Gardner House a Showplace of Middletown Colonial Hill History
The Gardner family legacy preserves Colonial Hill as a landmark in northeast Middletown now part of Miami University Middletown serving as a music center. Samuel Bonnell, builder of the original house atop the hill, was a War of 1812 veteran who later founded a Middletown tailor shop after saving for a 127 acre farm nearby.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Middletown
Colonial Hill
Colin Gardner, Jr
Miami University
Samuel Bonnell
Old Middletown
Bonnell
Paris
France
America
George Washington
Miami
Clear Creek
Warren County
Samuel
U.S
Franklin
Elizabeth Dickey
Adam Dickey
Amanda
Colonial Hill and the Gardner Era in Middletown History
The article traces Colonial Hill’s 19th century origins with Samuel Bonnell and later Colin Gardner who remodeled and expanded the house and acquired 24 acres. It details Gardner’s rise from a $13 start in Cincinnati to founding the Gardner Harvey paper empire and building boxboard mills, shaping Middletown’s industry and social scene through the Gardner-Harvey legacy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colonial Hill
Bonnell
Samuel Bonnell
Colin Gardner
Cincinnati
Troy
Gardner
Queen City
Middletown
Gardner family on Colonial Hill builds a lasting Lakeside legacy
Colin Gardner and his three sons built a hillside family compound overlooking Gardner Park in Lakeside. The Gardner-Harvey Paper mills fueled local employment and a company benefits system. The estate later joined Diamond International Corp. The yellow mansion on Colonial Hill, repainted white after a fire, remains a landmark linked to Gardner descendants whose color choice and presence linger in local memory.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colin Gardner
George Harvey
U.S
Gardner
Edward T. Gardner
Robert Gardner
Colonial Hill
Catalpa Drive
Gardner Park
Lakeside
Gardners
Gardner ‘Company
And
Gardner-Harvey Paper Mills
Diamond International Corp
Middletown
Miami University
Grover Moore
Fifth Ave
Moore
Also Mentioned on This Page
Elizabeth Bonnell
Journal
Elizabeth Tytus
Francis Jefferson Tytus
Tytus Paper Co
Midwest
George H. Harvey
Tytus Paper
Harvey
Manilla
Colin Gardner Paper Co
Tom
Charles Street
Tom Harvey
National Boxboard Company
Gardner-Harvey
Gardner-Harvey Library
Francis
J. Tytus
Avalon Circle
George Crout
Nt Gadi Place
Cliff Crawford
Middletown Federal S&l
Gardner Mansion
J.S
H.stoutenborough
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!