Historic Millersburg, county seat of Holmes County

The county seat of Holmes County, the Village of Millersburg has a rich and varied history. Founded in 1815 by proprietors Charles Miller (for whom the town was named) and Adam Johnson, Millersburgs development had a slow start, with no record of the sale of lots in the town until 1819, more than three years after its founding.

The first settler in Millersburg was a tavernkeeper named Thomas Hoskins who opened his place of business in the center of the new town in 1819. Soon Millersburg began to boast more new buildings, including a second tavern right across the street from the first one!

In autumn of 1820, a log cabin was built to serve as a school, the towns first. A schoolmaster taught the first classes in the winter of 1820-1821. That same winter, the settlements first church service was held (in the log schoolhouse, since no other buildings were available) by a Presbyterian minister.

Soon the growing town was in need of more services. An important event for the settlers of Millersburg was the establishment of a post office in summer 1820; Thomas Hoskins was chosen as the towns postmaster. The towns spirit was also bolstered that same year with the birth of the first white child, Tobias Haskins.

Spring of 1821 saw the building of a general store. Since actual money was very scarce in the Ohio Valley, most of the merchandise was sold in the form of an exchange, usually for hides, corn, wheat and sugar.

In 1824 Millersburg found its identity as the county seat, when a new countyHolmeswas created by the General Assembly of Ohio. The village was situated in the center of the new county, making it a favorable location for this honor. New settlers began to hear about the picturesque hillside village near the Killbuck River, and the town experienced new growth. A dry goods store, a distillery and a log courthouse had been added by 1825, and many other small shops and stores followed.

On Sunday, May 11, 1834, the future of the bustling town was threatened, as a fire swept through, destroying fully half the buildings and leaving eighty-one people homeless. The fire was believed to have started in a building occupied by two families who had gone fishing that day. According to legend, around noon a strong gust of wind blew open the door to the building and blew some hot coals from the fireplace onto the floor. Interestingly, after the fire one citizen was rewarded by town officials for his brave efforts to save the log courthouse. His prize? A very generous $15.

After this tragedy, Millersburg was carefully rebuilt and continued to grow; the labor and bravery of the first settlers was realized in 1885 with the completion of the new stone courthouse in the center of town. It sits there still, a reminder of the strength and perseverance of those nineteenth-century settlers of Holmes County.

Today Millersburg retains its strong character, boasting many beautifully restored Victorian homes and an old-fashioned downtown atmosphere. Trees and well-kept shops line the streets, and outside the town, the rolling hills are dotted with Amish farms and country inns. Visitors will greatly appreciate the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the quaint small town atmosphere of Millersburg, Holmes Countys historic county seat.

*Historic information taken from An Historic Study of Holmes County, Ohio, by Fred Almendinger, published 1962. (Nov./Dec. 2000 issue)