Ohio History Journal
DELAWARE IN THE
DAYS OF 1812.
ALICE HILLS.
[Miss Hills is a member of the Daughters
of the American Revolu-
tion, Delaware, Ohio, Chapter, for which
she prepared the following bit
of local history.]
In the war of 1812, Ohio or a part of
it, was the scene of
much military action in which our own
country and town played
no small part. Delaware, situated so
nearly in the centre of the
state about half way between
Chillicothe, the capital and the
scene of operations around Sandusky and
Detroit, soon became
the principal route for troops going
from the Ohio River and
Kentucky to the Lakes and Canada.
In February, 1813, General William Henry
Harrison on his
way from Cincinnati to Sandusky (now
Fremont), marched with
one division of his army through
Chillicothe and Franklinton,
following the trail along the Scioto
River and south of Strat-
ford crossed over to the Olentangy. Here
in what is known as
Cole's cemetery, are buried two of his
soldiers who died on this
march.
On reaching Delaware, the army entered
the town by the
principal road which skirted the river
bank and which after-
wards became Henry Street; they marched
from there on up the
street which is now Sandusky, named for
the town which was
Harrison's destination.
Their route through Delaware along Henry
Street was just
a little east of the Deer Lick, which
was known to the early set-
tlers and to the Indians as the Medicine
Water but which was
later called the Sulphur Spring. As this
Spring was far famed
for the Medicinal qualities of its
waters, what was more natural
than that there should be a tavern near
by where travelers could
rest and drink the waters.
This old tavern is interesting to us for
more than one rea-
son: besides being the point around
which most of the business
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