New Alexandria

How New Alexandria began

New Alexandria began as an informal settlement called Tempo, named -- the 1880 county history states directly -- for a temperance hotel Matthew Thompson kept there from 1820, 'such a thing being very unusual in those times.' Thompson opened the settlement's first store and served as its postmaster before Alexander Smith, father of the sitting county sheriff of the same name, formally laid out the town in 1831 and gave it his own name. Kept small by its distance from rail and river transportation, New Alexandria nonetheless served as a trade center for the surrounding farms of Cross Creek Township -- by 1880 home to three stores, three blacksmith and wagon shops, an attorney, a physician and two churches, though no hotel remained -- and Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raiders passed through during Morgan's Raid in 1863. The village incorporated in 1871, electing John Johnson, Charles Fellows and Charles Wallace as its first trustees; its population peaked at 425 in 1970 and stood at 232 in the 2020 census.

Settled 1820 (Matthew Thompson's temperance-hotel settlement, as Tempo), platted 1831, incorporated 1871, with its first election held that April, by Alexander Smith.

Where the name comes from

First called Tempo, named for a temperance hotel -- one serving no alcohol -- kept there by Matthew Thompson from 1820, a rarity the 1880 county history notes as 'very unusual in those times'; renamed New Alexandria when Alexander Smith formally platted the town in 1831 and named it for himself.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound or documented encounter within New Alexandria is recorded here. The settlement grew from about 1820 onward, a quarter-century after the Treaty of Greenville (1795) opened Cross Creek Township to settlement.

Timeline

1. 1820 — Matthew Thompson keeps a temperance hotel at the site -- one serving no alcohol -- giving rise to the informal name Tempo; he later opens the settlement's first store and serves as its first postmaster.
2. 1831 — Alexander Smith, father of the sitting Jefferson County sheriff of the same name, formally lays out the town and names it New Alexandria for himself, opening his own hotel and store.
3. 1860 — The census counts 228 residents, up from 198 in 1850; the village then declines to 167 in 1870 and 175 in 1880.
4. 1863 — Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raiders pass through New Alexandria during Morgan's Raid.
5. 1871 — New Alexandria incorporates as a village; its first election that April elects John Johnson, Charles Fellows and Charles Wallace as trustees and J. D. Golden as marshal.
6. 1874-07-25 — Wildewood Lodge No. 590 is instituted at New Alexandria on July 25, with thirteen charter members; Idlewild Encampment No. 199 follows on September 17, 1875 but is dissolved after several years.
7. 1890 — Population falls to 122, then rises to 148 in 1900 and 185 in 1910; the village is distant from rail and water transport and is a local trade center for the surrounding farm country.
8. 1910 — The 1910 county history says there has been oil and gas development about New Alexandria, extending the Steubenville field, and that the Pan Handle and Wabash systems give the township's central and southern sections a rail outlet; New Alexandria remains the principal village of Cross Creek Township, with its own school and post office.
9. 1930 — Population jumps to 241, from 141 in 1920, and grows to 328 in 1940 and 383 in 1950.
10. 1970 — Village population peaks at 425.
11. 1990 — Population falls to 257 from 410 in 1980; it is 222 in 2000, 272 in 2010 and 232 in 2020.

Stories

A temperance hotel names a town, then loses the naming rights

Before it was New Alexandria, the settlement went by an informal name, Tempo, and the 1880 county history says where that name came from: a temperance hotel, one serving no alcohol, that Matthew Thompson kept there starting in 1820, 'such a thing being very unusual in those times.' Thompson kept the first store and was the first postmaster. When Alexander Smith, father of the man who was by then Jefferson County's sheriff, laid out the town in 1831, he named it for himself and opened a hotel and store. The place has never been noted for manufacturing or mercantile pursuits but has commanded a fair trade. By 1880 it had three stores, three blacksmith and wagon shops, a shoemaker, a lawyer, a doctor and two churches, and no hotel.

A trading village off the railroad

The 1910 county history says that New Alexandria, distant from rail or water transportation, had its growth necessarily hampered, though it became a good local centre of trade for the farming people around it. Alexander Smith opened a hotel and store when he laid the town out in 1831, and Matthew Thompson had already kept the first store and post office in the Tempo days. The village incorporated in 1871 and held a lodge of its own by 1874, but the census shows the struggle: 228 people in 1860, 167 in 1870 and 122 in 1890. Hopes came and went with the oil and gas excitement that touched the southern end of Cross Creek Township in the years before 1910, which the county historian describes as transitory like all such movements. The village reached its peak of 425 people in 1970 and counted 232 in 2020.

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

Groundwater wells (2 wells) The water here

• Mingo Junction86% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Steubenville, City Of10% of residentsOhio River
• Jefferson Co. W&s District- J3% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Brilliant Water and Sewer1% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

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

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