Newton Township, Miami County

How Newton Township, Miami County began

Newton Township, in western Miami County, takes its name from Sir Isaac Newton. Michael Williams, arriving from North Carolina around 1797-1800 after hearing about the local prairie from General William Henry Harrison in Cincinnati, was its first settler; Marmaduke Coate followed in 1805. The township was formally established March 6, 1810. Its village, first platted as Newton in 1843 and renamed Pleasant Hill when it incorporated in 1866, grew around limestone quarries and lime kilns and later an interurban rail line; the township is also home to the oldest documented building in Miami County, the 1804 Benjamin Iddings Log House at Brukner Nature Center.

Settled 1797 or 1800, platted 1843 (Pleasant Hill village), incorporated 1866, by Michael Williams (first settler); J.K. Teeter (Pleasant Hill plat).

Where the name comes from

Newton Township was named for the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Its village, first platted as Newton in 1843, took the name of the Pleasant Hill post office, a mile south of town, when it incorporated in 1866.

Before the town

No named Native American village, mound or treaty boundary specific to Newton Township is recorded; the earliest recorded local encounter is the settlement of Michael Williams, who according to the 1880 county history learned of the township's prairie land from General William Henry Harrison in Cincinnati before settling there.

Timeline

1. 1797 — Michael Williams, from North Carolina, purchased land and became the township's first recorded settler, on Section 19 where the local prairie lay (one source gives the date as 1801).
2. 1804 — Benjamin Iddings, with his wife Phoebe and their family, came up the Stillwater River into the township and built the two-story log house that survives as the oldest documented building in Miami County.
3. 1805 — Marmaduke Coate, the township's second settler, arrived in the fall with his family, after his sons Moses and Samuel had scouted the area the year before.
4. 1808 — Jacob Embree built the township's first saw-mill.
5. 1810 — Newton Township was formally established on March 6.
6. 1825 — Abram Deeter opened the township's first limestone quarry; six quarries and two lime kilns were operating in the township by 1875.
7. 1839 — A post office named Pleasant Hill began operating, taking its name from a pleasant spot on a hill south of the original town site.
8. 1843 — J.K. Teeter platted the village as Newton on May 26.
9. 1866 — The village formally incorporated on June 30 and changed its name from Newton to Pleasant Hill.
10. 1895 — The Newton Township Civil War memorial was erected by Dan W. Williams Post No. 369 of the Grand Army of the Republic.
11. 1910 — The Newton Township Building on South Main Street, Pleasant Hill, was completed to a Classical Revival design by architect Edward James Mounstephen.
12. 1976 — The Benjamin Iddings Log House, on the grounds of Brukner Nature Center, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21.

Stories

The Iddings house on the Stillwater

In 1804, Benjamin Iddings brought his wife Phoebe and their family up the Stillwater River into what would become Newton Township and built a two-story, square-hewn log house with half-dovetail notched corners. It is an unusual survival: the house has both a basement fireplace and an upstairs fireplace, a combination uncommon in log houses built on the Ohio frontier. Restored in 1981, it now stands on the grounds of the Brukner Nature Center and is recognized as the oldest documented building still standing in Miami County, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

A prairie recommended by General Harrison

According to the 1880 county history, Michael Williams first learned about the open prairie land in what became Newton Township from General William Henry Harrison, whom he met in Cincinnati. Williams came from North Carolina and settled on Section 19, encompassing the prairie itself, becoming the township's first white settler. He raised nine children in the township, including a son, John, who became its first minister; Marmaduke Coate and his family followed in 1805 after Coate's sons Moses and Samuel had scouted the ground the year before.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · thetroyhistoricalsociety.org · en.wikipedia.org · pleasanthillohio.com · en.wikipedia.org · hmdb.org · loc.gov · commons.wikimedia.org

Every historic place in Miami County on the full map

Groundwater wells (3 wells) The water here

• Pleasant Hill Village58% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Covington Village28% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
• Bradford Village7% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Laura Village6% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

Public EV charging (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-10-17

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