1997!  What a wonderful year for Waynesville.  It was a year of great celebration of our history, of great achievement and of significant planning for our future.  We had concerts in our new amphitheater and formal balls were held.  The Country Fair was revived and held in conjunction with the 4th of July celebration.  A parade was held.  Main Street received an extensive face lift with new benches, trees, tree guards, and street signs.  The athletic hall of fame was initiated.  A Farmer’s Market was held every weekend during the summer.  A large new addition to our high school was begun.  Our two new parks came into maturity and the amphitheater, tennis courts, basketball courts and picnic shelters were completed.  The most complete compilation ever made of our history was published.  It was the 200th year of our birth.  It was our Bicentennial. In the afternoon of March 8th, 1797, when Samuel Heighway came into sight of the area he had platted off as the future town of Waynesville, he completed a journey that had begun more than ten years before.  Although Heighway, a giant of a man 6 foot 6 inches tall and weighing over 300 pounds, was from Shropshire, England, he was not unfamiliar with the American frontier.  He had immigrated to America in 1791, and in 1792 had surveyed the area along the Little Miami River where he built thepre-establishment cabin on Newman’s run. When the Indian Wars ended with General “Mad” Anthony Wayne’s victory at Fallen Timbers in 1794, and the Treaty of Greenville signed in 1795, the land in Ohio became available for settlement.  Therefore, on the 22nd day of February, 1796, Samuel Heighway, John Smith and Evan Banes, all residents of Columbia, signed an Article of Agreement to purchase approximately 30,000 acres of land along the Little Miami River from John Cleves Symmes for $1.25 an acre.  They then signed an Article of Agreement that made them equal partners in this endeavor.  On this land, they would found the town that they would name in honor of General Wayne. To provide provisions for the new settlement, Heighway purchased 10 tons of goods in Baltimore, Maryland and hauled them by wagon to Pittsburgh, where he purchased a flat boat 36 feet long and 12 feet wide.  On this boat, he began his journey down the Ohio River on November 24th 1796. There were seven people in his party; Heighway, brothers John and Samuel Tamset, who had been hired for 2 years at 50 pounds apiece, their wives, Francis Bailey, a young Englishman who was traveling throughout the west, and as history tell us, “another English man”.  They encountered many difficulties.  On December 9th the Ohio River froze to the point that they could no longer continue their journey and they had to moor in a place of safety.  While they were here, they spent their time hunting for deer, turkeys, and bear.  On December 21st the ice began breaking up, creating “a noise like thunder.”  They managed to unload about 500 pounds of their trade goods before their boat was damaged by the ice and sank.  They continued to work through the night in the icy waters until the boat with its remaining goods was totally lost.  The temperature that night reached -17 degrees.  So they could continue their voyage, the felled trees, sawed planks, and constructed a new boat and on February 20th, they once again were on the river.  They arrived in Columbia, now Cincinnati, on 2/27/1797 at the end of a 6-month journey.  Here his partners, Evan Banes and John Smith, rejoined Heighway.

    By this time, Heighway had sold nearly half of his land.  He received $2.00 an acre for land outside the village and the town lots, consisting of ½ acre, sold for $6.00. These sales carried the stipulation that the new owners were obligated to build a house on this land within a certain period of time. Heighway left Columbia on March 4th, accompanied by a guide, two wagons, one of which was driven by Culbert Watson, and three or four pioneers whom he had hired to clear the road of trees. His partner, Evan Banes, and Francis Bailey left Columbia two days after Heighway joined him on March 7th.  They then rode together into the site of Waynesville, arriving here on the afternoon of March 8th.  It was our good fortune that Francis Bailey traveled with Heighway, because he later published a book telling about his travels entitled “Journey of a Tour in the Unsettled Parts of North America in 1796 and 1797”.  This publication is the basis for much of what we know today about the settlement of Waynesville.  He not only narrates in his journal about Heighway’s journey to Waynesville but he also describes this land as a much different place than we know today.  He relates how the pioneers on their way from Columbia to Waynesville posted lookouts to guard against Indian attacks and tells about a bear hunt they took after arriving at Waynesville.  In his journal he states:  “The next morning (March 9) nothing was to be heard but the sound of the ax resounding through the woods.  Every one who was expert at that art was gone out to cut down trees to build our friend (Heighway) a house, and before night they had got several logs laid and the house raised several feet. While the major part were engaged in this necessary employment, Dr. Banes and myself and two of the men took our guns and couple of axes and went bear-hunting.  We had discovered marks of several, and we were now going to see if we could shoot some of them, in order to furnish ourselves with provision.”

    Although Heighway, Banes, and Smith had drawn up a contract that made them equal partners in this venture, Heighway alone is recognized as the founder of Waynesville.   In February 1796, Heighway laid out the town in a pattern of squares and out lots after the fashion of an English town with each square containing 4 square acres.  The Squares were names Wayne, English, President, Ohio, Scioto, Jefferson, Wabash, Miami, Adams, Franklin, and Washington.  Heighway settled here and was the leading member of the community owning a store on Scioto Square and a mill on Heighway’s Run (now called Newman’s Run).  He moved to Cincinnati in 1814 where he died in 1817.  Dr. Evan Banes was Waynesville’s first medical doctor.  He and his wife lived here until 1811 when they moved to Clark Co., Ohio.  Very little is known about John Smith, and his participation in the settlement of Waynesville remains something of a mystery.

    Although a legal contract was drawn between the partners and Symmes, ownership of the land in and around Waynesville fell into dispute when it was discovered that Symmes did not have titleto the land this far north of the Ohio River.  Therefore, in 1807, David Faulkner got a patent for 208 acres of land that included most of the old town plat and then resold the land to the people who had previously purchased their lots from Heighway.  Even Heighway had to repurchase from Faulkner Scioto and English Squares and 4 ½ acres of land on Newman’s Run on which he had established his home, mill and other businesses.

    That Waynesville was located in the North West Territory was of major importance in our history because the Northwest Territory was free, meaning that slavery was forbidden.  Methodist minister James Smith, a young man from Virginia who was a slave holder and who was from a wealthy family, had set off from his home in Richmond, Virginia to explore the new lands of the northwest.  When he reached the Ohio River and looked over into the land where freedom existed, he wrote these words: “…a land where liberty prevails and where human blood is not shed like water by the hand of the merciless and unfeeling tyrant.   Here are no objects of despair, deprived of liberty and worn down with continual toil.  We seem to be gotten out of hearing of the cries of the tortured and the mournful voice of woe.”  He returned to Virginia, purchased 2000 acres where Caesar’s Creek flows in to the Little Miami, sold his slaves and brought his family to settle on their new land.  Although he died before he could settle on his farm, his wife Elizabeth and his children lived here and she is credited as the founder of the Waynesville Methodist Church. This land that was free of slavery brought members of the Society of Friends to Waynesville as early as 1799.  Quakers had migrated from England to the colonies and over several generations had worked their way south to Cane Creek in North Carolina, Bush Creek in South Carolina and Wrightsborough in Georgia.  In every area they had come into contact with the institution that they despised, slavery.  Therefore when the land that by law was free from slavery opened to settlers, they moved here in great numbers.  They held their first meeting for worship in Waynesville in 1801 and by 1805 they had built their first Meeting House which was made  of logs. David Brown was given this task for which he received $65.88 plus $35.93 for a stove and $19.00 for fence put around the graveyard.  This log meeting house served the Friends until 1811 when they erected the White Brick Meeting House that is till in use today.  On September 5th, 1803, they received status as the Miami Monthly Meeting which had the Hocking River as its eastern boundary, the Ohio River as the southern boundary, and included all land north and west without boundary.  The presence of the Friends is still felt in Waynesville today with their property, located in an area that has been nominated as National Historical District, that includes the two meeting houses, the Friends Home, and the Quaker Heights Nursing Home. When James Smith came to Waynesville in October, 1797 he wrote, “Though Waynesville was settled only last spring about 14 families are already there.”  Waynesville continued to grow and prosper and by 1820 the population had grown to 240.  In 1854, a traveler on the Little Miami Rail Road, which had been constructed through Corwin in 1842, made these observations about Waynesville: “On a clear day you can see across the Little Miami, over which a bridge is thrown, a village of white houses lying amidst the foliage of a green slope.   It is to my eye one of the most rural and beautiful towns any where to be found.  All is quiet, serene, rural and retired.  Waynesville was originally settled by Quakers.  By the census it has 744 inhabitants with 2 Meeting houses and a Methodist Church. Several men and women of outstanding personality and achievement dominate the history of Waynesville during the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century.  Seth Silver Haines, a self-made millionaire was born here in 1824.  He was instrumental in establishing the Waynesville National Bank in 1875, serving as its first president until his death in 1895, and helped in creating the Miami Cemetery Association in 1866.  Israel Harris, a graduate of Yale, was a great-grandson of Samuel Heighway.  He started the Exchange bank in 1855.  He is well known for his collections of fossils and fresh water pearls that now reside in the Smithsonian Institute. 

John Evans, who as a young man lived with his parents in their home on Main Street, was the founder of the Indiana Hospital for the insane, the Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Northwestern University, where he was President of its Board until 1895, and the University of Denver.  He was also instrumental in the building of the Denver-Pacific Railroad.  In 1861, Abraham Lincoln appointed him as Governor of the Colorado Territory. He later served as a Senator from the state of Colorado.  Evanston, Illinois and Mt. Evans were named for him.  Dr. Mary L. Cook conducted her medical practice in Waynesville from 1908 until 1959.  Along with  “Dr. Mary’s” many services as a medical doctor, she was also the president of our Library Board of Directors for 44 years.  Today our fine library is named the Mary L. Cook Library in her honor.  Rev. John Cadwallader was named as St. Mary’s Episcopal priest in 1892, and served in that capacity for 30 years.  He was one of the most beloved and respected men in Waynesville’s history.  Leo Weltz, born in Prussia in 1825, served as gardener to the Czar of Russia until he came to the U.S. in 1851.  He is remembered in Waynesville as the designer of the grounds of the Miami Cemetery.  Waynesville, with its Quaker Heritage and its northern background, became a major station in the Underground Railroad.  There exists today a number of buildings along with the tunnels that lead from the Little Miami to these buildings that were involved in this endeavor.  The old Miami House, built in 1826, was located on the corner of Main and North Streets.  It had a hidden room in the attic, which could be entered by pressing on a board in the wall.  Steps between the walls led from the cellar to this room.  The Seth Silver Haines house on Third Street, built in 1855, had a tower from which a watchman could see down to the Little Miami river.  The Old Mill, located on the Mill Race was involved and the Brick house at 88 South Main Street, built in 1839, were also prominently involved.  Tunnels that still exist today connect all of these buildings with the Little Miami River.  Just outside of Waynesville, Moses McKay’s house, located on New Burlington Road, has a hidden room under the kitchen, which could hold as many as eight slaves.

The Fire of April 7, 1900 had great impact on the history of Waynesville.  The fire leveled all but the two northern most buildings on the west side of Main Street on the block from North Street to Chapman Street.   The fire caused a great deal of financial loss, but also, since the village offices were located here, it destroyed all of Waynesville’s Village records.  The Village Council and Mayor Dr. W. E. Oglesbee immediately rescinded all previous laws, and began the process of creating an entire new set of ordinances to govern the village.  On May 7, the council passed Ordinance No. 1; “Be it ordained by the Council of the Village of Waynesville, Ohio that all ordinances and by-laws heretofore in force in said village be and the same are hereby repealed.  Ordinance No. 2 established the Council, and Ordinance No. 3, comprised of 27 sections, established the government of the village. The leaders of Waynesville realized that another tragedy could occur if they did not take action, so on June 10th, just 2 months after the fire, the residents of Waynesville passed a $30,000 bond issue and by April 10, 1901, the water and electrical systems in Waynesville had been completed. One of the most elaborate celebrations ever held in Waynesville occurred during the week of August 5, 1906.  This week was dedicated as Waynesville Homecoming Week.  Charles M. Cartwright, while attending the 1904 annual meeting of the Waynesville alumni, proposed that Waynesville invite all of its past high school graduates to return to Waynesville to celebrate a homecoming.  The idea was well received and a homecoming committee, headed by Cartwright, was formed.  They soon changed the original concept and invited all former residents of Waynesville, whether graduates or not, to return to Waynesville to join in the celebration.  The Miami Gazette published a special Homecoming edition in December 1905, to publicize the event, and another special edition published in 1906 related in detail the activities that occurred.  “With the first day of August, the former residents of Waynesville began gathering home, a few arriving each day.  Saturday and Sunday, before Homecoming week, a perfect stream of visitors arrived and Monday and Tuesday the visitors thronged into our beautiful little city.  Waynesville extended a most cordial welcome.  The business section of the town was a mass of color and almost every home was decorated in some way.”  On Tuesday, August 6th, the Old School Association began the celebration with their annual meeting.  On Wednesday, in a drizzling rain, thousands of people lined the streets for a parade, led by the Waynesville Cadet band.  The parade was followed by a fireworks display, watched by over 5000 people, that was held on the Friends grounds east of theRed Brick.  Friday was Waynesville Day.  A community picnic was held on the high school grounds. One of the major features of the celebration, attended by over 1300 people, was a relic room held in Cross Hall where items from early Waynesville were displayed.  Outdoor sports, which includeda tennis tournament and baseball tournament, were held throughout the week. Waynesville, from the days of its inception, had served most of the needs of the people living in the village and township.  Heighway had come well stocked with goods and his store was the first business in Waynesville.  Waynesville, through the years, had many businesses which included mills, trade goods stores, millenaries, restaurants, jewelry stores, etc.  People would come into town, usually on a weekly basis, to conduct all of their business during their stay. Saturdays were particularly busy and Main Street would be crowded until well into the evening.  The activity reached a peak in the years around World War II.  Gasoline was rationed and the local people stayed close to home for their needs.  By the 1950’s, conditions began to change.  U.S. 42 and State Route 73, both of which had run through the center of town and shared Main Street for part of their routes, were relocated so that traffic no longer came into the downtown area.  Town and Country Mall and The Dayton Mall provided a large and varied selection of merchandise that was within easy driving distance and people began to go “out of town” for their shopping.  Businesses had been locally owned and operated.  Everyone knew the owners and they knew their customers. But as local business was lost, many owners closed their doors.  Many small communities that were going through this same phenomenon did not meet the challenge and the nature of America’s small town “downtowns” changed forever.  Waynesville, however, did adapt to this change and one by one as building became vacant, new businesses were started that promoted visitors and tourists from greater distances.  In the late 1960’s, Waynesville opened its first antiques shop.  Then antiques shops began opening more rapidly, and by the 1980’s we had earned the title as the “Antiques Capital of the Midwest”. Now, more than 35 antiques shops line Main Street and they have been joined by many crafts, gifts, and specialty shops along with fine dining spots. In 1970, the merchants met to develop an event to promote business for the new shops.  It was decided to have a one-day sidewalk sale.  One businessman mentioned that we should serve food and another thought a sauerkraut dinner would be well received.  So a one-day festival was held, with parades, games, street sales, largest head of cabbage contest, best home-made sauerkraut contest and, among other events, a sauerkraut dinner.  This annual event, The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, is now held for two days, and is undoubtedly one of the most successful festivals in the nation, drawing nearly 300,000 people to Waynesville each year. During the 1970’s, Caesar’s Creek Dam was constructed, and a 10,000-acre lake and park were developed.  The concept for a lake had begun long before in 1937 when the Ohio River rose 80 feet above its normal pool stage resulting in one of the worst floods ever in the Ohio Valley region.  Finally, in 1971, construction began and the project was completed in 1978.  Purchase of land for the lake resulted in the loss of many houses and other buildings as the waters backed up.  Pioneer Village was formed to save old log structures that would have been buried beneath the lake waters.  Members of this organization have moved 55 log cabins to one area, Pioneer Village, and saved them from destruction. In the 1990’s, Waynesville has entered another exciting period in its history.  It has been a decade which has seen great growth in our population and in our land area.   In 1993, a Charter Commission was elected to write a Village Charter, and 1994 a Village Manager form of government was instituted. Our Chamber of Commerce, begun in 1968, has been a major force in the development of present day  Waynesville.  The retail businesses have organized under the title of Waynesville Antique and Merchants Advertising Association.  These three organizations formed a committee named MOMS, Maintaining Old Main Street, that was instrumental in building the public restrooms for the village in 1994 and in the renovation of the street landscape for 5 blocks of Main Street.  Both of these efforts were completed without using Village of Waynesville funds.