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5-9 Village of Miltonville
The village of Miltonville, located along the banks of Elk Creek, was platted in 1816 by George Bennett, Theophilus Eaglesfield, and Richard V. V. Crane. The creek served two grist mills, one built around 1804 and operated by a free black, Bambo Harris, and the second was built by George Bennett in 1815. An Indian […]
6-9 Woodsdale
This hamlet, located one mile southwest from here, was never platted, but was named after William Woods, president of the three-story brick Woodsdale paper mill constructed in 1867. Flanking the mill were the company office and store and several workers’ houses. Previous to this, the area flourished from the presence of two grist mills on […]
4-9 Miami-Erie Canal 1825-1929
At Middletown, Ohio, on July 21, 1825, ground was first broken for the Miami-Erie Canal, which eventually linked Cincinnati and Toledo. The canal created much change in the region, including increased population and commercial, political, and industrial growth. Products grown and manufactured in this previously isolated area now had access to world markets. Prosperity reigned […]
1-9 The Miami Canal
Construction began in 1825 on the 20-mile segment of the Miami Canal from two miles north of Middletown to the head of Mill Creek. Canal boats were operating from Hartwell’s Basin near Cincinnati to Middletown by Nov. 28, 1827. This early link in what became the Miami and Erie Canal joining in 1845 Toledo and […]
2-9 Bethel Chapel 1815-1873
William Holmes McGuffey, author of the Eclectic Series of Readers, was ordained a Presbyterian minister in a log meeting house on this site in 1829. The ordination was performed by Robert Bishop, President of Miami University, and other ministers from the Oxford Presbytery. McGuffey’s Christian character is an example and model for all teachers and […]
13-8 The Ursulines of Brown County
On July 21, 1845, eleven Ursuline sisters from Boulogne-sur-Mer and Beaulieu, France, arrived in St. Martin, Brown County, Ohio. A Catholic order of sisters known for providing quality education to young women, the Ursulines were invited by Cincinnati Archbishop John Baptist Purcell (1800-1883) to establish a school in the diocese and granted approximately 400 acres […]
11-8 Gist Settlement Scott Township / Original Lot Owners in Scott Township Settlement
Through the terms of his will, absentee British landowner Samuel Gist (c. 1723-1815) freed his 350 slaves in Virginia. Gist intended that these freed people would remain on the land and receive instruction in Christianity and that schools would be established for their children. The settlement of Gist’s estate funded the relocation of the freed […]
12-8 Charles Young in Ripley / Colonel Young’s Achievements
Charles Young in Ripley. Upon his death in 1922, Colonel Charles Young was the highest ranking African American officer in the United States Army. Born into slavery in Kentucky in 1864, Young moved to Ripley with his parents Gabriel and Arminta in the 1870s. He excelled academically, graduating with honors from Ripley High School in […]
9-8 The Squirrel Hunters 1862
The American Civil War was in its second year, and Confederate forces were advancing in the east and in the west. Confederates led by General Edward Kirby Smith had defeated a Union Force at Richmond, Kentucky on August 30, 1862. Word was received that they were advancing on Cincinnati. Ohio Governor David Tod issued a […]
10-8 Gist Settlement / Original Lot Owners in Eagle Township Settlement
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 the establishment of schools and homes. The executors of Gist’s will acquired over 2,000 acres of land in Ohio, including two large tracts in Scott and […]