Madison Township in Ashville in Pickaway County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Slate Run, Ohio & US Events
1800-1850-1900-1950-2000
Photographed by Craig Doda, June 22, 2024
1. Slate Run, Ohio & US Events Marker
Slate Run Events
1805 Jacob Knepper and his family acquire this land from the federal government. The land is primarily virgin forest that must be cleared for farming.
1852 The Kneppers sell the farm to Isaac Fridley.
1856 The Fridleys build a Gothic Revival house, a style popular in publications of the time.
1867 The Fridleys sell the farm to Samuel Oman.
1881 The current barn is built, using locally cut timber and roofing slate from out of state.
1889 The Omans sell the property to Charles Bigelow.
1907 The Bigelows sell the property to the White family.
1930s Electricity becomes available to residents of this rural area.
1964 Heirs of the Whites sell the farm to Metro Parks. Slate Run Metro Park eventually exceeds 1700 acres.
1981 Slate Run Living Historical Farm opens to the public after research and extensive restoration of the buildings and the purchase of furnishings, farm equipment and livestock.
Ohio Events
1803 Ohio enters the union as the 17th state. Ohio's land is largely untamed wilderness. Indians still claim parts of northern and northwestern Ohio.
1810 Pickaway County is organized and named
this page online
1825-1832 The Ohio and Erie Canal is built, connecting nearby Canal Winchester and Groveport with Lake Erie with the Ohio River. The canal transforms the previously isolated economy.
1837 Ohio's Oberlin College is the first college in America to admit men, women, and minorities on an equal basis.
1873 The Ohio State University is founded under the provisions of the 1862 Land Grant Act. The campus was rural at the time, located two miles from the northern edge of Columbus.
1876 The Scioto Valley Railway comes to nearby towns, bringing rail transportation to within a few miles of this farm.
1910 Ohio's urban population exceeds its rural population for the first time.
1845 Metro Parks is established to preserve natural areas.
1980 Ohio's urban population is forty times greater than its rural population.
US Events
1803 President Thomas Jefferson authorizes the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark set out to explore the uncharted land later in the year.
1811-1838 Construction begins on the National Road (Route 40) in Maryland, and takes 14 years to reach Columbus. The road eventually stretches
Photographed by Craig Doda, June 22, 2024
2. Metro Parks and Living History Kiosk
1834 Cyrus McCormick invents a mechanical reaper that speeds the harvest of wheat and other grains. The reaper allows farmers to grow and harvest more grain to feed the growing city populations.
1844 Samuel Morse sends the first telegraph message. Telegraph systems provide faster and easier communication, even in rural areas.
1861-1865 The Civil War causes a labor shortage on Ohio farms resulting in higher prices for farm goods. Farmers respond by buying the latest labor-saving farm machinery.
1869 The transcontinental railroad is completed, providing continuous railroad transportation across the United States. Railroads are the largest business interest in the nation during the late 1800s. Ohio farmers face increasing competition from western farmers as a result of the railroad.
1876 Alexander Graham Bell introduces the telephone. This easy-to-use invention is rapidly adopted in urban areas, but takes decades to become available in rural areas.
1879 Milan, Ohio native Thomas Edison designs the first practical electric light. Many other inventions using electricity follow, but it will be decades before electricity
Photographed by Craig Doda, June 22, 2024
3. Slate Run Living Historical Farm Sign
1893 An nationwide economic depression causes farm prices to fall and leaves one in five workers jobless.
1903 Dayton natives Orville and Wilbur Wright complete the first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1912 The 'unsinkable' Titanic collides with an iceberg and sinks.
1914-1918 World War 1 begins. America enters the war in 1917.
1913 Henry Ford's Model T is mass-produced on a moving assembly line, making automobiles affordable to many more Americans. Few people foresee that the internal combustion engine will eventually replace horses as power on the farm.
1920 The first commercial radio broadcasts take place in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
1920 Women achieve the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment.
1929-1939 The Great Depression. Worldwide economic collapse leads to 25 percent unemployment in the United States, massive foreclosures, extremely low prices for farm products, and widespread hunger.
1939-1945 World War II. America enters the war in 1941. After the war, millions move from farms to work in industry. Widespread adoption of tractors finally replaces draft horses on the farm.
1947 Bell Labs invents the transistor, which eventually leads to the Bell Labs invents the transistor, development of the circuit and computer chip.
1950 - 1953 The Korean War
1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers the stirring "I Have a Dream" speech to 200,000 civil rights supporters in Washington, D.C..
1963 John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Worldwide, millions of people watch this event on television.
1964-1975 The Vietnam War
1969 Apollo 11 lands on the moon. Americans are the first to walk on its surface.
1981 IBM invents the personal computer.
Erected by Metro Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1805.
Location. 39° 45.224′ N, 82° 50.853′ W. Marker is in Ashville, Ohio, in Pickaway County. It is in Madison Township. It can be reached from Marcy Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9130 Marcy Rd, Ashville OH 43103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this 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: Changes for a Better Life (here, next to this marker); Community Ties (here, next to this marker); Compare 1880s Farm and Family Life With Yours (here, next to this marker); Timber Farming (here, next to this marker); Metro Parks and Living History (here, next to this marker); Blackburn / Wesner Bridge (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Blackburn / Wesner Bridge (approx. 0.6 miles away); This Sandstone (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ashville.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 3, 2024, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 305 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 3, 2024, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
