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THIS WAS OUR HERITAGE - GERMANTOWN, OHIO
The first settlers or squatters came into the Valley of the Twins between 1798 and 1804 and were of English & Scotch origins. A second wave of settlers migrating primarily from Berks County, Pennsylvania, were caught up in the ”western fever.” Twenty-four families rnoved towards the setting sun and finally came to rest on the banks of the Big Twin Creek, August 1, 1804.
Sturdy beams in Germantown’s pioneer framework were Philip Gunckel, David Miller, John George Kern, and Christopher Emerick. Business minded Philip Gunekel, the acknowledged leader, selected Twin Creek as the ideal location for his new mill. The mill proved an alluring attraction for many new settlers. Then in 1814, the actual village was platted, 160 lots, all of which where sold within the year.
Germantown and German Township grew rapidly. The first federal census for the Township in 1810 revealed a population of 1,256. With this growth in population came the first newspaper, published in the year 1826 by Edward Shaeffer. The ”Germantown Gazette”, printed half in German and half in English for the benefit of the bi-lingual group it served. Other than Mr. Gunckel’s mill, Germantown’s chief industries were Christian Rohrer’s Mud Lick Distillery, established in 1847 and the various cigar- manufacturing concerns.
Now, as we celebrate the two-hundredth birthday of our village, we should pause, look back and discover our heritage. This was the embryonic beginning of Germantown. The same Germantown in which we are now living, built on the foundation of dirt, sweat, and hard work, and sustained by those who love by the careful molding of the same mortar.
From the Germantown Bicentennial Celebration Program
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