Pickaway Township (part 4 of 49)

In July of 1986, Rev. J. Franklin Luchsinger was appointed to Village Church. Since 1986, the church has continued to reach out in many arenas of service; in mission, the local food pantry, youth and children's ministries, music ministry and Bible study groups. In 1988, a project to re-design the bell tower was accomplished in an adventure of faith. This physical improvement became a symbol of proclaiming the Good News day and night above the Village skyline. It was a project financed outside the budget by contributions to the memory of those who have served so faithfully at Village Church. Weare challenged by those who have gone before us ... to continue their legacy of faithful service to God.

Empowered By His Spirit, We Will Reach Out And

Since becoming a station church in 1986, Rev. Luchsinger served four years, followed by Rev. Scoby's six years, and our current pastor Rev. David Wells these last nine years. Our ministry demands have out-grown our current facilities; thus, we have purchased land and are moving forward with plans for a new facility that will serve the future needs of this community. Village and Hedges Chapel Churches will merge on July 1, 2005 to become VILLAGE CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH under the able spiritual leadership of Rev. David Wells and Rev. Aaron Brown, guided by the mission ... UNITED BY HIS LOVE AND EMPOWERED BY HIS SPIRIT, WE WILL REACH OUT AND RAISE UP DISCIPLES FOR JESUS!

The early Methodist Episcopal Church in Ohio was organized by circuits of traveling or itinerant ordained clergy. Deer Creek families were a part of the Scioto Circuit in 1799 and the Deercreek Circuit was detached in 1807. This was the era when competing churches organized the frontier by camp-meetings. The New Light Presbyterians held a large camp-meeting at the Williams Town (Williamsport), Ohio settlement in 1800 at the Christian Cemetery. In 1808 and 1811 two great Methodist camp-meetings were attended by over two thousand people on Deer Creek six miles south of Williamsport, led by Bishop Francis Asbury, founder of the Methodist movement in the United States.

Early Methodists delayed investment in buildings, attended Bible class in their homes and supported relief and mission efforts locally and abroad. The Williamsport class, founded by the Parret, Manly, Hunsicker and Frame families, was organized as a Church in 1826 under the guidance of Rev. Jacob Delay and Rev. G.W. Young, the and 33" pastors of the Circuit.

In 1839 work commenced on the first of three church buildings that have served the congregation at the northeast corner of Church and Main Streets in Williamsport, Ohio. The original frame building was 30x50 feet and stood close to the street. In 1866 the 54" Pastor, Rev. David Smith, a great orator, was granted a two-year appointment by the Bishop resulting in the building of a new brick church.

Quickly membership grew substantially to over 280 under Dr. W.F. Hughey. This led to the four-year appointment of the pastor, Rev. I.M. Brashares in 1887 who directed the effort to build a "modern" sanctuary in 1889-90. In this era, many Methodist families traveled the state each season to help finance the construction of new churches, continuing the camp-meeting tradition. The 1890 church construction was a major event. The plan was to build a somewhat original building that would be an attraction during the 1891 church-dedication travel season. The cost was approximately $10,000.

Elah Terrell, the architect of Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus and the Norwich Hotel (standing at State Street and Fourth Street) was retained to produce an original design: a steep 50 foot high roof was supported by only two huge scissorstrusses resting on two brick piers, each. This allowed the east and west walls to be rows of stained glass including full height lancet bow-windows. The sanctuary was sited to direct southern sunlight, at noon Eastertide, over the altar table. The wood-paneled sanctuary interior was based on a Methodist Church in London, England as researched by the West family of Williamsport. The elevated chancel (rostrum) is adapted from a Shakespearean stagehouse. For the June 7, 1891 dedication, excursion trains ran to Williamsport from Cincinnati, Ohio, and after lengthy, dramatic services, the debt on the building was paid. A balcony was added for the choir at a later date.

The community-minded mission of the Williamsport Church led also to the building of an Epworth Hall for youth activities around 1900 on Mill Street and, in 1924 construction of a Parish House on Green Street in the downtown for dinners. This latter building has long since been owned by the American Legion Post 618. From 1954-62 the church's activities were consolidated with the construction of a new parsonage by the sanctuary and a Fellowship Hall and Sunday School addition attached to the church. Replacement of the original slate room following the great hail storm of 1980 is the only significant alteration to the 1890 sanctuary.

Since 1826 the Williamsport church has, at the pleasure of the Bishop's appointment, supported 99 different Pastors. For over twenty-five years the Church has been associated with the Deercreek Co-op of local Methodist Churches that support local programs including worship services at Deer Creek State Park, Williamsport.

The 200-plus members support the mission and program of the denomination and locally provide a food pantry, clothing center and bereavement services. Worship is supported by adult and children's vocal choirs and two handbell choirs. Sunday School, U.M. Women and Youth Fellowship and Vacation Bible School add to church activities. Over the years many local organizations continue to use the facilities as a community center. The Church has for over 100 years supported the only full-time ordained Elder in the vicinity.

This church was organized in 1834 under the leadership of Rey. L. Davis with a membership of 12. The membership took the name St. Paul and bought the old Lafe Ebey blacksmith shop located at 409 S. Pickaway Street for their first meeting place. The congregation grew rapidly and plans were made to construct a new building of brick measuring 40' by 60' at 426 S. Pickaway Street in 1879. At this time the congregation became affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Conference. Since the beginning pastorate of L. Davis, until 1906, the church was served by 28 ministers. In 1906, it boasted a membership of 80 which included five trustees, and nine stewards.

The congregation continued to grow and thrive and be active in the community through the late 60's with many community and family events occurring at the St. Paul AME church. As the congregation began to age and the younger families moved on, attendance began to dwindle. In early 1977 the remaining 35 members, along with the AME conference trustees, recognized that the building had fallen into disrepair and that the current members could not make the necessary repairs. Plans were made to demolish the building and to begin preparation for a new but smaller building to be built. Frank Barnhill of Circleville promised to assist the trustees in demolishing the building and in November 1977 the building came down. The congregational members rapidly became discouraged and attendance dwindled as worship services were held in the old parsonage and in various individual's homes.

Around 1995, Rev. Dwight Smith came to minister to the 6 regular attendees and we began meeting at the Pickaway County Community Action building. In 1997, under Rev. Smith's leadership, the dream of a new church was once again rekindled. Then in 1998, with Rev. Charles Wolford presiding, Rev. Don Bachman of Trinity Lutheran Church in Circleville and the trustees of St. Paul put legs to the dream. Attendance and enthusiasm is continuing to grow. Today, after 26 years of prayer, the muscles of many volunteers, and a number of good cooks, what was once deemed impossible has become a reality.

Thomas Reynolds, a Methodist exhorter from Virginia, held the first religious services in Derby, Ohio during 1802. Later, Robert Finley, a traveling Methodist preacher, was the first ordained clergyman in the area. His son, James, a missionary among Indians in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, held camp meetings on the banks of Darby Creek. Pioneer families and the Indian Converts attended them during the early 1800's.

A Methodist Society was formed during that time and meetings were then held in barns and homes until a log house was erected in 1844. The first church in the township was the Free Will Church open to all denominations. The Methodist Society subsequently disbanded, reorganized and held services in a schoolhouse, which is currently the site of the Pallet Company in Derby.

The Episcopal Methodist Church was erected in 1887 at a cost of about $2,000 on land donated by John Linebaugh, who later donated the land for the current parsonage. Derby at that time was on the Darbyville circuit and shared a succession 0 ministers. When Rev. Patterson was appointed, the Big Plain and

The parsonage was built while Rev. Benzing headed the chargé in 1898-1900. During Rev. Redman's stay from 1907-1910, the. current adult Sunday school room was added. In the 1940's the vestibule was added. At some point, the church changed to The Derby Methodist Church.

With united effort of all church families, the Fellowship Hall was built and consecrated in 1962. The sanctuary was remodeled and a brickface was added to the vestibule. 1987 was the One Hundredth Anniversary Celebration of the church celebrated during Edwardo Milano's tenure.

In 2004, Pastor Daniel R. Culbertson leads a congregation that consists of generations of families who have attended The Derby United Methodist Church for years.

Emmett Chapel, dedicated in 1852, was named for Father Emmett, a pioneer Methodist of the region. His two sons agreed to erect the building stipulating only that is should carry his name. The church site was donated by Elias Reed.

The 40x60 foot one room wood building located six miles south of Circleville on Rt. 23, had two double doors on the west end with stained glass transoms over the doors. It had four high double windows on each of the north and south sides over which hung long double roller blinds. Two aisles leading from each front door made three sections of seats. The small dais encircled by an altar railing sat in the east end leaving one small opening for the minister to enter the pulpit. The southeast corner was curtained off for a primary class while the northeast corner was reserved for the choir. A pump organ provided the only music available.

Kerosene lamps anchored in the wall provided light when needed. A potbellied stove stood near the center of the room and provided the only heat. The uncomfortable straight-backed pews sat on rough wide boards. Outside, high above the doors on the west end was a fan shaped ventilator bearing the date 1852. Directly north of the building was a burial ground that had been opened to any in the community that had need of it. Few records still exist of the years between 1854 and 1967.

On May 6, 1966, the people of Emmett Chapel exercised an option of $100.00 to buy 3.56 acres in Logan Elm Village for the purpose of relocating the membership in a new building. The Pastor was Rev. Foster Jenne. A new brick structure, 120x76 feet was to have a seating capacity of 300, a pastor's study, a fellowship hall, 10 classrooms, a choir room, a nursery, 2 rest rooms, a full functioning kitchen, two electric furnace rooms and air conditioning. Large hand hewn beams from an old barn made into a cross were donated and set in stone on the south end of the sanctuary. It truly is an old rugged cross. The building was officially consecrated on November 26, 1967.

On January 26, 2003 an adjoining structure was dedicated and a new Fellowship Hall 82x62 feet, with 5 classrooms, a larger kitchen and 2 new rest rooms with showers was added. We at Emmett Chapel United Methodist Church pray that we have followed the Lord's will in doing what he has led us to do over the past 153 years. He has brought us from the potbellied stove to an air-conditioned building. To God be the glory.

On March 25, 1962 a small, but devoted group of Pickaway County Christians officially organized to form what was called the Church of Christ (Christian), later to be known as the Northridge Church of Christ. These brethren organized for the purpose of teaching and propagating Net Testament Christianity. These charter members incorporated and established a concise group of by-laws.

During the beginning months of the congregation, John Frederick labored diligently to establish the work. At first cottage meetings were held from house to house. Later, the 4-H Grange Building at the local fairgrounds was acquired for a rental.

At the close of 1962 John Frederick terminated his ministry and Robert Devolld was called soon after. During that year and all the next, the congregation continued to meet at the fairgrounds. In October 1964 the construction of the first Church Building was started on Wilmar Drive. The dedication of the new building was held on October 10, 1965 wa 150 people present.

Tragedy struck the congregation in the fall of 1966 with the deaths of Bob and Norma Miller, charter members of the church, in a private airplane crash. In 1967 the church was sad but proud of Robert and Sheila Devolld when they resigned to be missionaries to Alaska. Philip Williams was welcomed in August of 1967 and stayed until May of 1968. Gerald Stemm accepted the ministry in July of 1968 and in 1969 plans were in the making for a new and larger building.

Dedication of the new building at 578 Northridge Road was held in the spring of 1974. The original building then became the parsonage. Don Baker was the minister.

During the next 30 years the church was led by several ministers including: Leonard Tippie, Sidney Woodruff, Sid Clay and Doug Barrett. The church was again saddened by the sudden death of Mr. Barrett in October of 2000. Timothy Ramsey was hired January 2002 and served with the congregation until February 2003. Scott Troubaugh came to the church in June 2003 and is still serving as senior minister. He is assisted by the associate minister, David Bellamy. The congregation continues to meet at the property consisting of the church building and parsonage located on seven acres at 578 Northridge Road, Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio.

The Outreach Ministries church was established in 1975 in Circleville, Ohio. The church began as a small Bible study group that met for a time in the backroom of a Christian bookstore on Lancaster Pike. The Bible studies were under the direction of the Rev. Doyne N. Wiggins. As the study grew in number, it became necessary to rent a larger facility in a downtown location, on East Main Street. The group soon evolved into a regular church congregation. Rey. Wiggins was the first past of the church. The church met in the downtown facility from 1975-1980. Early in 1980, the congregation moved into its newly constructed building facility located at 6699 State Route 56 East. An addition to the building was completed in March of 1999.

Outreach Ministries in an independent, autonomous, nondenominational church that emphasizes strict adherence to Biblebased doctrinal positions. The church endeavors to live up to its

The Zion United Methodist Church was formed when the former Ashville Evangelical United Brethren Church,was merged into the Methodist Church Conference in 1968. The church location at the corner of Plum and Powell Streets represents the oldest continuous site of worship in Ashville. The current building was erected in 1915 to replace a wood frame United Brethren structure that had been moved from its former location north of Ashville in 1880. According to church historians, the wood frame church was razed after a parishioner fell through the sanctuary floor.

The worship area of the church is large enough to accommodate 300 or more people and is adorned by three large stained glass windows depicting scripture verses. All of the seventeen smaller stained glass windows were salvaged from the old United Brethren building. The windows bear the names of the former church families or the classes who sponsored them. The exterior of the church has changed little in the past 80 years but the pews, doors, and altar have been replaced. The church is currently negotiating the construction of an interior lift. It is expected this project will be completed in 2005.

name by reaching out into the local community and the world community to spread the Gospel and to teach the Word of God. The local work of the church includes a nursing home and youth prison ministry under the direction of Rev. Michael Henderson. The overseas ministry of the church has gone into Norway, Denmark, Israel, India and Sri Lanka. The ministry also involved the writing and publication of various religious materials.

The Rev./Dr. Doyne Wiggins and the Rev. Michael Henderson currently constitute the pastoral staff of the church. Dr. Wiggins has served continuously as pastor since the foundation of the church ministry. The church welcomes all people from every walk of life and seeks to help meet their needs in every manner possible.

kits and blankets to United Methodist Mission Projects, the distribution of Love Boxes to our servicemen and women, and the filling of holiday food baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to church offerings, these projects are supported by an annual church bazaar and dinner held the first weekend in November, and by the making and selling of noodles and apple dumplings.

Circlevilee Qha9

Salt Creek 4-H Sewing Club - Girls at the southeast corner of the school in 1924: Front: Carmen Huffman, Dorothy Kerns, Nolene Fetherolf. Second row: Margie Schaal, Ruth Fetherolf, Mildred Welsh, Pauline Veff, Elizabeth Heffner, Margaret Chilcote.

In the first month of operation for the new Pickaway County Board of Education, a special meeting was held on July 29, 1914. At this meeting, the township of South Bloomfield Village, Madison, Harrison, and Walnut were named a supervision district. Washington, Circleville Township, Wayne, the Village of Tarlton, and the special district of Whisler were combined into a second supervision district. At the request of the county superintendent, the members of the Monroe and Muhlenberg boards were to meet with Mr. Cook to decide which supervision district they should be assigned.

At the Wednesday, August 19" meeting, the county board and superintendent made a survey of Clarksburg and vicinity, Atlanta, New Holland, Waterloo, Tick Ridge and parts of Monroe, Muhlenberg and Jackson Townships in order to gain a better understanding of the schools in these districts. This survey was made using the automobiles of Mr. Noecker, Mr. Brehmer and Mr. B. P. Crawford.

As aresult of the survey, at the next regularly scheduled board meeting on September ninth, the board decided to assign Monroe Township to the Deercreek Supervision District and Muhlenberg to the Jackson Township Supervision District.

The newly enacted Winans Law for redistricting passed in 1915 brought about changes in the supervisory districts in Pickaway County. In accordance with this law, at the June 1915 county board meeting, the school districts were reorganized. District number one was redesigned with the following school districts included: Harrison, Walnut, Washington, Wayne, Whisler, Saltcreek, Circleville Township Rural, and South Bloomfield. This district was assigned to D.W. Macklin as the superintendent. His salary was paid for by the county board of education. Ashville, Monroe and Muhlenberg were placed under the direct supervision of the county superintendent. New Holland, Jackson, Pickaway, Darby, Deercreek, Perry, Scioto, and Madison Rural School Districts were granted permission to elect superintendents for thei# districts in accordance with Section 4740 of the Ohio Revised Code.

In accordance with section 4692 of the Ohio Revised Code, all of the Whisler Village Rural School District was transferred to the Saltcreek Township Rural School District at the January 6, 1916 meeting. Monroe and Saltcreek each were granted permission to hire their own superintendents as provided in Section 4740 of the Ohio Revised Code at the June 6, 1917 meeting.

At the March 20, 1918 meeting, it was brought to the county's board attention that an injunction was filed in the Pickaway Common Pleas Court by residents of Circleville Township living in territory transferred to Jackson Township Rural School District on April 4, 1917. Attorney Meeker Terwiliger was hired to represent the county board of elections.

At the June 5, 1918 county board meeting, changes were made again to the assignment of schools to districts. District #1 now consisted of Wayne, Washington, Circleville Township, Harrison, Madison, South Bloomfield, and Tarlton. Ashville, Monroe, Muhlenberg and Darby were put under the direct supervision of the county superintendent.

Ashville was granted permission to hire its own superintendent at the June 4, 1919 county board meeting. Muhlenberg was transferred to district #1 at the May 5, 1920 meeting.

The Wayne Township and Jackson Township school boards asked the county board to merge the two districts into one. The county board, at its April 18, 1931 board meeting, heard the arguments for the merger but decided to postpone a decision indefinitely. Thus, this merger died for lack of a decision by the board.

At the October 7" meeting that year, South Bloomfield Village School District asked to be transferred to the Harrison Township Rural School District. Since the Harrison Township board was opposed to the transfer, the county board requested that the county prosecuting attorney study the request. After much discussion and many meetings, the county board finally approved the request on April 6, 1932.

There were still two-room schools left in the county as late as 1935. At the October 12, 1935 county board meeting, the board voted to eliminate the two-room school at Era, sending the students to Darby once a new addition at Darby was completed. Also closed was the one at Orient with the students to attend Scioto in the fall of 1936. The Tarlton Village School was transferred to Saltcreek beginning in the fall of 1936. At this meeting, the board also discussed the recommendation by the State Board of Education that Washington Township in Pickaway County combine with Clearcreek Township in Fairfield County to form a new consolidated school district. The board took no action on this recommendation.

By 1936, the Ohio Department of Education began to put pressure on Pickaway County to reorganize the school districts since many of the high schools had few students. Because of this pressure from the state, the county board at its June 3, 1936 meeting passed a tentative plan for the reorganization of the schools. That plan was as follows: the understanding that the South Bloomfield and Duvall schools would remain open. ¢ Circleville Township to unite with Circleville City Schools.

¢ Washington, Saltcreek and Pickaway would unite into one district with the elementary schools in each district to remain open and each of the three high schools not to combine until 1938. Tarlton Village School would be assigned to Saltcreek.

It was the desire of the Pickaway County Board of Education to begin reorganization east of the Scioto River. The above plan was never put completely into operation due to protests from the

The Wayne Township high school students were granted permission to attend Circleville High School at the May 4, 1938 meeting. The Wayne Township School remained a 1-8 building for the rest of the students.

At the April 15, 1939 board meeting, the board members read a letter from Franklin H. McNutt, the Director of the Ohio Division of Instruction, who recommended that the charters of Muhlenberg and Washington Township High Schools be annulled and the high schools be closed. The state asked the county board to give reasons why this action should or should not be taken. The board requested that the state allow the First Grade Charter to stay in effect until at least the end of the school year.

On June 7, 1939, the county board transferred the territory of Muhlenberg Township district to Monroe and Darby Township schools with the elementary school at Muhlenberg to remain open. A remonstrance by the residents of Muhlenberg Township, protesting the action of the county board, was rejected due to the lack of sufficient signatures. In August of that year, the Muhlenberg Board of Education filed a law suit against the county board for the transfer of its territory. The suit was filed in the Pickaway County Court of Common Pleas under the heading "The Board of Education of Muhlenberg School District, plaintiff, versus the County Board of Education and the Monroe Township Board of Education, and Forrest Short, auditor of Pickaway County, Ohio, defendants." The court rendered its decision in favor of the county board. Muhlenberg appealed the decision and the Court of Appeals overturned the decision of the lower court. The county board then appealed the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. This case lasted for several months and many lawyers were hired to argue the case. Although the decision of the Ohio Supreme Court was never entered into the county board minutes, the next year the local residents agreed to a settlement even though the case was still before the Ohio Supreme Court at the time.

The county board at its June 5, 1940 meeting was presented with a petition signed by 204 registered voters in the Muhlenberg school district and 374 in the Monroe school district requesting that the two districts merge into one new school district to be named the Monroe- Muhlenberg Rural School District. This petition came about because the State Department of Education had revoked the high school charter for Muhlenberg High School. Since the petition contained a majority of registered voters in the two affected school districts, the county board approved the merger and created the new school district.

On March 6, 1946, the Circleville Township Rural School District was dissolved and the district transferred to the Circleville City School District. At the next meeting, April 3, a petition with 51% of the eligible voters' signatures was presented to the county board in protest of the transfer. After conferring with the State Department of Education, the State Department denied the motion to transfer the district due to the fact that a majority of the voters were opposed to the move and according to Ohio law, the majority wishes were to be honored.

The Tarlton Village School District was transferred to the Saltcreek Township Rural School District at the July 7, 1948 county school meeting.

By 1953, sentiment had changed in Circleville Township. A petition was presented to the county board on September 2, 1953 requesting that the Circleville Township Rural School District be transferred to the Circleville City School District. Since Circleville Township had no school buildings and the students were already attending school in Circleville City on a tuition basis, the county board approved the transfer. The Circleville City School Board also approved the transfer at its November 17" meeting. Thus, the Circleville Township Rural School District was dissolved.

A citizens' committee was created by the county board of education on October 6, 1954 to study how best to consolidate the county schools in accordance with HB 128 of the Ohio General Assembly. The committee members were: Charles Rose, Harford Renick, Curtis Fisher, Paul Peck, Boneta Hill, D Haydn Evans, Louise Roth, Arthur Leist and Clarence Maxson. The citizens' committee reported a plan on August 24, 1955 which would place all the school districts in the county under one board of education. The school district would be called the Pickaway County School District. Since the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, R.M. Eyman approved the play, the county board requested that the question of one county school district be placed on the November 1955 ballot. The voters defeated this play by a 3.5 to one vote. Local control of schools was still very important to most voters.

On January 12, 1956, the boards of education from Washington. Walnut, Madison and Ashville-Harrison met to discuss the possible consolidation of these districts. On April 11 of that same year, a meeting was held at the Pickaway Township School to discuss the possible consolidation of the Kingston-Union, Saltcreek, Pickaway and Washington Schools. On April 25, 1956, the Washington Township and Circleville City school boards met to discuss consolidation of the two districts.

Dr. William Chase of the Center for Educational Services at Ohio University spoke to the county schools at a meeting held at Walnut School on April 19, 1956 to discuss making a survey of the area schools in order to learn the best way to consolidate. Dr. Chase was then employed in May by the county board to conduct an educational survey of the schools in Pickaway County and to develop a plan for consolidation of the county schools since the one county school system was soundly defeated by the voters. He made his report to the county board on July 17, 1957. The county board authorized 1,075 copies of his report to be printed and distributed to the members of the Educational Council, board members, school personnel and interested citizens. From this plan, the county board began to make plans for consolidation.

On August 7, 1957, the newly created Logan Elm School District was approved by the county board. The district consisted of Washington, Pickaway and Saltcreek Township Schools. On September 9, the county board named the board members for the Logan Elm School District. They were: Frank Graves and Dr. Wells Wilson from Pickaway; Ralph Betz and Dr. S.G. Messamer from Washington; and Dow West representing Saltcreek.

As expected, when the topic of school consolidation was discussed at various board meetings, there were many different opinions of how it should be done. After the county board created the Logan Elm School District, the Washington Township School board members voted 'to protest the decision. Thus, a special county board meeting was called to order on August 28, 1957 to hear the complaint from the Washington board. Mr. William Crist, president of the Washington Baord, spoke against the plan, stating that four of the five board members were in favor of consolidating with the Circleville City School System since the high school students had been attending Circleville High School since 1947. Only Ralph Betz was in agreement with joining the Logan Elm School District. Mr. Crist requested that the county board rescind its actions of August 7" that created the new school district. The county board rejected the request.

Ata special Washington Township School board meeting held on August 28, 1957, James Arledge, Pete Bowman, Emmett Hinton and William Crist resigned in protest of the county board action. That left only Ralph Betz on the Washington board. With the help of county superintendent, George McDowell, a new board was appointed. Those appointed were Arthur Leist, Frank Lands, James Stauffer and David Bolender. The five men constituted the last Washington Township Board of Education. They also had the shortest term of office in local school history since they served for only four days and received the sum of three dollars for their services.

In accordance with Section 3311.26 of the Ohio Revised Code, a meeting was held on October 2, 1957 by the county board to create three more new school districts. In one resolution, three new school districts were created. The Northwest School District would consist of Darby, Scioto, Muhlenberg and Monroe Schools; the Northeast School District included Ashville-Harrison, Madison and Walnut Schools; and the Southwest School District was made up of Jackson, Deercreek (Williamsport), New Holland, Perry (Atlanta), and Wayne Township Schools. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.

Because of a possible legal issue, the county board met in a special meeting on October 14 and discussed their actions at the October 2 meeting. It was decided that the Ohio Supreme Court would probably rule their action invalid since three school districts were created in only one resolution instead of three. Thus, the board rescinded its actions of October 2 and decided to meet again and create the new districts after more discussion with the schools involved.

Between October 14 and November 6, the county board members had a change of mind about how to consolidate the remaining school districts. Instead of creating three more school districts, the board decided to create only two more districts. The first of these two new districts was Westfall School District, which was created at this November 6, 1957 county board meeting. This district consisted of Darby, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Jackson, Perry (Atlanta), Deercreek (Williamsport), New Holland and Wayne Townships. Board members chosen to represent Westfall were: Raymond Reiterman, H.N. Stevenson, Dr. Paul Fenstermaker, Hoyt Martin and Everett Grabill.

The second school district, Teays Valley School District, was created at this meeting, consisting of the following schools: Scioto, Ashville-Harrison, Madison and Walnut. Harold Hines, James Moody, John Moss, Delphia Remy and W.O. Dountz were appointed as the first board members.

Like the new Logan Elm School District, the other two newly created school districts had their share of controversies. At the very same November 6" meeting, the New Holland board of education made a request to not be a member of the Westfall School District but to be allowed to join the new Miami Trace School District in Fayette County. The county board denied the request because it would interfere with the consolidation plans and New Holland was an integral part of Pickaway County.

Since the high school students from Wayne Township had been attending Circleville High School since 1938, the Wayne Township School board at this meeting also objected to being a part of the Westfall School District. The Wayne Township board requested to transfer the district to Circleville City Schools. The county board denied this request as well stating that the students would best be served in the new Westfall School District.

In addition to these two school districts seeking a change at the meeting, a group of Washington Township residents, led by Mr. William Crist, asked that a portion of Washington Township be allowed to transfer to Circleville City. This portion was mainly along Route 22 to Bolender-Pontius Road and included Knollwood Village. Since the county board had previously denied allowing the entire Washington Township to be transferred to Circleville City, the board denied this request as well. The board felt that this territory was needed to make the Logan Elm School District more viable. The group headed by Mr. Crist decided to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education.

At the very next county board meeting held on December 4, 1957, the Walnut Township School Board sent a letter to the county board stating that the local board by a unanimous vote was not in favor of the newly created Teays Valley School District but was in favor of the original plan for a Northeast School District which did not include Scioto Township. The addition of Scioto Township made the district geographically too large, especially when it came to transporting high school students to one location. Also, the play did not take into consideration future growth in the district which would make any new high school too small in the years to come. The county board noted the objection but did not grant the request to reduce the size of the district.

At this meeting, the residents from New Holland were back with a remonstrance petition signed by 283 eligible electors. The petition requested a transfer to Miami Trace. The county board said that since New Holland was part of the Westfall School District, it would take a total of 1,021 signatures from the various voters throughout the Westfall District in order to be valid. Thus, the request was again denied. The petitioners decided to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education.

Three days later, the county board again met. Facing the board was a remonstrance petition from Wayne Township signed by 86 qualified resident electors seeking a transfer to the Circleville City School District. The county board said that even if those signatures were added to the 283 signatures from New Holland, the number was far short of the required 1,021 needed signatures. The request was denied. The petitioners decided to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education.

The State Board of Education met on February 10, 1958 to hear the three requests from Pickaway County on the issue of transferring school districts. After all sides and their legal councils presented their arguments, the State Board of Education ruled in favor of New Holland, Wayne Township, and the residents from Washington Township. All three transferals were granted over the strenuous objections of the Pickaway County Board of Education and its lawyers. Thus, at the March 5, 1958 regular board meeting, the county board had no choice but to grant the request. New Holland was now a part of Miami Trace, Wayne Township became part of Circleville City, and that western portion of Washington Township also became part of Circleville City. As a result, both Westfall and Logan Elm School Districts lost territory and students. Logan Elm also lost a board member. Since Dr. Messmer was a resident of Knollwood Village, he had to resign from the Logan Elm Board of Education.

Mr. Paul Cummins, Fairfield County Superintendent, wrote a letter to the Pickaway County board of Education, dated April 29, 1958, informing the board that on March 29, a petition signed by approximately 400 eligible electors of the Clearcreek Township Local School District was presented to the Fairfield County Board requesting that the entire Clearcreek Township School District be transferred to the Logan Elm School District under authority of Section 3311.231 of the Ohio Revised Code. This was well over the required 55% of those who voted in the last general election. The letter went on to state that a counter petition, containing 474 eligible signatures, had also been presented to the Fairfield County Board asking that the board delay any action on the other petition until a study could be made by Ohio University on the possible consolidation of schools in Fairfield County. At the May 7, 1958 Pickaway County Board meeting, after the letter was read, the board voted to abide by whatever decision the Logan Elm School Board should take on the proposal.

At the May 6, 1959 county board meeting, a motion was approved to accept the Clearcreek Township School District as part of the Logan Elm School District since the Logan Elm Board of Education was in favor of the merger. Also, the county board had received a letter from the Secretary of State that everything was in order to accept the transfer. In anticipation of the board's approval, land for the new high school was purchased where the four Townships of Washington, Pickaway, Saltcreek and Clearcreek met. The site was on Tarlton Road, even though the county engineer had requested that it be located on Route 56 near the intersection with Route 159.

After the Ohio University study was completed, the Fairfield County Board of Education blocked the transfer of Clearcreek Township and thus it never did become a part of the Logan Elm School District. This decision angered many of the Clearcreek Township citizens, since many of the Stoutsville residents traded in Circleville, but they were soon to join with Amanda to form their own school district.

About the same time, some residents from the Kingston-Union School District in Ross County wanted to be part of the Logan Elm School District and requested to join. However, the Kingston- Union School District voted not to join. Kingston-Union was to later join with Centrailia to form the Zane Trace School District.

Although Clearcreek and Kingston-Union were prevented from becoming a part of the Logan Elm School District, the borders of the district would soon change. Ata special county board meeting called on June 19, 1972, Tom Quick, the Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction, informed the county board that since the state had revoked the high school charter at Laurelville High School, the district had to be transferred to a neighboring district, either Logan Elm or Logan City. It was the state's desire that the West Hocking School District join with Logan Elm. (This school district had requested entry as early as 1958 when the Logan Elm District was formed.) Mr. Quick stated that if the county board did not voluntarily agree to the transfer, the state would probably assign the district to Logan Elm anyway. Although the influx of students would overcrowd Logan Elm High School and the newly opened McDowell Junior High School, the impact would not be as great as it would be for Logan City. Under the state's proposal, part of Laurel Township would be transferred to Logan City with the townships of Perry and Salt Creek and the rest of Laurel Township, all in Hocking County, to be transferred to Logan Elm.

After much discussion and many concerns about the future of Logan Elm should such a merger take place, the board reluctantly agreed to the transfer, albeit with many reservations. The overcrowded conditions were a major concern of everyone on the board. The problem still exists today in the district.

In July of 1969, the county board passed a resolution as being in favor of the creation of the Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School. On May 7, 1970, the board voted to join the Pickaway- Ross Joint Vocation District with Nelson Jones and Nelson Stevens becoming charter board members representing Pickaway County. The county board was given a third seat a couple of years later. At the February 5, 1976 county board meeting, Logan Elm and Westfall requested that the two local boards each have a member on the Vocational Board with the county office having one seat. The county board rejected the request since a majority of all the school boards in the Joint Vocational District would have to vote for the change. This was highly unlikely since none of the local school districts had representatives on the board. The vocational board was comprised of members from the Ross County, Pickaway County, Circleville City and Chillicothe City school boards. Westfall and Logan Elm requested to have representations again in 2002. Although the Pickaway County Board agreed to the request, the Vocational Board rejected the request. With the death of Everett Beers in 1997, the county board gave up its seat on the Eastland Vocational Board in favor of a representative from the Teays Valley Board serving in that capacity. The Eastland Vocational board agreed to that request.

At the March 3, 1977 county board meeting, a letter from the Franklin County Board of Education was read. The Franklin County Board wanted to know if Pickaway County would be interested in taking over the Groveport-Madison School District, possibly transferring it to the Teays Valley School District. Since the Franklin County Board of Education had not followed the prescribed procedures, the Pickaway County Board of Education drafted a response indicating its disapproval of the handling of this situation. The matter was discussed again at the April board meeting, but no action was taken. Eventually, the offer to transfer the Groveport-Madison School District to Pickaway County was rescinded.

From the log cabin schools to the Little Red Schoolhouse to the Centralized Schools to the Consolidated Schools, education has played an important role in the lives of the citizens of Pickaway County. The residents are proud of their schools and look forward to the many changes yet to come. The history of Pickaway County Schools continues to be written.

Dr. John H. Cook, son of John and Lucinda Cook, was born in either Adams County or Scioto County. He was a graduate of Miami University of Ohio and Columbia University of New York. Having come from Scioto County in 1912, Dr. Cook was employed as the first superintendent of the Jackson Township Centralized School from

1912-1914. When Frank H. Pearson became the State Superintendent of Schools, he requested that Dr. Cook be his assistant. Dr. John Cook resigned as Pickaway County Superintendent and became the new Assistant State

Dr. Cook then went to North Carolina to become the dean of the college of education at North Carolina Teacher College for Women around 1920. This university is now part of the University of North Carolina. In 1934, while still serving in that capacity, he returned to Circleville in order to give the graduation address for the seventy-one Circleville High School graduating seniors.

Dr. Cook spent the remainder of his career in education as a college professor and retired after more than thirty years of service. He had the reputation of being one of the great educators of his day.

Mr. Milton C. Warren, a graduate of Ohio State University, was born in Saltcreek Township in Pickaway County where he spent three years teaching in the township schools from 1901-1904.

From 1904-1907, he served as the superintendent of a rural school district in Ross County. In 1907, he went to Franklin County where he served as the superintendent of the Groveport

| After fifteen years of | being the Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools from 1916-1931, Mr. Mil- | ton C. Warren served as | the superintendent of Pickaway Township School | from 1933-1936.

Milton S. Cox was born on September 23, 1867 in Vinton County, the son of James G. and Nancy Graves Cox and died in McArthur on April 1, 1944. His father, mother and three brothers were also teachers. He owned a 160-acre fruit tree farm near McArthur and was very interested in agriculture.

Mr. Cox attended the Morgan Brothers Normal School at Oak Hill, Ohio. He began teaching at the age of sixteen and taught for twelve years in Vinton County.

Mr. Cox served as the County School Examiner for several years in Vinton County. He was superintendent of the McArthur City Schools from 1919-1922 and of the Vinton County Schools from 1922-1931.

On July 1, 1931, he became the Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools but resigned on December 3, 1931 to accept the position of deputy commissioner of prohibition enforcement in the Ohio Department of Liquor Control where he served until 1939.

Mr. Cox was very active in the Democratic Party in Ohio. In 1889, he was elected to represent Vinton and Hocking Counties in the Ohio Legislature, serving in the Session of the Ohio General Assembly. Re-elected for another two-year term in 1900, he also served in the 74" Session of the Ohio General Assembly.

He attended the law department of Ohio State University in 1898-99 in order to gain more insight into Ohio law. He was the alternate to the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1896 and a delegate to the national convention in San Francisco in 1920. During World War I, he was a clerk of the draft board, and was secretary of the war chest and the Red Cross. He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant Governor of Ohio.

In 1918 he became the editor and owner of the Democrat- Enquirer at McArthur. Also, Mr. Cox became the editor of the Market News and Exchange Bulletin as well as the editor of the Vinton County School News.

In 1920, he was appointed supervisor of the Fourteenth Decennial Census for the Tenth Congressional District. He assumed his duties as chief of the Division of Markets in the Ohio State Department of Agriculture, in February 1923, at the request of Governor Vic Donahey. Mr. Cox also served as Justice of the Peace and Sunday School teacher in McArthur, Ohio.

David Lewis Buchanan was born on November 26, 1885 in Jefferson County, Ohio, the son of Philip Swart and Jennie Lewis Buchanan, and died on November 29, 1963 in Cleveland.

Mr. Buchanan graduated with a B.A. degree from Ohio University and a M.A. degree from Columbia University. From 1904-1906, Mr. Buchanan taught in the rural schools of Jefferson County.

From 1906-1908, he served as the principal of the Berghotz Schools in Jefferson County and was the superintendent of Wayne Township Schools in Jefferson County during 1908-1911. From 1911-1913, he was the assistant Toronto (Ohio) High School principal.

From 1913-1922, Mr. Buchanan was the superintendent of District No. 2 schools in Jefferson County which included schools at Adena, Smithfield and Brilliant, as well as the rural schools of Smithfield and Wells Township. He had 60 teachers working for him in these schools.

Before becoming Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Buchanan was the Sandusky County Superintendent from 1922-1925. He was also the Carroll County Superintendent from 1925-1931. He was probably the only person to serve as county superintendent in three different counties.

George D. McDowell was born in Summit County, Ohio, October 17, 1897, the son of J.W. McDowell. His father was a real estate broker. His grandfather, Luther McDowell, was a native of Wayne County, Ohio, and a relative of General McDowell.

George McDowell was educated in Summit County, graduating from Akron West H.S. He then graduated from Muskingum College at New Concord, Ohio, in 1920 with a B.A. degree and later received his master's degree from The Ohio State University.

Soon after graduating in 1920, he came to Pickaway County as principal for Jackson Township High School and in 1923 was made superintendent. At that time, the school was an eight room school building, and the teaching staff consisted of twelve teachers. There were two full time and two part time high school teachers. In grades one through eight the enrollment was 225, with fifty students in the high school. He remained as the superintendent until being selected as county superintendent in 1934.

Mr. McDowell served in education for 50 years, 14 at Jackson Township and 36 years as county superintendent. He retired on September |, 1970 after beginning his career in September of 1920.

Mr. George McDowell was the most honored of all county superintendents and many residents in Pickaway County have fond memories of his time in office. He was enshrined in the Ohio Hall of Fame for his career in education in March of 1978.

Mr. Judson H. Lanman spent his entire educational career in Pickaway and Ross Counties. After Mr. Lanman received his B.S. degree from Ohio State University in 1933, he took a teaching position at Walnut Township School. While at Walnut, he became a coach.

When the Westfall School District was formed, he became the first Westfall Superintendent in 1958 and remained in that position until he resigned in July 1970 in order to become the Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools. After one year, he retired from that office having spent 38 years in education.

However, Mr. Lanman did not stay retired. He accepted a supervisor's position with the Ross County Office of Education and after a few years, in 1977, he returned to the Pickaway County Office of Education as an administrative assistant until 1990.

Like his predecessor, George McDowell, Judson Lanman devoted over fifty years of his life to the schools in Pickaway County. He was well respected by the educational community.

Edward J. Martin received his B.A. degree and M.A. degree in School Administration at Eastern Kentucky University. He came to Pickaway County in August 1970 after serving fourteen years in the Battle Creek City (Michigan) School System as a teacher, counselor, junior high principal and high school principal at Battle Creek Central High School, which had a student enrollment of over 2.000 students in grades 10 through 12.

Mr. Martin resigned his position as high school principal in July of 1970 to become the general supervisor of schools in Pickaway County. In March of 1971, he was promoted to assistant superintendent and became Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools on August 1, 1971 upon the retirement of Judson H. Lanman.

While living in Circleville, Mr. Martin served on the Pickaway Chapter of the American Red Cross Board. While in his tenth year as Pickaway County Superintendent, Mr. Martin suffered from a terminal illness.

Upon his death in 1980, Mr. Jack L. Leaker, the assistant superintendent, became the interim superintendent until Mr. Don Dowdy was hired as the county superintendent.

Mr. Donald L. Dowdy was born on September 26, 1932 in Sciotoville, Ohio. He received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Kentucky University and his master's degree from Xavier University. He did post masters work at various universities. Before beginning his career in education, he served four years in the navy and was stationed in Hawaii during part of his enlistment.

Mr. Dowdy began his teaching career in 1959 as a business education teacher for the Bethel-Tate Local School District. After teaching there for five years, he became the director of business education for the Jackson Manpower and Training Center. From 1965-67, he served as the.secondary supervisor the Clermont County Board of Education.

Before becoming the Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools in 1980, he spent thirteen years as a superintendent, three at Ripley-Union-Lewis Local and ten years as the Adams County Superintendent. At that time, Adams County (Ohio Valley) was the largest single local district county in Ohio. One of his accomplishments while in Adams County was the fact that he oversaw the building of the vocational school, the only one built in Ohio without going to the ballot.

Mr. Dowdy was very active in school affairs. He served as president of both the County Superintendents' State Association and the Southwest Ohio County Superintendents' Association. He also was on the state superintendent's task force for special education, board member of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), chairman of the Ohio Appalachian Cooperative for Educational Services, and chairman of the Juvenile Court Advisory Committee.

While in administration, Mr. Dowdy received three commendations from the Ohio House of Representatives and three commendations from the Ohio Senate. He also received the Presidents Award and Outstanding Leadership Award from the Ohio Educational Service Center Association.

Mr. Dowdy was very active in the local SERTOMA (Service to Mankind) Club where he served as local president and was elected in 1994 as the international president of SERTOMA, which was a very high honor.

David L. Beavers was born on July 28, 1944, the son of Thomas and Thelma Davis Beavers. He graduated as the valedictorian of the 1962 Logan Elm High School. Mr. Beavers received his B.S. and M.Ed. degrees from Ohio University in Athens and has done post masters work at various universities.

In 1966, he took a position as high school mathematics teacher at Circleville High School where he also served two years as math department chairman. In 1968, he took a similar position at Logan Elm High School and served seventeen years as math department chairman.

In 1985, he was hired as a curriculum supervisor for the Pickaway County Schools. Mr. Beavers became the Pickaway County Assistant Superintendent in 1993 upon the retirement of Jack L. Leaker and assumed the role of Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools on January 1, 1998.

Mr. Beavers received many honors, such as being selected the Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Delta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies, the Jaycee's Outstanding Young Educator of 1970 Award, DeMolay's Pickaway County Teacher of the Year for 1979, Logan Elm's Teacher of the Year Award from 1982-83, RCA Teacher Recognition Award for 1983-94, and the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Ohio Math Teacher of the Year Award in 1988. He was the second member inducted into Logan Elm's Hall of Fame.

was president of the Pickaway County Historical Society, President of the Pickaway County Extension Advisory Board, Central Ohio Regional Professional Development Center Board, Central Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center Board, President of the Great Seal Governing Board, Pickaway County Foundational Grant committee, Chairman of the Washington Township Zoning Appeals Board, chairman of his church board and Sunday School teacher, and served on numerous boards in the local community.

The material for this brief history of the Circleville City School District is taken for the most part directly from writings of longtime CCSD employee Virgil M. Cress. Mr. Cress' research of the storied history of the Circleville City Schools was published in a book titled The Growing Up of a City School System: History of Circleville Schools 1810-1976. The book was written as a part of our nation's Bicentennial Celebration of 1976. The Pickaway County Historical Society owns rights to the book.

Early Circleville schools followed the same pattern as schools all over the country. Like all schools of the early nineteenth century, only the fundamentals - reading, writing and arithmetic - were taught. Other subjects were added slowly to the curriculum as the years went by and more financial support became available. The early schools were ungraded. They received no assistance whatever from the state government until after 1826, when a bill was passed by the state legislature which acknowledged for the first time the state's responsibility for the literacy of its citizens.

Circleville has always been proud of the fact that a Circleville resident, Caleb Atwater, pushed this bill through the General Assembly. In this century, Caleb Atwater was honored by Circleville when an avenue and a handsome new elementary school, on this same avenue, were dedicated to his memory.

Until 1838, Circleville schools were subscription schools, of poor quality, existing with no supervision or control. By the late 1840's and early 1850's, graded schools had been started in most Ohio cities and towns, with Circleville falling into the same general pattern as other Ohio cities of similar size. The problems they faced throughout the years have been common to all school systems.

In the "Conclusion" section of Mr. Cress' book, a chronological history of the district is outlined . The Union School, begun in 1852, was the first truly "public" school in Circleville and the historical origin of the Circleville City School District.

Around the end of the 19" Century, the need for educational changes and crowded conditions were influential enough to enlarge the system by building three elementary schools as well as the remodeling of the old Union Schools. These new and remodeled facilities allowed the courses of study to be modernized.

In 1918, anew high school was built on South Court Street (this facility is known today as Everts Middle School) and was named Circleville High School. This newly-built high school replaced Everts High School.

Through the war and depression years, the district, like the nation, experienced good times as well as bad. Though no building programs were initiated, the students who attended the city schools continued to acquire a good education. Following World War II, the district again had the need to update its educational offerings and buildings.

The decades of the 1950's through the 1970's saw the establishment of four new elementary buildings - Atwater, Court Street, Mound Street, and Nicholas Drive. A new high school was built on the east edge of the city. The first graduating class for the new high school building was the Class of 1967. The former high school was transformed into a junior high. The construction and renovation of these facilities reflected both the need to move education forward post-Sputnik as well as the growth of the City of Circleville.

Education in Circleville and throughout the state and nation evolved in the decades of the 1980's, 1990's, and through the early part of the 21" Century to accommodate our society's need for highly-trained graduates. The ability for students to use technology, the capacity to transfer knowledge to application, legislated standards, school choice, No Child Left Behind and, accountability were all factors that have caused educators to evaluate what was being taught, how it was taught, and how to measure student achievement.

As this is being written in early 2005, the Circleville City School District is in the midst of addressing a financial crisis. Due to poor local and state economies, the financial resources available for meeting student needs have been substantially diminished. The resolution to this current emergency once again will come from the pride, vision and commitment to a strong educational system possessed by the residents of the Circleville City School District.

The schools in Pickaway County and Hocking County followed the lead of Ohio legislation to better the schools in the state during the late nineteenth century. Even though many people in Ohio had a place in their hearts for the traditional little one-room schoolhouse, they voted in favor of consolidation of the smaller schools. At the turn of the twentieth century the Boxwell-Patterson Law was passed to give "children from rural area ... opportunities equal to those enjoyed by children in the cities" (History, 13). Ohio had celebrated 100 years of statehood and intended to keep its citizens competitive with the other states.

Salt Creek Township School was built in 1916 to consolidate nine small brick schoolhouses and one other shared with Pickaway Township (Bower,16). The small buildings and the increasing number of students had created a need for more space, and the new century required a more strenuous and varied curriculum than one single teacher could provide.

The little one-room schools were fast becoming a relic of the past. According to Gladys Rader Shepler, one of Pickaway County's oldest and most respected lifelong residents, nine small schools were consolidated in 1913 to form Pickaway Township Centralized School. Eighth grade students who passed the Boxwell Examination no longer had to prepare to go to Everts in Circleville for their high school education. Pickaway's first graduating class in 1916 boasted two students, Ruth Rice and Gladys Rader.

Washington Township School, built in 1917, was consolidated from six smaller schools. This solution worked for the first half of the century. Because of overcrowding forty years later, high school students there were given a choice of attending Circleville High School or Pickaway Township High School to finish their education. It was then, as early as 1957, talk had begun anew of consolidation and the need for a new high school to correct problems of overcrowding.

From Pickaway, Salt Creek, and Washington Township Schools, Logan Elm Local School District emerged in 1960. Originally the citizens of four local school districts had decided to be part of the Logan Elm consolidation: Pickaway, Washington, Salt Creek and Stoutsville. They were part of a movement in the era to allow small rural schools to unite in order to give students amore varied curriculum at the high school level than the smaller schools could offer. In fact the present location of Logan Elm High School is the geographic center of those four areas. However, the Fairfield County Superintendent, not wanting to lose an area of his county to Pickaway County, found an error in the wording of the original proposal that Stoutsville join the consolidation and had the proposal voided.

So it was that Washington, Pickaway, and Salt Creek formed the original Logan Elm School District in 1960. The high school was mostly completed, except for the gym, in September 1960.

Students were not allowed to go all the way down the front hall because a plastic barrier was erected to allow construction on the gym to continue. The first class was graduated from Logan Elm in 1961. The student body decided that the mascot should be the Mingos, since that was the tribe of Chief Logan for whom the school was named. When the Board of Education found out that Mingos was the name of a renegade tribe, they modified the student selection to Braves. The brave's head logo for the high school was chosen from four drawn by Carl Smith.

Logan Elm School District continued to grow. To help the overcrowding at the elementary schools, in the fall of 1971 the 7" and 8" grades were brought to a new building located directly behind the high school, the George D. McDowell Exchange School, named to honor George D. McDowell, Pickaway County Superintendent from 1934 to 1970 (Beavers, 33). It not only housed the junior high classes, but it allowed space for the district to add for the first time kindergarten classes and elementary special education classes, improved the facilities for art and music and gave the high school access to a larger gymnasium. The Spangler Gymnasium was named for Michael Spangler, an athlete from the Class of 1965 who died in Vietnam.

In 1972 the Ohio Department of Education merged a portion of the West Hocking School District with Logan Elm School District. It included all of Salt Creek and Perry Townships as well as a portion of Laurel Township. The building complex we recognize today as Laurelville Elementary began as a 4-room brick building erected in 1913 on land donated by Allen Strous. As the need arose for additional classrooms and modernization, the school continued to expand. Now with the addition of 2+ townships in Hocking County, the Logan Elm Local School District encompasses approximately 212 square miles.

In 1974, the Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center opened its doors as the Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School, at 895 Crouse Chapel Road, Chillicothe, Ohio, with a facility that contained over two acres of classrooms and laboratories. Sixty-one (61) full time teachers provided 25 vocational training programs to a student population of 510. The Vocational School was designed to serve as an alternate campus for 11" and 12" graders from the following eleven local school districts in Pickaway, Ross, Madison, and Hocking counties: Adena, Chillicothe City, Circleville City, Huntington, Logan Elm, Paint Valley, Southeastern, Unioto, Westfall, Zane Trace, and until 1986, Bishop Flaget. The general fund was $1,596,572. At the same time Adult Education programming opened its doors for short-term evening classes in Business, Trade and Industrial, Agriculture and Home Economics.

The Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School District Board of Education consists of eleven appointed members: three from the Pickaway County Board of Education, three from the Ross County Board, three from the Chillicothe City Board and two from the Circleville City Board. Organized on May 21, 1970, with Nelson Stevens (Pickaway) elected President, Gerald Radcliffe (Chillicothe) Vice President, Homer Beath (Chillicothe), Forrest Brown (Circleville), Thomas Elsea (Circleville), Nelson E. Jones (Pickaway), Wilbur L. Mundell (Chillicothe), Dr. George C. Schaaf (Ross), Eldon Shoemaker (Ross), and Lloyd D. Trego (Chillicothe). James Shope was appointed acting Superintendent.

Other members from Pickaway County who served on the Board have included: Vernie Stahr (Hocking), Shirley Wylie (Circleville), Wendell Evans (Pickaway), Bonnie Hildenbrand (Pickaway), Jean Droste (Circleville), Dr. Robert Liggett (Circleville), Dolores Dawson (Circleville), Dr. Thomas Ebenhack (Circleville), Amber Bigam (Pickaway), Dan Bradhurst (Circleville), Richard Everman (Pickaway), Byron Welch (Pickaway), and Chris Williams (Circleville).

Satellite programming was added at the beginning of the 1992- 1993 school year. The Pickaway-Ross satellite instructors taught at least two, and as many as four, programs in Agriculture, Career Based Intervention, Work and Family Life, Marketing, Health Tech Prep, Interactive Computer-enhanced Academic Technologies, and Cooperative Business Education in the district's local high schools and junior highs. As a result, there was a marked increase in PRJVSD enrollment and the number of full-time teaching staff.

In 1993-94, the PRJVSD had grown to 169 full-time contracted teachers, a general fund of $10,125,277 and a student FTE (fulltime equivalent) of 1,287.

At the conclusion of the 2003-2004 school year, in an attempt to remain within a limited state funding budget, the Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School District's full-time contracted staff had been reduced in force to 142. As a direct result of the reduction, the student full-time equivalence dropped to 1,078. However, 100% of the high school teachers were identified by the state of Ohio as Highly Qualified; 90% of the high school students who complete their program training were placed in jobs, the military or taking additional education; and since 1974, more than 6,000 high school students have been trained by Pickaway-Ross. In 2004 alone, 1,978 adults were trained in the Adult Education program with 850 of that number receiving specialized Emergency Medical Services and Fire Fighting training. To date, over 8,120 adults have been pre-tested for the PRJVSD Job Ready database from which manufacturing employers draw potential employees.

Long before the Teays Valley Local School District was even a thought, Indian tribes inhabited the territory that is now known as Pickaway County. In 1785, townships of thirty-six miles were created from provisions of the Land Ordinance, with one section (one square mile) set aside for school purposes. Around 1797, the first white settlements were established, but it was not until 1810 that Pickaway County was established as a separate county.

Initially, schools in Pickaway County were maintained by subscription and these schools were followed by private school, which were commonly singe room log houses. Finally, public schools were created.

Major changes in the school districts occurred in December of 1957 when schools were realigned to create three districts in the county. Ashville Village, Harrison Township, Madison Township, Scioto Township and Walnut Township were organized as a new district. The presidents of the boards of these five districts combined to form a new Board of Education, and the first Board of Education of what would come to be known as the Teays Valley Local School District.

One of the first duties of the new board was to choose a name for the new district. The board members wanted to choose a name with either a historical or geographic significance for the district. One notable geographic feature of the area is the Teays River, which is a prehistoric river that runs underground. After consideration of other proposed names, Teays Valley School District became the new district's official name.

On July 1, 1958, Earl R. Gregg was named the first Superintendent of the newly created Teays Valley School District, and he served as superintendent for six years. Following Gregg's retirement, Benis Lutz became the Superintendent on August 1, 1964. Lutz held this position for 25 years until his retirement in 1989.

During Lutz's reign as superintendent, Teays Valley experienced a unique situation - split sessions. From 1971 until 1985 the middle school and high school students shared a building. The high school was in session from 7 a.m. until | p.m., and the middle school ran from 1:04 p.m until 6:35 p.m. Although there were varying opinions from community members, Lutz still believes this was the best solution to building restraints the district faced in the absence of expanded facilities.

The split sessions concluded in 1985 when the district opened the doors to the new Teays Valley Middle School. This came when voters passed a 3.5 mill bond issue, following 16 unsuccessful issues beginning on November 4, 1969.

Another significant change occurred in the Teays Valley School District in the 1970's, when Kindergarten was added to each of the three elementary schools in 1975. The current names of the elementary school buildings in the Teays Valley School District, Ashville, Scioto, and Walnut, date back as far as 1895. That is when the original Scioto building was built. It housed grades one through 12. An addition to the Walnut building was constructed in 1949, and a smaller Ashville building was built in 1953, housing students in grades one through three.

The present elementary schools stand on the locations of the original buildings, and now accommodate students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Some major construction has taken place at all of the buildings in the district over the past few years. In 2002, a new wing and cafeteria was added to the middle school. Then in the fall of 2003, the three elementary schools opened brand new buildings. That same year, major renovations and additions were completed at the high school.

One of the biggest changes the Teays Valley Schools have experienced over the years is growth in student enrollment. For example, during the 1962-1963 school year, opening enrollment was 537 students in grades nine through 12, with a total of 1,650 students in grades one through 12. Currently, there are 1,080 students in grades nine through 12, doubling the numbers from the 1962-1963 school year, and a total of 3,296 in grades one through 12.

The current Superintendent is Ronald Thornton, succeeding Lutz, who retired in 1989, making Thornton just the third Superintendent in the district's history. Throughout his years as Superintendent, he feels that the growing number of students has amazed him the most. As he looks to the future, he foresees continued growth in the numbers, which will bring about the addition of at least two new buildings.

"The future of the Teays Valley Local School District appears very bright. We have been blessed over the past couple of years and the financial condition of the district appears stable for the next five years. Academically, things are going well and the district has been designated as an Effective school district by the State of Ohio. The Teays Valley District will be an exciting place to go to school and to live as we continue to manage our growth and change with the geographical climate of northern Pickaway County," Thornton said.

The Westfall Local School District, Pickaway County, encompassing a 215 mile radius, was organized December 7, 1956. Initially the school district included Darby, Deercreek, Muhlenberg, Jackson, Monroe, Perry, New Holland and Wayne Townships. New Holland later transferred to the Miami Trace School District, Fayette County and Wayne to Circleville City School District.

Members of the first board of education, which held their meetings in the Muhlenberg School, included: Raymond E. Reiterman, President; Howard Newell Stevenson, Vice-President; Dr. Paul Fenstermaker, Hoyt Martin and Everett Grabill. Brice Connell was appointed Clerk.

Westfall has historical significance, being taken from an Indian encampment located on the Scioto River near the Wayne Township School. It was named after Caleb Westfall, a Revolutionary War hero. Other names suggested were: Darby-Deercreek, Western and Muhlenberg but the board adopted Westfall as the official name of the western consolidated school district.

At its inception, the Westfall School District had an enrollment of 1,344 elementary and 460 high school students. The annual operating expenses from July 1, 1956 to July 1, 1957 was $517,502.65

Less than six years later, an ultimatum was presented to the board of education: Either consolidate the district's four existing high schools (Darby, Jackson, Monroe and Williamsport/Atlanta) or have them closed through charter revocation. This was a direct result of a State Board of Education referee who in January 1962, found the schools to be substandard in many ways and revoked the charters effective June 1963.

The board decided to place a bond issue on the ballot for plans for a consolidated school building capable of handling 1,500 students. It would be located in a centralized location.

After two unsuccessful attempts, the Westfall.voters passed the $1,395,000 bond issue to build a new high school in May 1962. 47.906 acres was purchased from John R. and Frances B. Hildenbrand for $500 per acre. The land, nearly equally distanced from the four corners of the district, was at the intersection of State Route 56 and the Williamsport-Darby Road at Pherson in Muhlenberg Township.

The new high school, a 76,200 square foot one story brick structure, was proudly dedicated on Sunday, September 27, 1964. A large attendance graced the auditorium where remarks were give by: Raymond E. Reiterman, President of the Board; George D. McDowell, County Superintendent; Judge William Radcliff and the Executive Head of the District; and Judson Lanman. Additional comments were heard from William Kellam, Architect and C.W. Knowlton, General Contractor. The total cost of the structure was $1,416,652.35. This proud structure, which included a domed gymnasium, was the first new school built in Pickaway County.

The Atlanta grade school was built in 1903 and the high school was added around 1906. This was the first graduating class and the last graduation class was in 1960. In 1938 or 1939 a new part was added connecting the grade school and high school. During the 1940's the county basketball tournaments were held there. During the early 1970's property was sold to purchase the land where the new elementary had been built.

In 1916 the Darby Township School was constructed. There were twelve grades and its first graduating class was 1927. In 1937 an addition was built which included a chemistry lab, typing room, study hall, library, and gymnasium. In the fall of 1964 the new Westfall High School was completed and all high school students were transferred there. The Darby building continued to be an elementary and junior high until 1976. In 1976 the new Westfall Middle School was completed and the 6" grade through 8" grade was moved to the new school. In 2002 the new Westfall Elementary School was built, thus ending students attending Darby, but leaving a proud heritage.

The Jackson Township Centralized School was built in 1911 and 1912. The first class graduated in 1914. This was the first centralized school in the State of Ohio. The $100,000 high school building was constructed near the site of the first building on a nine-acre tract. Cash financed the real estate purchased with the President and Clerk, by the authority of the Board of Education, signing one hundred $1,000 notes on January 15, 1930.

The Monroe Township School System was centralized in 1914. The present building was ready for use in 1916. All twelve grades were originally included. In the fall of 1964 the high school students were transferred to the new Westfall High School. The Monroe building continued to be an elementary and junior high until 1976 when the new Westfall Middle School was built. In the fall of 2002 the new Westfall Elementary was finished and the building at Monroe was officially closed.

There were many schools around the area and in 1912 the schools were centralized into one school at Darbyville. In 1924 a building was completed that housed both elementary and high school until the late 1930's. At that time the State Board of Education declared the enrollment number to be inadequate to maintain the state charter. The high school students were removed to Jackson. The grade school was maintained at Darbyville until the 1960's just prior to the consolidation of the Westfall School District. Muhlenberg then became the meeting place for the Westfall Board of Education.

The new Westfall Elementary School was dedicated on September 8, 2002. The new Westfall Elementary School became the first new elementary school built in Pickaway County since consolidation began. At a total cost of $13,013,295.00, the new school combined students from Darby, Jackson and Monroe elementaries into a 90,977 square foot brick building with a capacity of 787 students in grades K-5.

Westfall High School was the first building erected in the Westfall Local District. Grades 9-12 came from Darby, Jackson, Monroe and Williamsport to form the new high school. The brick one-story structure consists of 76,000 square feet situated on 46 acres of land with a 500 student capacity. Cost of construction was $1,416,652.35. The architects were Elam and Foley. The building was officially dedicated on September 27, 1964, with the first graduating class being in May of 1965.

Westiall Middle School The Westfall Middle School was opened in the fall of 1976. The middle school combined grades 6-8 from Darby, Jackson and Monroe. The brick one-story structure consists of 50,000 square feet. It is situated on the same 46 acres of land with the high school. The architects were Kellman and Smith.

The first school was conducted in 1818 in a log house. The second school was built of logs and in 1853 a frame building was constructed just south of the log school. In 1874 a two room brick was erected. On January 21, 1893 a new high school costing $15,000 was dedicated. The first graduating class was in 1891. In 1901 the building caught fire and was rebuilt and completed in 1902 where it continued to serve as a high school until 1964. The grade school continued until 1971 when they were transported to Jackson or Monroe. The building was torn down in 1974.

Circleville Bible College was established in 1948, welcoming ten students to its campus located on East Ohio Street in Circleville. In 1966 the campus was moved to a 44-acre property east of Circleville on Route 22 and has grown to a student body of over 450 in 2005. The Mission of the college is to provide a Bible college education in the Wesleyan tradition, welcoming students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin.

The college is authorized to grant associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees by the Ohio Board of Regents. It is accredited by the Association of Biblical Higher Education and a candidate for accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Along with religious studies to prepare students for pasturing, missionary endeavors, youth ministry, child care, missionary nursing and church music, there is Opportunity for studying psychology, music education, teacher education and nursing.

The campus serves over 25 denominations and provides student housing in dorms and for married families in townhouses and mobile homes. The student-faculty ratio in 13:1, giving the opportunity for much interaction with professors.

CBC also offers an Adult Degree Education (AIM) Program whereby older adults attend classes one evening a week and receive a degree in various programs. There is also an extension site for these classes on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. Circleville Bible College is a member of the National Christian college Athletic Association, Division If and offers men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, men's baseball, as well as many opportunities for intramural sports on campus.

The campus consists of seven mail buildings, with the Melvin and Laura Maxwell Library located in the center of campus. The library was recently expanded in size and volumes and is open to the general public.

Anderson Insurance Group was established in 1979 under the name Anderson/Stevenson Insurance Agency. Terry Anderson and Steve Stevenson, both having 10 years of experience in the business at that time, decided to sell life insurance on their own. They converted 430 North Court Street into an office and started their venture with two agents and one secretary.

In May of 1982, Terry had the opportunity to expand and added the property/casualty side of the business. Debbie Williams joined the staff as a Property/Casualty agent in 1986. The agency continued to grow in sales and staff, so Terry saw the need to build a larger office. A 5200 square foot building, which was once a SOHIO Station, was completed in June of 1986. With a staff of 4 agents, 3 staff members, and the handprints of his daughter, Cindy Anderson, in the cement, he re-named it Anderson Insurance Group.

with many insurance needs - auto, home, life, health, estate planning, and financial planning. Terry has been awarded the distinguished Million Dollar Round Table recognition for the past 30 years. MDRT is an international association of the world's best life insurance and financial service professionals.

Our agency has many goals and at the top of the list is continued growth. For over 36 years, Terry has serviced the community along with Steve Stevenson and Sam Reeser. Debbie Williams has now been with the agency for 19 years and Cindy Moats, Terry's daughter, joined the agency in 2000 as an agent. Nedra Betts took over the accounting in 2002 from Rachel Bell who retired after 19 years.

Terry sums it up by adding, "It's been a great experience with this profession in working with people and their needs. We are really excited about the coming future."

In 1925, Frank Berger, a prominent farmer and cattleman, bequeathed land and funding for his dream, the creation of a community hospital. Because he and his wife, Sarah, were concerned about the well-being of others in Pickaway County, not only was a portion of the estate appointed for building, furnishing and providing equipment for Berger Hospital, but also for its support. There were others who shared the Bergers' dream; among them, "Circleville's Favorite Son," Ted Lewis.

The dream came true on June 29, 1930, when Berger Hospital opened its doors. It was of Mediterranean architecture with rough yellow-brick walls and a red-tiled roof. All of the patients' rooms, with a total of 23 beds, were furnished by societies and individuals. Many of them in memory of dear ones, including the maternity ward which was not only furnished, but also financed, by Ted and Adah Lewis in memory of his father.

The staff of the original Berger Hospital consisted of all the physicians and surgeons living in Pickaway County who were also members of the Pickaway County Medical Society. Miss Marie Robertson, the first Superintendent of Berger Hospital, who had worked in some of the largest and most renowned hospitals in the United States, said that Berger Hospital was a gem in a perfect setting and a blessing to the people of Pickaway County.

In 1949, a joint agreement between the City of Circleville and the Pickaway County Commissioners made Berger Hospital a city/county owned and operated hospital. A few years later, in 1954, work began on an obstetrics wing. Ten years later, the need for a new obstetrics wing arose and following its construction, the original wing was converted and utilized as the Emergency Department. The growth continued when, in 1976, a bond issue was passed for the construction of a new hospital facility. On December 17, 1979, the building we currently know as Berger Hospital opened and the original 1930 building was then torn down. In 2005, the completion of construction of a 45,000 square foot medical office building and a 15-bed same day surgery center marked significant growth for the organization. This year a new cancer care center will also be developed. An Ambulatory Care Center is currently under review for development in northern Pickaway County on Route 104. In addition, property in the South Bloomfield/Ashville area is expected to be the site of a second Berger Hospital based on current population growth predictions.

At this writing, Berger is celebrating its 75th anniversary. What was once a 23-bed hospital is now a 95-bed acute care hospital within a health care system. The Berger Health System's various affiliates include Pickaway Health Services, a multi-specialty physician group with offices in Circleville, Laurelville, Commercial Point and Ashville; The Women's Health Center; The Outpatient Diagnostic Center; The Clyde I. Deffenbaugh Occupational Health Center; The Maternity Center at Berger Hospital; The Rehabilitation Center at Berger Hospital; Hospice of Pickaway County; Pickaway Professional Services (Anesthesia Group); Circle of Caring; and Hocking-Pickaway Laundry Service, and the Berger - -OU-Chillicothe Nursing Program.

Needless to say, growth and changes come at a cost. In an editorial column in the Circleville Herald on June 27, 1930, appeared the prediction that "...as years pass, Berger Hospital will pay for itself many times over, if not in dollars and cents, then in the hearts and souls of our people." The truth in this prediction is evident not only in the care and services provided by Berger Health System today, but also in the 75 years of steadfast and true dedication by the community to Frank and Sarah Berger's dream.

John J. Brehmer was the son of Jacob Brehmer, a German immigrant. John grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio and worked in several Ohio rose nurseries including the Reigel nursery in Adelphi, Ohio before establishing his own business.

In 1886, he purchased 11 acres of land of the east end of Circleville, Ohio and established Brehmer Greenhouses. The location was on Sumpter Avenue which at that time went south from Mound Street to Ohio Street. The business was a combined nursery and florist shop.

After four years, John relocated to the old fairgrounds on the Folsom place. It was on the east side of Court Street across from the old residence of R.L. Brehmer, Sr. which is at 581 North Court. Business continued on this site for 13 years. John then purchased land at the present location of 800 North Court Street in 1902. This consisted of 2.5 acres, including a two-room brick farm house, a typical period peg and pin barn, and a potato cellar. All are still on the site.

In 1903, three glass greenhouses and one glass lean-to were built by John J. Brehmer. Twelve thousand square feet were under glass. In front of the biggest greenhouse was an office and workroom. From this room was a ladder down to the furnace which he also built. The stoke hole, as he called it, used logs for fuel. The logs were harvested from local woods during the summer. The furnace fed into the walls of the greenhouses which were made of brick and were hollow. The hot gases from the burning wood circulated through the walls, heating them and the houses, before being exhausted through a vertical chimney.

J.J. Brehmer had a black horse named Babe that he used for all deliveries. The horse pulled either a flat bed wagon or a covered van that had ledges on both sides to hold flats of flowers for the cemeteries. Before Decoration (Memorial) Day, Mr. Brehmer would drive his wagon around to neighboring communities and ring the wagon bell. People would come out and pick the flowers they wanted for the cemetery and John would travel to the grave sites to plant them.

; business to a Jack Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell went rg. bankrupt within two years and the business was : sold at a Sheriff's sale. Robert L. (Bob) Brehmer, Sr., who was the son of J.J. Brehmer and owned a

Ford agency in town, bought the greenhouse back. Raymond G. Groce became the grower-in-residence at the old farm house on the greenhouse property. An alarm system was wired into the house so that if the temperature in the greenhouses became dangerously low the alarm would sound. This became valuable on several occasions when the boiler malfunctioned in the middle of the night. It saved several crops of flowers.

Bob Brehmer enjoyed cross-breeding carnations for new hybrids. One of his notable successes was a large fragrant white carnation named Shangri-la. It was written up in all the grower's publications by the Ohio Florist's Association. For several years, Bob propagated thousand of cuttings and shipped them to growers all over the country. Brehmer Greenhouses continued to grow carnations until 1989, when records showed that it became more costly to grow carnations than to buy wholesale carnations shipped from Central America. The business was one of the last to grow carnations east of the Mississippi River.

Another success was Bob's famous Mortgage Lifter tomato. It was a cross between a Ponderosa and a Rutger. The result was a large low acid, meaty tomato. Some weighted over five pounds when mature. People came from as far as West Virginia to purchase Mortgage Lifter plants.

Bob Brehmer was a charter member of the Ohio Florist's Association, served on the board, and became the third president. Brehmer Greenhouses also became a member of Florists' Telegraph Delivery Association (FTD) in 1935 and remains a member today. Bob was involved in the greenhouse business until his death at age 91.

His son, Robert L. (Bud) Brehmer, Jr. returned to Circleville after World War IJ. Bud became a co-partner in the business, along with Joseph F. Bell, who married Bud's sister, Elsie Ann. Bud and Joe operated the greenhouse until 1986 when they decided to retire.

The greenhouses were sold to a previous employee, Pete Cherrington, who worked for Bud and Joe during high school and then became the grower-in-residence. Bud stated that it felt as if he was selling the business to a family member. Pete, his wife Sheran, and their daughter, Connie Ramey, have operated Brehmer Greenhouses from 1986 to the present time.

Holiday customers have always found the greenhouses filled with seasonal plants such as Christmas poinsettias, fragrant Easter lilies, or assorted bedding plants for spring planting.

James Ward and William Martin Miller were engaged in business at Ward & Miller Grain Company when they recognized the need for a bank to serve the community's financial needs. Farmers, who had been using the Grain Company as a bank, and other merchants and citizens of the community, could now take advantage of a full service banking institution. Thus, The Citizens Bank of Ashville was organized in 1894. Work commenced in May 1894 for the new bank building. By August 1894, the new safe had arrived and the bank furniture was in place. The doors opened for business on August 2, 1894.

Articles of Incorporation were filed on June 17"1918, with the State of Ohio, when the bank was reorganized from a private bank to a state bank. With the incorporation, ownership of the bank was transferred from the individual owners through a trustee to The Citizens Bank of Ashville as a corporation.

Mr. E.W. Seeds joined The Citizens Bank in 1918 and was CEO for over 50 years before retiring in 1973. He was followed by Eugene Wilson who operated in this capacity until his retirement in 1987, when Calvin Gebhart was appointed President/CEO.

The Citizens Bank during 1920s-1930's. E.W. Seeds is standing in the doorway with other employees, Ethel Allison Fridley, Fred Hines, and unknown gentleman.

During the depression, President Roosevelt declared a bank holiday March 6, 1933, which continued through March 9, 1933. The bank holiday affected all financial institutions causing them to close their doors until they were licensed to reopen. The Citizens Bank received its license to reopen March 15, 1933.

The bank went through a major renovation in 1973 when the Helser Hardware Store next door and the bank building were combined to form one building. In 1979, the drive thru facility was built where Frank Oakes and Joe Reis' Union 76 Station had been. The Commercial Point Branch was opened in 1986, followed by the Circleville branch in 1990. In 1998 the Commercial Point Branch moved into the new bank building at 1 Main Street.

The Citizens Bank has seen many changes and innovations in the past 100 plus years. In 1894, the bank functioned with 2 employees; gaslights, hand posted entries, and showed a total asset value of $113,585.00. Today, our asset size is $86 million. We offer our customers online banking, bill paying, telephone banking, ATM services, as well as traditional customer service.

We have watched our community grow and prosper. The main driving force behind the bank's success has been to remain community minded, serving the financial needs of the community and providing friendly, courteous service that is typical of an independent financial institution. The community's success is truly the basis of our success.

Charles Gerhardt was born March 28, 1870, and grew up on his father's farm in Walnut Township. He attended Walnut Township Schools, Ohio Normal University (now Ohio Northern), BA and LLB and The Ohio State University, Advanced Law. In 1895 he took and passed the bar exam. Charles' law practice began in 1896 in Circleville where he formed a partnership with John Schleyer and ended at his death in 1946.