Our tour begins at 2800 New Germany-Trebein Road – formerly the 112 acre farm of J.L. Lantz and currently The Beavercreek Golf Club.  The 1855 farms of Sam Brown, Edward Tobias, George Harner and Henry Ankeney were cut from the rolling, densely wooded hills of this area known as ‘The Big Woods’.

Born in 1919, lifelong Beavercreek resident Ruth Booher-Stafford recalled young ladies from around her home near Alpha sneaking away from home to attend parties in 'The Big Woods' area.  Often, to the embarassment of their parents, they'd be stranded overnight due to the treacherous route and extreme darkness of the journey back home again.

As you exit Golf Club Boulevard, the green to your left was the approximate location of the Rudisell blacksmith shop, one of over a dozen throughout the township.  We’ll soon turn west toward N. Fairfield, but at the crest of the hill to your left was the location of the Harshman-Walters Cabin.  This was the oldest structure in Beavercreek until destroyed by fire during restoration on November 23, 2004.  Thought to have been originally owned by a member of the Harshman family, it was a 19’x17’ log building with a loft containing a porthole to lookout for Indians.  It is believed that it had also been a toll gate house, which is how funding was raised to clear timber and construct roads.

Much of history is documented in obituaries and on headstones.  Beavercreek has numerous cemeteries, large and small.  One of the smaller, quaint ones is located just to the north of here off of Pascal Drive.  A few images of the Reese-Petro cemetery follow...