland a quarter mile northwest of this marker. The army built the facility as a 1,520-bed hospital in the winter and spring of 1942-’43. It was later expanded to 168 buildings with a 2,000-bed capacity, including a German POW camp for 234 prisoners engaged in hospital work. Between June 1943 and March 1946, when the facility closed, 17,608 veterans were treated here, most having returned with injuries received in the European or Pacific theaters of war. Convalescence and rehabilitation were the hospital’s primary missions. Most patients returned to active duty when they recovered. After the war, the facility became the Cambridge State Hospital, which treated mentally ill and developmentally disabled Ohioans until 2008. Thereafter, the facility became the privately-operated Cambridge Behavioral Hospital and the state-operated Cambridge Developmental Center.
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Washington Court House was founded in 1810 by American Revolutionary War veterans from the state of Virginia. They also established Washington Cemetery in 1810 and located it in what was originally the southern part of the town. With the coming of the railroad, the cemetery’s size was reduced to what is now approximately half an acre of land containing one hundred and twelve headstones. One of the prominent people buried in the cemetery is Judge Wade Loofborough, known for his interest in the utopian socialist society called Fourierism. He purchased land in Clermont County to establish the society, but it failed. Loofborough eventually became a respected judge and lawyer in Fayette County. Other distinguished people buried here include veterans of the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
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After completing Fort Winchester, Brigadier General James Winchester ordered his troops to cross to the north side of the Maumee River. The troops occupied the new site, Camp #2, from November 3-10, 1812. An earthen fortification was built for protection. Militia soldier Elias Darnell recorded on November 4th that “The weather is very rainy, which makes our situation extremely unpleasant…. Four of this army have gone to the silent tomb to-day never more to visit their friends in Kentucky; the fever is very prevalent in camp; nearly every day there is one or more buried.” Winchester referred to a burial place for the encampment in his General Orders for November 5th. Camp #2 proved to be too wet and marshy, Winchester ordered his army to move to six miles down river to a site called Camp #3.
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The Hopewell Associate Reformed Church and Cemetery, now known as Historic Hopewell, was founded in 1808 in a log building that was replaced in 1826 with the present building. It was built by the area’s first settlers, mainly Scotch-Irish who left Kentucky and South Carolina because of their opposition to slavery. The church encouraged worship by African Americans and played an important role in the Underground Railroad. It became the parent church for four “Daughter” Presbyterian congregations: Fairhaven in 1835, Oxford in 1837, College Corner in 1849, and Morning Sun in 1876. Reverend Alexander Porter, the first pastor, was committed to education and constructed a school near the Hopewell Spring that still produces clear water. “Old Hopewell” was completely refurbished in 1880, but by 1915 the membership declined and regular services discontinued. Today Hopewell holds Sunday services in the summer and is maintained by a generous and devoted group of volunteers.
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Philip Sheridan was most likely born in County Cavan, Ireland in 1831, but records do not indicate his actual birthplace. His family moved to Somerset when Philip was a child and lived down the avenue from this site. His family later owned the house across the street. His military interest was inspired by “Muster” day and frequent visits from a young West Pointer named William T. Sherman. Sheridan graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1853 and served on the Western Frontier Indian campaigns prior to the Civil War. In 1862, Sheridan became Colonel of the Second Michigan Calvary. At Stones River, Tennessee, he commanded a Division of the Twentieth Corps and stubbornly held General William S. Rosecrans’ right flank, distinguishing himself in battle. (continued on other side)
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Hugh Mosher was the fifer portrayed in Archibald Willard’s “Spirit of ’76”, one of America”s most famous patriotic paintings. Mosher was born on January 29, 1819 in Perry, Lake County (then part of Geauga County), Ohio. He served as Fifer Major in the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. After the conflict, Mosher was considered the finest fifer in the state, and performed at veterans’ reunions and other celebrations. Always popular and noted for his generosity, Mosher died on August 15, 1896 and is buried in Brighton (Lorain County), Ohio.
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