634 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The custodian reports that during the
year twenty-two thou-
sand visitors to the park have
registered; and he estimates that
fully as many more did not register,
making at least forty-four
thousand people who visited the park
during the year. This is
the largest number of visitors in a
single year in the history of
the park. This may be due, in part, to
the improved road from
Hillsboro to Peebles, which passes by
the park.
(Signed) W. H. COLE,
WM. C. MILLS.
Committee.
President Johnson: The President made
an ex-
periment in the appointment of
Committees last year.
It seemed the Preble County Historical
Society wished
to act, as an organization, as the
Committee on Fort St.
Clair, our good friend Mr. McPherson
conveying the re-
quest. The President acted accordingly,
and would like
to hear from Mr. McPherson on Fort St.
Clair, and the
manner in which the plan worked out.
Mr. McPherson stated that he had no
report on that
phase of activities at Fort St. Clair.
He then read the
Report of the Committee on Fort St.
Clair, as follows:
FORT ST. CLAIR
Since January 1, 1926, the Preble County
Historical Society
has been the committee in charge of Fort
St. Clair Park. As
chairman of that organization I have
this opportunity to present
a report as follows:
As a matter of information I shall
present a few details
which should prove of interest to many
of our members. Fort
St. Clair is located about one mile
southwest of Eaton, Preble
county, and borders upon State Route No.
122. It was there that
Kentucky riflemen, forming a portion of
St. Clair's army, fought
an engagement on November 6, 1792, with Indians under
direct
leadership of the famous Little Turtle. A captain,
sergeant, and
four privates fell in this engagement
and lie buried in properly
marked graves adjoining the site of the stockade. A
monument
erected to their memory by Major W. H.
Ortt, of our Society,
was dedicated, with fitting ceremony, on
November 6, 1922. Mr.
Forty-First Annual Meeting 635
C. B. Galbreath, Secretary of this
Society, was present and de-
livered the dedicatory address.
In the fall of 1921, the Preble County Historical Society
was organized and this small group of
individuals set about to
induce the state to purchase the site of
Fort St. Clair and im-
prove it into a park worthy of consideration. After an
intensive
campaign, this aim was successfully
achieved and the Legislature,
in the late winter of 1922-1923,
appropriated $15,000.00 for that
purpose. Seventy-six acres were
purchased at a cost of $10,-
ooo.oo, and $5,000.00 additional was
appropriated for buildings
and roadways. Title to this tract of
land was vested in the State
of Ohio in the fall of 1923 and placed
under the control of the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society.
Since that time buildings have been
erected, driveways con-
structed, and the grounds fenced,
improved and beautified in
numerous ways. Eleven acres were planted
to trees in the spring
of 1925
by the State Forestry Department. This
field of trees
is growing rapidly and is intended to
stand as a model of forest
propagation in that section. The highway
leading to the park
entrance from State Route No. 122 was improved a
year ago,
jointly by the State and County. It is
now regularly maintained
by the county system.
On March 15, 1926, Mr. and Mrs. Homer
Charles were em-
ployed as park custodians and we feel
that we have been most
fortunate in our choice. Mr. and Mrs.
Charles have been diligent
in their efforts to please the public
during this season, and it is
certain that the popularity of the park
has been increased by
their zeal.
During the present season many
improvements have been
made at the park. A considerable stretch
of roadways has been
graveled and some regraveled. A fine
group of playground ap-
paratus and swings were recently
installed--the gift of our gen-
erous Major Ortt. Many tables and
benches were placed in the
park this summer as gifts from various
organizations of the
county. Four horse-shoe courts were also
built and equipped.
Two one-inch field pieces, or light
artillery, were recently secured
for us through our Congressman, Hon. Roy
G. Fitzgerald, and
now stand at the park entrance. A
contingent of small World
War trophies, recently awarded to Preble
county, has been re-
ceived and will be placed in our museum.
We understand more
will come soon.
Early last spring we secured the
services of Miss Elusina
Lazenby, of the Ohio State University, a
landscape expert, and
we began a landscaping program to
embrace the park entrance
and the proximity of the newly-erected
residence buildings. Con-
636 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
siderable planting was done in the
spring and the program will be
renewed next spring. We have had the
entire park placed to blue-
print and the landscaping program will
be continued under Miss
Lazenby's direction.
Two small bridges will soon be built in
the park from an
appropriation of $300 from the last
Biennial Assembly.
We have been planning recently for the
erection of a shelter
house in the park. The public demand for
such a building has
been so insistent recently that we are
anxious to provide for this
near necessity. A committee has been
working on the matter,
which is now in the hands of our
architect, Mr. Hiestand, of
Eaton. When his estimate for our
building is complete, we hope
to have it embodied in our next budget
request. We are planning
to erect a building which will be
adequate for future needs, as
well as a credit to the park.
Since last spring the Preble County
Historical Society has
completed a number of improvements at
the park and paid for
them from its own funds. Chief among
these were: cement-
block poultry house, $170; cement
open-top rear porch and side-
walks, $35; shrubbery for landscaping, $20; clover and
timothy
seed for sowing fourteen acres, $35;
spouting, ditching and
piping, $17. In addition to this we have
paid freight charges on
fifteen hundred forest trees for
replanting our project, freight
on two pieces of artillery and the war
trophies. We have also
been paying, monthly a portion of the
custodian's salary. In
order to provide funds for these things,
we gave benefit picture
shows and an ice cream social, which
latter effort netted us about
$120. We also
prevailed upon more than fifty representative
citizens of our county to pledge $5.00
annually for three years
for improvements at the park. This was
easily accomplished and
these donors thereby feel a keener
interest in the park.
Probably the most pleasing and
reassuring feature of this
report comes now when we report the
interest manifested by the
general public in the park. Considering
the fact that this has
been the first full season during which
the park has been open,
and then not to its fullest extent, the
public response has been be-
yond our highest hopes.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles report, through
conservative estimate,
that 15,000 persons have visited the
park during the season --
thus far -- from
April 1 to September 15. They report twenty-
seven reunions, thirty-five picnics, one
hundred small group
picnics, and one convention session --
that of the State Conven-
tion of Universalist Churches, in June.
They state that not
less than fourteen thousand automobiles
have driven through
the park this summer. On different
Sundays, group gatherings
Forty-First Annual Meeting 637
have brought more than one hundred
persons to the park on
a single day. Three thousand three hundred and
thirty-six names
have been secured on a register which
has been offered to the
public at such times as the custodians
could carry it to them.
When the shelter house is completed, the
register will be available
permanently.
Our custodians report no complaints or
criticisms; that the
public is delighted; and practically
every reunion voted to return
next season. We can safely predict that
this park will be even
more popular next summer. To prove this,
recent reunions and
gatherings have taken up collections
totalling more than one hun-
dred dollars, which has been presented
to us for the purpose of
equipping the shelter house and museum.
The committee feels elated at the early
success of your park
Fort St. Clair, and most cordially
invites you to visit it and en-
joy its natural beauty.
(Signed) H. R. MCPHERSON.
Mr. Wood stated that it is very unusual
for a com-
mittee in charge of a property of the
Society to pay out
money, and secure money for the
property from others;
that he believed the Society should
tender a vote of
thanks to the Preble County Historical
Society. He
moved:
That this Society extend a vote of
thanks to the Preble
County Historical Society as a mark of
appreciation of the un-
selfish work of that Society in caring
for Fort St. Clair, and that
the Secretary be directed to notify the
proper officials of the
Preble County Historical Society of this
action by our Society.
Mrs. Dryer seconded the motion. Carried.
Mr. H. R. McPherson next read the
Report of the
Committee on
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
as follows:
As Chairman of the Historical Society
Committee, I am,
indeed, sorry to report little progress
on behalf of this committee
during the past year. Such a state of
inactivity, on the part of