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Agricultural development and cultivation on steep lands led to severe soil erosion in the nation in the 1920s and 1930s. In response, the United States Department of Agriculture established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in 1935. The SCS established the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) in the hills of Coshocton County to study and develop methods of conserving soil and water resources. The Federal government and Coshocton County purchased 1,047 acres of land for the program and, in 1936, field research equipment was installed and buildings constructed. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided labor near the program’s inception, as did the Civilian Public Service Agency during World War II. (Continued on other side)
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Agriculture dominated the economy of southeastern Ohio’s Morgan County until the 1940s when harvests dwindled, the population declined, and land values dropped. Surface mining the area’s rich underground coal deposits replaced agriculture as the major industry and revitalized the declining local economy. As the nation’s demand for electricity grew over the next half-century, so did the demand for coal as fuel for nearby power generation plants. During mining’s heyday in the 1960s to the late 1980s, American Electric Power’s former Central Ohio Coal Company subsidiary employed nearly 1,000 people. Nearby communities-such as Cumberland, Caldwell and Chandlersville-thrived. As time passed, however, the robust coal industry was hit hard by environmental regulations that reduced the market for the area’s high-sulfur coal. In turn, mine work forces shrank considerably and local businesses closed. (continued on other side)
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Ohio Columbus Barber began construction of his farm complex in 1909; Barn No. 1 was the first structure. The farm, named for his daughter and son-in-law, ultimately encompassed 3500 acres and 102 structures. It was famous for both the design of its buildings and its scientific agriculture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Barn No. 1 was renovated in 1985 by Yoder Brothers, Inc., for their world headquarters.
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A dense swamp forest roughly the size of the state of Connecticut once stretched across this region of Ohio and Indiana. A remnant of ancient Lake Maumee, this dense, soggy flatland supported abundant waterfowl and wildlife, but blocked travel and settlement and remained largely uninhabited until it was cleared and drained for agriculture between 1860 and 1885. This marsh and other scatter remnants are all that remain of the Great Black Swamp. Managed for a variety of wetland wildlife, Magee is one of the premier bird watching sites in North America, with more than 300 species.
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The Clinton County Courthouse was dedicated October 22, 1919. The Cincinnati firm of Weber, Werner and Adkins designed the edifice and it is a local masterpiece that fuses the Beaux-Arts and Neo-Classical architectural styles. A grand marble staircase rises from the basement to the second floor. At the center of the cruciform plan is a dome 32 feet in diameter with a stained-glass window. The murals of four women beneath the dome represent Agriculture, Education, Medicine, and Industry, and are known as the Guardians of the Courthouse. The county built courthouse and former jail for a combined cost of nearly $370,000.
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Alexander Sutherland (1767-1845) and his wife Sarah (1768-1836) were the first settlers in Newton Township, Trumbull County, Ohio. Coming from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, the Sutherlands acquired 205 acres of land along Duck Creek southward from this site. Alexander was an influential person in the area after the settlement was made at Duck Creek. He was the second Recorder and the first elected Surveyor for Trumbull County. He was an early Mason with Old Erie Lodge, Warren schoolteacher, postmaster at Newton, Newton Township Trustee and Clerk, and Justice of the Peace. Sutherland, along with Ezekiel Hover, marked the first path from this Duck Creek settlement to Youngstown to reach the nearest mill.
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The history of Belpre and the Ohio River are inextricably linked. Settlers from New England, including farmers and Revolutionary War veterans, arrived via flatboats at “Belle-Prairie” (beautiful prairie) in 1789. Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery paid a visit in keelboats in 1803 as they began their epic journey to the Pacific. Belpre’s farmers raised fruits, vegetables, and grain. Packet boats carried flour, livestock, vinegar, and passengers down river, some all the way to New Orleans and thence throughout the world. (Continued on other side)
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Originally called Westfield Township, Samuel Fowler purchased this area in 1798 from the Connecticut Land Company for $12,903.23 while living in Westfield, Massachusetts. His brother Abner arrived the following year to survey the land and separate it into smaller plots that could be sold to people wanting to settle here. A Revolutionary War veteran, Abner was the first to arrive here and also the first recorded death in 1806, the same year that his son Abner Fowler II married the first school teacher in Fowler Ester Jennings. In 1817, Samuel Fowler gave five acres of land to Fowler Center to be used as a park or “common” with the provision that no permanent building ever be built on it. At about the same time, the township name was changed to Fowler to honor its founding family. Agriculture was and remains the main occupation in the Fowler area.
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