Editing Delaware, Ohio (section)

==History==
While the city and county of Delaware are named for the [[Delaware (tribe)|Delaware tribe]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=16602|title=Profile for Delaware, Ohio, OH|publisher=ePodunk|access-date=2012-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002214/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=16602|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> the city of Delaware itself was founded on a [[Mingo]] village called [[Pluggy|Pluggy's]] Town. The first recorded settler was Joseph Barber in 1807. Shortly afterward, other men started settling in the area (according to the Delaware Historical Society); namely: Moses Byxbe, William Little, Solomon Smith, Elder Jacob Drake, Thomas Butler, and Ira Carpenter. In 1808, Moses Byxbe built the first framed house on William Street. Born in Delaware County in 1808, [[Charles Sweetser]] went on to become a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1849 to 1853.<ref>{{cite book|last=O.L. Baskin & Co|title=History of Delaware County and Ohio|year=1880|publisher=O.L. Baskin & Co|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ/page/n178 193]–194|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> On March 11, 1808, a plan of the city was filed, marking the official founding of the town. Byxbe and the others planned the city to be originally on the east bank of the river, but it was switched to the west bank only a few days after the first plan was filed.{{why|date=August 2020}}

Even though Delaware was still a small community, in 1812, when the capital of Ohio was moved from [[Chillicothe, Ohio|Chillicothe]], Delaware and [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] were both in the running and Delaware lost by a single vote to Columbus.<ref>{{cite book|last=O.L. Baskin & Co|title=History of Delaware County and Ohio|year=1880|publisher=O.L. Baskin & Co|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ/page/n297 322]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> However, following the [[War of 1812]], settlers began arriving in Delaware in greater numbers. Among some of the earliest settlers were the parents of [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], the 19th President of the United States. The Hayes home no longer stands, but a historical marker in front of a [[BP]] station marks the location. In 2018, the Rutherford B. Hayes Comes Home committee announced plans to raise $125,000 to get a statue of Hayes placed at the corners of William and Sandusky streets and a bust of Hayes to be placed at [[Rutherford B. Hayes High School (Delaware, Ohio)|Rutherford B. Hayes High School]]. Committee Chairman Bill Rietz said that the committee would like to raise the money by October 4, 2019, Hayes' 197th birthday.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20181108/statue-would-help-delaware-native-son-hayes-stand-tall-group-says|title=Statue would help Delaware native son Hayes stand tall, group says|last=THISWEEKNEWS.COM|first=PAUL COMSTOCK|website=ThisWeek Community News|language=en|access-date=2019-03-08}}</ref> The statue was successfully erected on October 4, 2019. It is a 125% scale depiction of the president, which stands at about 10 feet including its pedestal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohiomagazine.com/ohio-life/article/rutherford-b.-hayes-statue-delaware|title=Rutherford B. Hayes Statue, Delaware|last=OHIOMAGAZINE.COM|first=LINDA FEAGLER|website=Ohio Magazine|language=en|access-date=2024-03-15}}</ref>

[[File:Hayes boyhood home.PNG|thumb|The [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] House once stood in Delaware, Ohio]]

In the early days of the town, a [[sulfur spring]] was discovered northwest of Joseph Barber's cabin. By 1833, a hotel was built as a health spa near the spring. However, the Mansion House Hotel was a failure, and by 1841, citizens began raising funds to purchase the hotel property with the intent of giving it to the Ohio and North Ohio Methodist Episcopal Conference of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church|Methodist]] Church for the purpose of a Methodist college. With that effort, [[Ohio Wesleyan University]] was founded in 1844.<ref>{{cite book|last=O.L. Baskin & Co|title=History of Delaware County and Ohio|year=1880|publisher=O.L. Baskin & Co|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ/page/n299 324]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wRAVAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

Railroads came to the area in April, 1851 as Delaware served as a stop on the [[Cleveland Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad]]. Additional rail lines were added to serve Delaware providing access to major cities and markets throughout the country by the late 1890s. At the turn of the century, Delaware could boast of its own electric street railway system. In the early 1930s, electric [[Interurban|inter-urban]] service was provided by the [[Columbus, Delaware and Marion Railway|Columbus, Delaware and Marion]] system.

===During the Civil War===
During the [[Civil War (United States)|Civil War]], Delaware was the home to two [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] training camps. The first on the west side of the Olentangy River for white recruits of the [[96th Ohio Infantry|96th]] and [[121st Ohio Infantry|121st]] Ohio Volunteer Infantry were mustered into service. The second, on the east side of the Olentangy River was for African-Americans joining the army in Ohio in the [[127th Ohio Infantry|127th]] Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry - later renamed the [[5th United States Colored Infantry Regiment|5th]] Regiment [[United States Colored Troops]].<ref name=historicalmarkers>{{cite web|last=Fischer|first=William Jr.|title=Camp Delaware Marker|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=12816|work=The Historical Marker Database|access-date=18 August 2011}}</ref>