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2-67 Benjamin Tappan Jr. (1773-1857)
The founder of Ravenna Township in 1799, Benjamin Tappan Jr. led a distinguished life of public service. An aggressive force in local politics, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1803 to 1805, as judge of the fifth circuit court of common pleas from 1816 to 1823, and as federal district judge from 1826 to […]
1-67 Silver Creek Cheese Factory
The Silver Creek Cheese Factory was located in the heart of the tri-county area known during the 19th century as “Cheesedome”. This part of the Western Reserve was best known for the cheese it shipped internationally. The factory contributed to the Aurora processing network, which by 1904 was shipping 4,000,000 pounds of cheese per year. […]
8-66 First County Courthouse / Removal of County Seat
Named for General Zebulon Pike, killed in the War of 1812, Pike County was organized in February 1815. Commissioners were charged with establishing a county seat and on May 12, 1815 accepted a conveyance of 40 acres from Elisha Fitch. The new seat was named “Piketon.” In 1816, the commissioners let a contract for the […]
7-66 PP African American Settlement / Eden Baptist Church
Thirteen African American families migrated to Pebble Township in Pike County in the early 1820s from Virginia. Some of the families were former slaves while others were freeborn people of color. Their farm knowledge and skill helped to make them prosperous, angering some of their white neighbors who began a campaign of harassment. Ten of […]
6-66 Ohio and Erie Canal
The Ohio and Erie Canal, built between 1825 and 1832, had a significant influence on Ohio’s economy. In the early 19th century Ohio was largely rural and dependent on subsistence agriculture as the primary business. The canal, which cost nearly $8,000,000 to construct, provided a transportation route from Cleveland on Lake Erie to Portsmouth on […]
5-66 German Evangelical Church / Pike Heritage Foundation Museum
Construction of Waverly’s third church, built with locally produced brick, began in 1859 and was completed in 1860. The original deed, recorded on October 31, 1859, listed the value of the lot as $180. With the merger of the Evangelical Synod of North America with the Reformed Church in 1934, the name changed to Evangelical […]
4-66 The Emmitt House / James Emmitt (1806-1893)
Built for Waverly industrialist James Emmitt in 1861, The Emmitt House was partly the work of carpenter Madison Hemings, who claimed parentage by President Thomas Jefferson. It served as a tavern and store for travelers on the Ohio-Erie Canal that passed directly in front of the hotel. The Emmitt House was added to the National […]
19-67 The Chillicothe Turnpike
The Chillicothe Turnpike stimulated the growth of Aurora Center, Aurora’s first commercial area. Established in 1802 by Benjamin Tappan, the road also precipitated the development of Kirtland, Chester, Russell and Bainbridge, provided access to landlocked properties, and linked distant towns from Lake Erie to Ohio’s first capital in Chillicothe. In Aurora, the Chillicothe Turnpike turned […]
2-66 Pike County Courthouse
The Pike County Courthouse was at Piketon from 1815-1861 when county residents voted to move the county seat to Waverly. The Waverly Public Square was donated to the county by the Meschech Downing family in September, 1861. A committee was appointed to oversee the courthouse construction and the completed structure was deeded to the county […]
1-66 Canal Park
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 […]