Warren County Towns And Their Name Changes

Warren County, I'm sure like many other counties in Ohio, had an array of name changes in the numerous communities, some being nicknames and others being official changes. Reasoning for this variation is quite possibly due to the post office name changes. Since the post offices were official government offices, there was no possible way to delay a change if the higher-ups requested it. Early railroads had quite a bit to do with the naming or changing the name of an already established settlement. One such example was Carlisle.
Some towns had a spelling change. For instance, Harveysburg was originally spelled Harveysburgh; Springboro was spelled Springborough; and Dallasburg was spelled Dallasburgh.
The original post office at South Lebanon (established in 1828) was named Deerfieldville, with the name change to South Lebanon coming in July 1871.
The post office at Dodds was created as Dunlevy.
The earliest post office at Mason/Palmyra was named Kirkwood. The initial name for the post office at Maineville was spelled Mainville, without the "e."
South Lebanon, in Union Township, was first named Deerfield. John S. Gano, Benjamin Stites, Sr., and Benjamin Stites, Jr established it in 1795. The town was laid out into 144 lots, 29 of them were given to the first settlers for building houses or cabins. This was the first authorized town in Warren County.
Dodds, which is situated in Clear Creek Township, was changed from Utica when a post office was established in 1881. It was a station on the Dayton, Lebanon & Cincinnati Railroad (DL&C). It also had a canning factory, school and church.
Fort Ancient Heights was the former name of Fort Ancient, it being located in Washington Township. The founding proprietor was W. H. Carney. A post office was established on the Little Miami Railroad May 28, 1846, with Thomas C. Nelson as the first postmaster.
Carlisle is located in Franklin Township. Its original name was the "Jersey Settlement." In 1852, when the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad made its entrance, the name was changed to Carlisle Station. On November 29, 1882, the name was permanently converted to Carlisle.
Foster is located in Deerfield Township. This was a station on the Little Miami Railroad and the Montgomery Pike, which is also the crossing of the Little Miami River by the pike. It was named after the Foster family. Henry Foster built a mill and a hotel on the east side of the river, and his son James H. Foster was the leading merchant of the town. The name of the post office was changed three times, first Foster's Crossings, next Fosters, and lastly, Foster.
Franklin is one of the oldest communities in the County. William C. Schenck and Daniel C. Cooper established it in 1796. In 1800, William C. Schenck bought out Cooper's interest and became sole proprietor. Franklin, in the early days of its existence, had a nickname of "Schencktown."
Fredericksburg is situated in Salem Township. It lies on the north bank of the Little Miami River opposite the mouth of Todd's Fork. It was settled in 1818 by Nathaniel Harrell (it is now a part of Morrow). A later name was Bridgeport.
Oregonia is located in Washington Township along the Little Miami River. It first took the name Freeport in 1820, but when it was found that a town of the same name existed in Ohio, the name was changed, in 1845, to Oregon, thus becoming the name of the post office. However, refusing a name change, the railroad company used the name Freeport and the post office used the name Oregon. A compromise was made in the fall of 1882 through the efforts of Frank Sherwood and Dr. George W. Henderson, and the name Oregonia was adopted by both parties.
The site of Kings Mills was originally called Gainsborough. Ralph W. Hunt who laid out 140 lots established it in 1815. The pioneer town was probably named after Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, who had distinguished himself in the defense of Fort Erie. It is located in Deerfield Township.
Genntown is located in Turtle Creek Township. It was named for Colonel Jethro Genn, who located a short distance northeast of Lebanon. It was originally called Leelan with a post office being established January 28, 1888.
Hageman, a station on the old Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railroad (C.L.& N.), is situated in Union Township. A post office called Camp Hageman was established in 1879, named after Henry Hageman, father of Rev. R.S. Hageman. It was also called Hageman Station.
Wellman, located just south of Harveysburg on Oregonia Road, is a part of Massie Township. Its original name was Henpeck. A post office of this name was established on May 28, 1890, with the name of Wellman being established May 17, 1894. It was a settlement of a dozen lots.
The first settlement on which the city of Lebanon sits was originally called Turtle Creek. Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin, Ephriam Hathaway and Samuel Manning founded it in September 1802. It was divided into 100 lots. A nickname for the city is the City of Cedars.
Level was a railroad station and post office located in Harlan Township. It was appropriately named from the topography of the region. It was first called Windsor. The location is about three miles east of Butlerville on the M. & C. R. R.
Lytle was originally named Raysville. It also had a nickname of Minktown. It was platted in 1856, the location being in Wayne Township. M. Mills and other proprietors laid it out. Lytle was a station on the Dayton, Lebanon, & Cincinnati Railroad (D.L.& C.). Tradition has it when the post office was established, a number of names were submitted to the Postal Department at Washington and all were rejected. The name Lytle, caught by a glance on the label of a shoebox, was then submitted and accepted.
Maineville was established about 1815. Its property is in Hamilton Township. Silas Dudley and Seth G. Tufts laid out the town into 69 lots. It was named long before it was platted. It was named after the State from which many of the early residents had emigrated. It was originally called Yankeetown.
Millsborough, located in Salem Township, was founded in 1804. It was located on the Little Miami River near the intersection of Stubbs Mills and Mason-Morrow Roads. It was later called Stubbstown from the Stubbs Mills located there.
Morristown was founded in 1816, it being a part of Turtlecreek Township. It was later called Green Tree from a tavern of that name; its location was north of Union Village. Joseph Kenan and John Wickersham were the original proprietors laying out 32 lots, it being vacated in 1853.
Mount Holly's original name was Shattersburg. This name was used prior to 1819. There is no information as to why this name was used. An official settlement was made in 1833 in Wayne Township. Jacob Pearson was the original proprietor laying out 25 lots. It was named for Mount Holly, New Jersey.
Pleasant Plain's initial name was New Columbia, known later by some as Plumsock. It was founded in Harlan Township in 1852. Samuel Craig was the original proprietor with an establishment of 32 lots.
Mason's pioneering name was Palmyra, being authorized in 1815. Major William Mason was the proprietor with an assemblage of 16 lots. The name was changed from Palmyra to Mason by the Legislature in 1835.
Roachester's first name was Salem with the first settlement being made in 1816. Mahlon Roach and James Roach were the first proprietors with an establishment of 40 lots.
The Senior Powder Mills were located in Washington Township in the Mill Grove/Hammell vicinity. The mills made gunpowder during the First World War. This area was called Blue Shinn.
Socialville, in Deerfield Township, was made a post office in 1878. The place, for a time, had been called Mormontown from the conversion of some of its residents to the faith of the Latter Day Saints.
Shakertown was settled in 1805 in Turtlecreek Township, it being so named because of the Shaker settlement. The name was later changed to Union Village in 1810. It is now known as Otterbein Village.
Red Lion's original name was Westfield. Absalom Crane, in 1817, was the founding proprietor with an outlay of 36 lots. This village was named from the sign on an early log cabin with a red lion standing on his hind legs and his fore paws elevated. The first post office was established in 1834 and was named Red Lion.
Some of the names mentioned in this article, along with others, are now ghost towns, towns with no existing identity. A mention of a few of these are: Black Hawk, Edwardsville, Osceola, and West Woodville, Harlan Twp.; Comargo and Dallasburg, Hamilton Twp.; Fort Ancient and Hammel, Washington Twp; Morristown, Turtlecreek Twp.; Henpeck and Hickoryville, Massie Twp.
The early atlases of Warren County show the precise locations of the preceding towns. The atlases are available at the public libraries, societies, etc...with the dates of the early maps being 1856...1875...1891...and 1903. These maps not only show the towns, but the nearest landowners and the acreage owned.

FOOTNOTES: [a place to add additional information that you might want to submit]

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This page created 23 July 2004 and last updated 13 January, 2014
© 2004 Arne H Trelvik  All rights reserved