Gettysburg, Ohio

A watershed, which passes through Somers, Israel, Dixon and Jackson township, enters Jefferson in section 33, trends nearly north into section 22 and then east and northeast into the northwest corner of Monroe, through section 12 of Jefferson. This divides the waters flowing westerly into Whitewater and easterly into Seven Mile creek, which takes its rise in section 22, in a county ditch, which runs southeasterly and passes out of the township a short distance below the hamlet of Gettysburg.

Passage source: History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

Gettysburg is the only village in the township besides New Paris. It is located in the northwest corner of section 36, on the old National road. It was laid out in 1832, about the time the National road was projected, by John Currv, a native of Pennsylvania. It was first called Harrisburg, but this was later changed to Gettysburg, after Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was one of the many towns projected along the line of the National road, for the railroad was then undreamed of, and it was supposed by these early promoters that the National road would be a great national artery of communication which would eventually be thronged with travel. Accordingly, prospective towns were located every few miles, and a "tavern" was built in each among the first buildings. Only a little more than a mile west of Gettysburg, Orangeburg was projected, and a number of houses were erected, but Gettysburg outstripped it. Doubtless, if the early expectations had been realized, many of these towns would have become places of note, but within a few years the railroad was developed, it was seen that it would revolutionize transportation, the government dropped the further construction of the National road and the hopes of all these rudimentary towns were blasted. The half dozen or so buildings which once constituted Orangeburg have all disappeared but one. The town plat was long since cancelled, and it is now simply a crossroads and a farm house, though the name still clings to the locality. Gettysburg still survives as a pleasant little hamlet, with a store and two pretty churches, one Methodist and one Presbyterian. It will never, however, realize the dreams of its founder.

Passage source: History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

Many of the pioneers of Jefferson township were men and women of strong religious convictions, and very early in the history of the township their activities along this line resulted in the establishment of churches. One such man was Alexander Porter, who, as early, perhaps, as 1820, founded a United Presbyterian church near where Gettysburg now stands. It was located in what is now the cemetery. The building was of logs and has long since disappeared. It is said that for some time after the house was built it was without a floor and that the congregation sat on the sleepers to listen to the sermons. Later, about 1847, a frame church was built in Gettysburg, and in the sixties Rev. James McNeal was its pastor for several years. Still later, under the pastorate of Rev. John Wiseman, the congregation came over to the Presbyterian faith. Rev. David Tawney, Caleb Jones and David Green were pastors.

Passage source: History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

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 Jefferson Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.