Editing Middletown, Ohio (section)

==History==
Middletown is mostly part of the 1788 [[Symmes Purchase]] of {{convert|311,682|acre|sqmi km2}}<ref name=OHC>{{cite web|title=Symmes Purchase|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Symmes_Purchase|website=Ohio History Central|publisher= Ohio Historical Society|access-date=26 September 2014}}</ref>  purchased by Judge [[John Cleves Symmes]] of [[New Jersey]] in 1788 from the [[Continental Congress]] as part of the [[Land Ordinance of 1785]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/1pridepub/docs/middletonian_july_2022_singles_final/s/16290290|title=Middletown History Stephen Vail|website=Issuu}}</ref>

Stephen Vail Jr. purchased land on the eastern bank of the [[Great Miami River]] from Symmes and platted 52 lots for the village in 1802. The purchase was complicated when it was discovered that Symmes did not own all the land thought to have been sold to Vail, and eventually, after Vail's death, the [[Ohio Supreme Court]] permitted the transactions to go through.<ref name="auto1"/>

In 1825, construction of the [[Miami and Erie Canal]] occurred, linking Middletown to [[Toledo, Ohio]] on [[Lake Erie]] and [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] on the [[Ohio River]].   A {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} branch called the [[Warren County Canal]] operated to [[Lebanon, Ohio]] from 1830 to 1852 when flooding on Shaker Run destroyed the branch. The [[Great Flood of 1913]] destroyed most of the Miami and Erie in the area. The canal was paved over and became the Verity Parkway<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=30430|title=The Miami & Erie Canal in Middletown Historical Marker|website=www.hmdb.org}}</ref> In 1982, Middletown opened the Canal Museum to commemorate the events.<ref>https://ohio.org/things-to-do/destinations/canal-museum {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

Middletown was served by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]],  [[Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway]], [[Erie Railroad]] and [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Middletown-Ohio|title=Middletown &#124; Historic Town, Butler County, Cincinnati &#124; Britannica|date=July 22, 2024|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

Middletown was principally known for its agriculture and paper mills but became most famous as a steel town when George Verity, founder of [[American Rolling Mill Company]] (ARMCO) opened a [[Rolling (metalworking)|sheet steel rolling process]] plant in 1900.<ref name="auto"/>

===Etymology===
The city's name is believed to have been given by its founder, Stephen Vail, but questions remain unanswered as to why. One local historian stated that the city received its name because Vail had come from [[Middletown, New Jersey]]. Another writer believed that the city was named Middletown because it was the midway point of navigation on the [[Great Miami River]], which was then considered a navigable stream. Another theory is credited to the city being roughly halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gefpsoo1nRIC&pg=PA217 | title=A Geography of Ohio | publisher=Kent State University Press | date=1996 | access-date=8 December 2013 | author=Peacefull, Leonard | pages=217| isbn=9780873385251 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Butler County Towns and How They Obtained Their Names|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/903978/name_origins_in_butler_co_ohio/|newspaper=The Journal News|date=January 27, 1923|page=11|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = August 23, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref> Vail centered the city in Fractional Section 28 of Town 2, Range 4 North. One of the first settlers in Middletown was Daniel Doty, who migrated there from New Jersey in the late 18th century.