Page Two—F

LARGEST VILUGE IN WARREN JCOUNTY WAS LAID OUT IN 1795

Franklin Settled by New Jersey Pioneers; Community Today Is Small Industrial City of

4500 Inhabitants

The pretty village of Franklin, | Itcould also boast of asituated m the remote northwest small fire department, a "bucketcorner of Warren county and hav- i,ang a population 6f approximately ^4,500, .was laid out in 1795, shortly Schenck's two sons, as Admiral

, after the signing of the treaty with James F. SchencK and (Jen. Rob-the Indians in Greenville, by two ^L't C. Sehenck, attained national

, young men hailing from New Jer- fame for brilliant service in theisey, whose primitive residence was f'ays of the Civil War. The familybuilt on what is now Front street, (mine appears at frequent intervals

These early men of the village Franklin's local history, as citi- |tvere William C. Schenck and Dan- zens honorable and just in all busi- 'ael C. Cooper, who bought the land associations, friends of every-iri common, Cooper later selling his fbmg that wa.s advanced for theshare to the other partner. Eventu-! pi'omotion and extent of the town'sally Cooper discovered that part of jPi'ogi'̂ ss, careful for the« educationthe purchase lay in the territory ! moral standards of the com-known as the Symmes purchase,'ia brief, models ofand it was impossible for him to t citizenship. Christopherhold clear title to all of it. Schenck, Isaac Plume Schenck and

Ihouseholds. Dr. Richard PierceEvans, one'of Franklin's earlier

' ; physicians, was born in the villageI (in 1829, and upon completing his

Imedical studies returned to Frank-jlin and became one of the leading

. ipractitioners of the Miami Valley.[ Dr. Olho Evans, Dr. F. R. Evans,land Dr. George B. Evans of Day-jton, are names that are intimately

- Iassociated with the medical his-Itory of Warren county, particular-fly in Franklin and its neighboi'-

-1 hood. Until recently Franklin was]not without an Evans physician for

• : almost 100 years,j The Thirkield name is one of the.<business and religious names ofFranklin. The faith of Methodismfrom its establishment in Franklinin about 1825 found James E. Thirkield among its staunchest support-

[er.s. He was a good business mani and was an advocate of "free 'gi'ace." j

Thirkield's li_fe was an example Iof integrity, justice, and moral uplift to tlie community- in which helived. To him, religion was not amatter of lip service; he loved thechurch i)f whtich he was a regularattendant and he did not leave hisreligion in the church when he leftthe edifice. Pie carried his religionwith him in his business and sociallife and found 'constant expressionin square dealing, fidelity to rightprinciples, and sympathetic kindness to otiiers.

The village today is much indebted to the memory of James E. Thirkield for the influence of his upright, consistent life, and the highChristian ideals that made such alife possible to live.

THE' WESTHT

A number of studerposing before the collegcentury ago. The schooland 1880's until it v/a.srazed a number of year.s

The young surveyors were not L- Schenck are names that willalone in the solitude of the wilder- always stand as a major part ofness, for the following spring saw which is worthwhile in the his-a neighborhood of six or eight cab- ^^ry of Franklin,ins on the town plat, and as carlv • , . ,,as 1837 the settlement was large Thirkieldsenough to possess a town charter. Other families that contributedIt already had the possession of a richly to the business, educational,chuxdi wlucli was used by all de- social and religious life of Frank-nominations and also for all local lin are the Evans and Thirkield

ATAVI

By SAMUEL HARIN

Now and then in driviii:

tive hills one comes upctavern. There is someththese old landmarks that ;the romantic side of oneAn old tavern has a persoa charm all its own. Sitold of important eventspened there generations ai.s the quaint lounging rwiniiing stairway. . . . TIwalls are mellow with hitradition. Here statesmearly day were dined aiand pioneers and tradeifrom their travels and sp

Lebanon boasts of jvplace. It was built by Ichiwin, an uncle of the fanCorwin. He was the fiisettler of the village 121 yIt was known as "Henr;Tavern" up to 1825. Theremany years it was knowOhio and Pennsylvania Tthe Sign of the Golden Laiit was known as the Bradland also as the Lebanon Htoday carries on its ancietions and hospitality urname of the Golden Lamb '

Bricks Beginning fo Cr

It i.s a large, ramblin

OsbornThe Shop of Quality

Men's Furnishings

Congratulates

The Western Star

On This Occasion

TJiirkield's Store

John L. Thirkield came with hisparents from Fayette county, Pa.,in 1817, when ho was about eightyears of age. The family locatedon a farm about one-half mile northof Franklin.

Thirkield had 10 bent toward afarmer's life, and ojiened a smalldry goods store in Franklin, whichwas eventually to become the oldest e.stablishment of its kind in

IWarren'county.At the death of the founder his

two sons, Ed and Charles, took overthe business. Both of these arenow deceased. At the death of EdThirlcield hi.s son, Allen, became theowner. Allen Thirkield and his son,

•Scout, are at present operating thestore which was started in 1833 and'is now 104 years old.

Another honored name in the an-nal.s of Franklin is that of BishopWilbur P. Thirkield, who was bornin the village in 1854. His educa-

Ition after completing the high IIschool course in Franklin was con-jtinned at the Wesleyan seminary

•Iat Delaware, Ohio, and the Bostoii (Theological School. Bishop's honors were conferred upon him in1912 at the. General Conference ofthe Methodist Episcopal church at iMilwaukee.

and Life's Easier

The Chautauqua

Franklin keeps iibrea.stimes in educational and

jfields, having excellent schurch facilities. Near itthe Miami Valley 01which attracts throngs oevery year to its cool, icamjjs on the banks of tRiver.

It would be difficult to liisuitable spot for assembikind than that on the GreRiver between MiamislFranklin. From the Cliplatform come messages fiwho have learned thevalue of things, and woricouragement from men anwho have been educatedline. Political issues areon broad lines of true Ame

One hundred and thirty-one years! Think

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pfficef^Fmh an°c? RivlJ R^ °'»^rt- ^itroraib^lS'Nalio"nT™- •"'® "?'"

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SQj^enbts^stora <tr^dj^SVposMtoh^^Md .Cine _..,

LuSffildlni',® in I!;® •ffci^Ki.JBhn..^®r ®®^.. ouijdjngs, .m- the . >Gl0vtes^-^VVnnii9S'̂ \&h'o' had*town^ and is the oldest ~,pUr;cltasiidi'ef6tf,ob1[|fa6Ves'of

Btjjeved 'to^bejjie ficst-PPsn0|fiGie la the area;ili'e'Old Log Post Olfflce building ,w^aa originally locatedon the east side of piverStreet, just south ofThirdStreet, fabing the MiamiRiver

,coming, the sole oWn'erC'̂ of^the town which consisted of^sjxcabins at that time'. ':

In 1802, he registered theplat Of the village ofFranklin In Cincinnati,

\?.|..hC6 Franklin was in Ham-a" ... . .4>mce rranKiin Was in Hafn-I sp^i'tipent ^com'pll^-" ' iftoh Gdunty <iTritil ii.''1803planned for the site wduld whten'̂ Wafrdn Cbi/rify was

formed '̂Mn" lg'p2,'Sj;N.C. 'lisya' destr'oyed the 'StroctCiFo If ^.It ^had not - beenmoved'as a last attempt tosave tHe^bdilding'. In Dec-embeFi 1974, the buildingwas moved one and a halfblocks south and to thewest side of River Streetjjust north of 5th Street.The building is now situated in a public park on. the

Schneck, the-older b'roth'efof General SchnecT<,'dpfeh°ed •the first storVIn Franklin.This store was the maintrading post between thelarger cities of Cincinnatiand Dayton.;

In '1805,' he 'was named?pbstmq^ter of Frankli'h at "Which dme the mallari^Ved

and was dispatched once aweek. It was carried by amail carrier who made a

Ncfrcult from Cincinnati Leb-'ahon, td;:^enia, JOf^Orbana,'to Regina,' to .Dk^ton toFranklin to Hamilton, andback again to Cincinnati,talking dne week by horseback'to complete; •

While no dqcumentatjonexisfs tpjSuppoft the sdppo-sitlon; 'thiscabin hasalwaysbeen rbputed td^ be bothSchneck's post office' and•store> ,The local, iresiidentsconsider this building'theTnost Important sli-'ucture inthe -town; because It Is theoldest bujiding known inFranklin.

The Old Log Post Office

FranMin's Historic log cabin post office, built in 1602, was entered in theNational Registerof historic'piaces last month. The building is located at Fifthand RiverStreets in Franklin, along the river bank, it Is the oldest remainingstructure in Franklin today. Originally located on the east side of the RiverStreet, the post office was moved to the west side of the street in 1974 to makeroom for a new apartment complex. The log cabin was owned originally byJ.N.C. Schenck, who it Is believed, ran a post office as well as a store In thebuilding, during theearly1800's.