Batavia Township
Batavia Township
Learn more about Batavia Township, including the Village of Batavia and the Villiage of Amelia below or on the township website, http://www.bataviatownship.org
Batavia
The village of Batavia, third county seat of Clermont County , was built on land surveyed on May 28, 1788 , for Francis Minnis, a captain in the American Revolution for seven years. John O’Bannon was the deputy surveyor, Nicholas Keller and Archelus Price were the chain carriers, and John Ormsley was the marker man.
The first settler was Ezekiel Dimmitt who built a cabin on the site of the present post office ( 575 W. Main St. ) in autumn 1797. A Virginian, he and his wife, Phoebe, moved here from Kentucky . They settled by Donnells’ Trace (present Old S.R. 74 or 32) that had been laid out in 1797 by John Donnells from Mercersburgh (present Newtown ) to Williamsburg . Donnells later continued the road to Chillicothe that became Ohio ‘s first state capital (1803).
In 1807, George Ely purchased the Minnis survey and on October 24, 1814 , laid out Batavia that is believed to have received its name from Batavia , N.Y. , home of some of the early settlers. Ely chose the site because it was located at the Donnells Trace fording spot of the East Fork of the little Miami River (foot of Spring Street) that in early years was the main street in town because of the springs along it. Ely built a home for himself, a cabin on the NE side of the East Fork along Old S.R. 222 ( S. Riverside Drive ) or Elk Lick Road near the intersection with present S.R. 222.
Batavia was incorporated on February 10, 1842 . In summer 1814, Samuel Gilbreath opened the first store in town near the fording place. Thomas Chichester established the first known school in 1819, on the NE corner of Riverside Drive and Wood Street.
Amelia
The Village of Amelia is Clermont County ‘s only incorporated village that was never formally laid out. The village lies in Batavia and Pierce Townships. The name Amelia was adopted in honor of Amelia Bowdoin, a well known and popular tollgate operator on the Ohio Turnpike – Main Street, today State Route 125. Her home still stands at 94 W. Main St., across the street from where it stood when it was a tollhouse.
Amelia has what was believed to be the United States ‘ largest gold fish farm. The Glen Mary Fish Farm operated on 35 acres beginning in 1913. Frank Hitchcock owned and operated the farm that was at the end of the street named in his honor. The Pommert family owned and operated one of the largest gladiola farms in the nation. It stood on the south side of Main Street.
For more informaiton on Amelia, please visit Amelia Village website.