Editing Plain City, Ohio (section)

==History==
[[File:PlainCity1906.jpg|thumb|left|Downtown Plain City, 1906]]
[[File:PlainCity1917.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Dedication of flag pole, 1917]]

Until about 1800, the [[Ohio Country]] was inhabited by [[Mingo]] and [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]] Indians, and there was an Indian village just north of present-day Plain City.<ref name=Curry>Curry, William Leontes, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eg8VAAAAYAAJ History of Jerome Township, Union County, Ohio], Press of the Edward T. Miller co., 1913</ref> After 1795, as white settlers began moving into the region, the area around present-day Plain City was referred to as Pleasant Valley. This name remained in use into the 20th century, appearing in the ''[[American Guide Series|Ohio Guide]]'' of the late Depression era.<ref>{{gnis|1061547}}</ref>

In 1814, Isaac Bigelow travelled to the area from [[Centre County, Pennsylvania]], to pay for land purchased from his uncle,<ref name="PCHS">[https://www.plaincityhistoricalsociety.org/index.php/timeline Plain City Historical Society - Plain City Timeline]</ref> then returned to Pennsylvania to study medicine with his father. He returned in 1817, and settled in the Pleasant Valley area in 1818. He hired a surveyor named David Chapman, and laid out the town of Westminster on June 11, 1818.<ref name=PCHS/><ref name=Bryan>Bryan, Chester E., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZK5KNwAACAAJ&q=%22History+of+Madison+County,+Ohio%22 History of Madison County, Ohio]'', B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc., [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], 1915, Pg. 175.</ref> At the time, Westminster lay wholly within Darby Township in Madison County. In 1820, when Union County was formed, the county line was moved to the middle of Westminster. In 1823, the previous survey was resurveyed, additional territory was incorporated, and the town's name was changed from Westminster to Pleasant Valley.<ref name=PCHS/><ref name=Bryan/> From 1832 to 1851, there were six additions to the town limits.<ref name=Bryan/> In 1851, due to there already being another town in Ohio named Pleasant Valley, the town changed its name to Plain City.<ref name=Bryan/>

Previous to 1850, Plain City was a smaller trading point than [[Amity, Madison County, Ohio|Amity]], but after a trunk-line for the [[Atlantic and Great Western Railroad]] was laid through its corporation limits, business and manufacturing increased dramatically.<ref name=Bryan/> The corporation limits were extended in 1868.<ref name=Caldwell>J. A. Caldwell, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=UaMkOQAACAAJ&q=Caldwell%27s+Atlas+of+Madison+County,+Ohio Caldwell's Atlas of Madison County, Ohio]'', Condit, Ohio, 1875, Pg. 9.</ref> As of 1875, the town contained five churches, one newspaper, one bank, one brick [[planing mill]], one flour mill, four dry goods stores, three drug stores, three grocery stores, one jewelry store, one hotel, one carriage and wagon store, two harness shops, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, and a boot and shoe store.<ref name=Caldwell/>

The [[Farmers National Bank (Plain City, Ohio)|Farmers National Bank]], a building at the intersection of [[Ohio State Route 161|State Route 161]] and Chillicothe Street, was built in 1902, and was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1995.<ref name=NRIS>{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> The town clock, located at the same intersection, was dedicated on November 15, 1902.<ref name=Bryan/>

An [[Amish]] settlement at Plain City that was founded in 1896 dissolved in 2011.<ref>[http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/57700/JAPAS_Donnermeyer_Luthy_vol1-issue2_pp107-129.pdf Joseph F. Donnermeyer: ''Amish Settlements across America: 2013'', page 126.]</ref>

The village has grown in recent years with the addition of new housing developments. Darby Fields on the south side of the village broke ground in 2017.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Darby Station on the east side of the village broke ground in 2022.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 2024, Plain City was designated a [[Tree City USA]].<ref>[https://www.plain-city.com/news_detail_T2_R51.php Village Accepts Tree City USA Award], Plain-City.com, May 14, 2024</ref>