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A part of the Virginia Military District, Ripley was founded in 1812 by Colonel James Poage, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Originally named Staunton, after Poage’s hometown in Virginia, the village comprised 1,000 acres along the Ohio River. With its riverside location and deep water landing area, Ripley became a thriving community. Large quantities of flour, pork, and other goods were shipped from Ripley via flatboats down the Ohio. This continued as steamboats took over river trade and cargos came to include tobacco and other goods. Some of the goods leaving the area were shipped on vessels built in Ripley’s two boatyards. During the early and middle decades of the nineteenth century, the yards produced scores of flatboats and, during the peak years of 1826-1836, several steamboats. The boatyards were located on Ripley’s riverbank and lumber for boats came from surrounding forests. Red Oak Creek, running into the Ohio, was an especially favorable location for area mills and slaughterhouses.
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In 1918, Charles Young made a desperate attempt to convince the U.S. Army that he was fit for duty. The Army’s highest-ranking Black officer, he had been medically retired and not given a command during World War I. To demonstrate his fitness, he rode 497 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. Leaving on June 6 he made the journey in 17 days, 16 on horseback and 1 resting. Averaging 31 miles each day, he rode 45 minutes and walked 15 minutes every hour. Upon his arrival, Young met with Secretary of War Newton Baker. Pressured by the Black press and the White House, Baker hedged. He recalled Young to active duty a year later and assigned him to Camp Grant, Illinois, just five days before the end of the war.
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The Good Hope Cemetery is the final resting place for veterans of many of America’s wars, including David Jones. Jones earned the Medal of Honor as a member of Company I of the 54th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Union Army. During Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign, Jones volunteered for a mission known as the “Forlorn Hope.” It was the lead assault of a major attack and meant certain death or wounding for soldiers in the attacking party. Jones’ Forlorn Hope was part of Grant’s attempt on May 22, 1863 to storm Vicksburg’s defenses and take the city, avoiding a siege. The attack did not succeed. Of the 150 soldiers who volunteered for the assault, many were killed or wounded, including Jones. After a 47 day siege, Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863—the same day as the Union’s victory at Gettysburg.
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Nicknamed “Dutchtown” for the many German families that settled in this area, New Washington was platted in 1833 by George Washington Meyers, who arrived in Cranberry Township in 1826. Prominent Austrian romantic poet Nicholas Lenau (1802-1850), author of “Faust” and “Don Juan,” owned property here in the 1830s. The village incorporated in 1874, shortly following the arrival of the Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Erie Railroad. New Washington is a pioneer in the commercial poultry hatchery industry and initiated the shipment of baby chicks by rail in 1900.
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Augustus West, an African American, was born in Madison County, Virginia on March 20, 1814, and moved to Ohio in 1837. Legend has it that West was a runaway slave and worked as a farm laborer before designing a scheme to purchase his own farm. West, with abolitionist Alexander Beatty, traveled into slave territory no fewer than three times where the pair would sell West, help him escape, and split the profits. After splitting the profits, West used his portion of the money to purchase 177 acres of land in Fayette County where he built his “mansion.” To remain inconspicuous and secure, West built the “mansion” as far from the main road as possible. (continued on other side)
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Pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Rev. Thomas F. Conlon met with the newly appointed bishop of the Toledo Diocese, Rt. Rev. Joseph Schrembs, to discuss building a charity hospital for the community. Community leaders and physicians promoted the necessity of a hospital that cared for all people regardless of race, creed, or color. Seven acres of land were purchased from Miss Emma J. Bowe on West Market Street for the construction of a four-story, fireproof brick building. Designed by local businessman George W. Netcher, the new hospital cost approximately $75,000. At the hospital’s dedication on October 26, 1913, Bishop Schrembs praised the people of Tiffin saying, “I appealed to the public-spirited citizens and my appeal did not fall upon deaf ears, as this building testifies.”
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The Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County, one of 111 Carnegie libraries in Ohio, opened its doors to readers on June 30, 1904. A $12,500 gift from steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie financed construction of the original 3,360-square-foot building. The community provided the building site, formerly known as Martin Field, and pledged tax funds for the library’s ongoing operation and maintenance. Expansions and modernizations have incorporated the original building and preserved its historic architectural style. “A Library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people.” – Andrew Carnegie
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When Sunbury was platted in 1816, a town square was set aside for public use with the intention of constructing a town hall on the site. The first two stories of the Town Hall were built, as a school, in 1868 for $5,000. The Masons added the third story for $1,500 and occupied it for 91 years, until a lodge was constructed. Since 1868, the Town Hall has served Sunbury as a village office building, jail, fire station, and community library. Church services as well as Farmer’s Institutes were held in the building, and at one time it housed a bank. In 2002, the Town Hall was renovated for use as a community room and village offices.
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