Noble County is a small county in Ohio that is rich in history and culture. Here are 7 interesting facts about the county that you may not have known:
1. The county was named after James Noble, a United States Senator from Indiana. It was formed in 1851 from parts of Guernsey, Morgan, and Washington counties.
2. Noble County was a center of the Underground Railroad during the mid 1800s. Many runaway slaves passed through the county on their way to freedom. Some of the notable people involved in the Underground Railroad in Noble County were Harvey Gibson and Zephaniah Kingsley.
3. The county has a rich Native American history. The Delaware tribe were the original inhabitants of the area and there are still many artifacts and sites related to their culture that can be found throughout the county. The county seat, Caldwell, was originally called Indian Camp.
4. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Noble County was one of the largest oil-producing regions in the world. Many small towns popped up around the oil fields, including Dexter City, Olive Green, and Macksburg.
5. The county has a notable connection to the Wright brothers. Orville Wright visited the county in 1904 to search for an ideal location to conduct gliding experiments. He eventually settled on Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but his visit to Noble County helped to lay the groundwork for their later success in aviation.
6. Noble County was also the birthplace of a number of notable athletes. Baseball player Clark Griffith, who is in the Hall of Fame, was born in Clearfield. Jim Lachey, who played for the Washington Redskins and the Ohio State Buckeyes, was born in St. Clairsville.
7. Finally, Noble County was the site of one of the largest natural disasters in Ohio history. In 1913, a series of floods devastated the county and much of the rest of the state. The Ohio River was 20 feet above flood stage and over 400 Ohioans lost their lives. The floods were so bad that the state of Ohio now commemorates March 25th as "Ohio's Flood Awareness Day."
As you can see, Noble County has a rich and fascinating history. From the Underground Railroad to oil production to aviation, the county has played an important role in shaping Ohio and the United States as a whole.
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