Public Ground from Beers History of Warren County, Ohio

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The History of Warren County, Ohio

Public Ground

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Transcription contributed by Martie Callihan 3 December 2004

Sources:
The History of Warren County Ohio
Part IV Township Histories
Turtle Creek Township
(Chicago, IL: W. H. Beers Co, 1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992)
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The four half lots on the respective corners made by the crossing of Broadway and Main streets were designated on the original plat of the town an "public ground," and have been popularly known as the public square. These lots have an interesting history. It is believed that it was the intention of the proprietors of Lebanon to vest the use of these lots in the county for the purposes of a court house, jail and other county buildings, but they were unfortunate in the use of the proper words on the plat to designate the purpose intended. The plat was executed under a law of the Northwest Territory, passed

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December 6, 1800, which provided that lots and parcels of land designated on town plats for special purposes should forever be held for the uses and purposes therein named. and for no other use or purpose whatever. The history of the erection of the first court house and jail on these lots has already been given in the historic, sketch of the county.

After the erection of county buildings on two of those lots, in order to remove all doubts as to the right of the county to their use for county purposes, the original proprietors, Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin, Ephraim Hathaway and their wives, on May 24. 1809, executed their several deeds, with covenants of warranty, convoying to the Commissioners of the county and their successors in office the four lots designated as public ground for the use of the county forever.

Those lots, one or more of them, continued to be used for county purposes for about thirty years. After the erection of the court house in the eastern part of the town, about 1834, they ceased to be used for any county public purpose, yet the County Commissioners still assumed the right to control and lease both the old court house and all the four lots of the public ground. Although they were advised that the lots were dedicated to the public as public ground, and could not be used for private purposes, the Commissioners persisted in their course, divided the grounds into small lots, and leased them to various persons for long periods of time. After being advertised, the old court house, on April 12, 1834, was leased, the town of Lebanon becoming the lessee. The record of the County Commissioners shows that Joshua Borden, on behalf of the President, Recorder and Trustees of the town of Lebanon, leased the old court house for twenty years, at an annual rental of $86.50, the lease commencing to run in June, 1834.

The lessees of the small lots erected buildings on the north and east of the old court house, and business was carried on in them for several years before any complaint was made. At length, when a building was about to be erected on the northeast lot of the public ground, legal proceedings were commenced in the Supreme Court, held in Lebanon, to stay the erection of new structures, and to remove all obstructions from these grounds. A. H. Dunlevy and Thomas Corwin were the solicitors for the town; George J. Smith and John Probasco. Jr., for the Commissioners. Legal proceedings were begun January 3, 1839. Two years elapsed before the cause was finally decided. The Commissioners claimed the lots to be the property of the county by virtue of the original intention of the proprietors in their dedication, the deeds of conveyance to the county, and the constant and continued use and appropriation of the property by the county for thirty years, without any objection on the part of the authorities of the town. The court decided that the lots were dedicated by the proprietors to the use of the inhabitants of the town of Lebanon, as a common or public square, and that they were only held by the county in trust for that use. The court enjoined the Commissioners from leasing, selling, incumbering or in any way interfering with the grounds, and ordered that "all structures, erections and obstructions on said public ground, now held by either party, shall, within ninety days, be removed by the party now holding the same, and at the party's own cost, and on failure, a writ of assistance be directed to the Sheriff to remove such obstructions."

The language of this decree was so sweeping that it was feared that the old court house would have to be torn down. This was not desired by either party to the suit. The citizens of the town especially were anxious that the old building should be preserved, as it had long been used as the only town hall in the village. The solicitors of the town, therefore, filed their petition for a re-hearing of the cause and a modification of the decree of the court,

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which was allowed, and a final decree was made, May 4, 1842, under which all buildings for private purposes were removed, but the old court house was allowed to remain to be used for public purposes only. It was declared by the court that the lots belong beneficially to the town of Lebanon, for the use of the town for public purposes connected with the town, and that they should not be appropriated to any purpose not of a public nature and for the common or general use of the village.

Thus was secured to the town authorities the right of controlling the four lots of the public square, but, unfortunately, their situation and small size rendered them of no value as a public common, and almost the only useful purpose they could serve was as sites for public buildings, and for this use the town did not need more than one of them. The northeast lot was dedicated to public purposes by Ephraim Hathaway; the northwest lot, by Ichabod Corwin; and the two lots south of Main street, by Silas Hurin.


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