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5-8 Historic Decatur / A.N. Marquis and Who’s Who
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 […]
7-8 Camp Ripley 1861-1864 / Camp Ammen 1861-1864
With news of hostilities at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Ripley men formed one of Ohio’s first military units and established Camp Ripley on what was the 12-acre Ripley Fairgrounds. Chosen as Captain was West Point graduate Jacob Ammen. His unit would be a saving force for Ulysses S. Grant’s troops at Pittsburg Landing raising […]
8-8 Ripley and The Ohio River
A part of the Virginia Military District, Ripley was founded in 1812 by Colonel James Poage, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Originally named Staunton, after Poage’s hometown in Virginia, the village comprised 1,000 acres along the Ohio River. With its riverside location and deep water landing area, Ripley became a thriving community. Large quantities […]
1-8 Ulysses S. Grant Boyhood Home
U.S. Grant, general-in-chief of the Armies of the United States, 18th president and first native Ohioan to be elected chief executive, lived in this house from 1824 to 1839. Jesse R. Grant, his father, built the original part fronting Water Street in 1824 and later built an addition fronting Main Cross Street, now Grant Avenue. […]
2-8 Dixon-Washburn Log House
This house originally stood at Logan’s Gap, Union Township. By tradition, it was constructed in 1793 by Indian scouts William Dixon and Cornelius Washburn who became residents of Brown County. Dixon lived in this house until 1800.
4-8 Ripley / The John P. Parker House
Ripley was incorporated as the village of Staunton in 1812. Its name was changed in 1816 to honor General Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a hero of the War of 1812. In the years before railroads, Ripley was a principal Ohio River shipping center. Also important were its extensive boat-building, tobacco, pork, and timber industries. Ripley too […]
21-7 Watt Car and Wheel Company
Joseph Watt and son James H. started a small foundry in 1862 making plow points, window sash weights, and heating stoves. Later, brothers Stewart, Ross, and John W. joined and the name became J.H. Watt and Brothers. Securing a patent for a self-oiling mine car wheel, the business expanded to this 27-acre site. In 1891, […]
18-7 Cornelius D. Battelle, Methodist Circuit Rider / The First United Methodist Church, Bellaire
Cornelius D. Battelle was born July 13, 1807 in Washington County, Ohio. He entered the Methodist Episcopal Church on October 30, 1825 and the Pittsburgh Methodist Conference in 1833. He was assigned pastoral circuit duties in rural eastern Ohio and the small river settlement of “Belle Aire” where he delivered his first sermon in a […]
19-7 Captain Thomas Drummond
Here lies Thomas Drummond (1832-1865)- legislator, abolitionist and soldier. Raised in eastern Ohio, he moved to Iowa where he served in the General Assembly and secured the location of the State Asylum for the Blind at Vinton. As editor of the “Vinton Eagle”, he was an outspoken opponent of slavery. During the Civil War, Drummond […]
20-7 Groundbreaking Site of the National Road in Ohio / Belmont County
Near this site on July 4, 1825 ground was broken in Ohio for the National Road. The National Road was America’s first federally planned and funded highway and linked the east coast of the United States to Old Northwest Territory. Albert Gallatin, President Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of the Treasury, conceived the idea for the road […]