Simon Kenton Farm
War of 1812 (Soldiers by our doorstep.)
The first known settlers arrived in what is now Moorefield Township in 1799. They were led by Simon Kenton and constructed their homes just to the west of the Simon Kenton Farm Subdivision along the Urbana Pike (Route 72) which was not much more than an old Indian trail at the time. The same trail over which Simon Kenton was once led into captivity. It is also the same spot where he took down the last Indian warrior in combat in what was to become Clark County in 1818.
Included in this group of hearty souls was James Demint who founded Springfield (1801). Upon their arrival they built a blockhouse near the confluence of Buck Creek and the Mad River (near the Ohio Masonic Home) for protection against the Indians.
One can only imagine what it was like for these people, nothing more than a cleared path connecting them to their dreams and the promise of a new life. Over time the Indian path was widened, becoming the Urbana Pike. A road that connected Kentucky with Lake Erie and the Sandusky area.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812 when Dayton was named as the rendezvous for troops of Ohio and Kentucky, Ohio Governor Meigs called for 1,200 troops to be organized into 12 companies. This number grew to 1,600 and after receiving the needed supplies, moved north towards Detroit along the Old Troy Pike on May 31 to join up with General Hull. Unfortunately, these stout-hearted men were part of a group of 2,500 the British either killed or took prisoner near Fort Detroit.
Ohio and Kentucky quickly responded again after this defeat, gathering together a much larger militia under the command of General William Henry Harrison who would ultimately defeat the British at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. This battle saw the death of the great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh.
At the age of 58, Simon Kenton, who found it difficult to stay in one place for a prolonged period of time, was once again organizing scouting parties when the governor of Kentucky and old Revolutionary War comrade of his, Isaac Shelby, marched up the Urbana Pike with a large contingency of Kentucky militia to join General Harrison on the frontier. Kenton immediately joined up. He had no official military function he said but went along "on his own hook". Having met Tecumseh on a few occasions, Kenton was later asked to identify the body of the great Indian leader. Knowing that Tecumseh's body would be defiled, he purposedly misidentified another fallen chief as Tecumseh.
