Hill Grove, Ohio

These enterprising pioneers soon began to want a little nicer and safer chimney than the one of mud and sticks, so, with John Snell at the lead, they in common set to work to burn a brick-kiln, but in order to succeed they were obliged to go over to Greenville Township to call upon Hiller to assist in the molding and burning. They did good work, as some of the old chimneys will yet testify. James Brady and John Chenoweth were the first to burn brick and to build brick houses, but Joel Cosad was the first to build a frame house. It was about 18x20 feet base and one story high. One fact in this connection is worthy of note, that is, but few ever left the county who once settled in it ; they were either satisfied with the country or were else too poor to get away. As we have indicated, there are quite a number that have lived in the township from fifty to sixty years. In early times, there was a struggle for village notoriety between Nashville and Hill Grove, but long ago Nashville yielded the contest and not a building is left to mark the site of the would-be village, and Hill Grove came very near being absorbed by Union City. In this connection, it is well to recall Colona, a village located on December 31, which bloomed and died in a brief time. A few lots were laid out and sold, and a few dwellings were erected, but it soon became apparent that there was nothing to incite effort or induce settlement, and the vestiges of occupation soon disappeared, and few, if any, of the citizens of the township in 1880 remember or ever knew that the village of Colona ever had existence. It, like Nashville, was laid out on the old State road, and afforded a halting place to movers and travelers, where they might rest and might obtain food for themselves and for their teams.

Passage source: The History of Darke County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;, published 1880.

The village of Hill Grove is situated at the northwest corner of Section 4. It was laid out in 1818, by W. McKee. The population numbers about two hundred persons. It is distant from Union City but little more than two miles, and from Greenville nine and a half. The Greenville & Union pike and the Dayton & Union Railroad run through it. It contains three churches - the German Reformed, United Brethren and Methodist Episcopal. The former was originally built by the Old School Presbyterians, and purchased by the society named in 1876, and Rev. J. Stuck has been Pastor ever since. It was rebuilt during the summer of 1879, and is a neat brick structure, pleasantly located on the north side of Liberty street, in the northeastern part of town. The United Brethren

Passage source: The History of Darke County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;, published 1880.

Church is a neat frame, medium-sized building, near the township line, and built in 1878. The Methodist Church is situated over the line a short distance, in Jackson Township, in the northwest part of the village and near that end of Main street. The schoolhouse, which has a school enrolling ninety-four pupils, is located on Main street, opposite the southeast end of Locust street. On the corner of Cherry and Liberty streets stands a two-story grist-mill, originally built as a warehouse when the railroad was put through. It has two run of buh'rs. and is employed exclusively in custom work. Its present owner is Louis Limperd, and it is run by Samuel Limperd. J. A. Bickell's general store is located on the southeast corner of Main and Liberty streets. On the opposite side of .Main street but farther south, on Lot No. 27, is a blacksmith-shop, built by J. Conspue in is.'x ; the old part was built by Wash. McKee about 1834. Mr. McKee kept the first store in Hill Grove, but a short time before there had been a trading station run by Charles Sumption. Herman Searles was among the early storekeepers in the township, and George Clapp built the first blacksmith-shop ; it was located about half a mile southeast of the present village. As to the schools, they were generally taught in old deserted cabins until the settlers saw fit to select some convenient site and unite on some day to build a cabin ; afterward a teacher was hired by the process of joint subscription.

Passage source: The History of Darke County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;, published 1880.

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 Washington Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.