New Albany in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Archibald's Mill

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

1. Archibald's Mill Marker (Side A)

Inscription.
In 1833, Archibald Smith (1803-83) began to build a sawmill a short distance east of here where a tributary enters Blacklick Creek. His work was soon destroyed, he wrote, by a “rise of water known as the great Fourth of July Flood.” Undaunted, he completed the mill the next year and used it to saw lumber from trees felled as he cleared land for cultivation.

Archibald's son, Dr. Isaac Newton Smith, described his father's mill as the first on Blacklick Creek. Dr. Smith recalled four mills on Blacklick and one each on Sugar Run and Rocky Fork Creeks. These mills, he noted, received some of the best oak, butternut, chestnut, and walnut timber in the area.

The era of water-powered sawmills in Plain Township lasted from 1833 to around the time of the Civil War. During that period, Plain Township's settlers exchanged log dwellings for comfortable frame houses.

Archibald moved from New Jersey to Plain Township with members of his family in 1818. Having had little formal schooling in New Jersey and none in Ohio, he taught himself practical skills. A carpenter by trade, he supervised the construction of locks, aqueducts,

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and bridges on the Ohio and Erie Canal between 1827 and 1833. The house he built at 6320 Kitzmiller Road stands as a fine example of early craftsmanship. A self-taught surveyor, he began providing the service in 1834 and his surveys of New Albany and Gahanna are still used. Archibald Smith's autobiography, written in the 1870s, is a valuable record of the lives of this area's pioneers.

Erected 1999 by New Albany Company, New Albany-Plain Township Historical Society, Friends of Blacklick Creek, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 24-25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1833.

Location. 40° 5.342′ N, 82° 46.971′ W. Marker is in New Albany, Ohio, in Franklin County. It is on Kitzmiller Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6000 Kitzmiller Road, New Albany OH 43054, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this

Archibald's Mill Marker (Side B) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

2. Archibald's Mill Marker (Side B)

marker is in the Scioto Valley

and in the Columbus Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Wagnor Cemetery (approx. 1.2 miles away); New Albany and Plain Township Veterans and First Responders Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Founders of New Albany (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Sylvester Ranney House (approx. 1½ miles away); Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts (approx. 1.6 miles away); Charleen & Charles Hinson Amphitheater (approx. 1.6 miles away); Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany (approx. 1.7 miles away); Raines Crossing at Rose Run Park (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Albany.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Smith’s Burying Ground: Pioneer Cemetery

Archibald Smith image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

3. Archibald Smith

(was approx. 1.1 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Archibald's Mill Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

4. Archibald's Mill Marker

Looking south along Kitzmiller Road.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 15, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,604 times since then and 43 times this year. Last updated on May 14, 2023, by Alex Krempasky of Obetz, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 15, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.