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Established in 1879 by Chicago industrialist William P. Rend as a coal mining town, Rendville became a place where African Americans broke the color barrier. In 1888, Dr. Isaiah Tuppins, the first African American to receive a medical degree in Ohio, was elected Rendville’s mayor, also making him the first African American to be elected a mayor in Ohio. Richard L. Davis arrived in Rendville in 1882 and became active in the Knights of Labor. He was one of the labor organizers from the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region who helped found the United Mine Workers of America in 1890. An outstanding writer and orator, Davis was elected to UMWA’s national executive board and organized thousands of African Americans and immigrants to join the union. (continued on other side)
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In 1784, the state of Virginia ceded all of its Northwest Territory to the federal government except for this tract to satisfy the land bounties owed to its Revolutionary War soldiers. The Virginia Military District extended from the Scioto River in the east to the Little Miami River in the west, and from the Ohio River on the south to the town of Kenton in the north. The District contained over 4 million acres of land. Nathaniel Massie founded Manchester, which is the fourth oldest settlement in Ohio, as a base for his surveying operations. Manchester, sometimes called Massie’s Station, was founded in 1791, populated largely by settlers coming from Kentucky and Virginia.
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The Newton Falls covered bridge was built over the east branch of the Mahoning River around 1831. A crosswalk was added in 1921 for children crossing the bridge on their way to the school on Center Street. The Newton Falls bridge is considered the second oldest existing covered bridge in Ohio, the oldest covered bridge in use on its original site, the only covered bridge in the state with a covered crosswalk, and the last surviving covered bridge in Trumbull County. Built on the Town Lattice truss plan, the bridge is 123 feet long and twenty-four feet wide. It has a clear span of 101 1/2 feet and a sixteen foot-wide roadway. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the structure is maintained by Trumbull County.
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Settled in 1833, Arcadia was one of the last permanent villages to be established in eastern Hancock County. Pioneers Ambrose, David, and Ephriam Peters laid out the farming village on the south edge of “Wild Cat Thicket.” They found the resident Wyandot Indians friendly and helpful. Arcadia was incorporated in 1859. Soon after, the Lake Erie & Western, and the New York Chicago & St. Louis railroads entered the village. (Continued on other side)
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On August 9, 1968, a plane carrying 31 military passengers and crew members left the Clinton County Air Force Base for completion of an annual two-week active duty training held at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts. The transport was assigned to the 907th Tactical Airlift Group, 302nd Tactical Airlift Wing. Just after takeoff, the C-119G “Flying Boxcar” lost power, and the pilot attempted to return to the base. The plane crash-landed and caught fire on the Ottie Griffith Farm two miles from the base. Six reservists perished, and many passengers and rescuers were injured.
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Completed in 1892 at the height of the region’s oil boom, the Pemberville Town Hall followed a late-1800s municipal trend to house many civic functions under one roof. The fire station, jail, and council chambers occupied the ground level, while the entire second floor hosted a public auditorium, or “opera house,” that seated 250. The 1897 debut of The Mikado featured new electric lighting. The ornate Opera House was the center of Pemberville’s social activities for decades, hosting dances, plays, socials, graduation ceremonies, political meetings, lectures, and husking bees. Traveling companies performed concerts, vaudeville, minstrel, and medicine shows. Following World War II the Opera House fell into disuse. It was restored in 1999 to both its former grandeur and its place in Pemberville’s cultural life.
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Bellefontaine was a railroad town from the 1890s to the 1950s. The city was the site of one of the largest roundhouses and repair centers on the Big Four/New York Central Lines and trains stopped here to have steam engines serviced and to switch crews. Up to ninety freight trains and over forty passenger trains came to Bellefontaine each day. The railroad was a major employer in Logan County. Over two hundred employees worked at the roundhouse and shops at any one time and many others were members of train crews. Bellefontaine’s importance as a railroad center waned in the 1960s with the increased use of diesel engines, newer technology, and other modes of transportation. Yet, the railroad and its workers left an indelible mark on the history of Bellefontaine.
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Aurora’s first church was established on December 31, 1809 under the guidance of the Connecticut Missionary Society. The congregation called the Rev. John Seward of Granby, Massachusetts to be the first minister in 1812. Built on land donated by Samuel Forward and dedicated in 1824, the original brick church was replaced by a wood-frame building in 1872. The First Congregational Church and the Aurora Disciples of Christ formed an association called the Federated Church in Aurora in 1913. These three entities merged to form The Church in Aurora in 1933, serving the community as more than a landmark.
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