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History
Ordinanced in 1800 as part of the Virginia Military District, Clermont is Ohio's eighth oldest county, the furthest county west in Appalachian Ohio, the eleventh oldest county of the former Northwest Territory. Clermont County is part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named for the Clermont Province of France, the home of Vercingetorix, from the French "clear hills or mountain."
Clermont's Moscow became the exiled home of French royalty during the early 1800s, including future King of France Louis-Philippe in 1815 and the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. Point Pleasant was birthplace and boyhood home of military hero, Union general, and President Ulysses S. Grant, born on 27 April 1822.
During the 1800s, antislavery sentiment remained strong. Bethel was the residence of Democratic United States Senator Thomas Morris who also served three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, as Ohio Supreme Court Justice, and four terms in the Ohio Senate. Also in 1844, Clermont became the site of Utopia, an egalitarian haven of Puritans who espoused the doctrines of François Marie Charles Fourier. In 1847, future Ohio Governor John M. Pattison was born near Owensville. Grant became commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army in the Civil War, during which John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders invaded Clermont in 1863. Grant was elected the eighteenth president in 1868.
Clermont's last-standing covered bridge was built in 1878 on Stonelick Williams Corner Road, near US Route 50. The Grant birthplace, originally a one-room cabin, continues to welcome visitors and in 1890 was removed from its original location, travelling by boat to be viewed by citizens along various waterways. It was also taken to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair before returning to Clermont.
Around 1900 clerics from numerous congregations gathered to create a list of ten places on Earth where the Garden of Eden could have been located. Among the locations was Clermont County, Ohio, listed for its many fruiting trees and the early influence of American Indians who built earthen mounds in the form of serpents. Subsequently, prominent men from Hamilton County dedicated Eden Park to honor the distinction.
Pattison became the first Clermont Countian elected Governor of Ohio in 1905, Ohio's first Democratic governor of the twentieth century. Pattison lived in Milford, and at a time before the influence of Columbus, governed from his home called the Promont, which was used as the official governor's residence. The mansion, completed in 1865, today is a museum that houses a library and other historical memorabilia. It is located at 906 Main Street, Milford.
Democrat Hugh Llewellyn Nichols of Batavia served as 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and became the first Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court in 1914. Orpha Gatch of Milford, the first woman elected to its school board, locally sponsored the county LWV, and is the namesake for the club's award given annually at its suffragist brunch honoring the recognized volunteerism and leadership qualities. Clermont's progressivism created a climate of political independence. Despite recent Republican prevalence in its offices, heavy nonpartisan and union influences exist. Clermont's growing population as well as environmentalism have contributed to this climate.
Adjacent Counties
- Brown County
- Bracken County, Kentucky
- Pendleton County, Kentucky
- Campbell County, Kentucky
- Hamilton County
- Warren County
- Clinton County
Cities, Villages & Townships
- Amelia
- Batavia (County Seat)
- Bethel
- Chilo
- Felicity
- Franklin
- Goshen
- Jackson
- Loveland
- Miami
- Milford
- Monroe
- Moscow
- Neville
- New Richmond
- Newtonsville
- Ohio
- Owensville
- Pierce
- Stonelick
- Tate
- Union
- Washington
- Wayne
- Williamsburg
For a list of other Communities, please see Wikipedia.
Links
National Register of Historic. Places
Clermont County Genealogical Society
