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The township of Kinsman was purchased by John Kinsman of Lisbon, Connecticut, in 1799 from the Connecticut Land Company. Kinsman has been the home of many notable citizens, some of whom include: Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876) and James McGrannahan (1840-1907) were hymn composers and religious musical directors for the nationally-known evangelical Dwight L. Moody Revival Meetings held in Kinsman for thirty years in the late 1800s. Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) was a famous labor and criminal lawyer who grew up in Farmdale and in the “octagon house” in Kinsman. Darrow in probably best known for his work as a defense attorney in the Scopes Trial. (continued on reverse side)
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Platted in 1802 by John Zane and William Chapline along the old Wheeling Road, Morristown was named for Duncan Morrison, an early settler, innkeeper, and Justice of the Peace. Older than the state itself, Morristown prospered into the mid-1800s, nurtured by trade along the National Road, the first federally funded highway project in the United States. The National Road was a major overland route to the West in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Federal style brick and frame structures that remain standing today replaced the original log cabins that first made up the town. Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, Morristown is a well-preserved example of a National Road town.
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The first road through Marion County followed the Scioto Trail of the Native Americans. This 120-foot wide strip through Wyandot territory led from Lower Sandusky (Fremont) to the Greenville Treaty Line. A confederation of Ohio tribes ceded it to the United States at the Treaty of Brownsville, Michigan, in 1808. During the War of 1812, the troops of General William Henry Harrison’s Army of the Northwest traveled this road en route to Fort Meigs and the British fort at Detroit, using it to transport supplies to the army and to the chain of forts and blockhouses that protected the road. After the American victory, this area was opened for settlement by the 1817 Treaty of the Maumee Rapids, and soldiers who discovered the area while traveling the Military Road were among the first settlers. (continued on other side)
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Located in southern Wood County, the village of New Baltimore was founded in 1860, with the first plat of twenty-nine acres recorded by B.L. Peters in 1873. Official incorporation occurred February 7, 1876, with the name being changed to North Baltimore in 1880. The town flourished owing to the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, from which the town took its name, and the discovery of rich oil and gas deposits in 1886. First settlers included: Jacob Dirk, George Franks, Levi A. Tarr, and B.L. Peters. The population of the village grew from 700 in 1880 to 2,857 in 1890. One of the first buildings, which was erected in 1860, served as a school and meeting hall and was located on the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets. This area, then known as “The Great Black Swamp,” had given birth to a thriving town.
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In 1805, for $1.50 an acre, Jacob Miller purchased this property in the Congressional Land Office in Chillicothe, capital of the new state of Ohio. He and Somerset co-founder John Finck then each built a tavern on either side of town along the Zane’s Trace, laid out along existing Indian trails in 1796-1797 and Ohio’s first major thoroughfare. Finck built his home and tavern in 1807 and Miller his shortly after. From 1800 to 1815, Zane’s Trace saw significant traffic between the established eastern states and the newly opened Northwest Territory. A perpetual stream of emigrants rolled westward, giving constant occupation to hundreds of tavern-keepers. Besides operating his tavern and farming, Jacob Miller was a public servant. In 1809, he was appointed Overseer of the Poor as there was a need to “bind out” poor children to families who could take care of them. [continued on other side]
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The Johnson House was built in 1852 and its first owner was Henry J. Traver (1827-1911), owner of Traver & Company carriage factory across the street. From 1877 until 1994 the house was the residence and office of four doctors who maintained their practices there. The first was Dr. Daniel Cranz (1854 — 1914); followed by Dr. Thomas Ritter (1855—1928). In 1900, Dr. Robert Johnson (1878 — 1952) purchased the house. His daughter Dr. Myra Johnson (1909 — 1994) took over the practice after he died and until she retired in 1976. After her death, the house was converted into a museum. It is operated by the Wadsworth Area Historical Society and owned by the City of Wadsworth. (Continued on other side)
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Built on Main Street, circa 1815, this two story log residence was later sided. In 1974 during new post office site preparation, the log structure was discovered and moved to present location along Ohio-Erie Canal route. In adjoining Groveport Cemetery a monument honors local resident, John S. Rarey (1828-1866), internationally known horse trainer and owner of famous horse, Cruiser.
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Two leading figures in nineteenth century national and state politics were born in log cabins located near this spot. Lewis Davis Campbell (1811-1882) served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1858, rising to the leadership of Ohio’s “Know Nothing” Party. During the Civil War he raised the 69th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served as its first colonel. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson appointed Campbell U.S. Minister to Mexico. In 1870, Campbell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for another term by defeating Robert Cumming Schenck. Campbell is buried in Hamilton’s Greenwood Cemetery.
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