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Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society in
connection with the articles published.
(Applause.)
SCHOENBRUNN.
Rev. J. E. Weinland, Chairman of the
Committee,
stated that he had not realized the
importance of a
written report, but would make a short
verbal report.
"Schoenbrunn is the oldest village
site in the State. For
years it was believed that Marietta was
the oldest town
in the State of Ohio, and then the fact
was unearthed
that in 1772 a town was established
about a mile and a
half from the present City of New
Philadelphia. This
town was named Schoenbrunn --
'beautiful spring' --
and by the end of the first year there
had been erected
sixty houses of squared timber, beside
other houses and
lodges for the Indians. The work to us
is astonishing,
and a great deal has been written about
it during the
past two years. Two years ago the State
set aside
$10,000 for the purchase of the site;
the committee pur-
chased twenty-four and one-half acres,
upon which is a
small building intended for use as the
home of the care-
taker. Our county historical society
has spent $7,200
for current expenses in connection with
this property.
With the approval of the State
Department of Educa-
tion we have mailed little pamphlets to
schools, and
also to churches, giving a short
history of the settle-
ment. Donations have been solicited
from pupils in the
schools, and others, to erect a church
and a school
house on the sites of the first church
and first school
house in the Northwest Territory. These
buildings
will be, so far as possible, duplicates
of the original
structures. The Missionary who
established this little
Thirty-Ninth Annual Meeting 589
city in 1772 wrote the first
school-book used in Ohio --
copies of it are extant -- a spelling
book in Delaware
and English, with a number of pages in
the back of the
book containing religious information.
We are proud
of the reputation of that first school
teacher, many of
whose books are in the library at
Dover. During the
past summer we charted the two main
streets of the old
town; quite a number of relics were
unearthed after be-
ing covered for one hundred and forty
years -- pieces
of china, little household articles,
pieces of flint, joints,
sills and nails from the first church,
bones of various
animals including the deer, elk, bear
and raccoon, and
a great many articles of intense
interest to those who
have seen them. It is hoped that with
the aid of this
Society we can secure a further
appropriation for the
beautifying of the town, dredging a
part of the lagoon
which extends past the spring where the
Indians would
come in their canoes and stop to attend
church at the
Mission. I am sure that when that place
is once com-
pleted and buildings are erected there
will be as many
visitors, if not more, at the site of
the first town in the
Ohio country as at any other place in
the state. I hope
it may aid in bringing attention to the
history of our
county and state. I have a number of
pamphlets the
committee has had printed, and any one
desiring a copy
can secure it after the meeting.
(Applause.)
Chairman Campbell stated that three
Trustees should
be elected to succeed Messrs. George F.
Bareis, Be-
man G. Dawes and Edwin F. Wood, whose
terms ex-
pire.
Dr. F. C. Furniss moved, That George F.
Bareis,
Beman G. Dawes and Edwin F. Wood be
elected Trus-
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Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
tees to succeed themselves, and that
the Secretary be
instructed to cast the vote of the
Society for them.
The motion was seconded by Director W.
C. Mills,
and carried. The Secretary cast the
vote of the So-
ciety as directed, and Messrs. Bareis,
Dawes and Wood
were declared elected Trustees for the
term of three
years.
On motion the meeting recessed, to meet
at 2:30
P. M.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
President Campbell stated that Rev. J.
E. Weinland
would present the bell that rang and
tolled over the
first church built west of Pittsburgh.
Rev. Weinland: "It was interesting
to discover,
about two years ago, that in the Museum
of the Mora-
vian Historical Society at Nazareth,
Pennsylvania,
there rested the first bell rung to
call people to worship
God in the Northwest Territory; the
bell that hung in
the belfry of the first church in what
is now the State
of Ohio, built at Schoenbrunn--about a
mile and a half
from New Philadelphia. An inquiry was
sent to the
officers of that organization, asking
whether they
would consent to the presentation of
that bell to this
state, the bell to be hung in a
reconstructed church to
be built at Schoenbrunn. After the
matter had been
discussed, they agreed to make the
presentation; they
considered it of sufficient importance
to make it the
main matter of business at a meeting
held last week,
and the bell was formally turned over
to the State of
Ohio, and I take great pleasure to-day
in formally pre-
senting that bell to this Society and
to the State. It
will be shipped just as soon as the
Directors of the His-