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Lewis and Elizabeth (Lyons) Kemp were settlers of what became Mad River Township. With their eight children, the Kemps arrived here from Frederick County, Maryland around 1806. The stone part of the house was built shortly thereafter. Lewis donated nearby land for what became known as the “Kemp School,” established in 1815, and for a graveyard, which had its first burial in 1816 or 1817. The Kemps also hosted services of the United Brethren church. The Kemp house is an example of a “Saltbox” type, so called because of the long slope of its rear gable roof. It is believed the house’s brick portion was added around 1832.
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The Union Township Hall was a center of community life from the time of its construction around 1907. The hall included the offices of township government, a community hall, and club meeting rooms, a rarer combination in the 21st century. Local government and services occupied the first floor. The second floor “opera house” retains many original features, including the stage and stage backdrops. The hall hosted many types of entertainment, including church choirs and the Knights of Pythias Band. Leaving the township’s possession, the hall was used by various owners for a church, art studio, and bed and breakfast.(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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Rufus P. Stone, grandson of General Rufus Putnam, settled on this 1,000 acre farm and built a wooden farmhouse here in 1818. In 1855, John E. Thomas purchased the original farmhouse and 600 acres from the heirs of Rufus P. Stone. Thomas enlarged the farmhouse into the present manor house with a large sandstone addition in 1857. The farm was known for its extensive orchards and fine livestock, including cattle, sheep, and high quality saddle horses. Thomas, dressed in silk hat, frock coat, and all the finery of the day, rode one of his fine saddle horses around the estate supervising farm laborers. He developed an enclosed nature preserve on the farm for breeding and raising deer that were nearly extinct in Ohio in the 1850s. Thomas later acquired 200 more acres of the original acres for a total of 800 acres.
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Marion civic leaders Shauck Elah Barlow and Ida Harsh Barlow built “Waldheim,” their Colonial Revival residence, between 1903-1905. Ida Barlow, then president of the Marion Women’s Club, hosted a December 1905 meeting in her new home. Members discussed art, music, literature, and ideas for “civic improvement.” In 1909, this and other Marion clubs reorganized as the Marion County Federation of Women’s Clubs. Federation members soon organized into action: providing college loans to young women; sponsoring visiting city and later school nurses; purchasing trash receptacles; providing dental clinics for low-income residents; and funding railroad crossing safety equipment. Upon her death in 1945, Barlow bequeathed her house to the Federation as the “Women’s Club Home.” The new Federation headquarters offered meeting space for the Executive Board and the many associated clubs. (Continued on other side)
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Built circa 1840 by Henry Barnhisel Jr. in the Greek Revival architectural style, the Barnhisel home is one of the oldest remaining structures in Girard. Henry and Eve Anna Barnhisel purchased the land where the house stands in 1813 when they acquired 318 acres in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The couple moved onto the land with their eleven children, and the family lived among a large group of Pennsylvania Germans who settled in Liberty Township. Their son, Henry Jr., took over the farm after his father’s death in 1824. In 1833 he married Susan Townsend. Henry contributed to his community by playing a key role in the building of both the Methodist Church and the first brick school in Girard and Liberty Township. He fathered five daughters, some of whom married into other leading families of the Mahoning Valley, including William Tod, son of the governor. Two granddaughters married into the Wicks and Stambaughs.
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On this site Daniel Gebhart established a tavern in 1811. Taverns were where people gathered to eat, rest, and share news. During spring freshets, boatmen from the Great Miami River stayed at the tavern. Joining them were pioneers coming by the river and overland to settle at Hole’s Station, now Miamisburg. The tavern closed in 1840, became a boarding house, and then sold to become a private residence in 1853. To commemorate the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976, Miamisburg’s bicentennial committee purchased the tavern and gave it to the city. It was restored and opened as a museum in 1982. (Continued on other side)
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The Homestead was built in 1820 by Nehemiah Wood with an addition completed in 1822 by his son, Harrison. The Wood family, a pioneer family of Gallia County, arrived in 1805. The Homestead remained in the Wood family for over 100 years. The two-story Federal style building is constructed of bricks made on site by freed slaves who accompanied Nehemiah Wood from Virginia. The lane just below the house was a stagecoach route that ran between Chillicothe and Gallipolis. In the mid-1800s the Homestead served as an inn and stagecoach stop. The Wood family sold the farm to Rio Grande College in 1938 which used the land for college gardening and farming programs. (Continued on other side)
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