Wellsville
Thanks to the efforts of the Wellsville Revitalization Committee and artist Gina Hampton of Hanoverton, Ohio, the flood wall in Wellsville is now covered with historic murals. Included in the murals is a scene depicting Abraham Lincoln waving to supporters on his way to his inauguration in Washington D.C. There are 10 scenes in all depicting various historic moments in the history of Wellsville. The flood wall was built after the devastating flood of 1936 when the Ohio river crested at 56 feet and put most of the town under water.
Wellsville dates back to just after the Revolutionary War, when a Pennsylvanian named William Wells first came to the area. George Washington many years before had surveyed the land and made note in his journal that the area was good bottom land, meaning that it was highly suitable for farming. William Wells agreed after arriving here. He purchased the rights to a large track of land and decided to use some of the land along the river to build a town that became known as Wellsville.
Long before Reverend John Callahan organized one of the first Ohio Methodist Church groups in William Wells home, there was a small village of Native Americans along the Yellow Creek. The Mingo village was home to one of Ohio's most best known Native Americans, Chief Logan, who had become a good friend of the English settlers familiar with the area.
Yellow Creek Massacre
In the spring of 1774, At the time of the attack, Chief Logan was away from the village on a hunting trip. However, his wife and brother were in the village when two brothers, Jacob and Daniel Greathouse arrived. For whatever reason, the Greathouses lured the Mingo men to the cabin of Joshua Baker, a settler and rum trader lived across the Ohio River from their village with the promise of liquor. What happened in the cabin is left to speculation. No one was brought to trial as a result of the killings that had become known as the Yellow Creek Massacre. Perhaps it received this designation because of the brutal treatment of the slain Mingos after they were murdered. In the end there were 12 murdered in the cabin and along the river.
Although great effort was made by tribal leaders to quell the calls for revenge, Chief Logan, along with other Mingo and Shawnee warriors began a series of attacks along the frontier against settlers. These attacks then spurred the Virginian governor, Lord Dunsmore, in Williamsburg, to send forces west to bring an end to the uprising. This became known as Lord Dunsmore War. The peace resulting from this brief war forced the Native Americans living and hunting west of the Allegheny Mountains give up all rights to land south of the Ohio River. In return, the English promised that no settlers would live north of the river.
