First Settlement in Hamilton County

Columbia Baptist Cemetery
On the higher ground at the end of this lane
is Columbia Baptist Cemetery, the last
resting place of many of the pioneers who
came with Major Benjamin Stites and founded
Columbia, November 18, 1788, the first settlement
in Hamilton County and the second in the "Old
Northwest". Here in 1792 was built the meeting
house for the Columbia Baptist Church, organized
in 1790. the first Protestant Church in the Northwest Territory. Land for the cemetery was
part of Major Stites' purchase and was deeded
by him to the Baptists of Columbia Township.Columbia
In this vicinity Major Benjamin Stites and
26 men and women from New Jersey founded
the town of Columbia, November 18, 1788. Major
Stites, intending to establish a great city, had
purchased in the previous year, 20,000 acres
of land at the mouth of the Little Miami River.
Columbia was typical of many of the early
wilderness settlements. It consisted of a cluster
of log houses protected from Indian attack by
a stockade and strategically placed block-
houses. Beyond the town to the east, the
pioneers planted their crops on the fertile
river bottoms of the Little Miami, still known
as Turkey Bottom.

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Pioneer Pillar
Old Columbia Baptist Church and Meeting House
Columbia Presbyterian & Fulton Cemeteries / William Brown
Garard/Martin Station, 1790
Cherry Tree Grove
The Cincinnati Observatory
St. Marys World War Marker, a War Memorial
Miss Doherty's College Preparatory School for Girls
The Church / The Founder
Miller - Leuser Log House

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