Editing Ashville, Ohio (section)

==History==
Long before the American settlement of Ohio, [[Hopewell tradition|Hopewell]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] inhabited the lands that became Ashville. The Snake Den Mounds were constructed a few miles outside of the present day village and were believed to have been built prior to [[Common Era|C.E.]] 500. The site was examined in the late 1890s by [[Warren K. Moorehead]], where he found artifacts of the ancient civilization and skeletal remains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Snake Den Mound excavation |url=https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll32/id/28269/ |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>

Centuries later the primary inhabitants were the [[Pekowi]] band of the [[Shawnee]]. This band of natives was the name sake for Pickaway County.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pickaway County, Ohio - About Pickaway County |url=https://www.pickaway.org/about/index.html |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=www.pickaway.org}}</ref> The Pekowi people lived in the area for much of the 18th Century, but eventually left as America pushed westward.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shawnee {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/north-american-indigenous-peoples/shawnee |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

=== Early American settlement ===
Ashville sits on land that had been acquired by [[Great Britain]] in 1763, following the defeat of [[France]] in the [[French and Indian War]], but was prohibited to be settled by white settlers. When the United States claimed the region following the [[American Revolutionary War]], the area became part of the [[Congress Lands East of Scioto River]] and was first surveyed in 1799 as part of the Scioto River Base Surveys.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knepper |first=George |title=The official Ohio lands book |publisher=[[Ohio Auditor of State]] |year=2002 |location=Columbus, Ohio |pages=43 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:CV Patent 0030-015.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Patent of Richard Stage Jr. for ownership of land in modern day Ashville, Ohio.]]

Richard Staige (or Stage) Sr., born in [[Edinburgh]], first settled the land that would become Ashville in 1808, after migrating from Virginia. Following his death in 1811, his sons Richard Jr. and William would each build a [[distillery]] on the family's land, opening them the following year. Richard Jr. bought  the 77.57 acres they inhabited from the Chillicothe Land Office on July 6, 1816.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patent Details - BLM GLO Records |url=https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0030-015&docClass=CV&sid=bm0xvhfw.ae3#patentDetailsTabIndex=1 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=glorecords.blm.gov}}</ref>  
[[File:Mahlon Ashbrook.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Mahlon Ashbrook]]

In 1837, Richard Jr. sold his distillery to Mahlon Ashbrook. By 1845, Ashbrook had also built a [[gristmill]] on Walnut Creek and owned a large store that was run by his sister Iva "Ivy" and her husband Daniel Kellerman, who went on to be the first postmaster of the town, which was named Ashbrook at the time. That same year, Ashbrook helped lay out the town with the building of 25 new houses.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Van Cleaf |first=Aaron |title=History of Pickaway County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens |publisher=Biographical Publishing Company |year=1906 |location=Chicago, IL |publication-date=1978 |pages=127–128 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1853, Ashbrook, was voted to the Railroad Committee for the speedy construction for rails to cover Ross, Pickaway, and Franklin Counties.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Railroad Record, and Journal of Commerce, Banking, Manufactures and Statistics |date=1853}}</ref> The route of the railroad (like the canals before it) had a great effect on the success of the development of the area. Ashbrook manufactured barrels for the mill and distillery, and also had some outside trade in that line.

The Ashbrook businesses failed in 1855, following his endorsement of a promissory note for a friend.  When the friend failed to pay, Ashbrook was in debt for tens of thousands of dollars and lost much of his wealth to his creditors.<ref>{{cite book |title=Biography Found in Portrait and biographical record of Buchanan and Clinton counties, Missouri. |page=422}}</ref> Ashbrook migrated west, leaving part of his family behind.

Like most of America, the town suffered a setback due to the [[Panic of 1857]]. The growth of the town was further hampered by the onset of the [[American Civil War]].

===Railroad boom===
{{See also|Little Chicago, Ohio|Ashville Depot}}
The construction of the Scioto Valley Railroad through Ashville, under the supervision of lead engineer [[Isham Randolph]], began in 1874. This caused a new flurry of both population and economic growth, including the building of two new [[grain elevator]]s. Railroad employees, most notably bridge builders, settled in the northern reaches of Ashville in what has become [[Little Chicago, Ohio|Little Chicago]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Hines |first=Bob |date=February 1, 2020 |title=Scioto Valley Railroad Bridge Builders and Greek Gandy Dancers in Ashville |pages=11–12 |work=Official Newsletter of Ohio’s Small Town Museum |url=http://ohiosmalltownmuseum.org/Newsletters/2020aahsnewsletter.pdf |access-date=April 14, 2022}}</ref> A year later, in 1875, the post office was reestablished after it had been closed following the shuttering of the Ashbrook businesses and a [[train station]] was opened in 1876.  Finally, after nearly 70 years following the original settlement, the village was incorporate as Ashville in the Spring of 1882.

In 1890, the population of Ashville reached 430 citizens and the area's first [[volunteer fire department]] was created, as well as [[cistern]]s were built throughout the village. That same year, [[Norfolk and Western Railway]] acquired the Scioto Valley Railroad following its demise.

[[File:Sciola Canning Co. Ashville O (14087862741).jpg|thumb|Scioto Valley (Sciola) Canning Company]]
Over the next ten years, the village population grew at a rate of more than 50%. This was aided by the establishment of major businesses, which included the Scioto Valley Canning Factory that was built in 1899. The factory, which canned [[sweet corn]], at its peak, employed 540 employees who were able to produce upwards of 200,000 cans of corn per day. Dozens of other businesses sprang up as well to accommodate the growth, including [[blacksmith]]s, a [[lumber yard]], a hotel, and even an [[opera house]].<ref name=":1" />

In 1904, Scioto Valley Traction Company opened a railway in town that powered their engines by electricity using a [[third rail]]. This line sent passenger and freight traffic from [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] to [[Chillicothe, Ohio|Chillicothe]]. The line operated until September 1930. The depot remains on West Main Street.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scioto Valley Transit Company |url=https://www.railsandtrails.com/SVTC/index.html |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=www.railsandtrails.com}}</ref>

Around 1910, the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (which later became [[CSX Transportation|CSX]]) was built on the western edge of town. With the construction several [[gandy dancer]]s settled in Little Chicago. The workers were primarily of [[Greeks|Greek]] and [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] descent according to Census records.<ref name=":2" /> The population of the town had ballooned to over 970 by that time.

Following Ashville's quick growth, it became the second most populated area in Pickaway County.

=== Small town status ===
[[File:One-of-a-kind Traffic Light.jpg|thumb|An unusual traffic light on display at the Ashville Museum]]
Though the rail lines remained operational, the population growth of the village slowed. Over the next three decades the population grew by only 129 citizens. Additionally, the reduction of growth was compounded by the effects of the [[Great Depression]].

A population spike happened again in the 1950s and 1960s as Ashville became a residential town when new homes started popping up west of Long Street. Though many businesses had fizzled out, new large employers began to target Ashville including Columbus Industries which opened their plant in 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |title=D1300050000238 - County Auditor Website, Pickaway County, Ohio |url=https://auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov/Parcel?Parcel=D1300050000238 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov}}</ref> During this time Ashville also became the hub of a newly formed school district when [[Teays Valley Local School District]] built their high school in 1963 and housed their district offices within the village.

The next major growth step happened in 1994 when home builders, such as M/I Homes, built the first modern [[Subdivision (land)|subdivisions]] in Ashville.<ref>{{Cite web |title=D1300310000107 - County Auditor Website, Pickaway County, Ohio |url=https://auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov/Parcel?Parcel=D1300310000107 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov}}</ref> The two major subdivisions were [[Ashton Village, Ohio|Ashton Village]] and Ashton Woods, which are located on the northside of town. Both sites together brought in nearly 100 new homes.

=== Continued growth ===
Since 1990, Ashville remains one of the fastest growing areas in Pickaway County. Several new housing developments, apartments, and condominiums have been built and the expansion of [[Rickenbacker International Airport]] Global Logistics Park and the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] [[Intermodal freight transport|Intermodal]] Terminal, that was built in 2008, have created thousands of jobs for the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK) {{!}} Cargo, Freight, Transportation & Logistics |url=https://rickenbackeradvantage.com/ |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=rickenbackeradvantage.com |language=en}}</ref>