Leesburg Area Historical Society

Leesburg Area Historical Society Our Historical Society exists to preserve & share the history & culture of the Leesburg, Ohio area.

We had a great crowd for our 4th Annual Heritage Breakfast! Over 100 people were served food and many stayed to hear fr...
11/15/2025

We had a great crowd for our 4th Annual Heritage Breakfast! Over 100 people were served food and many stayed to hear from artist Bob Kroeger, who donated paintings for our silent auction. The auction raised $1120 - thank you Bob and bidders! We also thank Betty Ann Walker for appraising antiques for us, and Southern Hills Community Bank, Huhtamaki, Elaine Balsely, and Brad Williams for their donations to cover our expenses. And a big thank you to the Highland County North Joint Fire & Ambulance District for allowing us to use the community room. All together this event raised $6,842.90 that will be invested in renovating the interior of our depot. Thank you everyone!

Meet the artist, Bob Kroeger, when you stop in for our Annual Heritage Breakfast! Event is tomorrow, Saturday, November...
11/07/2025

Meet the artist, Bob Kroeger, when you stop in for our Annual Heritage Breakfast! Event is tomorrow, Saturday, November 8, from 8-11 am at the Leesburg Fire Station. Bring a friend, an empty stomach, and an antique item you'd like appraised. Stay for the artist's barn stories at 9:30 & silent auction. See you soon!

For those of you in southern Ohio, on Saturday morning, November 8, I’ll be doing a fundraiser in Highland County for the Leesburg Area Historical Society - https://www.robertkroeger.com/event/197121/leesburg-area-historical-society
Though I won’t do a demo barn painting, I’ll tell barn stories and sign my barn books. I’ll also deliver paintings for a fundraiser-auction. This one will be featured. Hope you can come!

HIGHLAND COUNTY

“Four Vets”

From 1775, although the Revolutionary War had not ended until 1783, the fledgling government began to reserve several million acres of land in the Northwest Territory, mostly in the Ohio Country, for veterans to settle – via a bounty land warrant. Congress apparently viewed this land, where many Indian tribes lived, as free land, and issued these warrants to encourage voluntary enlistment in the military as well as to reward those who served. Though Congress continued this up to 1855, it authorized the warrants in 1788, 1803, and 1806, all prior to the War of 1812. After the Indians lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, they ceded lands in northwestern Ohio in a treaty the following year.
According to Charles Taylor, whom barn scout Raymond and I met on our tour in the autumn of 2023, four veterans of the Revolutionary War received a total of 8,000 acres of land where this barn sits today. Though not much is known about how the four vets divided the acreage, its possible that one of their descendants built this barn in the late 1890s. Even though the construction involves mostly sawn lumber, there are some hand-hewn beams, which may have been repurposed from a barn built earlier.
Charles acquired the 101-acre farm in 1968 and has established a living trust, which is administered by his three children, a way of ensuring that the farm and its attractive barn will continue to honor these four heroic soldiers of the Revolutionary War.

11/03/2025

For those of you in southern Ohio, on Saturday morning, November 8, I’ll be doing a fundraiser in Highland County for the Leesburg Area Historical Society - https://www.robertkroeger.com/event/197121/leesburg-area-historical-society
Though I won’t do a demo barn painting, I’ll tell barn stories and sign my barn books. I’ll also deliver paintings for a fundraiser-auction. This one will be featured. Hope you can come!

HIGHLAND COUNTY

“A Pleasant Surprise”

Driving along a main road, barn scout Raymond and I noticed a barn, its roof leaking, door open to the elements, and nearly hidden with trees, scrub, and weeds. Although it’s time is dwindling, it merited investigation.
So, the two barn detectives stopped, walked further down to a farmhouse, and met the owner Anthony Carmean, who said his family acquired the farm in the 1950s. But, though he didn’t have any more information, he said we could take a look inside.
Lo and behold, what appeared to be a nondescript faded old barn from the view from the road was actually an old timber-framed barn, likely built before the Civil War. Raymond couldn’t believe he had never seen this one, despite its location being nearby. As with other barns built in the same era, this was a three-bay threshing barn on the top level – with livestock stalls on the ground level. I had to admire the dry-laid cut sandstone foundation, work of a master stonemason. Though the barn’s protected by a metal roof, that protection may not last forever – part of the roof has deteriorated. Regardless of its future, this barn was a pleasant surprise for both of us.

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PO Box 63
Leesburg, OH
45135

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