Editing Wellsville, Ohio (section)

==History==
[[File:Wellsville Ohio Bottle Kiln 06 2013.jpg|thumb|left|upright|This [[Bottle oven|bottle kiln]] was once part of the "stilt works" which was purchased in the 1920s by Acme Craft Pottery and moved for the construction of [[Ohio State Route 7]]]]

===Early history and establishment===
In 1770, [[George Washington]] with his friend and personal surveyor, [[William Crawford (soldier)|William Crawford]], embarked on a journey down the Ohio River from [[Pittsburgh]] for the purpose of viewing lands to be apportioned among soldiers who had served in the [[French and Indian War]]. They are reported to have surveyed the Wellsville area, just north of Yellow Creek in 1770,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielboonetrail.com/historicalsites.php?id=86|title=DanielBooneTrail.com|website=DanielBooneTrail.com|access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref> and it was noted in his journal that it was good bottom land.

The [[Yellow Creek Massacre]] occurred near Wellsville in 1774. A group of Virginian settlers killed the relatives of a prominent Iroquois leader, [[Logan (American Indian leader)|Logan]], who was camped on Yellow Creek. Logan took revenge, resulting in [[Dunmore's War|Lord Dunmore's War]].

James Clark and William Wells first settled in the area in 1795. Although they had to leave for a while due to Native American attacks in the area, they returned between 1797 and 1800. Wellsville was founded in 1797 by William Wells, a Pennsylvanian, and former justice of the [[Territory Northwest of the River Ohio]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mangus|first1=Michael|last2=Herman|first2=Jennifer L.|title=Ohio Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bndxn4Qlt4EC&pg=PA572|year=2008|publisher=North American Book Dist LLC|isbn=978-1-878592-68-2|page=572}}</ref> Wellsville's first school and church were also established before 1800. A barn built in 1807 by the Aten family was moved to [[Hale Farm and Village]] in Bath, Ohio.<ref>From Hale Farm's website: Though Wheatfield Village never really existed, the historic buildings are original 19th century structures built within Ohio's Western Reserve.  These buildings were acquired by Hale Farm and moved to the site as part of a "historic preservation through relocation" program. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20021218211328/http://wneo.org/halefarm/village/wheatfield2.htm 404 - File or directory not found.]}}</ref>

===19th century to present===
In 1814, a turnpike road was built to [[Lisbon, Ohio|Lisbon]], and in 1816, a post office was established with John J. Feehan serving as postmaster.  In the 1820s, the first [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] was organized by Rev. John Callahan in the house of William Wells. This is supposed to be the first Methodist Episcopal Church organized in Ohio. Shortly thereafter, Joseph Wells founded the [[Methodist Protestant Church]].

Wellsville finally took shape around 1823, when William Wells recorded that lots had been laid out for planned settlement. The initial site was bounded by the current Third and Fifth Streets, between Riverside Avenue and Commerce Street (although at the time they had different names.)<ref name="davidson">Davidson, Edgar. ''Before the Memory Fades''.  The Wellsville Historical Society (n.d.).</ref>{{rp|4–6}} In 1836, a foundry was opened to make [[steamboat]] machinery. It later became known as the Stevenson Company, and produced brick-making machinery. It still exists today as a fabrication and machine shop.

Wellsville was incorporated as a village in 1848.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ONQyAQAAMAAJ | title=History of Columbiana County, Ohio and Representative Citizens | publisher=Biographical Publishing Company | author=McCord, William B. | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ONQyAQAAMAAJ/page/n329 342]}}</ref> In 1852, the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad (later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad) built a track from [[Hanover, Ohio]], to Wellsville, and in 1856, it built a track from Wellsville to [[Rochester, Pennsylvania]].

[[File:Bryan Wellsville.png|thumb|[[William Jennings Bryan]] on his [[William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign|whistle-stop presidential campaign]] in Wellsville, 1896]]

On February 14, 1861, [[Abraham Lincoln]], on his way to his first inauguration, spoke to a large gathering in front of the Whitacre House, a hotel, in Wellsville.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln4/1:326?rgn=div1;submit=Go;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=wellsville|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 4.|website=quod.lib.UMich.edu|access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref> On July 26, 1863,  [[Confederate States Army]] General [[John Hunt Morgan]] and several hundred of his soldiers surrendered to pursuing Union forces after [[Morgan's Raid]] ended in nearby [[West Point, Columbiana County, Ohio|West Point]], and were held in Wellsville before being shipped to the [[Ohio Penitentiary]] in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]]. Morgan's Raid was the northernmost advance of Confederate troops during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. At this time, [[Ohio State Route 45]] was known as the Warren-Ashtabula Turnpike, which ran from Wellsville to [[Lake Erie]]. It was an important part of the [[Underground Railroad]].

During the 1896 presidential campaign, Democratic candidate [[William Jennings Bryan]] addressed a crowd in Wellsville from the back of a train.  Bryan was the first candidate to successfully embrace "[[whistle stop]]" campaigning, harnessing the power of a young rail network to reach masses of voters.

The 1936 flooding of the Ohio River resulted in the construction of a flood wall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://touringohio.com/northeast/columbiana/wellsville.html |title=Wellsville - Touring Ohio |accessdate=July 24, 2022 }}</ref> In 1951, his only year of varsity basketball at Wellsville, [[Bevo Francis]] scored 776 points in 25 games for an average of nearly 32 points per game.<ref name="FLS">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19530110&id=N_ITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Q4oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5711,845895|title=Bevo Francis, Collegiate Cager, Scores 116 Points for New Mark|date=January 10, 1953|last=Diles|first=Dave|agency=AP|newspaper=The Free-Lance Star}}</ref> In the process, he led his team to a stunning 19–1 regular-season record and a berth in the state playoffs.  He was a unanimous all-state performer.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}} In 1986, the 1870 [[Episcopal Church of the Ascension and Manse]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].