Five local railroad workers boarded their train in New Philadelphia early on a Saturday morning in October 1910 for a routine trip to Cleveland and back. Only two of the men would return home alive. The Cleveland & Pittsburgh train crew gathered in the early morning hours of Saturday, October 8, 1910 for a freightContinue reading “A Local Tragedy on the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad”
Category Archives: Tuscarawas County Stories
New Philadelphia Carriage Maker Charles Houpt
There was once a busy carriage making shop founded by a Pennsylvania-born blacksmith on what is today 2nd Street SW that manufactured and repaired carriages, buggies and wagons for over twenty-years. Today the site is occupied by a nondescript office building. Charles Houpt (1833-1921) was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1833 to farmer Philip HouptContinue reading “New Philadelphia Carriage Maker Charles Houpt”
Valentine: A Tuscarawas County Conductor on the Underground Railroad
If you read enough historical documents you inevitably come across some small item that gets your attention. This is one of those lose threads that I could not resist pulling. Recently, while reading late 19th century accounts of people who assisted with the Underground Railroad in Ohio, I came across a brief mention in theContinue reading “Valentine: A Tuscarawas County Conductor on the Underground Railroad”
The New Philadelphia Agricultural Works of English & Dixon
While the buildings that once housed the New Philadelphia Agricultural Works of English & Dixon no longer stand, the ongoing development of the site that once hosted it gives the opportunity to examine one of the city’s earliest industrial efforts. The location on South Broadway that once housed the Howden-Buffalo manufacturing plant has, for overContinue reading “The New Philadelphia Agricultural Works of English & Dixon”
“Six Cents and a Muskrat Tail”: Ohio Hatter John Scroggs
It happens. Sometimes when I am researching one subject I come across something that I can’t resist looking into further. In this case it was an advertisement for a runaway apprentice hatter that took me down, fittingly, a rabbit hole and into the life of an early 19th century Ohio tradesman. When his father AllenContinue reading ““Six Cents and a Muskrat Tail”: Ohio Hatter John Scroggs”
“For Both White Men and Indians”: Tuscarawas County Gunsmith George Biddle
The discussion of the making of the uniquely American long rifle is a subject most often associated with Pennsylvania or Kentucky. There were, however, gunsmiths who produced these artistic and practical objects in other regions. Many of those gunsmiths, like the subject of this story, learned their trade in a gunsmith shop in Pennsylvania. TheyContinue reading ““For Both White Men and Indians”: Tuscarawas County Gunsmith George Biddle”
“To Avoid Ridicule From Others”: 1961 Gnadenhutten UFO
Having gone through a number of the Project Blue Book files available online, I decided instead to look at local UFO sightings that have been reported to groups dedicated to documenting such occurrences. The following account of an encounter from 1961 was reported to one of these organizations by an anonymous individual I will callContinue reading ““To Avoid Ridicule From Others”: 1961 Gnadenhutten UFO”
“Evaluated as Unknown”: A UFO Sighting in Carrollton
I thought I would pay another visit to the Project Blue Book files to see if any other local UFO sightings were investigated by the United States Air Force. The following is one such sighting from neighboring Carroll County in July 1956. The young doctor and his wife were entertaining their two young nieces atContinue reading ““Evaluated as Unknown”: A UFO Sighting in Carrollton”
“Witches at their Old Tricks”: The Stone Creek Witch of 1870
When strange happenings occur within a community, the public’s perception of the validity of those happenings often hinge on the credibility of the witnesses. The family in this case was a well known and respected family and their unusual experience in the spring of 1870 was documented in the local newspaper. Henry Fisher (1795-1882) andContinue reading ““Witches at their Old Tricks”: The Stone Creek Witch of 1870″
The Goshen Road Ghost
Ghost stories capture the imagination of the reader perhaps more than most, and local ones even more so. A ghost story is more fun to read when you are familiar with an area, its history, its lore, and landmarks. During the spring of 1904, the south side of New Philadelphia made the papers when twoContinue reading “The Goshen Road Ghost”
Tuscarawas County Stories 