Plain City Historical Society - Plain City, Ohio

Historical Timeline:

Scroll down to view a chronological timeline of events in the history of Plain City, Ohio. Or you may jump to a year by clicking on these links:

	1803	Ohio became the 17th state. It is important to remember that this was less than 25 years after the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new government.
	1811	Tecumseh, a Chieftain of the Shawnee Tribe in what is now Ohio, worked to unite other Indian Tribes to oppose white expansion into the west in the early 1800's, but that dream was crippled when November 7, 1811, future President William Henry Harrison defeated the Shawnee people under Tecumseh at Tippecanoe Creek, Indiana. According to information from the U.S. Postal Service, prior to the platting of a town in the area there was a Post Office established near the town site on January 11, 1811. It is assumed that this is the Post Office referred to as Darby Creek in local histories. The first Postmaster was James Ewing.
	1813	Harrison and the Shawnee leader Tecumseh battle again at the Battle of Thames in Canada. Tecumseh was killed and the British lost their native allies. After Tecumseh's death, his brother "The Prophet" allegedly predicted that if Harrison was elected President he would die in office, and so would Presidents elected every twenty years thereafter. This was supposed to be in retaliation for Tecumseh's death. While there is no proof "The Prophet" ever said such a thing, the prediction proved true for Harrison and every twenty year President up to John F. Kennedy. The "curse of Tecumseh" became a part of popular local folk lore. A plaque on a boulder just east of Plain City on what is now State Route 161 furnished additional historical data: "Old Indian Trail, Blazed by Chief Tecumseh." This trail was later used by the Pony Express and became Post Road.
	1814	The man credited with being the founder of Plain City, is Isaac Bigelow, the son of Israel and Eunice (Kathan) Bigelow. He was born at Saratoga County, New York on August 25, 1797. At the age of seventeen in the year of 1814, he came on foot from Center County, Pennsylvania, to make payment for his father on land purchased from his uncle, the land where Plain City now stands. He returned to Pennsylvania to study medicine with his father Dr. Israel Bigelow.
	1816	Founded in 1812 Columbus became the capital of Ohio in 1816.
		As recently as 200 years ago, the area which is Plain City was dense forests, swamps and plains inhabited by the Mingo and Wyandot Indians. Big Darby Creek is named after a Wyandot Chief named Darby, who for a long time resided along the creek. At that time Big Darby Creek was a major north and south Indian trail and campsites were plentiful along its banks.
	1817	On July 17, 1815, Isaac Bigelow married Polly Bigelow, his first cousin, who now lived on this newly purchased Ohio land. He returned to Ohio in 1817 and located along Trickle Creek in Logan County.
	1818	Isaac Bigelow remained in Logan County one year and in 1818 came to Madison County and hired a surveyor, David Chapman, who laid out the town of Westminster. At the time Westminster was platted, most of the local area was included in Darby Township and the town lay wholly in Madison County. Ohio was a new and rapidly growing state and counties were being formed and reformed as development progressed. In 1810 Madison County was formed and included all of Darby Township and extended into part of what is now Union County. In 1820 Union County consisted of a portion of Madison, Delaware and Logan Counties and land which was formerly Indian territory. When Union County was formed, the north line of Madison County was moved to its present location. Isaac was a physician and his family lived in Plain City until his death in 1857 of Pneumonia. Mrs. Bigelow died here on December 12, 1863. Isaac and Polly had eight children all born at Plain City.
	1823	The first official acts of record for Westminster are in 1823. At that time the town was resurveyed and additional territory incorporated. It was also in 1823 that the original name of Westminster was changed to Pleasant Valley. Growth was slow and uncertain in the early years of Pleasant Valley and it seemed that one of our neighboring villages would outdo our struggling settlement. But Pleasant Valley had the advantage of being located on Post Road, over which many of the early emigrants moved on their way west. Businesses sprang up as the town began to develop.
	1828