First white man to settle in the area was Peter Seal in 1814. He settled near Bethel Church. He paid the first tax in Jefferson Twp. of 75 cents.
Oak Hill was established by Julius A. Bingham, a New Yorker, to compete with the county seat of Jackson. In 1832 he started a small country store at the crossroads of a township road to Gallipolis and the Indian Trail called Guyan Trace. He laid out a village site on the hill surrounding his store.
First post office in Oak Hill was established 11March 1837 with Levi Massie was the first postmaster. This was the second post office in Jackson County. The first was at Salt Lick near Jackson started 1 October 1817. The third Post Office was at Berlin x Roads 28 June 1850 With Levi Salsman postmaster. The first post office in Oak Hill was located across from the Jones=Morgan hardware building. At that time the actual settlement of Oak Hill and Lewisburg was at the east side of the present Oak Hill. A mail rider left Jackson early Friday morning at day break on the Guyandotte Trail arriving in Oak Hill about 10 a.m. on the way to Guyandotte, VA. Now known as Huntington, West Virginia and on the return trip arrived about 3 Sunday afternoon.
In the Early days at Oak Hill, under questionable circumstance, 1862 found the 11,000 man Union Army, mostly Tennessee and Kentucky troops, under the command of General George W. Morgan retreating from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. In a 17 day march to camp Wood in the small hamlets of Portland-Oak Hill. Chased much of the way by a 600 man Rebel Calvary under the command of John Morgan. By October 7 when they arrived they were poorly fed and clothed. The Welsh Log church at Moriah was turned into a hospital.
The discovery of flint clay and bond clay in 1872 created a new industry in Oak Hill. Oak Hill Fire Brick and Coal Company was formed in February 1873 and located along side the railroad track at the south end of town. The brand name Oak Hill put the town on the map by spreading the name to all major steel production centers. New methods of production reduced the need for brick and operations ceased in 1961.
The discovery of Flint Clay and Bond Clay in 1872 created a new industry in Oak Hill. Atena Fire Brick and Coal Company was formed in 1873 and located along side the railroad track at the north end of town. Atena brand of brick became famous throughout the iron and steel industries. New methods of production reduced the need for brick and operations cased in 1963.
Oak Hill Foundry and Machine Works was started by Samuel Dole and sons John and Enos in 1901. They moved the business from Portsmouth to make castings and perform machine work for local brick plants. In more recent years the machine shop activities were discontinued and concentration was make on production of castings.
The Oak Hill Fire Brick Company started generating electric for Oak Hill in 1907 with a steam powered generator. Ark lights were installed first for street lighting and later electric was run to private homes. Service was from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays ant till 11:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Bills ran about 25 to 30 cents. Columbus and Southern purchased the franchise in 1926 and brought 24 hour service (now AEP).
Jefferson Furnace was built at the base of Mt. Horeb Hill, the edge of present day Jackson Lake. The by laws of the company required all stock holders to be of Welsh descent and employed as many as a 100 men. It produced 14 tons of high quality iron, that during the Civil War was used to make armor plate for the famous gun boat Monitor. The owners never allowed the furnace to be operated on the Sabbath day, and it was the most prosperous furnace in Southern Ohio and the last charcoal furnace to close in Ohio, December 16, 1916.
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Jefferson employees using a team of oxen hauling about 100 bushels of charcoal. They are identified as William Howell, Eben Davis and Willard Crabtree.
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Jefferson Furance crew members are identified as Amos Crabtree, Fred Heading, John Wilson, John Wilson Jr. and Ellory Manring. |
On September 6, 1864 the great stagecoach mail robbery took place. When the number 3 mail train reached Oak Hill the mail was moved to the stage coach for the journey to Gallipolis. On arrival in Gallipolis the $15,000 in gold coins was missing. The stage coach driver blamed it on suspicious characters he saw hanging around the train station. Later investigation turned up the stage coach driver as the thief.
In 1880 Morgan Academy, a private secondary school was established by Steven and his brother William Morgan. By 1882 there were about 130 students paying a tuition of $5.00 to $7.00 depending on the number of subjects taken. The term ran 6 weeks in the spring and summer. The school closed in 1893. Central High school opened in 1902.
Oak Hill a university town? in 1901 Dr. G. James Jones organized Providence University using the large two store buildings at the top of the hill. Tuition ass $25.00 per month in advance. The university was discontinued in 1911.
Oak Hill Central School was constructed in 1901 and was occupied on January 1, 1902. Later two more rooms were added and six teachers and a principal were employed.
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In the Early days at Oak Hill, under questionable circumstance, 1862 found the 11,000 man Union Army under the command of General George W. Morgan retreating from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. In a 17 day march to camp Wood near Oak Hill. Chased much of the way by a 600 man Rebel Calvary under the command of John Morgan. By October 7 when they arrived they were poorly fed and clothed. The Welsh Log church at Moriah was turned into a hospital.
The Morgan Raiders camped in the area of Bingham Street in Oak Hill. One of the men died and was buried in the Moriah cemetery.
GAR Post, George W. Johnson Post # 613 Oak Hill, OH, was chartered October 1886. Named for Jackson enlistee Sgt G. W. Johnson who served in Co H 117th Ohio Volunteer Infantry which became Battery H 1st Ohio Volunteer Heavy Artillery. Sgt Johnson died at Cross Roads, Jackson county May 29, 1886.
First Train to Oak Hill was on the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad, a "broad gage" line, arrived from Portsmouth (35 miles away) 2 June 1853 pulled by an engine named The Bloomfield. The Bloomfield pulled passenger cars consisting of stage coach bodies on mounted on railroad wheels. By August 1853 the line was completed to Jackson Court House. In 1856 the rails line was completed from Jackson to Hamden where it connected with the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad that later became the mainline route running east to west. This made a total of 54 miles from Portsmouth to Hamden. In 1863 the S & H V Railroad was purchased by the Portsmouth and Newark Railroad. Shortly later on the 20th of January 1864 the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad bought the line. January 1, 188 the M & C RR sold to the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore bought the line. In turn the line was purchased in 1889 by the Baltimore and Ohio South Western Railroad Company that later became the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.
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The first mail service on the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad started in 1856 and continued till around 1946. With the loss of the mail contract, passenger service became impractical and was discontinued December 27, 1946. Shortly after freight service was discontinued south of Oak Hill and the track removed from Portsmouth up through Efiort. At one time 8 passenger trains per day ran in and out of Oak Hill but by 1946 it was down to 2 per day.
The first major train wreck near Oak Hill occurred December 8, 1856 between Jackson and Oak Hill. The passenger train pulled by the Vinton hit a flock of sheep causing the engine and tender to do a somersault down a steep embankment killing the fireman, baggage man and 39 sheep. Several passengers were also injured.
Coal mining got started just after the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad was completed from Portsmouth in 1853. Rambo Coal Bank north of town in 1854. P. Powell and Company was a mine at McNeats Switch in 1856. Coal's importance really took a jump as fuel with the start of the brick plants in 1873.
The opening of the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad through Oak Hill in 1853 opened the way for a boom in iron furnace building. Six were built between 1853 and 1855 within a few miles of Oak Hill, including Washington at Blackfork, Jefferson at Mt. Horeb, Cambria near Kitchen, Monroe near Monroe, Madison near Pyro and Limestone at Limestone. The first mail service on the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad started in 1856 and continued till around 1946.
During Civil War days camp Wood a Civil War supply base was located near by, because the nearest rail point was located here. It was the wide gauge Scioto & Hocking Valley Railroad running from Portsmouth. From Oak Hill goods were hauled by wagons to the Civil War camp at Gallipolis and the Kanawha Valley operation.
The Dayton and Southern Railroad completed a narrow gauge line from Wellston to Dean Junction near Ironton in 1881. The line ran to the east of Oak Hill. This provided rail service to Rempel, McKitterick, Kitchen, Gallia, Peniel, Hoadley, and Olive. The track was later changed to standard gauge around 1887 and operated under several names. In 1895 it became part of the C H & D Railroad. The 1913 Flood brought to the rail line and with the mines along the route were closing. So when the B&O got it, the trackage had deteriorated and rock slides were a constant problem in the two tunnel cuts. so the B & O closed the line and in 1915 the rails were taken up. The road bed has since become Rt. 233.
Detroit Southern Railroad (D T & I) obtained trackage right from the B & O in 1903 allowing it to operate trains from Jackson through Oak Hill to Bloom Junction back to the line it had built. The railroad could not provide local freight service for Oak Hill but it's fancy passenger trains stopped at Oak Hill daily. The last run for passenger service was 18 September 1932. The Jefferson Furnace interest promoted the railroad line from Portsmouth but opposed the extension of the Iron from Ironton but was build the Detroit Southern Railroad.
The first bank was Farmers Bank organized in 1891 by Edward Jones, David Wynne, John C. Jones, Elias Morgan, and others. Oak Hill residents did not have transportation to Jackson so the Farmer’s Bank offered a convenient banking service to the residents and businesses of Oak Hill and the Farmer’s Bank became a thriving institution.
October 29, 1902 the Oak Hill Savings Bank Company was incorporated by J. Edward Jones, David D. Davis, George D. Shelby, Simon Labold, and James W. Bannon. In 1913 the Oak Hill Savings Bank constructed a new building that was later occupied by the Jenkins Pharmacy. In 1962 the Oak Hill Savings Bank built a modern building located on Front Street.
The third bank was a branch of a Jackson bank incorporated as the Citizens Saving and Trust Company July 3, 1905 by Breman Thomas, David Armstrong, John E. Jones, David C. Perry, and Evan O. Roberts. In 1921 the name was changed to The Citizens Bank. The depression in 1931 forced the closure of this bank.