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This area of western Hancock County is a part of the Maumee River Watershed known as “Indian Green.” Wyandot Indians chose this area for hunting and ceremonial grounds along the Blanchard River in the 1700s because it was next to the river, yet high enough to avoid frequent flooding. One-half mile east of this location is a Liberty Township cemetery. It is located upon a sand ridge once used as a burial ground by Indians, hence the name “Indian Green.”
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The Adams County Fairgrounds, established at this site in October 1853, on seven acres of land donated by Judge George Collings, was converted to a Civil War training camp named in honor of General Thomas Hamer, a Mexican War hero, of Georgetown, Ohio. The old stone Courthouse was made into a hospital to serve the camp. The 70th Ohio Volunteer infantry, organized in October 1861, trained on the old fairgrounds until Christmas day 1861, when it marched from Camp Hamer to Ripley. The 70th participated in the battles of Shiloh, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; the siege at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Sherman’s March to the Sea.
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The Village of Adamsville commemorates life in this area as it was during the early to mid-19th century. The original Adamsville settlement was located on the banks of Raccoon Creek, roughly one-half mile east of this site. Adam Rickabaugh (1761-1836), a veteran of the Revolutionary War from Virginia, brought his family to this valley around 1804. His patent for land along the creek was signed by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison. Soon after his arrival, Rickabaugh built a grist mill, which became a meeting place for the growing community. In 1805, Nehemiah Wood, one of the earliest settlers in Gallia County, bought the mill from Rickabaugh, later adding a sawmill and a fulling mill for cleaning and thickening woolen cloth. (Continued on other side)
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The Village of Genoa and Clay Township agreed to construct a joint township and village hall in Genoa in 1884. The firm Findley & Shively of Fremont designed the hall in the High Victorian Gothic architectural style and Woodville’s Fred Sandwisch was contracted to build the hall for $8,860. In 1890, the Sandusky Register declared that Genoa could “boast of having one of the finest town halls of any village of its size in Ohio.” As a seat of government and an auditorium (“opera house”), the hall hosted village and township meetings, Memorial Day services, school graduations, community events, and theatrical productions. The hall also had a jail and served as a municipal garage. By early 1970s, the auditorium had been condemned and the future of the structure was uncertain. (Continued on other side)
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In 1798, Judge Samuel Hinckley of Northampton, Massachusetts, drew the 72nd draft in the land lottery held by the Connecticut Land Company and received 15,305 acres in Township 4, Range 1, for which he paid $12,903.23, less than one dollar per acre. The area had been inhabited for many years by trappers, missionaries, and Native Americans. One of the earliest settlers was James McMullen, who acquired the first 160-acre parcel from Hinckley in 1801. Brookfield Township became the crown jewel of Hinckley’s holdings. Hinckley named Brookfield after a city in England and set aside land for the village green and the cemetery stating that they were for public use forever. During the mid-1820s the Overland Stage Line had a run through Brookfield, linking it to Salem, Warren, and Youngstown in Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania and Dunkirk, New York. (Continued on other side)
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Among the earliest settlers to Rush Township were members of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers, who emigrated from the eastern states, mostly Pennsylvania and North Carolina. At first religious services were held in the homes of devout Quakers who in turn built a small-framed meeting house on this site in 1842. The present Friends Church replaced the original structure in the 1870s at a cost of $4,245. Although not a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church supported local ardent Abolitionists who helped runaway slaves reach freedom in Canada. An epidemic during the winter of 1850-1851 reduced the Friends’ membership and led to several Quaker families relocating to Iowa. The final religious service was held here on October 26, 1997, after which the church was donated to the village of North Lewisburg.
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Silver Lake was previously known as Wetmore’s Pond, named for Judge William Wetmore, an agent for the Connecticut Land Company. In 1808, Wetmore built a cabin overlooking the spring-fed lake, which was then a part of Portage County. Local lore records his friendship and conscientious dealings with the Native Americans, likely Seneca, who inhabited a populous village between the lake and the Cuyahoga River. The tribe left the area to join the British during the War of 1812, but later sided with the United States.
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Born in New Jersey, Richard and Sarah Conine, the founders of the village of Pataskala, moved to Lima Township and lived on this site as early as 1821 when Richard established a grist mill nearby. Their homestead also served as a stagecoach stop on the mud pike between Columbus and Newark prior to the coming of the railroad. Richard platted “Conine Town” south and west of here in 1851, and the town was renamed Pataskala soon after. The public-spirited Conines contributed to the building of several area schools and churches and donated land for the Pataskala Cemetery. After their deaths, Sarah’s nephew Jacob Van Dorn inherited the property. John Hawley purchased the home in 1887 and for many years it was known as “The Hawley House.” It was demolished in 1964 to make way for commercial development.