Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Gambier, Ohio

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1966. It stands in College Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43022. It stands on Wolf Run. The Survey maps it on the Mount Vernon quadrangle. 2,213 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,079 feet above sea level.

Gambier within Knox County

Population over time

2 figures

Gambier fell from 2,391 to 2,213 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	2,391
2020	2,213	-178 (-7%)

Then and now

1912 to 1966

The same ground, surveyed 54 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Gambier, surveyed 1966

Topographic sheet of Gambier, surveyed 1912

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

43,686 words on this township

A History of Knox County, Ohio, from 1779 to 1862 Inclusive; Comprising Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes .., published 1862; History of Knox County, Ohio, Its Past and Present, Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest; a Complete History of Knox County ... a Record of Its Soldiers in the Late War; Portraits of Its Early Settlers and Prominent Men ... Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on College Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

For many years he " ran the machine" of the Acland Press, and now resides at Mt. Yernon. The printing office was the gift of liberal-minded English Protestants to Bishop Chase in 1825, and received its name in lionor of Lady Acland, the fair donor who started the subscription. Upon this has been published various literary and religious articles calculated to advance the cause of learning and religion. The students of the College have at several periods projected publications of a literary character ; the last, the " Kenyon Collegian," a very creditable magazine, was continued for several years. The first store was called the Bishop's store, from having been commenced by Bishop Chase for the purpose of furnishing work hands witli necessary articles, and to supply the boys, so that no excuse could exist for going *' to town." This was carried on until in the fall of 1833 an arrangement was made with Mr. White, of Kew York, by which that business was to be entirely under his control, and M. and G. B. White thereupon located at Gambier. The former remains there, and the latter at this writing is one of the most valued citizens of Mt. Yernon. The Whites are natives of Derby, Ct. The " Bishop's store" was managed for many years by Bobert Burnside, until a short time before its discontinuance ^. W. Putnam had it in charge. The Whites continued in partnership until 1838, when T>. Topping and N. W. Putnam opened a store, and Daniel S. I^orton and A. G. Scott established another. Topping & Co., with A. J. Douglass, kept for a few years, when it was closed, and Mr. T. moved to Illinois ; Mr. P. is yet living on the hill ; Mr. Scott has uninterruptedly resided there, and by his close attention to business, in which for many years has been alone, has acquired a compe- tency. A. B. Norton for several years was engaged in tlie merchandizing and milling business at Gambler. At this time there are the two stores of A. G. Scott & Co., M. White & Co., and a drug in the boot and slioe line ; Russel Clark, Mr. Clements, A. K. Eobes and J. Waugli have carried on the tailoring. Mr. Sharp in early times was the brewer and baker, in a large stone house in the rear of the main College building, now obliterated by time's effacing finger. J. S. Sawer since 1837 lias supplied the students and liberal disposed with ice cream and yarieties, and many of the boys fed under the Dotheby regime gratefully remember the good cookery and pies of Mrs. Sawer. The hotel and boarding-houses have been kept by Douglass, Yore, Johnson, Bell, Witt, Sims, Riley, and Wright, the latter now holding forth in fine style. The old College mill erected by Bp. Chase many years ago went into decay, and at that seat Daniel S. Norton put up one of the finest mills on the river. The " Kenyon Mills" flour acquired a good reputation. The post-office, ui)on Bp. Chase's application, established in 1826, has been the greater part of its existence managed by that excellent public officer, M. T. C. Wing. About 1846, partisan violence, through the machinery of a county convention and central committee, brought about the appointment of Benoni Elliott, a student from the District of Columbia. In 1849, M. T. C. Wing was again appointed ; in 1853, James Young ; in 1857, E. Gr. Biley ; and in 1861, Joseph Leonard. The principal church is Bosse Chapel, bearing the name of its founder, Lady Bosse, eminent for piety and good works. It is a very neat and chaste stone edifice, situated in Harcourt Parish, named for like cause, and in the rear of the church is the beautiful cemetery where rest the dead of Gambler. The

Passage source: A History of Knox County, Ohio, from 1779 to 1862 Inclusive; Comprising Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes .., published 1862.

Chilton Craven. The Trustees are T>. L. Fobes, J. T. L. Jacobs, E. Clij)pinger, E. Penhorwood, G. J. W. Pearce. The Cumberland Presbyterians have preaching regularly at their church, one-half mile north of the Public Well. The Kev. Larrimore is the present minister ; J. Bennet and T. Minard, trustees. The various College buildings and matters of interest connected with them will appear under the appropriate head. Gambier is a beautiful little village, where those who desire to withdraw from the noise and bustle, the cares and vexations of the active world, can have a safe retreat. A more quiet and secluded spot cannot be found on this continent ; of the old residents on the hill, it may with truth be said :

Passage source: A History of Knox County, Ohio, from 1779 to 1862 Inclusive; Comprising Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes .., published 1862.

MORE than ten years prior to the organization of this territory into a separate township, it was in possession of the trustees of Kenyon college; and that famous institution, under the direction of Bishop Chase, was in course of erection. The land was owned by a non-resident, Mr. William Hogg, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. This gentleman owned the northeast quarter of Pleasant (now College) township (four thousand acres), which was purchased by Bishop Chase for the college grounds.

Passage source: History of Knox County, Ohio, Its Past and Present, Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest; a Complete History of Knox County ... a Record of Its Soldiers in the Late War; Portraits of Its Early Settlers and Prominent Men ... Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on College Township - it names this place 51 more 51 times.

Photographs

1 photograph,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Kenyon College, Peter Neff Cottage, Wiggin Street, Gambier, Knox County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires near this place

24 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Gambier between 2005 and 2020, burning about 18 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	6
Equipment and vehicle use	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
14 August 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	15810
20 July 2017	Equipment and vehicle use	3.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	8566
6 April 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	15611
6 April 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	15113
4 April 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	15583
28 April 2015	Debris and open burning	5.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	1089
20 April 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	15169
14 April 2005	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Knox County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 512 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 512 specimens collected within 10 miles of Gambier between 1877 and 1975: 456 Animalia, 33 Fungi, 22 Plantae, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. P. Morgan, Barker, C. G. Lloyd and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Fusicladium Bonord.	1883	W. A. Kellermann
Nummularia microplaca (Berk. & M.A.Curtis) Cooke	1883	Dr. W.A. Kellerman
Pestalotia De Not., 1841	1883	W. A. Kellermann	No locality on label
Sturnella magna magna (Linnaeus, 1758)	1877	not recorded	unspecified
Accipiter striatus velox (A.Wilson, 1812)	1879	Willard L. Maris
Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758)	1879	Porter, J.B.
Phyllosticta Pers., 1818	1883	Kellerman
Phyllosticta lappae Sacc.	1883	W. A. Kellermann
Phyllosticta persicae Sacc.	1883	W. A. Kellermann
Phyllosticta pyrina Sacc.	1883	Dr. W. A. Kellerman
Phyllosticta verbenae Sacc., 1879	1883	Prof. Kellerman
Ramularia arvensis Sacc.	1883	Kellerman

All 512 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Gambier: 2 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Flagstone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Briar Hill Martinsburg Pit	Flagstone	Producer
Darr and Hart Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Goodwin Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Sandusky Dock	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Knox County

Storms near this place

16 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gambier in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2017: 13 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$125,000	Thunderstorm downburst winds downed at least 50 trees across Knox County. Most of the trees were downed in the Gambier and Martinsburg areas. Scattered power outages were reported across the county.
November 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$100,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs near Gambier. A home lost large sections of roof and siding. A barn nearby also lost a roof. Debris from the barn damaged a second home.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds downed at least 20 trees.
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$40,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs. Power outages were also reported in Gambier.
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$30,000	For the second time in less than 15 hours, severe thunderstorms moved across the Gambier area. Many trees and large limbs were downed in and just south of the town. Scattered power outages resulted from the downed trees.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two trees and a power pole.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$7,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a couple large trees.
February 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$3,000	A trained spotter estimated wind gusts to be approximately 75 mph. A tree was reported down across Township Road 52.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Gambier	$3,000	Trees were downed, some on power lines.
May 2014	Hail	Gambier	-	Quarter sized hail was observed.
May 1998	Hail	Gambier	-	no account filed
June 1998	Hail	Gambier	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Knox County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Monroe Mills	2.7 miles	12
Vaughan Court	3.5 miles	13
Buckingham Court	3.5 miles	13
Fleaville (historical)	3.8 miles	13
Howard	4.3 miles	12
Academia	4.6 miles	13
North Mount Vernon	4.7 miles	13
Mount Vernon	4.9 miles	13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Gambier	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2093658	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1056293. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.