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The Village of Cridersville was founded in 1856. With the discovery of oil in 1885 the village prospered and grew quickly. Its business district developed along Main Street in the first block east of the railroad. The Town Pond Reservoir was constructed here in the 1890s to provide water in the event of fire. At 3:00 p.m. on May 2, 1918, a rubbish fire was started across the street from this pond and blew out of control. The fire ignited a nearby barn, and, with the aid of strong winds, soon carried to the business district on East Main Street. Wood frame construction and wooden shingles allowed the fire to spread rapidly. Within an hour both sides of Main Street were ablaze and the village had but a single hand pumper to fight the fire. (continued on other side)
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Construction of Waverly’s third church, built with locally produced brick, began in 1859 and was completed in 1860. The original deed, recorded on October 31, 1859, listed the value of the lot as $180. With the merger of the Evangelical Synod of North America with the Reformed Church in 1934, the name changed to Evangelical and Reformed Church. A merger in 1957 with the Congregational Christian Church changed the name to First United Church of Christ. In 1987 it became known as Waverly United Church of Christ, until its dissolution in 1992, when the building was given to Pike Heritage Foundation Museum. Original records and services were in German. In 1890 some English was introduced in services, and by the early 1900s was used on alternate Sundays. The church was remodeled and enlarged in 1869, but retains much of its original appearance. An annex was added to the church in 1959.
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During the Indian Wars of 1790-1795, the United States built a chain of forts in the contested area of what is today western Ohio. These forts were built as a result of various tribes of the region attacking the encroaching American population as they moved north of the Ohio River. In October 1791, General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, set out on a mission to punish the tribes and on October 12, ordered his forces to build Fort Jefferson, the fourth link in that chain of forts stretching north from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) to Fort Deposit (Waterville). Each fort was generally a hard day’s march of each other, and the site was chosen because of nearness to a supply of fresh water. The fort was named in honor of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
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In 1927, Henry Abell, a master plumber, purchased a 100-acre dairy farm. When the Great Depression struck the nation two years later, Abell could find little work as a plumber and decided to develop his dairy farm. In 1934, he and his family began the Dairy, growing the farm to 500 acres and producing enough milk, ice cream, and other dairy products to supply five counties. The dairy closed in 1979, but today houses America’s Ice Cream and Dairy Museum, dedicated to the cultural history of the ice cream and dairy industry in Ohio and the United States.
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Born in Pennsylvania in 1791, Bishop John Seybert came to Ohio in 1822 and preached throughout the mid-west. Seybert served the faith for forty years as an itinerant preacher, a presiding elder, and the first bishop of the Evangelical Association, one of the original denominations that is now part of the United Methodist Church. As a circuit rider, he traveled on foot, horseback, and spring wagon a distance of 175,000 miles, preached 9,850 sermons, held 8,000 prayer and class meetings, and made about 46,000 pastoral calls and 10,000 calls on the sick. Seybert often paid his own expenses on the meager salary of $100 per year. He died in 1860 and is buried in the Bellevue – Flat Rock area.
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The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) traces its origins to mid-18th-century England, where it served as a mutual benefit society for traveling workmen. Odd Fellowship moved to the United States in 1819; the first Ohio lodge was established in 1830, and the Canfield Lodge was instituted in 1850. The charter members of this lodge were E.J. Estep, John G. Kyle, James Powers, W. M. Prentice, and William W. Whittlesey. Many of the early members of this lodge were businessmen, lawyers, physicians, and tradesmen. Lodge 155 remains one of the oldest active lodges in northeastern Ohio. (continued on other side)
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On this site stood the Main Gatehouse of the Anna Dean Farm, estate of Barberton town founder and industrialist Ohio C. Barber. The Anna Dean Farm was not only a lavish estate but also a farming showcase built to promote and develop scientific agricultural practices in the United States.
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Originally called St. Clairsville and platted in 1801, Decatur was named for early 19th century naval hero Stephen Decatur. It is among the oldest villages in Brown County, which before 1817 was a part of Adams County. Among its notable early residents were Nathaniel Beasley (1774-1835), the first surveyor of Adams County, and Sarah Boone Montgomery (1763-1848), a heroine of the border wars in Kentucky. Decatur and Byrd Township supported at least four known stations on the Underground Railroad. Many area residents helped conduct escaping slaves northward to freedom.
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