Bells – Walnut and Circleville Township
Location: 39.654463, -82.956645
on N Court St at the intersection of Bells Station Rd
Remnants: old houses and farm buildings in the area
Description: The town was founded by the Bell family in the area and was along the Norfolk & Western Railway. Farming and livestock raising were its main industries. There was a school in the southwest corner of the intersection US 23 and Hagerty Rd (Township Hwy 38). A steam-powered saw mill on the south side of Island Rd west of US 23 was owned by pioneers George Kellenberger from Virginia (1790 – 1861) and Jemima (Rice) Kellenberger (1790 – 1865) from Maryland. They moved to Ohio in the mid-1810s, had 5 children, and also built the first grist mill in the county along the Scioto River on their 268-acre farm. Most of the Bell family was buried in Forest Cemetery 3 miles south of the GPS coordinates on the west side of N Court St in Circleville.
Cornstalk’s Town – Pickaway Township
Location: 39.537908, -82.966753
on the east side of US 23 at the intersection of Radcliff Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: This Shawnee Native American village was named after Shawnee Chief Hokolesqua (Cornstalk) (1720 – 1777). It was abandoned shortly after the signing of the Treaty Of Camp Charlotte in 1774 as a result of Lord Dunmore’s War, a conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo tribes.
Cosmopoli
Post Office: 1837 – 1842
Location: unknown
Description: It was listed in The Ohio Gazetteer and Traveler’s Guide from 1837 – 1841 without the township included. Someone by the name of E. Kenedy (or Kennedy) was the postmaster.
Cromley – Walnut Township
Location: 39.705247, -82.963752
on Cromley Rd (Co Hwy 28) between SR 316 and Lockbourne Eastern Rd (Township Hwy 31)
Remnants: old houses and abandoned farm buildings in the area
Description: The proprietors were William Cromley (1813 – 1888) from Leigh County, Pennsylvania and Sarah (Staige) Cromley (1815 – 1878). They had 2 children and were successful farmers, eventually accumulating 800 acres of land. William was also a township trustee for several terms. The town was along the Ohio & Erie Canal and had a school on the west side of Cromley Rd near the GPS coordinates. Catherine Cromley – Conner and her husband Thomas currently run the ancestral family farm on the east side of the GPS coordinates. They are of the 5th generation to carry on the tradition. The house on the property dates back to around 1840. William and Sarah Cromley were buried with relatives in Forest Cemetery 7 miles south of the GPS coordinates on the west side of N Court St in Circleville.
Dorney – Pickaway Township
Location: 39.557840, -82.941012
on the railroad tracks between Ownes Rd (Township Hwy 269) and Circleville Kingston Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: Dorney was along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line which ran passenger cars from 1904 – 1930. Though they were sometimes used for leisure travel, traction lines were mostly used for quick and relatively inexpensive commutes to work in the days before automobile ownership was an affordable necessity for the majority of Ohio’s residents.
Fairview – Circleville Township
Location: 39.647025, -82.952251
on N Court St between Bells Station Rd and Walnut Creek Pike along Dry Run
Remnants: old houses and farm buildings in the area
Description: Fairview also appears to be tied to the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line as part of a string of ghost towns, including Voorheis and Sheldon, all on N Court St heading south to Circleville.
Gray – Harrison Township
Location: 39.749916, -82.959992
on Weigand Rd at the railroad crossing between Bulen – Pierce Rd and Ashville Pike
Remnants: none known
Description: Gray was along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line.
Grenadier Squaw Town – Pickaway Township
Location: 39.530504, -82.965476
on both sides of Emerson Rd along Scippo Creek between US 23 and Campbell Rd (Township Hwy 49)
Remnants: none known
Description: This Shawnee Native American village was named after the sister of Shawnee Chief Hokolesqua (Cornstalk) (1720 – 1777). It was abandoned shortly after the signing of the Treaty Of Camp Charlotte in 1774 as a result of Lord Dunmore’s War, a conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo tribes.
Griffith – Harrison Township
Location: 39.723629, -82.957105
on SR 752 at the railroad crossing between SR 316 and Reynolds Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: As with Dorney and Gray, Griffith was also along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line.
Hagerty – Walnut Township
Location: 39.669065, -82.957004
on Hagerty Rd (Township Hwy 38) at the railroad crossing between US 23 and Ward Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: It was another stop along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line. Hagerty was also along the Ohio & Erie Canal, but the canal days were numbered at the time as it was becoming obsolete.
Hooven – Pickaway Township
Location: 39.522230, -82.933726
on Kingston Pike between SR 361 and Emerson Rd
Remnants: Ebenezer Cemetery 1 1/2 miles northeast of the GPS coordinates at the intersection of Haysville Rd and Gay – Driesbach Rd
Description: Hooven was yet another town along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line. Shortly before the arrival of the railroad, Lemuel Steely (1811 – 1888) and Guynnea (Holderman) Steely (1814 – 1887) along with Lemuel’s brother Benjamin Steely (1815 – 1899) and Eliza (Driesbach) Steely (1813 – 1891) amassed approximately 2,500 acres of land in the area and donated a bunch for the railroad bed. Benjamin was buried with relatives in Ebenezer Cemetery and Lemuel was buried with relatives in Forest Cemetery on the west side of N Court St in Circleville. There was also an Evangelical Union church at Ebenezer Cemetery and a school just to its east, both on land owned by Eliza Steely’s parents, Reverend John Driesbach (1789 – 1871) and Fanny (Eyer) Driesbach (1791 – 1876). They were married in 1817, moved to Ohio from Pennyslvania, and had several children.
McCuthensville
Post Office: 1813 – 1825
Location: unknown
Description: Joel Bacon from Massachusetts was the first postmaster. John McCutchen later took on the position.
Miller – Circleville and Pickaway Township
Location: 39.566434, -82.941009
on Tarlton Rd (Co Hwy 16) at the railroad crossing between US 23 and Circleville Kingston Rd
Remnants: Hitler – Ludwig (Circleville Township) Cemetery 1 1/2 miles northeast of the GPS coordinates at the intersection of Hitler Rd (Township Hwy 68) and Hitler Rd 2 (Township Hwy 69), old houses and farm buildings in the area
Description: Miller was along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line and was named after a branch of the Miller family in the county. The Hitler and Ludwig families were related by marriage and owned much of the land in the area. Most of the family members were buried in the cemetery which was established on land owned by Jacob Ludwig (1806 – 1881) who moved to Ohio from Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Montgomery – Wayne Township
Location: 39.551251, -83.010702
on SR 104 at the intersection of Hickory Bend Rd (Township Hwy 101) along the Scioto River
Remnants: none known
Description: It was on the Ohio & Erie Canal and was platted in the mid-1830s. The town had around a half dozen residences, but failed to attract enough of a population to make any improvements and keep it going.
Nebraska (Hedges’ Store) – Walnut Township
Post Office: 1853 – 1902
Location: 39.697521, -82.892536
on Winchester Rd along Turkey Run between S Bloomfield Royalton Rd (Township Hwy 29) and Ashville – Fairfield Rd
Remnants: Nebraska Grange at the GPS coordinates, historical marker on the grange building, Hedges Chapel at the intersection of Winchester Rd and S Bloomfield Royalton Rd, Reber Hill Cemetery on the east side of Winchester Rd 1 mile south of the GPS coordinates
Description: The town started with the formation of the Hedges’ Chapel congregation in 1841. The original church was constructed in 1843 in the northwest lot of the intersection of Winchester Rd and SR 752 on land donated by Cyrus Hedges (1799 – 1866). The town’s first proprietor was Andrew Hedges. He opened a general store and post office in 1853 called Hedges’ Store that still stands at the GPS coordinates. Andrew sold the store in 1856, and after changing ownership a couple of times, brothers David Weaver (1828 – 1907) and William Weaver (1838 – 1932) purchased it in 1859. David was appointed to the postmaster position the previous year and changed the office name to Nebraska in 1862. He bought William’s share of the store in 1864. The town also had a saw mill on Little Walnut Creek, 2 small brickyards, a shoe shop, school, and a doctor. Nebraska Grange No. 64 was organized in 1878. The second floor of the store and post office was converted into the grange hall in 1879. A new church was constructed at the present location in 1887. David Weaver held the postmaster position for 44 years until it was discontinued in 1902, making him one of the longest serving postmasters in the entire country at the time. Most of Nebraska’s residents, including many members of the Hedges and Weaver families, were buried in Reber Hill Cemetery.
Rhoads – Walnut Township
Location: 39.683752, -82.956570
on Lockbourne Eastern Rd (Township Hwy 31) at the railroad crossing between Cromely Rd (Co Hwy 28) and Campbell Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: It was along the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Scioto Valley Traction interurban line and was named after a branch of the Rhoads family in the county.
Spunkeytown (Pickaway Mills) – Wayne Township
Location: 39.599483, -82.972745
on US 22 a the 4-way intersection of SR 56 and Canal Rd (Co Hwy 100) along the Scioto River
Remnants: none known
Description: The original proprietors were William Foresman (1770 – 1846) and Mary (Crull) Foresman (1791 – 1847). They married after William’s first wife passed away and moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania. William built a grist mill in 1812 with a race flowing from Big Darby Creek to the Scioto River which can still be seen on satellite maps. When the Ohio & Erie Canal arrived in town, it didn’t do much to increase the population in the immediate vicinity, but it did produce an increase in the grist mill’s sales. The mill eventually became inadequate to serve the growing needs of the patrons, so William and one of his sons Robert Foresman (1816 – 1869) built a larger mill in 1839 inside the corner of the intersection of Mill Rd and Canal Rd. They also added a saw mill to the farm on the east side of the mill race between US 22 and Mill Rd. After William passed away, Robert sold the mill in 1869 to one of his nephews who added a grain elevator to the site. When ownership of the land left the family in 1900, the town name changed to Pickaway Mills. The grist mill was destroyed by fire in 1905 and the town didn’t last much longer after that. Everyone mentioned in this listing was buried in Forest Cemetery on N Court St in Circleville.
Teegarden (Teegardin) – Madison Township
Post Office: 1854 – 1869
Location: 39.770902, -82.863420
on Winchester Rd between Duvall Rd (Township Hwy 20) and Perill Rd (Township Hwy 93)
Remnants: Conklin Cemetery on private property on the east side of Winchester Rd in the woods behind a house after the second creek crossing north of the GPS coordinates
Description: This farming and postal town didn’t have a village. Residences and amenities such as schools, a church, blacksmith shop, and a shoe shop were spread around several local sections of the township. William Teegardin (1785 – 1871) from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania was the postmaster. Many members of his large family lived in the area and some were buried in Conklin Cemetery. William was buried with relatives in Lithopolis Cemetery 4 1/2 miles northeast of the GPS coordinates on the west side of Cedar Hill Rd NW in Bloom Township, Fairfield County.
Leistville (Zane’s Trace, Camp Charlotte) – (early 1800s – present farming town partially abandoned over time)
Classification: small town
Location: Saltcreek Township, Pickaway County – On SR 56 at the intersection of SR 159
In 1807 Revolutionary War veteran Andrew Leist (1755 – 1821) and Elisabeth (Landman) Leist (1757 – 1824) settled in the area known as Zane’s Trace near the site of Camp Charlotte. They had 13 children and their son Jacob (1788 – 1870) became the first minister in Saltcreek Township. Jacob also practiced medicine in Leistville and some of his instruments are currently in the Ohio State Museum in Columbus. Leistville had a post office from 1846 – 1902.
There isn’t much left from the old town, which has newer residences in the area, except for roads named after early settlers. A bronze marker dedicated in 1928 to Camp Charlotte is on SR 56 about a 1/2 mile north of SR 159. Andrew and Elisabeth Leist were buried in Zion Cemetery on County Hwy 40 (Winstead Rd) 9 miles north of Leistville with lots of relatives and other early families from the area.
Whisler (Prairie View) – (early 1800s – mid-1900s farming town with less residents than in the past)
Classification: small town
Location: Saltcreek Township, Pickaway County – On Kingston Whisler Rd near the intersection of County Hwy 11
Henry Wissler (1760 – 1832) and Anna Wissler (1770 – 1811) settled in the town formerly known as Prairie View in 1806. They had 11 children, each of whom were willed 150 acres of land. One of them donated land for a school that was called the Whistler School. The family name later changed to Whisler and the town started going by that too. It had a church from around 1840 – 1880 and a post office from 1883 – 1933. Since then, the mail has gone through Hallsville which is a few miles south. Henry and Anna Wissler are buried at Prairie View Cemetery on the north side of Kingston Whisler Rd. Most of their children ended up moving to other states.
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