Martinsburg

How Martinsburg began

Martinsburg was created in 1828 when two small rival villages in Clay Township, Hanover and Williamsburg, which had grown up facing each other across an east-west road (today's US 62/OH 541), agreed to abandon both of their old names and merge under a new one. The village never grew large, with about 300 residents by the 1881 county history's count, but it had its own school, the Martinsburg Institute (1838-1860), whose students included William Windom, later a U.S. senator and congressman from Minnesota and Treasury Secretary under two presidents. Windom's great-grandson and namesake became a familiar television face over a century later, playing Dr. Seth Hazlitt on 'Murder, She Wrote.' The village's population has held roughly steady in recent decades, standing at 222 in 2020.

Incorporated 1828 (merger of Hanover and Williamsburg).

Where the name comes from

When the rival villages of Hanover and Williamsburg merged in 1828, residents agreed to drop both original names rather than favor one side, and chose 'Martinsburg' as the new village's name; no source here explains where 'Martin' came from.

Before the town

No Native village, mound, or specific encounter within Martinsburg itself is recorded here. The village sits in Clay Township, southeastern Knox County, in the broader area that was Wyandot, Shawnee, and Delaware (Lenape) hunting and travel territory before treaty cessions.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware).

Timeline

1. 1825-03-09 — Clay Township, named for Henry Clay, is created out of Morgan Township; its first election is held that April in the village of Williamsburgh, now Martinsburg.
2. 1828 — The neighboring villages of Hanover and Williamsburg merge, dropping both names and choosing Martinsburg for the combined village; the road separating them becomes today's US 62/OH 541.
3. 1830-04-15 — Rev. Henry Hervey is installed pastor of the Martinsburg Presbyterian church, which has about 100 members; at one time there were 300. He resigns October 18, 1867 and dies in Martinsburg on February 17, 1872.
4. 1838 — The Martinsburg Academy is built, with Rev. Henry Hervey as president; among its graduates is William Windom of Minnesota, later a national figure, and the school closes about 1860 when its building becomes the district school.
5. 1846-05-14 — A Baptist church is organised in Martinsburg with twelve members; the Disciples organise on June 19, 1876.
6. 1850-06-21 — A fire destroys business blocks in Martinsburg; a second fire in February 1854 does the same, and the village never fully recovers.
7. 1880 — The village supports four blacksmiths, three doctors, and multiple shops and tradespeople, the height of its activity.
8. 1881 — Martinsburg has about 300 people, two stores, a hotel, three shoe shops, four blacksmith shops, a tannery and three physicians; no saloon has ever gained a foothold there.
9. 1950 — Village population peaks at 264.
10. 2000 — Population reaches a low of 185.
11. 2010 — The census counts 237 residents in Martinsburg.
12. 2020 — Census records 222 residents.

Stories

From a Knox County schoolroom to Angela Lansbury's Cabot Cove

William Windom attended the Martinsburg Institute sometime in its run between 1838 and 1860, one of the more notable graduates of a school in a village that never held more than a few hundred people. He went on to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House and Senate and served as Secretary of the Treasury under two different presidents, Garfield and Harrison, and was considered three times in the late 1800s as a possible presidential candidate. Generations later, his great-grandson and namesake, also William Windom, became a familiar face on American television, playing the folksy Dr. Seth Hazlitt opposite Angela Lansbury for years on 'Murder, She Wrote'.

Williamsburgh and Hanover, one street apart

Martinsburg began as two rival villages facing each other across a street running east and west, Williamsburgh on one side and Hanover on the other, which were consolidated in 1828 under the new name Martinsburg. James Pollock built the first house. The first merchant was I. D. Johnson, who came from Richland County in 1818 with a small stock, then hauled wheat, wool, pork and tobacco to Newark for eastern markets and became the leading merchant of Knox County, helping settlers pay for their farms, until he failed in 1837 and left eight friends who had endorsed his notes to pay thirty-two thousand dollars. The village also boasted the Martinsburg Academy of 1838 and a temperance sentiment so strong, the 1881 county history says, that every attempt to start a saloon failed.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · knoxpages.com · archive.org · knoxpages.com · en.wikipedia.org

Every historic place in Knox County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Martinsburg Village74% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Utica Village26% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Stations and terminals (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2022: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-07-21
• Basic Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-20

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