, OH
The Connecticut Land Company surveyed Vienna Township as Township 4, Range 2, in 1798. The Township’s proprietors were Ephraim Root, Uriel Holmes, Jr., and Timothy Burr. Survey members Dennis Clark Palmer, Isaac Flower, and Samuel Hutchins and their families were the first to settle here in 1799. Between 1810 and 1840, Vienna was a center for the wooden works clock industry in Trumbull County and the Connecticut Western Reserve, with six factories located amid farms, sawmills, and quarries. After coal was discovered in 1866, over twenty mines were opened, bringing boom times for two decades. Vienna’s miners helped to bring about Ohio’s first mining safety law in 1874. Vienna was the birthplace of abolitionist and attorney John Hutchins (1812-1891), who represented Trumbull and Ashtabula counties in the United States Congress (1859-1863) and raised troops during the Civil War.
, OH
In 1827, noted evangelist Walter Scott came to Canfield and visited with a number of area Baptist families living on Palmyra Road and in the vicinity of Dean Hill. A follower of Alexander Campbell, Scott delivered powerful sermons that persuaded some to establish a new church congregation in the Disciple faith. After meeting in congregation members’ homes, a framed meeting house was erected circa 1830 on land purchased from William and Orsemus Dean. This church stood across from William Dean’s brick residence. A burial ground was provided at the site with existing grave markers dating to 1837. Veterans from all the wars of this nation are buried here, including Benjamin Dean of the 105th Ohio Infantry Regiment who died from wounds suffered in the 1863 Battle of Murfreesboro in Tennessee. (continued on other side)
, OH
Chartered in 1849, the Institute was the first of three women’s colleges established in Oxford. The original brick building was completed in 1850, and forms the core structure. The Reverend John Witherspoon Scott, a member of Miami University’s early faculty, headed the Institute. In 1867, the Institute merged with Oxford Female College and later became the Oxford College for Women. Miami University acquired the building in 1928; in 1930 the Daughters of the American Revolution rededicated it as the “Caroline Scott Harrison Memorial.” From 1929-1998 it served as a Miami dormitory, nicknamed “Ox College.” Since 2003, the three-story building has housed the Oxford Community Arts Center. The structure is the oldest extant women’s college building in Ohio. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
, OH
Gowdy Cemetery was sold by James Gowdy to the Associate Reformed Church in 1820 for 50 cents. After Xenia’s Woodland Cemetery was chartered in 1845, Gowdy fell into disuse. Its last burial was James Gowdy in 1853. Gowdy Associate Reformed Cemetery is the resting place for many prominent citizens that brought mercantile and economic growth to Xenia and Greene County. Gravesites include:
- Revolutionary War veteran Robert Kendall (1751-1842);
- War of 1812 veterans James (1777-1853) and Robert Gowdy (1732-1831);
- James and Samuel Gowdy (1780-1851), who opened Xenia’s first permanent store in 1806.
, OH
The Bunker Hill Society was organized about 1845 and fellowshipped in 1854. A frame meeting house, capable of seating 300, was dedicated in 1855. Thirty people united with the church during teh 1859 Annual Meeting. The membership suffered greatly during the Civil War, many enlisting in the Union Army. Some members, Like John G. Agnew, were Peace Democrats (Copperheads). Agnew withdrew from the church on July 5, 1863 saying, “I feel the course I am and have been pursuing does not comport with the Christian character. Nor do I think that I can be better while this war lasts. I do not wish to be a reproach upon the church.” The church was re-fellowshipped in 1900. The last sermon was delivered October 23, 1910. Fire destroyed the building May 8, 1924.
, OH
Warren Cushman was a respected painter, sculptor, photographer, musician, and inventor. He created the towering Cushman monument in Woodstock’s Rush Township cemetery and is believed to have shown his painting “Spanish Dancing Girls” at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Warren was born to Franklin and Susan (Gifford) Cushman on January 17, 1845 in Woodstock and had three siblings, Julius, Charles and Lucy. (Continued on other side)
, OH
The Indian Creek Regular Baptist Church was established in 1810 as an arm of the Little Cedar Creek Church of Brookville, Indiana. The congregation purchased three acres of land for a burial ground and church and built a log structure here in 1811. Members voted in 1812 that they would receive no person who believed in the principles of slavery. By 1829, membership had reached 150 and the present brick meeting house was built. In the 1840s, membership declined due to conflict over mission activity The congregation dissolved in 1879 and the land was deeded to the Indian Creek Cemetery Association in 1880. The county park system received the property in 1960 through and with the cooperation of the Butler County Historical Society and the Cemetery Association.
, OH
Almon Ruggles (1771-1840) came to Ohio from Connecticut in 1805 and led survey teams that divided the Firelands section of the Connecticut Western Reserve into townships. The Firelands was territory granted to Connecticut residents whose property was destroyed by the British during the Revolutionary War. Ruggles purchased a lakeshore section of this surveyed land for one dollar per acre, which is now known as Ruggles Beach. After settling permanently in Ohio in 1810, he established a farm, built gristmills, and worked for different Connecticut land proprietors. Ruggles also served in the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, and was briefly appointed as associate judge of Huron County. Upon his death, his ashes were buried on part of his property, now known as Oak Bluff Cemetery.
614.297.2300
Contact Us
