HockingValley.com

What happened to the town of Sprucevale Ohio?!?

I know that what use to be the town of Sprucevale Ohio is now Beaver Creek State Park. That's not what I'm asking. I want to know if anyone can find any maps of the town when it was Sprucevale. I would like to see roads, landmarks, dwellings, etc... A few of my friends and I are EXTREMELY curious as to what happened to this town since apparantly it just mystyriously dissappeared. We haven't been able to find a single trace of anything other than the basic history, eg...when and who founded it, and all of the "ghostly" things that happened and go on there.

Public Comments

1. Most likely it was just a little town, that got folded into a larger body, because it wasn't big enough to qualify as a town. Plenty of places that were once on the map, no longer are because they're just a cluster of houses rather than a functioning municipality.



2. Some places to look would be genealogy sites (where people may have had relatives there, and thus, papers from there), the county courthouse, where they keep records for home sites, etc., or antique map sites, where people post old maps. Also check for the local newspapers of nearby towns. They will have stories that eminate from Sprucevail and can lead you to more sources. You just have to think like a detective and work backwards from what you know.



3. You'll find photos and brief history here:

   http://www.deadohio.com/beavercreek.htm

   There's some photos and information on the Sandy & Beaver canal that ran through Sprucevale here:

   http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/6687/sandybeaverpics.htm

   The site describes the route of the canal and says this about Sprucevale:

   James Brookes built a small grist mill and flax seed oil mill here in 1810. In 1813 the property was purchased by the Hambleton brothers who built east of the road another larger grist mill. It sits on the Calcutta-Clarkson Road. When the canal was being constructed a new village was platted with twenty lots along the canal. The town was busy when the canal was running. The town was run mostly by the Hambleton brothers who owned the grist mill, store and post office, woolen factory and family farm. There was a blacksmith, flax seed oil mill and a saw mill. All were powered by the water from the canal dam. Twelve to fifteen families were supported by the canal work. The village no longer exists except for Hambleton's grist mill, whose walls can still be seen along with the remains of Gretchen's Lock in this part of Beaver Creek State Park.

   And, of course, all the sites about "Pretty Boy" Floyd that you can search like this one:

   http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3935/

   And here's one of the spooky tales, "Bride at the Bridge":

   http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/ghost158.htm

   But i couldn't find any historic maps either. Maybe try the county or state historical societies or the historians at Beaver Creek State Park..