The Mail-Journal, Volume 13, Number 18, Milford, Kosciusko County, 26 May 1976 — Page 28

THE MAIL-JOURNAL —Wed., May 26, 1976

Ist of a series

Milford, Ohio, is the home of the first Methodist class in Northwest territory

EDITOR’S NOTE Early this year staff members wrote to 28 Milfords, IS Websters. eight Leesburgs. five Syracuses and five Oswegos across the nation asking a representative from each town to share infer mation on their town in honor of this nation’s Bicentennial. The response was over whelming. We hope our readers will visit these cities and towns as they travel this summer. Milford Our editor sat amazed at the high stack of envelopes which came from Milfords across this nation. They came from Ohio. Massachusetts. Connecticut. .Michigan. Delaware. New Hampshire. Maine. Missouri. Utah. Texas, and New Jersey. Each from a person wanting to share his or her community with others. Syracuse Three of the five Syracuses answered our letter. The answers came from Nebraska. .New- York and Ohio Websters Five Websters replied to our letter. They are located in the states of lowa. New York. North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. Oswegos Answers came from Oswego. N.Y.. Oswego. 111., and Oswego. Kan. leesburgs And. the Leesburgs in Alabama. Florida. New Jersey, Ohio. Virginia, sent answers to our letters. Our staff members have enjoyed working on this series and we hope our readers will enjoy reading it on our summer pages this year.

MILFORD. OHIO, is located 17 miles east of Cincinnati on US 50 m Clermont County It is steeped in history, being the home of the first Methodist class m the Northwest Territory and the 43d Governor erf the state of Ohio. John M Pattison The village continues to make lust On August 28 and 29 an estimated 5.000 to 10.000 persons from 30 states and five countries will visit the village as the area Lions* clubs host the United States Canoe Association's championsh.p races These races were held in Elkhart last year. From “A Glimpse of Milford History." by Leonard L. Harding. Jr., president of the Milford Area Historical Society and town historian, we learned Milford's first permanent settler was the Rev Francis McCormick He arrived in the fall of 1796 The land was a part of the Virginia Military Reservation and McCormick. a veteran of the Revolutionary War. arrived with a grant of 1,000 acres, settling in East Milford and building his cabin on the hill atop of Forest Ave McCormick gradually sold his land to the new settlers as they came to the territory He sold his last parcel to Andrew McGrew in 1806 and moved to Salem, now a part of Mount Washington The first 10 years after McCormick's arrival, the town was known as McCormick's Landing or McCormick'S Settlement, but McCormick's lasting fame comes from organizing the first class of Methodists in the Northwest Territory in the year of 1797 The sanctuary of the church was built in 1835 and dedicated on Christmas Day 1836. In 1870 the building was remodeled and renovated The bell tower and Sunday school rooms were added In 1899 the first pipe organ was purchased This organ served until 1950 when a new organ and chancel were part of the improvements. In 1960 the present educational building was completed The final stage in the remodeling program was completed in 1970 On this site is the first Ohio Historical Market in Clermont county Philip Gatch Another of the village s outstanding early settlers was the Rev. Philip Gatch, born in Baltimore. Md . and one of the

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» HOME OF FIRST CL ASS — Shown above is the home of the oldest Methodist class in the Northwest Territory. It was organized in 1797. The sanctuary of the present church was built in 1835 with the tower being added in 1870?

first Methodist "circuit riders in the colonies Gatch's first cabin was built where Greenlawn cemetery is now located The farmland along the East Fork of the Little Miami River, owned and cultivated by Philip Gatch, is still owned and farmed by the family Philip Gatch was a delegate to the First Constitutional, Convention in Chillicothe in November 1802, where the constitution for the new state of Ohio was written After the formation of the state, Gatch served as an associate judge of county court for 22 years

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The village was built on the survey belonging to John Nancarrow. another Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia. Nancarrow had a grant of 230 acres but never arrived in Milford. Philip Gatch bought his survey in 1802 for $920. In 1806 Gatch sold 125 acres to Ambrose Ransom and two days later Ransom sold 644 acres to John Hageman Hageman built a grist mill on the south side of Mill street. Tbe mill was powered by water from a dam and mill race. The dam was across the Little Miami. Hageman named the little village

Hageman's Mills. By the time the post office was esta Wished in 1815 Hageman had departed for Indiana and the name of Milford came into use. Milford was incorporated as a village in 1836. A Governor John M. Pattison lived in Milford from 1869 to 1906. Mr. Pattison was president of the Union Central Lfe Insurance Company. He served in the Ohio senate and the US House of Representatives. Elected the 43d Governor of Ohio, he became ill after his inauguration on January 8.1906 and died June 18, 1906. He was the only Governor of Ohio to come from Milford and Clermont county. 5.99® Th ere Today Information from Virginia C. Critchell shows Milford was laid out in 1806 in 49 lots, all sold the first year. Milford council has recently taken steps to conduct the necessary census to determine the population which is believed to be in excess of 5,000 persons. There are eight schools plus two Catholic schools and there are 18 churches Serving most all faiths. There are approximately 43 civic organizations, clubs and societies. Milford had but one bank until a fewjyears ago, now there are three. Savings and loan companies and financial institutions have increased from two to five. Another one will open in March. In the fall of 1&72, The Milford Area Historical Society purchased the building at 114 Main street to establish a museum, which is housed on the second floor. The dedication was held June 2, 1973, during the Frontier Days’ Celebration. The historical society has sponsored five local historical tours and during 1976 a special tour has been planned for September 26 in honor of the Bicentennial. Like the annual tour here in Kosciusko county, the Ohio society features places of historical interest to all. The Milford Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors annually “Frontier Days” traditionally held the week after the Memorial Day week aid. This year’s events will start with a large parade. Thursday evening. June 3, following which there will be many events bn June 4, 5 and 6. The Little Miami Canoe Races

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are slated for June 5. Wayne Florea is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and the secretary is Martha Chalk. National Races The national races, also on the Little Miami River, will follow in August. The 1976 championships are expected to be even more competitive than the 1975 races which were held on the Saint Joseph River in Elkhart last summer. In 1974 the Milford village council adopted a landmark ordinance to preserve local historical sites and several properties have been designated landmarks. In celebration of the Bicentennial, Milford has its own flag, designed by Diana C. Kuhnell. The flag has three stripes, red, white and biue The seal is blue on white. The seal was originated by the late Cecile Vester and features the Little Miami River and the Milford Bridge with the words "Milford, Ohio” encircling the seal's crest-Under the seal are the words “Little Miami River, Miami Township” and the year 1836, which commemorates the years Milford became incorporated. Also in honor of the Bicentennial, The Milford-Miami Township Bicentennial committee and The Milford Area Historical Society are sponsoring the “Scroll” project inviting people to sign their names, ad-

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LIBRARY— The photo above is of the Milford library, built by John Kugler (1835-40). It was built for a warehouse and a public meeting place.

jHsfe z • r• z z \ Xi GATCH HOME — This photograph is of the home of Mrs. John N. Gatch. Built of native field stone, the house was started in 1820 and finished about 1825. The Gatch family has occupied the home since 1850. On this property is located a giant burr oak tree which is over 750 years old, the second largest in Ohio. This home is on the national register of historic places of the national park service.

dresses and date of birth. This scroll will be encased in a time capsule to be opened July 4, 2076. Yvonne Haight is chairman of the Milford-Miami Township Bicentennial committee and William Knepp is chairman of the scroll committee. On October 3 the formal dedication of “Carriage Way Memorial Park" will be held. Formerly the old IOOF cemetery, established 1849-50, the last burial was in the early 1900’s. The Milford Garden club, chaired by Suzy Armstorng. undertook the restoration of this old cemetery. In July 1975, Carriage Way Park was awarded first place among 56 statewide entries at the 45th annual Ohio Association of Garden clubs.

\ I / '\i L I fl Bi MUSEUM — Shown here is the building at 114 Main street, Milford, Ohio. The building was purchased in the fall of 1972 by the Milford .Area Historical Society to establish a museum. This is housed on the second floor. The building was dedicated on June 2, 1973.

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