Remarkable Ohio

Results for: community-planning-development
1004 Chapel Street
Cincinnati

, OH

Walnut Hills has been home to a significant middle- and working-class Black community since the 1850s. In 1931, African American entrepreneur Horace Sudduth bought 1004 Chapel Street and then the row of buildings across Monfort, naming them the Manse Hotel and Annex. Throughout the 1940s, hotel dinner parties could move to the Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs house next door for dancing. A large addition to the Manse in 1950 created its own ballroom, 24-hour coffee shop, upgraded Sweetbriar Restaurant, and more guest rooms. It appeared in the Negro Motorist’s Green Book between 1940-1963, providing local, transient, and residential guests both catered meetings and top entertainment during the last decades of segregation. It closed in the late 1960s when the economic need for a first-class segregated hotel disappeared in the age of Black Power.

Veterans Memorial Community Park/Preston Field
Beallsville

, OH

With a population of 475 residents, the Beallsville community gained the unfortunate distinction of having suffered the highest known per-capita casualty rate during the Vietnam War. Six Beallsville men, all under the age of 21, were killed in action in Vietnam between 1966 and 1971, a profound tragedy for this close-knit community. In 1969 Beallsville citizens worked with congressional representatives to prevent further loss of life, to no avail. Five other Monroe County men lost their lives in the conflict as well, magnifying the loss for one of Ohio’s least-populated counties. (continued on other side)

Otway

, OH

This bridge, spanning Brush Creek in Brush Creek Township, Scioto County, was erected in 1874 by the Smith Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio. Robert W. Smith was granted patents for timber trusses in 1867 and 1869, and the design for this bridge is a Smith patented truss. The supplemental arches were added in 1896. Original length of 200 feet had been shortened to its present 171 feet. This plaque has been erected to give due honor to these early timber covered bridge builders and to the men of the community who so ably assisted them. [This side of the marker contains a bridge illustration in the upper left corner]

123 West High Street
Hicksville

, OH

Born in Hicksville in 1862, Daeida H.W. Beveridge co-developed and named, in 1887, the Los Angeles, California, suburb of Hollywood, since the early 1900s a world center of the film and television industry. With first husband H.H. Wilcox, she led development efforts there, and was instrumental in establishing much of the civic infrastructure, including the city hall, library, police station, primary school, city park, and much of the commercial district. Remarried to the son of a California governor after Wilcox’s death, she continued to promote Hollywood until her death in 1914.

Canal Park on W. Emmitt Street/US 23
Waverly

, OH

The Ohio-Erie Canal, the most important development in the county’s early years, was started July 4, 1825 near Newark. The canal passed through Waverly along US 23 and portions of it can still be seen in Waverly today. Only four feet deep and bordered by tow paths with eight feet clearance, the 309 mile canal was completed in 1833 at a cost of more than $7 million.

10930 Quarry Chapel Rd
Gambier

, OH

The stone masons brought from England by Bishop Chase to construct early buildings at Kenyon College settled in this area. In the 1850’s with the help of Episcopal Bishop Gregory T. Bedell, they and other families in the community built “Quarry Chapel” on land given by John Bateman. William Fish, owner of a nearby quarry, donated the sandstone. The church stood unused and deteriorating since 1937. Restoration began in 1972.

5 S. Mechanic Street (OH 60)
Hayesville

, OH

This building was a center of community life from the time of its construction in 1886 to the late 1930s. Once common, such combinations of governmental offices and commercial and entertainment space are today rare. The second floor opera house retains many original features, including stage backdrops, dressing rooms, and seats. Vaudeville, theater companies, and entertainment of all kinds were hosted here and many performers signed the backstage walls: Buffalo Bill dated his signature October 28, 1888. Along with village offices, first floor tenants have included the Vermillion Township Trustees, the Eddie Stover Hat Shop, and the F.L. Smith Watch Repair and Jewelry Store. Hayesville’s citizens approved the hall’s construction on April 18, 1884 by a vote of 100 to 13. Contractor Samuel Craig completed the building two years later at a cost of $4,852.20. Located on the Lincoln Highway, this building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

27331 State Route 278
Mc Arthur

, 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.