2-37 Lock #12 – The Sheep Pen Lock

2-37 Lock 12 - The Sheep Pen Lock 00

The twelfth lock on the Hocking Canal, the Sheep Pen lock underscores Southeast Ohioans’ efforts to open their region to the world during the mid-nineteenth century. Built as a guard lock, it was intended to permit slackwater navigation of the Hocking River by regulating water depths where river and canal met. Those plans were later […]

1-37 Thomas Worthington Founder of Logan

1-37 Thomas Worthington Founder of Logan 03

Worthington (1773-1827), land developer as well as statesman, laid out the village of Logan, beginning on June 27, 1816, while he was Governor of Ohio. This lot was set aside by him to be used as a public market place. Worthington became a member of the Masonic Lodge in Cincinnati in 1799. He later helped […]

7-36 The C. R. Patterson & Sons Company

7-36 The C R Patterson  Sons Company 03

The factory of the C. R. Patterson & Sons Company once stood near here at 138 N. Washington Street. Established in the mid-nineteenth century by the black businessman Charles Richard (C. R.) Patterson and his white partner, J. P. Lowe, the business, originally known as J. P. Lowe & Company, became a successful carriage firm. […]

6-36 The Lincoln School

6-36 The Lincoln School 00

The Lincoln School, which stood on this site from 1869 to 1956, was a segregated elementary school intended for the city’s African American students, grades one through eight. Hillsboro was the site of the first Northern desegregation suit following the May 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, a decision […]

5-36 Gist Settlement

5-36 Gist Settlement 00

Through the terms of his will, British absentee landowner Samuel Gist (c.1723-1815) freed his 350 Virginia slaves and provided funds for their relocation, the purchase of land and homes, and the establishment of schools and churches. Gist’s executors acquired over 2,000 acres of land in Ohio, including two large tracts in Scott and Eagle townships […]

4-36 Milton Caniff

4-36 Milton Caniff 00

Creator of some of America’s favorite cartoon characters, Milton Caniff was born in Hillsboro in 1907 and graduated from Ohio State University in 1930. He created his first comic strip in 1932 for the Associated Press Syndicate, and in 1934 introduced “Terry and the Pirates,” an innovative serial adventure featuring believable characters drawn with unprecedented […]

3-36 New Market / Oliver Harris – 1780-1845

3-36 New Market  Oliver Harris - 1780-1845 00

In 1798, Henry Massie, brother of General Nathaniel Massie, platted a town, the earliest permanent settlement in Highland County, covering 400 acres and named it New Market after a town in his native Virginia. New Market served as the unofficial county seat until Hillsboro assumed that title in 1807. Despite being traversed by the Cincinnati-Chillicothe […]

2-36 Edward Lee McClain High School

2-36 Edward Lee McClain High School 00

A focal point of community pride for generations, McClain High School was the gift of textile manufacturer Edward Lee McClain to his hometown, “as promising the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time.” Designed by nationally prominent school architect William B. Ittner, the school was dedicated in September 1915. Lauded as one […]

1-36 Smith Tannery

1-36 Smith Tannery 00

The Smith Tannery is the oldest original structure remaining in Greenfield. Built in 1821 by Revolutionary War veteran William Smith and his son Samuel, the tannery became a noted station on the fabled “Underground Railroad.” The structure, which also served as the family residence, was the birthplace of Dr. Samuel M. Smith, Surgeon General of […]

7-35 Liberty Center, Ohio / Wabash Depot

7-35 Liberty Center Ohio - Wabash Depot 00

In 1847, after completion of the Miami & Erie Canal, 66 residents were recorded in Liberty Township. Construction of Wabash Railway in 1854 encouraged trade at the half way point between Washington Station and Napoleon. Proprietors such as George W. Buchanan, Frank Prey, Alexander Cooper, and Benjamin Penncock began business around 1860. On June 4, […]