, OH
One of the 69 charcoal iron furnaces in the famous Hanging Rock Iron Region. Extending more than 100 miles from Logan, Ohio to Mt. Savage, Kentucky this area contained all materials necessary to produce high grade iron. The industry flourished for over 50 years in mid-nineteenth century during which time the area was one of the leading iron producing centers of the world. The charcoal iron industry was responsible for the rapid development of southern Ohio and the romance of the Hanging Rock Iron Region forms a brilliant chapter in the industrial history of the Buckeye State.
, OH
During the summer of 1863, General John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate cavalry leader from Kentucky, invaded southern Ohio with 2,460 mounted men. Throughout the campaign Morgan’s men plundered and looted before being captured by Union forces. On July 17, Morgan led his troops into Wilkesville stealing horses, sacking stores, and robbing private citizens. That night Morgan and some of his troops took lodging and meals with his first cousin Ruth Virginia Althar Cline and her husband Dr. William Cline. Morgan’s troops camped near the house of John and Elzia Levis where Elzia cooked for the men for fear they would harm her family. Additional soldiers of the raiding party stayed on the village square. Legend has it that while Morgan slept at the Cline Mansion, his black servant stole his looted money, and abolitionists Dr. Cline and Abraham Morris, helped him escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
, OH
Ohio’s first female county sheriff, Maude Charles Collins (1893-1972) of Vinton County was appointed to finish her husband Fletcher’s term after he was killed in the line of duty in October 1925. In 1926, she ran for the office in her own right on the Democratic ticket and handily beat males in both the primary and general elections. “Sheriff Maude” investigated crimes, answered calls, patrolled roads, and performed the duties of her office, all while raising five children. She gained national attention for solving an intriguing double murder case in 1926, later featured in Master Detective and Startling Detective magazines. In 1927 she was the first woman to deliver inmates to the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. Collins, a pioneering woman in law enforcement, was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000. She is buried in Hamden Cemetery.
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