Harvey, Eli, House

The road from Columbus to Cincinnati, known as the State road, was surveyed in October, 1822, under a resolution adopted by the General Assembly of Ohio, February, 1822. The resolution named John Matson, of Hamilton County, and Joseph Brown, of Knox County, as Commissioners for that purpose, who selected R. G. W. Howe as surveyor. The direction from Wilmington toward Cincinnati for the first eight miles was south 53° west. The whole length of the road was 101 miles. This road was never opened all the way. The high bluff south of Cowan's Creek prevented travel on it from that point south for several miles. Its location was not satisfactory to the people of Clinton and Fayette Counties. Accordingly, on the 27th of January, 1823, an act of the Legislature was passed naming Joseph Doan, of Wilmington, Jesse Millikan, of Washington Court House, as Commissioners to resurvey the State road from Columbus to Cincinnati, and authorizing them to view the route by Washington, Wilmington, Clarksville, mouth of Todd's Fork and Hopkinsville to Cincinnati, and to compare as much of said route as lay between Wilmington and Cincinnati, with the route located by John Matson and Joseph Brown, and determine which of said routes would be of the most general and public utility. The survey was made in October, 1823. They reported in favor of the route surveyed by themselves by the way of Washington Court House, Wilmington, Clarksville, mouth of Todd's Fork, Hopkinsville and Montgomery to Cincinnati. Jesse Millikan was the surveyor from Washington to Cincinnati. The bearings on this road changed frequently, the line being mainly on the divide between Todd's Fork and Lytle's Creek. It was on better ground, and through a much more populated locality, and was of easy access from the settlements along both streams. The whole length of this route was 105 miles.

Passage source: The History of Clinton County, Ohio, published 1882.

In the year 1835, a charter was granted by the Legislature for building the Goshen, Columbus & Wilmington pike. Work was begun on the southwest end of it the following year. The portion in Clinton County was built mainly in 1839, but not completed until 1840. It was never completed the whole distance, that part in Clinton County stopping two miles east of Wilmington. The line from Clarksville to Wilmington was in the main built on the route of a road laid out by Doan and Millikan in 1823, but on a more direct line, cutting off many of the angles. The building of this pike was looked upon at the time by the people of Clinton County, and especially those residing along the line, as an event of great importance in the history of the county. It facilitated travel and gave the farmers a broad, macadamized highway over which to trasport their grain and produce to market at Cincinnati. It shortened the time of the trip fully one-half. It gave the people of Adams Township, and indeed of the whole county, the benefit of a stage line, with daily coaches each way; also greatly increased mail facilities. A line of telegraph was established along the pike, which remained until the 0., W. & Z. Railroad was built. This was the first pike in the county. Toll-gates were erected at various points, and tolls taken. A toll-gate house was built at the hal E-way point between Wilmington and Clarksville, which might be termed the nucleus of the village of Sligo.

Passage source: The History of Clinton County, Ohio, published 1882.

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 Adams Township - 47,244 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.