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3-55 John Johnston
Beginning in 1794, Colonel Johnston was a prominent Mason for 66 years. While serving as secretary of Washington lodge No. 59, F. & A. M. (Philadelphia), he was delegated to participate in President George Washington’s Masonic funeral. Colonel Johnston became a member of Warren Lodge No. 24, F. & A.M., in Piqua in 1843. He […]
2-55 The Old National Road
You are now traveling U.S. 40, the “Old National Road” used in the westward expansion of our country. In 1837 notice was given that this section of the road would be constructed. A toll house was located at the east edge of Brandt.
1-55 1804 Quaker Meetinghouse
To Commemorate the first church erected in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, this log replica was constructed in 1976 by the Union Township 4-H Clubs and the West Milton area Camp Fire Girls. The Laura Lions Club established this historic marker which stands on the site of the West Branch Quaker Burial Grounds near the […]
34-55 Bradford
Bradford began, in 1852, as a construction camp of the Columbus, Piqua, and Indiana Railroad. When the Richmond and Covington Railroad made a junction here in 1864, the village grew with the railroad yard. There were 60 miles of track, a 50-stall roundhouse, and jobs for 2000 men. Community life in Bradford centered at the […]
5-54 Carthagena Black Cemetery
The Carthagena Black Cemetery (Union Cemetery) is a remnant of approximately 70 documented rural black and mulatto settlements established in Ohio before the Civil War. In the charged atmosphere following race riots in Cincinnati in 1829, Quaker abolitionist Augustus Wattles led 15 black families north in 1835. In 1837 Wattles purchased 189 acres where the […]
4-54 St. Clair’s Defeat, 1791 / Wayne’s Victory, 1794
Native Americans inhabited and used much of the land in the Ohio valley as hunting grounds. As American settlers pushed west, conflicts resulted and attempts at peaceful settlement failed. Under political pressure, President George Washington resolved to subdue Indian resistance to American expansion in the Ohio country and appointed General Arthur St. Clair to lead […]
3-54 The Riley Home
The museum of the Mercer County Historical Society, the Riley Home represents six generations of the Riley family in the county. The first Riley to arrive here was Captain James Riley, who surveyed the area in 1819, after it was opened to American settlement following the Treaty of Saint Marys in 1818. Captain Riley was […]
2-54 Maria Stein Convent and Relic Chapel
The Sisters of the Precious Blood, founded in Switzerland by Maria Anna Brunner in 1834, began their ministry of prayer and education in Mercer County here at Maria Stein (Our Lady of the Rock). Father Francis de Sales Brunner, a Missionary of the Precious Blood, brought the Sisters to America in 1844, and in 1846 […]
1-54 The Cranberry Prairie
The Cranberry Prairie, southwest of this marker, is a part of Ohio’s natural history. The place was named for the cranberries that grew in a swamp here prior to drainage of the area. The Cranberry Prairie was created by centuries of peat accumulation in a late Ice Age lake that formed at the base of […]
21-53 Rear Admiral William W. Outerbridge
Middleport native William Outerbridge (1906-1986) initiated the first shots of American involvement in World War II at 6:37 a.m. prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Outerbridge was commander of the destroyer USS Ward, which engaged and attacked a Japanese midget submarine as it attempted to slip into Pearl Harbor […]