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DID YOU KNOW?The area now known as Indian Mound Park can be visited easily from U. S. Route 42.GREENE COUNTY DAILIESJoan BaxterHISTORIANA look at Cedarville CliffsAfter the Adena and Hopewell Indians left the area which is now Cedarville Township, the Shawnee Indians made their home here.Before coming to Ohio, many of the Shawnee lived south of the Ohio River, largely in what is now known as Kentucky. As they began to move further north, one of the largest settlements was that of Old Chillicothe (Oldtown), a well-established village in the mid eighteenth century. The Shawnee hunted throughout what is now the Miami Valley, includingthe Cedarville area.The area around the Indian Mound Park andPollock Earth Works was a part of the VirginiaMilitary Survey District. The land, prior to Ohiobecoming a state, was owned by Virginia, and plots of land were given to soldiers in return for their mili-tarv service.*Many of those soldiers who received grants of land never came to Ohio to claim their property. This was true of the area known as Indian Mound Park. Three different surveys were given to two men in 1803.Most of the land was given to James Culbertson . but he never took advantage of the free land, so in 1807, the property was divided among several different people. Thomas Paris and Thomas Stone were two of those men. Paris did come to the area to settle, along w itli family members, and was one of the earliest families to settle in what became the Cedarville area.The third portion, consisting of 250 acres was given to Colonel William White, then div ided among his family members.The Culbertson land, consisting of one hundred acres was given to William McFarland in 1807.That family occupied the land for about eighteen years. It is on this tract that a log structure was built. Although there are no records of the exact date of the construction, it is assumed that it was built before 1825.The land, and the house were subsequently sold to a school teacher, David Jackson. The house was valued at $50 in 1835.One of the first businessmen in the area was Uriah Jeffries.. In the late 1830’s or early 1840’s, he opened his cabinet making business in a log house just west of Cedarville. In 1846, he purchased land from David Jackson which included the log structure mentioned above. It is thought that he operated his business from that location for a while, or it might have been used only as his residence. His mam business was located across the road, however, where he owned more than fifteen acres of land.James Jeff ries listed about $400 in improvements in I860, which could indicate the construction of a bam or other buildings to accommodate the fumi-ture/cabinet making business.'l'he family stayed in business in this location until the 1880’s.The land on which the log house sits was purchased by joltn Taylor in 1885, and then several subsequent owners have been recorded as owners.Alka Myers purchased the land in 1967. then sold it to Greene County in 1977. Thus the property became a portion of Indian Mound Park.Jeffries was one of the earliest businessmen in the area but there were several other businesses located there.The fast saw mill was built by James Newport in 1811, on the banks of Massie’s Creek.This was the saw mill which was used by those early settlers to secure lumber for their homes.The second saw mill was also used for carding and fulling. Isaac and Jacob McFarland built this mill about 1818. It seems rather a strange combination for a mill, but it ran successfully with both purposes for some years, until they decided that a saw mill would better serve the community, and dropped the carding.Another mill in the area was known as the Harbison Mill. Actually it was constructed by Joseph Kyle in 1868. There were three different owners in the first ten years of the mill’s existence, w ith William Harbison being one of those owners.Apparently Mr. Harbison had a difficult time making a profit at the mill, although, according to all available information, he was a good miller. When he sold the business in 1876, he was retained as foreman for the mill, thus his abilities must have been adequate. The Erwin brothers bought the mill in 1879, and again, Harbison remained as the foreman. He worked in this position until 1902.Fhe Erv in brothers were old hands at making money. They ran a limestone kiln and in addition, the first brick kiln in the township. They also built a three story grain elevator in 1881.A dam was built by the Ervins which was unusual in that it was of great height, constructed of stone.The majority of dams at that time were between six and ten feet high. This particular dam was made in the form of an arch or semicircle, standing upstream with strong abutments on either side to support the arch. They laid the widest stones upstream, forcing the water into the dam. which guaranteed a powerful flow of power for the mill.The area now known as Indian Mound Park can be visited easily from U. S. Route 42. You will see the log house beside the road, a short hike will take you to the Williamson Mound and the Pollock Earth Works, and perhaps you will be able to visualize how it might have looked when the Adena and Hopewell Indians inhabited this part of Greene County.
Newspaper Details
Xenia Gazette News Current
Xenia, Ohio, US
Fri, Jul 03, 2009
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Greene C.
OH, USA 06 Aug 2021
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