West of Chester OH

School District No. 9 Schoolhouse, built in 1900

I lived in West Chester OH, a large suburb north of Cincinnati from 1978-1986 as an awkward teenager with limited social skills. Times have changed. West Chester has grown quite a bit and I am now an awkward 40-something with limited social skills.

I never thought much about the history when I lived there. To me it seemed like they just built a bunch of subdivisions on farmland and that was the end of it...but I did wonder why they called it West Chester. West of what? Chester? Where is Chester? I don't see a Chester on the map. There is no East Chester either. It's too far north to be considered west of Cincinnati. No one seemed to know. I forgot all about this for about 25 years until I ran across the book, "The History of Union Township, Butler County" by Virginia Shewalter. In case you haven't read it, here's the deal...

In 1824 there was a village in Butler County called Mechanicsburgh. Just to the east of that village was the post office called "Chester". No one knows why. Maybe a guy named Chester worked there. Maybe the horse that helped deliver the mail was named Chester. No one wrote it down. That actually happens more than you think. I even contacted the West Chester Historical Society and they had no idea where the name "Chester" originated.

VOA Bethany Station 1943-1994

Since there was already another Mechanicsburgh OH, folks decided to rename the town. People were already calling the area "Chester" after the post office. So, by 1826 they decided on "West Chester" since the village was west of the Chester post office. That's it.

West Chest is certainly no podunk town anymore. By 1900 there were over 1,700 people living in West Chester and by the 1980s 25,000. In 2000 it had doubled to over 50,000 residents and became West Chester Township. According to the official website, in 2011 there were over 60,000 residents and 3,000 businesses.

concrete platforms for the Bethany antennae array

At one time, West Chester boasted itself as one of the richest suburbs in Ohio, but it has dropped a bit in recent times. Things still look pretty good though as it was just named 97 out of 100 of the best small cities to live by Money Magazine.  It also happens to be the home of the US Speaker of the House John Boehner who being a humble man of the people he serves owns a home in the rich, private gated community of Wetherington.
From 1943-1994 West Chester was also home to the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station that beamed American ideals over the radio airwaves in 44 languages all over the world. The Bethany Station building is slated to become a museum for VOA and the giant tower relays have been removed and the land converted into VOA Park.

Now, can they convert those empty strip malls back into corn fields?

Tales of Brave Ulysses

Grant's birthplace in Point Pleasant OH. It toured the US.

April 27th 1822 is President U.S. Grant's 191st birthday!
I'm not going to attempt a biography of Grant in a mere blog post. His service during the Civil War is heavily documented. I'll just touch on some items you may not know.
Born in a modest home in Point Pleasant OH and moving a year later to Georgetown OH, his given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. When he entered West Point at the age of 17, a clerical error made him Ulysses Simpson Grant because his Mother's maiden name was Simpson. Including Grant, there are three US Presidents who were born with different names than the name they were elected under. The other two are Ford and Clinton.

During Grant's military career he developed a reputation for binge drinking which may have been exaggerated by his enemies. Some historians think he probably drank as much as any other 19th century man which is to say, a lot.
 After the Civil War he became a huge celebrity and became involved in politics. In 1869 became 18th President of the US serving two terms. His Presidential legacy is marred by a series of corruption scandals and economic crisis' during a violent and pivotal era in post Civil War America but he accomplished several great things such as furthering the rights of African-Americans and overseeing the passage of the 15th amendment. I do kind of get the feeling that Grant could have burned the White House to the ground in a drunken rage and he still would be forgiven because of his service in the Civil War. He was that big of a deal to Americans.

Grant may  have been reported on his own highway

Grant's Presidency began a triple header of Republican Ohio born Presidents (Grant, Hayes, Garfield) that controlled the White House from 1861 to 1881. Most people don't know that an attempt was made to nominate Grant for an unprecedented 3rd term in 1880 but the deadlocked and divided Republican convention became enamored by fellow Ohioan James Garfield's speech in support of another contender named James Blaine. Grant lost the nomination to Garfield who was shot 4 months into his term by a crazy loner gunman who had written speeches in favor of Grant. There was of course no connection to Grant but it is an interesting fact nonetheless.

In 1884 Grant learned he had throat cancer, a sure death sentence in those days. At the urging of supporters he decided to write his memoirs which he finished just days before he died. I suppose if Grant did get that third term he very well could have been added to the list of Ohio Presidents who died in office. Those Buckeyes can't catch a break.

Being a national hero and all, after he died on July 23rd 1885 they put his birthplace cottage on a train and toured it all over the US and then they put it back in Point Pleasant OH. I don't think anyone really cared or knew that he lived there for only a year and really grew up in Georgetown OH.
Grant was laid to rest in New York City. Why wasn't he buried in Ohio? NYC was where he and his wife lived after leaving the White House and Julia, who outlived him by 20 years, wanted him nearby so she could visit.

Grant's Tomb in NYC

So who is buried in Grant's Tomb? No one. Grant and his wife Julie are in an above ground vault.


"Grant was himself the supreme example of American opportunity."

-President and fellow Ohioan Warren G. Harding

speaking in Point Pleasant on the
1922 100th Anniversary of Grant’s birth

Gateway to the Old Northwest

18th century Marietta

The first permanent American settlement of the Northwest Territory officially began at Marietta, Ohio on April 7, 1788.
General Rufus Putnam and 48 men arrived on flatboats and named the new city "Marietta" after Queen Marie Antoinette in honor of France's support during the Revolutionary War.

21st century Marietta

Hostilities with Native Americans, who had occupied the region for thousands of years, would become a fact of life for the next half century as treaties were made (and broken). By 1843 no Indian tribes would remain in Ohio. Evidence of the Hopewell culture (100 BC - AD 500) can still be seen in what remains of the Marietta Earthworks.

Marietta flourished during the riverboat and railroad era through the 19th century but surpassed in importance as the era of the interstate and air travel took over. Today Marietta has a flourishing tourism industry because of its significant place in history.

The Place of the Devil Wind

National Weather Service photo of the F5 tornado

I didn't live in Ohio when this tragedy happened but the very mention of this event strikes fear in many Southwestern Ohio residents. A super outbreak of 148 tornadoes occurred in 13 states beginning on April 3rd 1974 and ending on April 4th. It still ranks as one of the largest natural disasters in American history. Xenia OH was the hardest hit community. Half of the city was removed from the map in a matter of minutes.

I remember when I first moved to Cincinnati Ohio in 1979, there was a tornado warning in effect one evening. I was at a friends house whose family was from Dayton OH, which is right next to Xenia. I'd been in tornado warnings before and it is scary but my friend's family was really freaking out. This is why.

What is interesting is that this area was well known by American Indians for severe weather events and warned settlers not to build permanent settlements here. The Shawnee called it  "the place of the devil wind". There have been twenty recorded tornadoes in this area since 1884.

Xenia Tornado

April 3, 1974

OHS marker in front of the 1799 Galloway Log Home

On April 3, 1974, at 4:40 p.m., a devastating tornado touched down here, destroying a large portion of the City of Xenia. The mile-wide tornado entered in the southwest quadrant of the city and did not leave the ground until it had demolished hundreds of homes, schools, and commercial buildings. A total of 34 lives were lost, including two National guardsmen who were in a building when it caught fire. Hundreds of people were injured with property losses exceeding more than $100 million. For weeks following the tornado, the sound of trucks was heard throughout the city carrying the remains of homes, schools, churches, and businesses. This marker stands directly in the path taken by the tornado and serves to remind us that-"Xenia Lives."

more info and photos

Lucretia, My Reflection

Prior to a week or so ago, I had never heard of Lucretia "Crete" Randolf Garfield. I mean why would I?  Her husband James Garfield, the 20th US President, was shot in 1881 four months into his first term and died two months later from well basically the treatment of his wounds. The second shortest presidency ever. Another one for the trivia games.

I was at the library recently and I picked up a book published in 2012 called "Destiny of the Republic" about James Garfield, a best seller that got rave reviews. I thought this was odd since it is about such an obscure forgotten President. I won't review the book here but let me say that the rave reviews are well deserved. It is written in a nice narrative style which makes it as engaging as a novel. It was here I met Lucretia.

Today, March 14th  is the anniversary of the death of former First Lady Lucretia Garfield born in Garrettsville, Ohio in 1832. She died in 1918 at age 85. People like this always amaze me because of the changes they saw during their lives. When she was born the US was only about 60 years old and the horse was the only way to travel or get messages across long distances. By the time she died the US was well past its Centennial and she had seen the invention of the telephone and the first airplane.

Lucretia met her husband at school in Ohio and they married in 1856. James admits in his diary that he was attracted to her for her intellect rather than just her physical beauty. Together they had seven children. 

After Garfield's Presidential election she began to rehab the very run down White House when she contracted malaria from "bad air" (they hadn't made the connection to mosquitoes yet) and nearly died. Her doctors had her travel to the New Jersey coast to finish recuperating believing that the salt air would be better for her.

together again

Having mostly recovered, Crete was informed that her husband had been shot. She hopped the next train to be near him and await his fate. During the trip, the train she was on broke a piston and nearly derailed which likely would have killed everyone on board. Because of her frail health James was concerned greatly about her even as he lay there with a bullet in his abdomen.

After James died, she and her family moved near Cleveland OH and lived off a trust fund set up for her. Crete lived a mostly private life from then on. That was fine with Crete, she preferred that sort of life to the protocols of political life.

Years later in 1918 while visiting in California she died from undisclosed causes at age 85 and is laid to rest in the Garfield Monument with her husband in Cleveland OH.

Oh and what's up with the "Lucretia, My Reflection" title? Prior to this, the only Lucretia I ever knew was the 1988 Sister of Mercy song. It's not about her but it starts playing in my head every time I hear the name.

Ohio Statehood Day!

March 1st is Ohio Statehood Day when Ohio became the 17th state in 1803. Happy 210th!

Or did Ohio become a state February 19th 1803?

Maybe it was it August 7th...1953?

We tend to think of these older historical events as neat and tidy occasions where gentlemen in white wigs have orderly civil debates and sign documents with fancy quill pens by candlelight. The US was a brand new country and everyone had the same goals...right? Not really. The State of Ohio was formed by a power struggle between two political parties.

at a crossroad

In the early 1800s, the esteemed Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary War Veteran and Federalist Party member was the Governor of the NW Territory appointed by his friend George Washington. He even named Cincinnati. Arthur did have that little mishap where he led 3/4 of the US Army to their deaths but even that was forgiven and he remained the NW Territory Governor under Washington. In the late 1700s there were two parties vying for power and by 1800 Democratic-Republican Party had gained control of the House, Senate and Presidency from the Federalists. Some of the key differences of these two parties are summed up nicely here.

St. Clair proposed new state boundaries for the territory that essentially divided it in two and would prevent Ohio from becoming a state at that time since it did not meet the population criteria for statehood.

the man who busted Arthur

Why did he do this? He wanted to remain the Governor and keep his Federalist party in control of the area by creating two new states instead of one. Many of Ohio's new leaders were members of the opposing Democratic-Republican party...and so was the the new US president Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson was of course was eager to add Ohio as the 17th US State to increase his party's control. So, the 7th US Congress rejected St. Clair's plan and in April 1802 passed the Enabling Act which put Ohio on the fast track to becoming a state by new rules that favored the Democratic-Republican Party.

When Ohio's new Constitutional Convention met in Chillicothe St. Clair angrily denounced the Enabling Act. Word got back to Jefferson and the President promptly fired Art and appointed Charles William Byrd as Governor. You can probably guess that the new guy was also a Democratic-Republican.

all St. Clair got was a rock

With St. Clair out of the way, the new State Constitution was passed in November 1802. On February 19th 1803 the President and Congress approved it and on March 1st 1803, the Ohio General Assembly met for the first time. March 1st became known as Ohio Statehood Day. Edward Tiffin was elected governor of the state of Ohio on March 3, 1803. I'll bet you can guess Tiffin's party affiliation.

The only thing is, there was a problem. In 1953 (yes nineteen) it was discovered that due to a technicality, Congress did not formally declare Ohio a US State. Eventually that was resolved and they backdated statehood to March 1st 1803. More on that here.

What happened to St. Clair? He road off into the sunset with his gout. It turned out he had loaned much of his fortune to the cash strapped US government while serving as Governor for 14 years and Congress never paid him back. As a result of all this, one of America's original military and political leaders, a once powerful man, died disgraced, penniless and forgotten in 1818 at his home in PA.

Isn't politics fun?

The Bad News Buckeyes

Happy President's Day from Gehio!

Ohio figures prominently into Presidential history. During Presidential elections, the focus is on Ohio since our voters have correctly picked the winning Presidential candidate in the last 12 election cycles. I suppose that Ohio represents the average middle of the road American.

Ohio could also be known as the Home of the (Worst and Most Trivial) Presidents. 19% of the 43 Presidents called Ohio home. That's eight if you count adopted Buckeye William Henry "King of Trivia" Harrison who was born in the Virginia Territory but spent most of his adult life and lived in Ohio when he was elected. 

The state of Virginia has the distinction of having the most Presidents born in their state as they include Harrison in their tally as well for a grand total of eight. I think we can at least call Ohio Harrison's step mother. 

There was a high mortality rate among the eight Ohio Presidents. 50% of them died in office. In fact, only eight Presidents in total from all states have died in office. Of the Ohioans, two were shot (McKinley and Garfield) and the other two of natural causes (WH Harrison and Harding) although there are rumors that Harding's death was suspicious.

Harding and Grant are considered by many to be the most corrupt administrations of any US President although to be fair neither seemed to be directly involved in the scandals that occurred during their terms. They just surrounded themselves with despicable people I guess.

The four that managed to survive their terms, Grant, Hayes, B. Harrison, and Taft all finish in the bottom half when rankings are averaged by historians but Harding is considered the #1 worst overall. Finishing out the list, WH Harrison (5th), Grant (7th), B. Harrison (11th), Garfield (14th), Hayes (19th), Taft (21st) and McKinley (23rd). 

Go Ohio!

Cary-ing On With Alice in NCH

Alice Cary (1820-1871)

There was a young gal from Ohio
She wrote poems that made folks sigh "oh!"
She moved to New York
and I have to report
She inspired this post in Gehio.*

Cincinnati area born poet Alice Cary died on this day February 12 1871 at the age of 51.

Alice and her sister Phoebe were well known 19th century poets and attracted quite a following of celebrities including Edgar Allan Poe, Horace Greeley and PT Barnum. In fact, Barnum was one of her pallbearers (and PTB happens to be my 4th cousin 6x removed, not that it matters).

Alice was born on April 26, 1820 in the Mt. Healthy OH area but grew up with her sister on Clovernook Farm in Cary Cottage built in 1832 by Robert Cary. The tidy white cottage still stands to this day on the property of the Clovernook Center for the Blind and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Clovernook Farm eventually became the city of North College Hill, OH, the place I call home. They give tours of the house by appointment only. I'm ashamed to say I have not done that yet.

Cary Cottage in NCH

The Cary's new found literary stardom eventually took them away from NCH to NYC in 1850 where in a addition to their poetry they wrote for periodicals such at Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. Their liberal Universalist reformist upbringing led them to become involved in the women's suffrage and abolitionist causes as well.

Poe called Alice Cary's 1855 Pictures of Memory, "one of the most musically perfect lyrics in the English language".

In 1871 the sisters died only five months apart, Alice from tuberculosis and Phoebe from hepatitis. They are both buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn NY.

As a person who fell in love with local history because of  my hobby of geocaching, I felt it was appropriate to create a geocache based on the history of Cary Cottage.

*My apologies to Alice Cary for the limerick

Click here for more info on the Cary sisters.

Tippecanoe and Trivia too!

WHH and the horse he rode in on in Cincinnati

Up until a few years ago, thanks to Trivial Pursuit and rushing from the Mayflower to the American Revolution and then on to the Civil War in history classes, (as if nothing really happened in between) I always thought William Henry Harrison was just some nobody schmuck who stumbled into the presidency, died 30 days later and that was pretty much it. End of story. I didn't even know he has a fantastic tomb just to the west of the city I call home, Cincinnati.

William Henry Harrison, Ohio's adopted son born February 9th 1773 in the Virginia territory, the man I love to hate, the man I hate to love, one of Ohio's unsung founding fathers. He would have been 240 years old had he lived. The 9th President's life was cut short by a common ailment at the tender age of 68. The standard treatment of opium and leeches could not save him and he died of pneumonia 30 days later on April 4th 1841.  In fact, the "cure" is probably what killed him.

1st photo of a sitting President

WHH's achievements tend to get overshadowed by the trivia surrounding his legacy but it is impressive trivia nonetheless:

• first President to have a campaign slogan (Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!)
• oldest elected President until Reagan (68 years, RR was 69)
• the first sitting President to have his photograph taken
• longest inauguration speech of any President (1 hr 45 min)
• first President to die in office
• shortest term President (30 days)
• last President born as a British subject before American Independence
• only President to have a grandson follow him to the White House (Benjamin Harrison)
• his Dad signed the Declaration of Independence (Benjamin Harrison V)
• two states claim Harrison as their own. He was born in the Virginia colony before the American Revolution but he spent most of his life in the Ohio Valley as a military and political leader and had a home there.
• supposedly he caused "Tecumseh's Curse" that caused the presidents elected or re-elected in years divisible by twenty to die in office...until Reagan broke the curse. The list of presidents who died includes 3 Ohio born presidents....hmmm. It should be noted that no mention of any curse appeared until 1931.

that's WHH at the Treaty of Greenville

But he was not a mere footnote in history as Trivial Pursuit and history class would lead you to believe. Prior to the Presidency he had an impressive resume:

• Present at the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 as aide to Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne
• Secretary of the Northwest Territory (modern OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN from 1798-1799)
• Governor of the Indiana Territory (modern IN, IL, WI and parts of OH, MI and MN from 1801-1812)
• Expanded US territory by 60 million acres*
• Won the Battle of Tippecanoe against the Indian confederacy led by Tecumseh in 1811**
• helped defeat the combined British and Indian forces in the War of 1812
• Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1816-1819)
• US Senator from Ohio (1825-1828)
• Ambassador to Columbia (1828-1829) 

Harrison's tomb in North Bend OH

I realize that this list is not as fun as the trivia list but he seemed as suited, if not more than any other for the Presidency. He wasn't just some schmuck that fell off the turnip truck.
He did do some bad stuff too and some of the good stuff is dependent on how you look at it. For example as Governor he played around with the wording of the law to keep slavery alive in the Indiana Territory as indentured servitude when slavery was supposed to be illegal there. *The thirteen land treaties with Native Americans were at best on shaky legal grounds. He knew full well that these treaties made him look very good so he obtained many of them on flimsy terms sometimes for personal gain. **The 1811 Tippecanoe battle that helped him get elected? This was considered a draw at best after it happened. In fact, it was originally considered a defeat for the US because of the number of casualties.

Much has been written about his engagements with Tecumseh. Tecumseh nearly killed him once at a meeting when Tecumseh uncharacteristically lost his temper out of frustration. That event certainly would have altered history. WHH  finally helped end the life of Tecumseh at the Battle of Thames during the War of 1812. I sometimes wonder if as Tecumseh laid there dying he regretted not killing Harrison when he had the chance.

Marysville OH (he never lived in a log cabin)

In life and in death he was portrayed as a simple man who was born in a log cabin. This however is not true. Harrison was born on a Virginia plantation to a wealthy prominent family and was well known for making long drawn out speeches that referenced and quoted Roman Emperors an military leaders. He really saw himself, and wanted others to see him, in this light. Even the home he had built in the Indiana wilderness, Grouseland was a mansion for it's time period. He was an American aristocrat who married Anna Symmes, the daughter of land speculator Judge John Cleves Symmes who at first was opposed to Harrison, whom he considered only a mere military man with no future. The myth of his humble beginnings was created to get him elected President. Ironically it was originally used as a slur by his political enemies, Harrison's team ran with it and transformed their man into a "real" man of the people. Sound familiar? Presidential candidates have been doing it ever since. Happy Birthday Mr. President.

This is Ohio Idol - McKinley Out

Ohio Idol Bill McKinley
in bobblehead form

Did you know that Ohio's State Flower is the red carnation?
Did you know it had something to do with one of the US Presidents from Ohio who died in office?
If you said "who cares?", then you may stop reading now.
On February 3rd 1903 the Ohio State Assembly named the red carnation the state flower for recently assassinated US President and former Ohio Governor William McKinley. "The Idol of Ohio" as he was called was known for picking fights with Spain and wearing a red carnation in his lapel.
The origin of  his carnation love affair started with a man named Levi Lamborn, who was a horticulturist and brought some of the first carnations to the US from France. Lamborn was McKinley's rival for a US Congressional seat and before a debate, as a friendly gesture presented McKinley with one of his red carnations. McKinley went on to win that election and since that time took a fancy to the flower he considered good luck. Years later after he was elected the 25th President, Levi sent him more red carnations and McKinley always kept a vase of them on his desk. Now that I think about it, it seems odd that a grown man would give another grown man flowers, not once but at least twice. Not that there's anything wrong with it. Just sayin'.
In 1901 while at an expo in Buffalo NY, a 12 year old girl was admiring the red carnation in the President's lapel. McKinley gave it to the young girl. Moments after that he was shot by an assassin and died eight days later from his wounds.
September 14th, the date of McKinley's death is known statewide as Red Carnation Day and is celebrated with much fanfare and jubilees. Ok, that's a lie, the day goes by pretty much unnoticed.