The second 90° turn is home to the William Tobias House at 2057 Beaver Valley Road, built about 1820.  Formerly known as Broadview Farm, this is located on an old Shawnee Indian trail.  William Tobias had been a tenant farmer in Sugarcreek Township and purchased a log home and 86 acres in 1869.  He replaced it with a two-story mortised and pinned frame structure prior to 1879.

The William Tobias House is now owned and maintained by local developer, Bob Mills.

Very near here at about 8:00pm on October 22, 1872, John Fogwell, husband of Rebecca Harner-Fogwell, was returning to his home from Dayton via the train, when he was fired upon by William Richison, who was hiding in the corner of a fence row.  The weapon was a shotgun loaded with balls.  The flash of the gun revealed the face of the assassin, and he was recognized by the murdered man, who lived long enough to tell the name of the shooter.

Richison was arrested, and at his trial, evidence was brought which fastened the guilt of the crime upon him: besides the testimony of the victim, the paper used for the wadding of the shotgun was found to correspond with pieces of torn newspaper found in the assassin’s own house.  He was found guilty on his first trial, but for some reason, was granted a second trial and was again declared guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.  Before the day fixed for his execution arrived, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell in the Xenia jail.  He was buried in his own front yard in a lone, unmarked grave near the scene of the tragedy.  John Fogwell was laid to rest at Beaver Cemetery.

---

Have been doing some more research with the GREAT people over at the Greene County Archives... it turns out that in the good 'ol days before prevalent photography, a surveyor would be sent following a crime to document the scene.

In this case the surveyor was Washington Galloway, descendent of early Greene County Settler James Galloway.  DOWNLOAD his survey below as it's too wide for our image generator.

This survey gives us some great information as to the layout of the buildings, mill, millrace and road configuration around Trebein at the time.

Also, take a look at the news clipping in the image gallery - it reads:

Richison, the murderer of Fogwell, in Greene County, was found guilty, by the jury, of murder in the first degree.  He is a very hardened villain, and recently expressed the wish that when he is buried his grave may be filled with stones so that he may stone Fogwell out of hell!

Nice guy.  It does make you wonder what let up to the murder... and that we're still working on at the Archives!

• William B. Richison Arraignment William B. Richison Arraignment
• Crime Scene Survey Crime Scene Survey
• Galloway Plotting Galloway Plotting
• News clipping News clipping
•  

Nancy Maxwell stated in an interview that she and William never had a door on their cabin southeast of Alpha, but used a blanket to cover the doorway.  When William had to be away from home, she and the children would sleep in the loft to avoid detection if Indians came around.  Supplies for William’s funeral included two pair of hinges – the extra may have been to hang a door on the cabin since William would no longer be there for protection.  He is thought to have been buried near Valley Road on the south side of U.S. Route 35 in an area early known as Allen’s Woods.

Albert Ankeney wrote, "I used to go over there (Allen's Woods) and hunt mushrooms and sometimes look for the tombstone of Mr. Maxwell.  His grave was just marked by a limestone slab that was set on edge.  It had been removed but I knew approximately where the stone could be found.  It was pretty well toward the west end of that big woods that's still there."

In 1941, the Dayton Club of Printing House Craftsmen erected a memorial monument to William Maxwell, it currently stands alongside the bike path in Trebein.  The Ohio Newspaper Association presents the William Maxwell Award in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in the advancement of the newspaper profession.

• Front Of William Maxwell Marker Front Of William Maxwell Marker
• Close View Of Front Close View Of Front
• Close View Of Back Close View Of Back
• Back Of William Maxwell Marker Back Of William Maxwell Marker
• William Maxwell William Maxwell
• David Maxwell David Maxwell
•  

Another notable local settler was William Maxwell (c.1766-September 10, 1809), he and wife Nancy raised nine children – son John said to be the first non-native child born in Greene County.  William was the first engraver to publish a newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio. The paper was called the Centinel of the Northwest Territory, and the first issue was published on Saturday, November 9, 1793. The motto of the paper was "Open to all parties–but influenced by none".  He used a portable wood printing press, which he took with him to Lexington, Kentucky and set up a business. In 1793 he left for Cincinnati and began his weekly newspaper, which consisted of four pages and had a limited circulation. The printing press he used was much like the one invented by Johann Gutenberg.

In 1796 he printed Laws of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio in Cincinnati, a 225 page book with one-thousand issues printed. Subsequently known as ‘Maxwell's Code’, this was the first book printed in the Northwest Territory.  He also purchased 1,015 acres (almost 1.6 square miles!) in the eastern portion of Beavercreek Township in 1796 where he helped cut a road from Dayton east to Alpha; present Dayton-Xenia Road still follows part of that original Road.

• Gutenberg Press Gutenberg Press
•  

This is the location of an infamous Greene County murder by the previously mentioned Charles Justice.

On September 16, 1910, John Shoup heard a commotion in the chicken house and sent William Shoup into the far end to flush out what he thought was a fox. They encountered a man whose description resembled Justice trying to steal their livestock. The thief fired three shots, one which killed John Shoup. According to testimony at the trial, Justice calmly picked up the bag of chickens and walked away. After many hours they finally caught up with him. Everybody was out looking. He was convicted of first degree murder on November 3, 1910 in the Greene County Court of Common Pleas.

Several hours before his scheduled execution, a long knife was found in Justice’s cell. He stated that he intended to use it on the guard who strapped him into the electric chair. Two other prisoners who were housed with him asked to be moved because they feared that he would kill them as well. His last words were “I am not guilty of the crime for which you are killing me.” Charles Justice was executed at 12:05 AM on October 27, 1911, the 38th person executed by the State of Ohio. No friends or relatives claimed his body and it was given to a medical school in Columbus.

An urban legend exists that the man who invented the electric chair was executed in it. This was attributed to Charles Justice. He was, in fact, incarcerated at the Ohio Penitentiary when “Old Sparky” was built to serve as a more humane form of execution than the gallows. A scrapbook entitled, “The Electrocution Book” was donated to the Ohio Historical Society in 1983 that was compiled by employees of the state’s prison system. In an undated article within called “The Electric Chair”, Richard J. Jemison states that a prisoner named Charles Justice helped build the chair and was later executed in it. Historical accounts state that Charles did not build the electric chair, but he was executed in it. Additional research suggests that while working in the prison’s tin shop, he fabricated metal clamps that replaced the leather straps for better performance. Charles is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.

The approaching curve was the location of the Shoemake Dairy Farm. Concrete remnants of the feed house can be seen on the north side of the curve and in the autumn/winter, you can find a silo hidden in the trees.

• Charles Justice Out Of Luck Charles Justice Out Of Luck
• Shoemake Dairy Shoemake Dairy
• Headstone of John Shoup Headstone of John Shoup
• Erroneous News Article Erroneous News Article
• News Clipping 2 News Clipping 2
• News Clipping 3 News Clipping 3
• Old Sparky Old Sparky
•