Reading City

Reading City

This, by far the largest village in Sycamore, containing nearly one-third of its entire population, is situated just east of Lockland, on the east side of the East fork of Mill creek, and upon the Dayton Short Line railroad and tlie Lebanon turnpike, about one and a half miles from the south. It is one of the oldest villages in the county, having been laid out February 2, 1804, by Abram Voorhees, one of the very earliest settlers in this part of the township. It is said, indeed, that lots or small tracts of ground for residence, was offered for sale here as early as 1798 and '99. The village has been more fortunate than other old villages in the Mill Creek valley, having risen to be the most populous village in the county. In 1830 it had a population of but two hundred, but in i860 had one thousand two hundred and thirty-five, in 1870, one thousand five hundred and seventy-five, and in 1880, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three. No other village in the county exhibits such a growth.

The great industry in Reading is the manufacture of ready made clothing, for which there are eleven shops here, employing more than a hundred hands, with a large weekly pay roll. Their product is disposed of mainly in Cincinnati, which is the greatest clothing mart in the world. There are also marble works, stone yards, and quarries, a cigar factory (formerly two sucli factories), several carriage and car manufactories, a planing mill and lumber yard, and other industries. From the founder the place took in early times the name of Vooheesetown.

In 1809 a teacher from Newport, Kentucky, subscrib-. ing himself "Robert Stubbs Philom," who was, or became the editor of Browne's Cincinnati Almanac, took a tour through parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the notes whereof were published in the almanacs for the next two years. As he neared Cincinnati on his return he passed through Reading, to which he gives the following notice:

From Lebaum I passed to Reading, a town laid out on the North fork of Mill creek by Mr. Abraham Voorheese ; on which account it is well known by the name of Voorheese-towu. Here are two or three taverns, and about twenty houses. The adjacent country is very thickly settled. Mill creek is a fine stream, on which are several mills ; and the bottoms through which it flows are of a very rich soil.

The Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul, in charge of the Rev. Fathers J. Brunnan and E. Fisher, is located in Reading. Its present church edifice was built in i860, at a cost of nine thousand dollars, upon the site of an old one, which was then torn down. A handsome pastoral residence is also owned by the church. Theschool-house belonging to the church, was built in 1863, and cost over three thousand dollars. It is occupied by a large parochial school, with four departments, and an attendance of about three hundred. The confraternities of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Rosary, also the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are connected with the church. The Mount Notre Dame Young Ladies' Boarding School, and the Catholic Institution, is situated near Reading.

The German Lutherans are also numerous in Reading. They have St. Paul's church, under the pastorate of the Rev. L. Buchold, and St. John's, ministered to by Rev. A. J. Spangenberg.

The pioneer church here, however, was the Presbyterian, which long since took its departure "beyond the Rhine," or to the west side of the canal, at Lockland, in connection with which its later history has been related. Its earlier annals, drawn from the same source, the historical discourse of Rev. W. A. Hutchison, are briefly as follows :

The Rev. Daniel Hayden, from 1817 to 1820, and possibly later it is thought, preached once or twice a month in a little brick school-house (sixteen by twentyfour), on the hillside in the eastern part of Reading, near or upon the present school lot. H e resided a mile east of Reading. Rev. L. G. Gaines, of Montgomery, preached about as often from 1820 until ihe Presbyterian church of Reading was organized Friday, August 29, 1823, with Jehiel and Margaret Day, John and Elizabeth Robertson, Robert Boal, jr., and Rebekah Bates as members, and Jehiel Day and Robert Boal, jr., as ruling elders. John Gambril was the first member received on profession; Ann and Jane Brecount were the second and third so received. A brick church was put up in 1825-6; the Rev. Benjamin Graves called as pastor March 25, 1S27; a notable "grove meeting," held sometime after, which resulted in the admission of fifty-seven members at a single service, and eighteen more within the next month ; another in a grove at Sharon in 1831, where seventy-five were converted ; a colony sent off to form a church at Sharon, July 2, 1836, to which the Reading pastor also m.inistered; and admission into Old School and New School wings sustained in January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, both, however, under amicable, written agreement, continued to occupy the same building, and each experiencing some growth. Each, in due time, had its own meeting-house, located not far apart.

In April, 1850, the Lockland Presbyterian church was organized, as a colony from the New School society in Reading; and the main growth of that branch in the two villages being here, the two New School societies were united October 14, 1870, Rev. Dr. J. G. Montfort, with Revs. T. F. Cortelym and James F. Gill, officiating at the union. I'.s history has since been that of the Reading and Lockland Presbyterian church, related in the history of Springfield township. Its property in Reading was deeded to the cemetery authorities, and the receiving vault in that "God's acre" is built of brick from the old church building.

this church from the time of his call, in 1827, until 1853, with the exception of an interval 1842-6, when the Revs. J. C. Lockwood and J. Wilkinson severally ministered unto it. Soon after his pastorate closed, the church ceased to hold services in Reading.

Meanwhile the Old School branch had successfully maintained its separate existence. It was formed January 3, 1839, under the auspices of the Rev. L. G. Gaines, of seven members - James G. and Margaret Mount, John and Margaret McGrew, David McFarland, Maria Robertson and Agnes Gormond. Mount and McFarland, with David Lee and John R. Dick - two of a band of eleven who joined a few days afterwards, were the first ruling elders. After ceasing to occupy the brick church jointly with their New School brethren, they met for a time in a neighboring and vacant log cabin, then in a brick dwelling owned by David Lee on Main street, and continued to meet there until 1843, when their own church building, still standing in Reading, near the site of the older Presbyterian edifice, was completed. For some years the society was united with that at Pleasant Ridge, and for three years from 1855 with the Montgomery Presbyterians. The church grew in numbers and influence for many years, and had not fallen seriously into decline when, following the union of the Old and New School wings at the general assemblies of 1869, the church at Reading was united with the New School branch at Lockland, October 14, 1870, under the union name of the Lockland and Reading Presbyterian church. Among the clergymen who ministered to the society during the generation of 1839--70, Mr. Hutchison enumerates the Rev. Messrs, Adrian Aten, S. J. Miller, H. R. Naylor, Samuel Cleland, Edward Wright, Samuel Hair, C. P. Jennings, John Stewart, John McRae, L. D. and S. S. Potter, W. H. Moore and James McGill. The last named of these was in the pastorate at the time of the union, and ministered for several months to the united congregation. He had been in charge of the Reading church as long before as 1853, but resigned to enter the service of the board of missions, and did not resume his pastorate until January, 1866. Since his retirement in 1871, the pastors of the church have been but two - the Revs. W. A. Hutchinson and S. C. Palmer. The rest of the story has been told in the history of Springfield township.

Source changes here: from 1789 History of Hamilton County Ohio with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, by Henry A. Ford and Kate B. Ford, published 1881; 1,375 words in this source stream.

Reading City

This, by far the largest village in Sycamore, containing nearly one-third of its entire population, is. situated just east of Lockland, on the east side of the East fork of Mill creek, and upon the Dayton Short Line railroad and the Lebanon turnpike, about one and a half miles from the south. It is one of the oldest villages in the county, having been laid out February 2, 1804, by Abram Voorhees, one of the very earliest settlers in this part of the township. It is said, indeed, that lots or small tracts of ground for residence, was offered for sale here as early as 1798 and '99. The village has been more fortunate than other old villages in the Mill Creek valley, having risen to be the most populous village in the county. In 1830 it had a population of but two hundred, but in 1860 had one thousand two hundred and thirty-five, in 1870, one thousand five hundred and seventy-five, and in 1880, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three. No other village in the county exhibits such a growth.

The great industry in Reading 'is the manufacture of ready made clothing, for which there are eleven shops here, employing more than a hundred hands, with a large weekly pay roll. Their product is disposed of mainly in Cincinnati, which is the greatest clothing mart in the world. There are also marble works, stone yards, and quarries, a cigar factory (formerly two such factories), several carriage and car manufactories, a planing mill 'and lumber yard, and other industries. From the founder the place took in early times the name of Vooheesetown.

In 1809 a teacher from Newport, Kentucky, subscribing himself "Robert Stubbs Philom," who was, or became the editor of Browne's Cincinnati Almanac, took a tour through parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the notes whereof were published in the almanacs for the next two years. As he neared Cincinnati on his return he passed through Reading, to which he gives the following notice:

From Lebaum I passed to Reading, a town laid out on the North fork of Mill creek by Mr. Abraham Voorheese; on which account it is well known by the name of Voorheese-town. Here are two or three taverns, and about twenty houses. The adjacent country is very thickly settled. Mill creek is a fine stream, on which are several mills ; and the bottoms through which it flows are of a very rich soil.

The Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul, in charge of the,Rev. Fathers J. Brunnan and E. Fisher, is located in Reading. Its present church edifice was built in 1860, at a cost of nine thousand dollars, upon the site of an old one, which was then torn down. A handsome pastoral residence is also owned by the church. The school-house belonging to the church, was built in 1863, and cost over three thousand dollars. It is occupied by a large parochial school, with four departments, and an attendance of about three hundred. The confraternities of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Rosary, also the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are connected with the church. The Mount Notre Dame Young Ladies' Boarding School, and the Catholic Institution, is situated near Reading.

The German Lutherans are also numerous in Reading. They have St. Paul's church, under the pastorate of the Rev. L. Buchold, and St. John's, ministered to by Rev. A. J. Spangenberg.

The pioneer church here, however, was the Presbyterian, which long since took its departure 'beyond the Rhine," or to the west side of the canal, at Lockland, in connection with which its later history has been related. Its earlier annals, drawn from the same source, the historical discourse of Rev. W. A. Hutchison, are briefly as follows:

The Rey.. Daniel Hayden, from 1817 to 1820, and possibly later it is thought, preached once or twice a month in a little brick school-house (sixteen by twentyfour), on the hillside in the eastern part of Reading, near or uponthepresentschool lot. He resided a mile east of Reading. Rey. L. G. Gaines, of Montgomery, preached about as often from 1820 until the Presbyterian church of Reading was organized Friday, August 29, 1823, with Jehiel and Margaret Dav, John and Elizabeth Robertson, Robert Boal, jr., and Rebekah Bates as members, and Jehiel Day and Robert Boal, jr., as ruling elders. John Gambril was the first member received on profession; Ann and Jane Brecount were the second and third so received. .A brick church was put up in 1825-6; the Rev. Benjamin Graves called as pastor March 25, 1827; a notable ''grove meeting," held sometime after, which resulted in the admission of fifty-seven members at a single service, and eighteen more within the next month; anotler in a grove at Sharon in 1831, where seventy-five were converted ; a colony sent off to form a church at Sharon, July 2, 1836, to which the Reading pastor also ministered; and admission into Old School and New School wings sustained in January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, both, however, under amicable, written agreement, continued to occupy the same building, and each experiencing some growth. Each, in due time, had its own meeting-house, located not far apart.

In April, 1850, the Lockland Presbyterian church was organized, as a colony from the New School society in Reading; and the main growth of that branch in the two villages being here, the two New School societies were united October 14, 1870, Rev. Dr. J. G. Montfort, with Revs. T. F. Cortelym and James F. Gill, officiating at the union. Its history has since been that of the Reading and Lockland Presbyterian church, related in the history of Springfield township. Its property in Reading was deeded to the cemetery authorities, and the receiving vault in that "God's acre" is built off brick from the old church building.

this church from the time of his. call, in 1827, until 1853, with the exception of an interval 1842-6, when the Revs. J. C. Lockwood and J. Wilkinson severally ministered unto it. Soon after his pastorate closed, the church ceased to hold services in Reading.

Meanwhile the Old School branch had successfully maintained its separate existence. It was formed January 3, 1839, under the auspices of the Rev. L. G, Gaines, of seven members - James G. and Margaret Mount, John and Margaret McGrew, David McFarland, Maria Robertson and Agnes Gormond. Mount and McFarland, with David Lee and JohmR. Dick - two. of a band of eleven who joined a few days afterwards, were the first ruling elders. After ceasing to occupy the brick church jointly with their New School brethren, they met for a time in a neighboring and vacant log cabin, then in a brick dwelling owned: by David Lee on Main street, and continued to meet there until 1843, when their own church building, still standing in Reading, near the site of the older Presbyterian edifice, was completed. * For some years the society was united with that at Pleasant Ridge, and for three years from 1855 with-.the Montgomery Presbyterians. The church grew in numbers and influence for many years, and had not fallen seriously

New School wings at the general assernblies af r&@g, the church at Reading was united-with the New School branch at Lockland, October 14, 18706, under the union name of the Lockland and Reading-Presbyterian church. Among the clergymen who ministeréd to the sociéty during the generation of 1839-70, Mr... Hutchison enumerates the Rev, Messrs Adrian Aten, S. J. Miller, H. R..

Naylor, Samuel Cleland, Edward Wright, Samuel Hair, C. P. Jennings, John Stewart, John McRae, L. D. and S. S. Potter, W. H. Moore and James McGill. The last named of these was in the pastorate at the time of the union, and ministered for several months to the united congregation. He had been in charge of the Reading church as long before as 1853, but resigned to enter the service of the board of missions, and did not resume his pastorate until January, 1866... Since his retirement in 1871, the pastors of the church have been but two - the Revs. W. A. Hutchinson and S. C. Palmer. The 'rest of 'the story has been told in the history of Springfield township.