Hendrysburg

Hendrysburg. The Historic National Road in Ohio. The village of Hendrysburg was laid out by Charles Hendry in 1828, shortly after the National Road was completed through this area. Mr. Hendry had erected a steam flouring mill which attracted many people to the area, giving rise to the laying out of the town. Many houses were erected along a line of the National Road and extended over a quarter of a township section. The old log houses first constructed were removed and frame and brick buildings took their places. It is claimed that the first building in Hendrysburg, other than the log cabins, was built by William Tidball in which he ran a mercantile business. , (photo captions:), ·"McCartney Tavern", (later Pioneer Tavern) was built in 1826 by John McCartney, a native of Ireland, born in 1789, about a half mile west of Hendrysburg. Also, in 1826 and near the tavern, McCartney built an S-bridge which spans Spencer Creek. The bridge was actually straightened in 1933 and went on to be used for several years afterward. This S Bridge was buried in a "fill of earth made necessary by the road improvements." Accounts at the time stated that every effort was made to save it, but the expense involved was too great to warrant diverting the course of the highway. It was never totally demolished. Original stones have been encased/covered with concrete and may still be found on the side of the bank. , ·A plank or corduroy road was made by placing logs perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result was an improvement over impassable road or dirt roads. , ·William Lawrence Boyd (1895-1972) was born in Hendrysburg, OH and became an American film actor known for portraying Hopalong Cassidy. In 1935, he was offered the supporting role of Red Country in the movie Hop-Along Cassidy, but asked to be considered for the title role and won it. The original Hopalong Cassidy character, written by Clarence E. Mulford for pulp fiction, was changed from a hard-drinking, rough-living wrangler to its eventual incarnation as a cowboy hero who did not smoke, swear, or drink alcohol (the drink of choice being sarsaparilla) and who always let the bad guy start the fight. Although Boyd "never branded a cow or mended a fence, cannot bulldog a steer," and disliked Western music, he became indelibly associated with the Hopalong character and, like rival cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, gained lasting fame in the Western film genre. The Hopalong Cassidy series ended in 1948 after 66 films, with Boyd producing the last 12.