Stratton House Inn is located in historic Belmont County, Ohio, which truly was the gateway to the West. On the East of Belmont County is the Ohio River, which for many decades functioned as the major river route to the West. From the Ohio River runs Route 250, which follows an ancient Indian pathway that extends to Sandusky Ohio on Lake Erie. This Indian route became a famous drovers trail and later the first State road in Ohio. Through the center of Belmont County runs the famous Cumberland (National) Road -- later rebuilt as route 40 and still later as Interstate 70. The Cumberland Road was the first major road to be constructed with Federal dollars, and became the land gateway from Maryland -- through Pennsylvania and Ohio to Indiana and Illinois.

This Web site contains much additional information on historic Belmont County and adjacent areas,

• where George Washington came in search of land,
• where Robert E. Lee owned land,
• where battles were fought with native Americans,
• where the first anti-slavery society was founded,
• where countless slaves fled -- seeking freedom,
• where Johnny Appleseed had his orchard....

Two Civil War Generals are associated with Belmont County. Ironically, the one that was born in Virginia and moved to Belmont County as a child fought for the North. The one born in Belmont County but that moved to Tennessee fought for the South.

• Brevet Major General John C. Tidball was born in Virginia in 1825. He moved to Belmont County as a child; and graduated from West Point in 1848. He served in the Union Army at Gettysburg, Wilderness, and Petersburg. He commanded IX Corps artillery, and remained in the Regular Army after the war. He was an artist, dieing in 1906.
• Major General Bushrod Rust Johnson was born in Morristown, Belmont County, but moved to Tennessee. Graduating from West Point in 1840, he was a teacher and engineer in Tennessee. He served the Confederate army at Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. He was known as the Confederate "Hero of Chickamauga." Following the war, he was Chancellor of the University of Nashville. He died in 1880. His memorial is in nearby Barkamp State Park, Belmont County, Ohio.

Featured Resources: Table of Contents

BEAUTIFUL BELMONT, by Judge John Salisbury Cochrane. An engaging and moving book originally published under the title Bonnie Belmont, this book brings aspects of historic Belmont County to life. A new edition of the book is available in its entirety on this Web site.

LITTLE HOME HISTORIES, published originally in 1942, contains accounts of early families and their homes in Belmont County. Most of these families were Quakers who settled near Barnesville, Ohio, starting as early as 1800. Most came to escape the environment of slavery where they lived previously. These accounts describe the dangers of the woods, the struggle to settle the land, the farms and homes that were built out of the wilderness, early medicine and trades that were practiced, and the commitment to worship and education in the area. A new edition of the book is available in its entirety on this Web site.

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF OHIO, by Henry Howe. Howe visited Ohio during the 1840s, compiling historical accounts of each county. In the 1880's he revisited each county in Ohio, updating his earlier work. These accounts, as a result, are closely contemporaneous with the events Howe documents, and of particular interest as a result. The entries under Early Ohio and Ohio Revisited are taken from an edition of Howe's 1880's edition which had been owned by the former residents of Stratton House Inn.

Early Ohio: A Brief History

• Part 1 -- Discovery, Exploration, and First Settlement by Europeans
• Part 2 -- From the Ordinance of 1787 to the State of Ohio
• Part 3 -- From the War of 1812 to the Civil War, 1861-1865

Ohio Revisited: Belmont County

• Part 01 -- Introduction.
• Part 02 -- Indian Attack Below Dillie's Fort.
• Part 03 -- The Battle of Captina Creek, 1794.
• Part 04 -- Lewis Wetzel, Indian Fighter: His Exploits at Dunkard's Creek and Indian Spring.
• Part 05 -- St. Clairsville in 1846.
• Part 06 -- Arthur St. Clair and the Notes of Judge Burnet.
• Part 07 -- Charles Hammond.
• Part 08 -- Benjamin Lundy: The Father of Abolitionism.
• Part 09 -- Wilson Shannon, Ohio's First Ohio-Born Governor.
• Part 10 -- James M. Thoburn, D.D..
• Part 11 -- Bridgeport in 1840 and 1886.
• Part 12 -- Indian Attack on Kirkwood's Cabin at Bridgeport.
• Part 13 -- Heroism of Elizabeth Zane.
• Part 14 -- Life in the Woods Near St. Clairsville.
• Part 15 -- A Trip on the Poor Man's Railroad: From Woodfield to Bellaire.
• Part 16 -- Bellaire in 1887.
• Part 17 -- John and Mike Fink: The Making of Legends.
• Part 18 -- The Heatheringtons of Bellaire.
• Part 19 -- Barnesville in 1887.
• Part 20 -- Martin's Ferry.
• Part 21 -- William Dean Howells: The Early Years.

Enjoy these works, and then come and retrace the country roads and historic sites in Belmont County where the "action" in these accounts takes place. Stratton House Inn is the ideal base for launching day-trips into the past.

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