The Village of Trenton / The Elk Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery

The Village of Trenton, also, The Elk Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery. . , Side A: The Village of Trenton , Platted 1816. Incorporated as Village 1895. Became a city 1971, Trenton's founder, Michael Pearce, came to the area in 1801. The original village of 33 lots was named Bloomfield. When the post office was established in 1820, it was named Trenton to honor the founder's home state of New Jersey. Pearce's son-in-law, Squier Littell, was the first resident doctor in Butler County. Originally settled by the English, Trenton saw a migration of Germans by 1840. By 1851, the farming community became a grain center with the introduction of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad. Further development occurred when a franchise was granted to operate interurban electric traction cars through the village in 1896. Early commercial endeavors were Dietz, Good and Company grain elevator, Trenton Foundry, and Magnode Corporation. By 1991, the largest industries were Miller Brewing Company and Cinergy/Cincinnati Gas and Electric., Side B: The Elk Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery , Elder Stephen Gard, Michael Pearce's son-in-law, organized Trenton's first church, Elk Creek Baptist, in 1802. It was the earliest church organized in Butler County. Deacon Michael Pearce, founder of Trenton, donated ground for both the church and cemetery. The first burial was that of Phebe Gard, Stephen Gard's sister, in 1804. Both Michael Pearce and his wife Phebe Pearce are buried there. Elder Gard was the pastor for 39 years and went on to found many of the Baptist churches in the Miami Valley. The cemetery is now called the Pioneer Cemetery and is no longer used for burials. In the beginning, a log building served the small congregation. By 1820, the log building was replaced with a brick structure, which was forty feet wide and sixty feet long and accommodated 250 people. The congregation disbanded circa 1900. In 1924, the building was demolished.