the MIAMI GA
Second ,.Iass postage paid at Waynesville Ohio January 19, 1972 - Waynesville, Ohio
-Va\. 4 No.3
l.ogHouse Discovered
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by Mary Bellman Discovery and purchase of a 165 year old log house by the Warren County Park District has _opened new vistas of historical preservation and recreation for this scenic area of southern Ohio. The original Levi Lukens homestead was saved from ohIivion by Park District Administrator Richard Workman, who was notified by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer representative after a demolition crew discovered 18 inch hand hewn logs beneath a veneer of clapborad and aluminum siding. Lukens' greatgreat-grandfather William Lukens of Lebanon and great-great-greatgrandfather of Ohio Senator Donald E. "Buz" Lukens built the two story log house in December 1807 on part of 1,000 acres purchased along Caesar's Creek November 17, 1803. Levi, who settled in Warren County in 1803, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania June 24, 1767, emigrated to Virginia and was married there in'" Berke'ley - 'County to Elizabeth Cleaver on August 8, 1793. Workman with the help of Waynesville historian and freelance writer Dennis Dalton, pinpointed the house's construction date and builder from books housed at the Warren County Historical Society Museum. The Lukens house has undergone little structural alteration during it's near two centuries with the exception of replacement of ori9' inal puncheon floors . It includes it's original stone fireplace, stairway and full cellar. Lukens' fig· ured prominently in the early industrial history of Massie Township. He ' built it's first saw-mill on Caesar's Creek in
1815 and in 1823 erected a grist mill along the same stream. Dismantling of the Lukens' home will begin soon and the logs individually numbered, marked. and sprayed with a preserVative for storage until funds become available for reconstruction of the historic building on an appropriate site. Lebanon Building Contractors Jim Thornbury and Jack Wetzig have already volunteered for the dismantling and moving job. Wesley Nagala, Executive Director of the Butler County Park Board and an authority on moving log cabins has offered his services in addition to assistance from the Ohio Historical Society at Columbus. Until then the structure will be under careful surveillance. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken an outstanding interest in the preservation of Warren County landmarks within the Caesar's Creek project and has been most cooperative concerning the Lukens house. according to Workman . Workman said the historic log home cou Id cornerstone a reconstructed pioneer village of relocated county historical buildings if the park district can gain the necessary funds and land acquisi· tion for such a restoration project . Passing a half mill park tax levy this fall would be the answer to the money needs of the "totally unfunded" county park district. Park supporters are currently being sought fo~ financial aid for preservation of the Lu · kens' homestead dnd other ex · amples of Warren County's rural and natural beauty.
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- Photo Mary Bellman -
Familiar Faea Missing
by Mary Bellman A familiar face is missing from Waynesville streets, Miss Emma Lou Lewis. Miss Lewis will be 89 years old on May 15. '
She had the misfortune to fall and now has both of her arms in casts. She was seen every day taking her daily walk in Waynes-
ville . She is getting anxious to get out and walk again _ She says, "If you want to live, get out and walk ." She seems to be proof that a daily walk never hurt anyone . She is a member of one of the old pioneer families to set· tie in W~ynesville. Her great grandfather, Paul Lewis, Sr. , a member of the Religious Society of Friends, settled three miles southwest of Wayne!'Ville in 1809. after moving there from
Burlington County near Mt . Holly, New Jersey . Lewis moved to Waynesville and had John Jennings build for him the brick grist mill that now cornerstones WaynesJ ille's Mill View Park. Mis:; Lewis is a retired school teach~r, having taught for 29 years. Her first teaching job was at i:t country school in Danville, Illinois. Later she was at the Stockton Junior Hiqh School for Continued on Page 2
ments.