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Virginia native William Owen, 1769-1821, is credited with being the first American to settle in Mad River Township, Champaign County sometime between 1797-1799. He and his family built a cabin in the northeast quarter of Section 15 directly west of this marker. Later he purchased 240 acres on which the cabin stood for $1.00 an acre from William Ward, founder of Urbana. Accused of being an eccentric, Owen was known for strong language and long oration during times of stress. Owen also raised swine and was called Kosko Elene or Hogman by the local Shawnee Indian population who were known to have taken a few piglets when Owen was not around. Owen and his wife reared eight children and both are interred in the family pioneer cemetery in the woods to the west.
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An October 23, 1927, ceremony was held for the laying of the cornerstone for the Dennison High School Building. It opened in the fall of 1928 and was called “Angel’s Castle” in honor of school superintendent William Hiram Angel. The building was designed by J.K. Griffin, an architect from Canton, Ohio, in a style that has the elements of Collegiate Gothic that was popular for school and college buildings during the early twentieth century. The distinguishing architectural features of the entrance towers enhance the school’s prominent location above the street level. Dennison High School is an important visual landmark in the community, as its towers are visible from the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. It has retained its integrity of location, materials, design, and association and conveys the early twentieth century ideals of education that the original design of the building was intended to inspire. (Continued on other side)
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The foundation for the first Welsh settlement in Ohio was laid on June 29, 1801, when William and Morgan Gwilym purchased land in what is now Morgan Township at the Cincinnati Land Office. The Welsh, who settled in Pennsylvania beginning in the late eighteenth century, moved westward and settled here in 1802. This area was also the major terminus for the 1818 migration from Montgomeryshire and Cardiganshire in Wales. In 1803 a Congregational Church was organized and services were held in members’ homes or outdoors. A brick Meetinghouse, complete with a Welsh death door leading to the cemetery, was constructed in 1824. The building now serves as the Community House. The present brick church was built in 1854. For many years, the library, formed in 1852, was housed in the New London Special School District building that stood on this site. (Continued on other side)
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Deerfield was laid out around 1795 and in 1802 Major Benjamin Stites, his son Benjamin, Jr., and John Gano officially recorded the village’s plat. A part of the great tide of Americans moving into the Northwest Territory (and Ohio after 1803), Deerfield’s early inhabitants included Revolutionary war veteran Ephraim Kibbey as well as Andrew Lytle, Nathan Kelly, William Snook, and War of 1812 veteran David Sutton. Deerfield was so called because it was a settlement in Deerfield Township, Hamilton County in the 1790s. (Continued on other side)
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William McKinley’s house, once located at this site, was the scene of his 1896 front porch campaign for President of the United States. During the campaign McKinley addressed about 750,000 people who came to his home in Canton. McKinley’s public service began when he volunteered at the start of the Civil War in 1861 as a private with the Union Army. He was discharged as a major after four years of service. Later McKinley became President of the Canton Y.M.C.A. and the Stark County Prosecutor. McKinley served in the United States House of Representatives between 1877 and 1891 and was then elected Governor of Ohio. He helped to found the Canton Public Library. McKinley won presidential elections in 1896 and 1900. His administration was characterized by high tariffs, money backed by gold, national prosperity, and the Spanish-American War. In 1901 an anarchist shot and killed President McKinley.
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The Marblehead Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. Originally known as the Sandusky Bay Light Station, the lighthouse was built here in 1821 to aid navigation and prevent shipwrecks. William Kelly (1779-1867) received the contract and, using local limestone, completed construction in eight weeks. The lighthouse was 50 feet high and had a diameter of 25 feet at the base and 12 feet at the top. When the lighthouse had a keeper, the beacon was updated with ever brighter lamps and more powerful lenses. At the turn of the 19th century, a watch room and new lantern room were added, increasing the lighthouse’s height 15 feet. Beacons were lit with whale oil, lard oil, kerosene, and then, in 1923, with electricity. As of 2018, the light is an LED that is visible up to eleven nautical miles.
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In the early 1800s, opposing attitudes existed in the separate communities of Putnam and Zanesville. Anti-slavery New Englanders settled Putnam while pro-slavery Virginians and Kentuckians settled Zanesville. The Emancipation Society of Putnam formed in June 1831. The Muskingum County Emancipation Society formed in Zanesville the following month, but only had a few members. In March 1835, noted abolitionist speaker Theodore D. Weld came to Zanesville to lecture but was turned away by pro-slavery sympathizers. When the Stone Academy in Putnam provided a room, the lecture was disrupted by a mob and Weld took refuge in the home of church Elder A.A. Guthrie. After seeking the Sheriff’s and County Prosecutor’s protection, the Muskingum County Emancipation Society invited the Abolitionist Society of Ohio to hold its convention in Putnam in April 1835. Again, a pro-slavery mob disrupted the proceedings. Eventually, hundreds signed petitions in favor of immediate emancipation. [continued on other side]
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W.S. Rosecrans, soldier, engineer, architect and inventor, was born in Kingston Township in 1819. After graduation from West Point in 1842, he served in the Engineering Corps then taught at West Point. As a civilian, he engineered a river lock system and perfected lamp oil. During the Civil War, Rosecrans commanded Union Armies of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Missouri, and developed a popular war-time ambulance. “Old Rosy” led his troops to victory at Iuka, Corinth, Stones River and Tullahoma. He helped raise $789,000 for soldiers’ relief and designed St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Columbus. He later served as Minister to Mexico, Registrar to the U.S. Treasury and as a Congressman from California. He died in 1898 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. “Stand by your flag and country, my men!”- Rosecrans at the Battle of Stones River, October 4, 1862