Remarkable Ohio

Results for: springs
S. Main St.
Magnetic Springs

, OH

Near this site in 1879, J.E. Newhouse discovered a magnetic spring in his park, Green Bend Gardens. It was found that a knife blade dipped in the water could pick up small metal objects like a magnet. The spring became known for its curative powers and was advertised as a treatment for ailments including rheumatism, gout, insomnia, and diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and nerves. To share the health-giving water, Mr. Newhouse opened the Magnetic Bath House, which became famous for its water cures. To reach a larger market, the magnetic water was sterilized and bottled and sold under the Magnetic Springs label. Advances in medicine after World War II led to the decline in the popularity of mineral baths.

Williamsport

, OH

In 1772-73 missionary David Jones visited Blue Jacket’s Town, a settlement of 12 cabins downstream on the east bank and Pickaweekee, a Shawnee town, on the west bank. Deercreek Methodist Circuit Deacon, Dr. Edward Tiffin, met settlers after 1798. Dr. Tiffin was later elected first governor of Ohio. A station of Virginia bounty-land settlers, “Williams Town,” assembled here around 1797. Mill sites, established before Pickaway County, flourished in the dense oak forest of Deercreek Township. Frontier hotels in Williamsport prospered due to the “healthful” sulphur springs.

OH 141
Waterloo

, OH

Waterloo was home to the legendary Waterloo Wonders. Coach Magellan Hariston and his Wonder Five captured consecutive Ohio state high school Class B basketball championships in 1934 & 1935, winning 94 out of 97 games, and defeating many Class A and college teams. The 91st Ohio House of Representatives honored the Waterloo Wonders with a resolution following their second Class B State Championship win. The Wonders, known for their colorful passing show, entertained fans with their scoring ability, defense, trick passes, and hardwood antics. Hailing from a small village with a school male enrollment of only 26, the Waterloo Wonders were considered one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled on the Ohio high school athletic scene. After high school, four of the Wonder Five played professionally as the Waterloo Wonders, ranking among the best basketball squads in the country.

101 S. Franklin Street
Richwood

, OH

The Richwood Opera House and Town Hall was erected in 1890 as a community center designed to house the town council chambers, fire department, jail and opera house. The Richardsonian Romanesque styled building served Richwood in all these capacities for nearly 75 years. The Opera House was the site of minstrel shows, concerts, movies, lecture courses, revivals, farmers’ institutes, commencements, and community meetings. The second floor gymnasium was used for a men’s independent basketball league, dance classes, and as a teen center after World War II. Construction of an interurban railway running between Richwood and the resort town of Magnetic Springs in 1906 provided an expanded audience for the Opera House. (continued on other side)

1680 Madison Avenue
Wooster

, OH

Frederick Rice was born on September 29, 1753, near Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania and moved to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania around 1766. During the American Revolution he served under George Washington at Valley Forge and fought in the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, in which American forces surprised and captured 1,000 Hessian mercenaries. He served for two more years as a spy working against Native American tribes in western Pennsylvania. After his service he married Catherine Lauffer, and they raised eleven children to adulthood. Rice chose this 320-acre site, transferred to him in a deed signed by President James Monroe on May 21, 1821, because it offered excellent springs. He assigned the west half to son Simon and the east half to son Barnhart in 1822. Ownership remained in the Rice family until acquired for the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station in 1891, renamed the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in 1965.

Just S of 5838 Mineral Springs Road
Peebles

, OH

Medicinal value of springs promoted by Charles Matheny, 1840. First hotel built 1864 and resort named Sodaville. Under ownership of General Benjamin Coates 1888-91, Smith Grimes 1891-08, and J. W. Rogers 1908-20. Mineral Springs Health Resort Nationally known for its large hotel complex and recreational facilities. This hotel destroyed by fire, 1924. Smaller hotel built 1904, quarter mile north, continued operation through 1940.

College Hall, Wilmington College
Wilmington

, OH

The 19th century saw a great migration of Quakers from the Carolinas and from eastern Ohio to southwestern Ohio. Attracted by rich soil and abundance of fresh water and springs, Quakers became the dominant religious group in the region. Clinton County was referred to as the “Quaker County of Ohio.” In August 1870, members of the Society of Friends purchased at an auction an unfinished building on 14 acres of land and founded Wilmington College, the first Quaker institution of higher learning established in Ohio. College Hall is the original structure and the first classes commenced in April 1871. Wilmington’s importance as a Quaker center grew with the founding of Wilmington College, which houses the Quaker Collection of historical, literary, and genealogical publications in the Watson Library.

5921 Cox Road
Bucyrus

, OH

Long known to the Indians for the mineral spring water, this land was purchased in 1819 by Samuel Knisley. After 1880 it was developed as a resort area by Dr. Jerome Bland, who also established a cattle and horse breeding farm. In 1930 the land became part of PICKWICK FARMS which in 1976 was the largest standardbred breeding farm in Ohio and known throughout the United States and Canada.