This is a circa 1912 photo (#1867) of the Gravel Pit School (built 1874) located at the northeast corner of N. state Route 560 and Millerstown Road in Concord Township, Champaign County.

This photo was contributed in 1952 to the Champaign County Historical Society by A.B. Graham, 4-H club founder. Mr. Graham noted that Gravel Pit School was one of the first one-room schools in western Ohio to be abandoned. In 1898 students were transferred to the centralized school in Westville which was a mile south in Mad River Township. Sometime later the Gravel Pit school building was converted into a residence, which it remains to this day. Many of the photos of people, places and events in Champaign County have been donated to the museum, just as Mr. Graham has donated this photo.

Such photos, when accompanied by relevant information – including who, when, and where – document Champaign County history.

CCHS encourages you to donate photos with relevant information which document people, places, and events of Champaign County. You can donate the photo itself or have it scanned and digitized and returned to you.

In either case it is preserved indefinitely as a permanent part of the museum’s archives.

The Champaign County Historical Museum is a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This Looking Back installment features the homestead of Ezekiel Arrowsmith. This is a photo of a print of a painting of the Arrowsmith Homestead. The date and artist of the painting are unknown. The homestead was in Mad River Township at 1051 N. State Route 560. The house sat on a hill facing east overlooking the Mad River valley.

Ezekiel was born on March 26, 1771, near Baltimore, Maryland. He married Elizabeth Kenton, a niece of Simon Kenton, on April 6, 1797, in Mason County, Kentucky. The marriage resulted in 10 children. Ezekiel and Elizabeth came to Champaign County in 1801 where they lived the remainder of their lives. Ezekiel died in 1849 and Elizabeth in 1867.

The Westville Methodist Church is the offspring of the first religious organization in Mad River Township. The first class was organized on Ezekiel Arrowsmith’s property. In 1801 a sermon was preached by Rev. James Davidson under a sugar tree on the land of Ezekiel Arrowsmith. Soon after a society was organized which eventually became the Westville Methodist Church. After meeting for several years in members’ log homes, a log house of worship was erected on the land of Christian Stephens in 1820. About 1826 due to increased membership a one-story brick church building was built in Westville.

Source: The History of Champaign County, Ohio W. H. Beers & Co. 1881
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The Champaign County Historical Museum is a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open to the public Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.