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Utopia was founded in 1844 by followers of French philosopher Charles Fourier (1772-1837). Fourierism, based on utopian socialism and the idea of equal sharing of investments in money and labor, reached peak popularity in the United States about 1824 until 1846. The experimental community of Utopia dissolved in 1846 due to lack of financial success and disenchantment with Fourierism. John O. Wattles, leader of a society of spiritualists, purchased the land and brought his followers to Utopia in 1847. The spiritualists, who sought secluded areas to practice their religion, built a two-story brick house on the shore of the Ohio River. A flash flood on December 13, 1847, killed most of Wattles’ people. The majority of the few survivors left the area. Thus, the idea of the perfect society, or utopia, died. Henry Jernegan of Amelia, laid out the present village in 1847.
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Built with the funds and labor of residents of Weymouth, this structure was home to the Weymouth School from 1925 to 1956. It was designed in the Colonial Revival style by Cleveland architect Paul T. Cahill (1888-1954). Two classrooms accommodated students from grades one through eight and an auditorium served both the children and the community. In 1953, a school for disabled children was established in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina by their friends and families. It moved into the vacant Weymouth School building in 1956. In 1960, Medina County citizens passed a levy to operate it as the first county-supported school for disabled students in the state. Later known as the Achievement Center, it continued at this site until 1992.
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St. Boniface Catholic Church began in 1834 as a mission of several area churches and in 1836, the parish built its first church. In 1844 Bishop John Purcell commissioned Swiss born, Father Francis de Sales Brunner, a Missionary of the Precious Blood, to take pastoral charge of St. Boniface. Under the leadership of Father Brunner, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, established in Italy in 1815, and the Sisters of the Precious Blood, founded in Switzerland in 1834, began ministry here in New Riegel (Wolfscreek) in 1844. Over two hundred acres of land were purchased for the priests, brothers, and sisters. The Missionaries brought spiritual support, farm labor, and education to the German immigrants of New Riegel. The sisters began their ministry of prayer in the convent, Mary at the Crib, on December 22, 1844. (Continued on other side)
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The Putnam County Pioneer Association was organized September 6, 1873, at a meeting in Kalida, Ohio. Its stated purpose was to “perpetuate the early history of our county.” Members gathered oral histories from early residents and published two volumes of Pioneer Reminiscences in 1878 and 1887. The all-day annual meeting, held every year in September, grew into a larger festival. In 1970, the Kalida Lions Club, with funds generated from the event, purchased the former Kalida Methodist Church at 201 E. Main Street and “sold” it for $10 to the Pioneer Association for use as a museum. The Pioneer Association adopted a revised constitution and changed its name to The Putnam County Historical Society in 1971. It continues to hold its annual meeting during the “Pioneer Days” weekend.
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On a forested hillside south of New Straitsville, the spacious 1000 square foot Robinson’s Cave offered a secluded location with great acoustics where large groups of Hocking Valley coal miners could meet in secret. Beginning in about 1870, labor-organizing meetings were held at the cave by various emerging unions including the Knights of Labor. New Straitsville resident Christopher Evans, a well-known union organizer, used Robinson’s Cave to lead miners throughout the long Hocking Valley Coal Strike of 1884-1885. These meetings gave the miners a voice in the formation of a national organization called the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers, later renamed the National Progressive Union. The cave was also where non-union miners met to plan to set the Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron Company mines on fire in a desperate attempt to end the Hocking Valley Strike. [continued on other side]
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With ready access to raw materials, fuel, skilled labor, and transportation, the Ohio Valley became the center of the American glass industry during the late 1800s. Among dozens of local manufacturers, the Imperial Glass Company, founded in 1901 by river man and financier Edward Muhleman, first made glass in 1904 and distinguished itself for mass production of attractive and affordable pressed glass tableware using continuous-feed melting tanks. One of the largest American handmade glass manufacturers during the 20th century, Imperial also produced blown glass, several lines of art glass, and its trademark “Candlewick” pattern. Bellaire’s glassmaking era ended when the “Big I” closed its doors in 1984, and the building was razed in 1995. Its diverse products remain highly prized by glass collectors.
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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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Sully Jaymes was an African American lawyer and tireless activist for equal rights in Springfield during the first half of the twentieth century. Born on March 30 sometime between 1875-1880, he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1901. By 1903, he opened a Black-owned law practice at 17-1/2 Main Street in Springfield. Working primarily with the city’s Black residents, Jaymes offered his services free of charge if clients were unable to pay. He was a long-time member of North Street A.M.E. Church. Jaymes served on the first Board of Directors of the Center Street YMCA (a safe-haven for young Black people), on the Board of Trustees at Wilberforce University, and as a Grand Chancellor of Ohio for the Grand Lodge, Knights of Pythias. (Continued on other side)
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