What’s in a name?
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Shakespeare's Juliet asked Romeo, "What's in a name?" Late local historian Jerry Devol researched that question regarding the names of Washington County post offices. Heading out Route 26 from Marietta, you'll find rural Lawrence township begins just before the Lane Family Campground.
Lawrence Township is the only truly square one in the county. Formed in 1815 from Newport, it's named for the inspiring New Jersey native Capt. James Lawrence of War of 1812 fame. In June 1813, Capt. Lawrence, commanding the USS Chesapeake, was wounded while engaging the HMS Shannon near Boston. With his dying breath, Lawrence implored his crew, "Don't give up the ship!" Commodore Perry's flag at the Battle of Lake Erie would bear that final encouragement. The first post office opened there in 1833 was also called Lawrence, located near the Independence Township line.
Like other townships, several town names such as Steel Run, Gracey, Heslop and Dye Post Offices originate from prominent families or postmasters whose houses or general stores provided mail service. Another such town, founded in 1887, Fay was named for the Rev. Levi Lankton Fay. Levi graduated from Marietta College in 1840 and then Lane Seminary, studying under Dr. Lyman Beecher, the father of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Levi was a revered Congregational Church minister noted as a home missionary in southern Ohio and was brother of Children's Home founder, Catherine (Fay) Ewing. As Jann Adams detailed in her article recently, Catherine established Ohio's first Children's Home with property purchase at Moss Run in 1857. That town's post office opened the same year and was named for one of the area's earliest settlers, Morse. Morse was an early manufacturer of chestnut shingles and the stream named for him, Morse Run, was "corrupted" over the years to Moss, not named for the velvety green ground cover, as one might assume.
Fifteen Post Office was located 15 miles from the Marietta courthouse, with my ancestor, Leonard Britton, as first postmaster in 1874. In 1816, Solomon Tice would bore two wells along Fifteen Creek looking for salt water, but instead found oil. It would be the first well that produced oil in the county, but the first commercially drilled well specifically seeking oil wouldn't occur until 1860 (in Macksburg).
In 1861, the second commercial oil well was dug by Castle owner John Newton at Cow Run. Early settlers stated fences weren't needed there because cattle were always found near the saline-rich stream they named Cow Run. By 1870, 500 producing wells transformed that small crossroad into a 1,500-person town.
In 1890 a small post office was proposed for Luther Hill's store. It was decided to name it in memory of a soldier with local ties, Joseph Tomlinson Bukey.
Continuing to serve in the army after his Civil War service, Joseph drowned protecting a newly acquired U.S. territory from poachers. They named it after the Alaska town where he died, Sitka.
The last post office opened in the township was Dart, site of the former Lawrence Elementary. In 1905, a postal official and others "were standing outside of Bohlen's country store trying to think of a suitable and short name for the new post office when a flock of birds flew overhead. One of the birds 'darting' to the ground suggested the name."
Scott Britton is executive director of The Castle and a member of the Washington County Historical Society. To learn more about the Washington County Historical Society, call 740 373-1788 or go to wchshistory.org.