Mount Washington in Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Garard / Martin Station, 1790

Photographed By Melanie Born, April 15, 2009

1. Garard/Martin Station, 1790

Inscription.
Site of the first fortified settlement in Anderson Township and one of the first in the Virginia Military District. John Garard and Joseph Martin were the founders of this Station, who, with Elias Garard, Joseph Frazee, and others, came by two flatboats with families and livestock from Garards Fort, Pennsylvania, via the Ohio and Little Miami rivers. They landed here on December 23, 1790, and proceeded to erect the fortification.

Other early inhabitants include the families of Captain James Flinn, Stephen Betts, Joseph Williamson, Stephen Davis, Richard Hall, Jacob Bachofen, and John Corbly, Jr. Three years later, in 1793, Anderson Township was officially established with the first Township officers coming from the Garard/Martin Station. A private militia was formed to protect early settlers from Indian attacks until well after the Greenville Treaty of 1795. The Station was later disbanded as new settlements in the area emerged.

Erected 1993 by Greater Anderson Township Bicentennial Commission, Inc. and the Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 9-31.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1775.

Location.

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39° 5.684′ N, 84° 24.667′ W. Marker is in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. It is in Mount Washington. Marker is on Elstun Road. Near the Little Miami State Scenic River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cincinnati OH 45230, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Columbia Baptist Cemetery / Columbia (approx. 1.2 miles away); Pioneer Pillar (approx. 1.3 miles away); Old Columbia Baptist Church and Meeting House (approx. 1.3 miles away); Columbia Presbyterian & Fulton Cemeteries / William Brown (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Church / The Founder (approx. 1.7 miles away); “Pigmeat” Jarrett (approx. 2.1 miles away); Hon. Henry Stanbery (approx. 2.2 miles away in Kentucky); Miller - Leuser Log House (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cincinnati.

Additional commentary.
1. Covalt Station
An historical marker commemorating Covalt Station sits on the ground propped against a large rock in the courtyard of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park, but its text is not known. The church is said to be located approximately on the ground once occupied by Covalt Station founded by Captain Abraham Covalt and his party from Washington (now Greene) County, PA.

Although published dates vary from 1788

Garard/Martin Station, 1790 Reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Melanie Born, April 15, 2009

2. Garard/Martin Station, 1790 Reverse

to 1789, even in his daughter's widely published memoir (Mrs. Mary Covalt Jones, widow of Joseph Jones), the online transcription of "Selected Goshen Baptist Church Minutes, 1773-1857, Washington [now Greene] County, PA" (http://www.usgwarchives.org/pa/greene/church.htm) reveal that Abraham Covalt and Lois, his wife, were given letters of dismission, November 28, 1789. Mary Jones states in her memoir that the Covalt party of eight families (which she names) left Pennsylvania on January 1st and arrived January 19th. Although she states 1788 while others state 1789, the Pennsylvania church record indicates the Covalt party of eight families traveled in January of 1790, and not earlier although Abraham Covalt himself had likely investigated the area in 1788 or 1789.

Mary's brother, Abraham Jr., was killed by Indians in June of 1790 which in and of itself proves the family was in Ohio by that date, and their father, Captain Abraham, was killed the following year, March 30, 1791. Covalt's Station "was considered important enough in 1791 to secure a garrison of twenty soldiers from Fort Washington." Therefore, Covalt Station, also in Anderson Township at the time, predates the Garard/Martin Station by nearly a year.

Although an historical marker clearly exists (an obscured photograph of it is on the St. Thomas pdf website), a clear photograph of it is not on this

Garard / Martin Station, 1790 Marker image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, June 22, 2023

3. Garard / Martin Station, 1790 Marker

site for historical markers, nor is it anywhere else to be found on the Internet, an omission that begs correction.

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest in the Historical Marker database. We regret you could not find a marker for Covalt's Station on our site. This could result from the marker now being missing, or simply that none of our dedicated volunteers has found it at its home in the court yard of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Perhaps you, or a later visitor to this site, will visit the church and, if the marker is still there, take a picture and preserve it here for the future.

— Submitted January 23, 2011, by Wilene Smith of Wichita, Kansas.

Garard / Martin Station, 1790 Marker Reverse image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, June 22, 2023

4. Garard / Martin Station, 1790 Marker Reverse

Credits. This page was last revised on July 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 13, 2009, by Melanie Born of Parma, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,296 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 13, 2009, by Melanie Born of Parma, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on June 28, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.