BUTLER — The article in the Mt. Vernon True Whig starts dramatically: “A Terrible Accident. — One of the most disastrous accidents that ever occurred on the S. M. & N. Railroad, was that of yesterday morning.” That may sound like a major disaster of epic proportions, but it helps to know a couple of […]
Mark Sebastian Jordan
Posted inArea History
Here’s a glimpse of downtown Fredericktown before pavement
FREDERICKTOWN — Tim Ashcraft runs a great Facebook group, called Memories of Knox County, Ohio. I wanted to share an excellent old postcard photo he posted to the group that shows downtown Fredericktown somewhere in the early 1900s. Looking down the hill toward the mill, there is a prominent large building that group member James […]
Posted inArea History
Lafferty Farm near Bellville has a burial mound, whether or not it was human-made
BELLVILLE — In another installment of a series on regional mounds that is unfolding as slowly as geology itself, I bring you today the unofficial Lafferty Mound, a little north of the Knox/Richland County line, near Bellville. I describe it as unofficial because I can find no records indicating that it has ever been declared […]
Posted inLife and Culture
Jordan to share stories, art before Feb. 10 Mansfield Symphony concert
MANSFIELD — Mansfield Symphony program commentator Mark Sebastian Jordan will give a pre-concert talk before the orchestra’s Saturday, Feb. 10, “Massive Classics” performance. The talk will feature images of the surviving paintings and drawings that inspired Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky to write Pictures at an Exhibition, one of the Top 10 most popular classical works. […]
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Here’s a glimpse of ‘Hell’s Neck’ in Fredericktown
FREDERICKTOWN — A picture posted some years ago in the Knox Time collection on Facebook came with an interesting detail. This area of the B&O Railroad tracks crossing Mill Street in Fredericktown was apparently at one time known as Hell’s Neck, according to a comment left by Knox Time reader James Wagner. One wonders why! […]
Posted inArea History
Was a woman the brains behind 1933 Fredericktown bank robbery?
FREDERICKTOWN — The news this week of a bank robbery in Centerburg reminded me of Knox County’s infamous 1934 bank robbery in Gambier by members of John Dillinger’s gang, which we’ve talked about here before. A lesser-known event, though, is the robbery that took place on Dec. 30, 1933, in Fredericktown. Digging into the story proves […]
Posted inArea History
History Knox: Following Rud Hayes from Kenyon to the White House
GAMBIER — Rud Hayes’ mother was annoyed by her son. At age fourteen, he had taken a break from his schooling for a bit, but then refused to go back. He preferred hunting in the woods around Delaware, Ohio, and goofing off. Rud’s mother Sophia was frustrated by her son’s sarcastic wit and laziness. He […]
Posted inArea History
“The Witch of Mansfield” to be released on Sept. 18
MANSFIELD — Mark Sebastian Jordan’s second book with The History Press will be released on Sept. 18. “The Witch of Mansfield: The Tetched Life of Phebe Wise” delves into the folklore of north central Ohio to find the truth behind the legend of Mansfield’s witch. The infamously eccentric Phebe Wise cut a memorable figure in […]
Posted inLife and Culture
“The Witch of Mansfield” to be released on Sept. 18
MANSFIELD — Mark Sebastian Jordan’s second book with The History Press will be released on Sept. 18. “The Witch of Mansfield: The Tetched Life of Phebe Wise” delves into the folklore of north central Ohio to find the truth behind the legend of Mansfield’s witch. The infamously eccentric Phebe Wise cut a memorable figure in […]
Posted inArea History
Part III: Finale of the nightmare that walked Murder Ridge near Nellie
Editor’s NoteThis is Part III of a 3-part series that began on July 2. Part II was published on July 9. NELLIE — In the aftermath of Cletus Reese’s confession to triple murder in the summer of 1954, many people questioned why the schizophrenic mental patient had ever been released from the Cambridge State Hospital in the […]