Braysville Cemetery  and Longenecker’s Station

The Braysville Cemetery is located on the west side of US 52, just north of the junction of Indiana Route 46, in Section 10, Harrison Township, Dearborn County, Indiana.

Just above Longenecker’s Station on the Whitewater Valley Railroad, on a high point of ground, is Braysville Cemetery originally given for burial purposes by Judge Solomon Manwarring.  The oldest grave marked by a stone bearing a legible inscription is that of Hannah Case who died in 1818.  Other frontier settlers who are buried here include Solomon Manwarring, Jacob Cox, J. Jones, Sr., Moses Hornaday, Mary Ashby, and Isaac Adair.

This cemetery has been sometimes confused with the Longnecker Cemetery south of Metamora in Metamora Township. In pioneer days, drovers would stop at Longnecker Station near Metamora one night, and then at Longnecker Station at Braysville the following night. They are both located along the Whitewater River and the Whitewater canal, but several miles apart.
 

John Hunt Morgan Trail      

Whitewater Canal Trail Intersection with the John Hunt Morgan Trail.

A Driving Tour which follows the route of Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan in his Great Raid through southern Indiana July 8 - 13, 1863, coming across Dearborn Co. on North Dearborn Road. 

 For more detailed information, a John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail guide book is available at Historic Hoosier Hills, P.O. Box 407, Versailles, IN 47042    812-689-6410 ext. 5, or from the Dearborn Co. Historical Society.

R. E. Kaiser  Mill Building,   201N State St.             West Harrison 

Originally built ca. 1840 as a hydraulic powered flour mill on the Whitewater Canal.  The mill was converted to steam in 1879 and operated as a mill from 1840 to 1950.

Canal Junction        ( Double Historic Marker )      Harrison  IN / OH              

South State Street and Whitewater River in Harrison, OH.  Marker is located just north of the river, junction of the Whitewater Canal with the Cincinnati and Whitewater Canal.

Possum Hollow Canal Culvert       Oberting Rd., Greendale               

 PB Photo

This small stone arch canal culvert is the only canal structure still existing on the Whitewater Canal between Harrison and Lawrenceburg.  It was built by David Guard.  Still in use.

Ref: Donald Burden

David Guard

David Guard contracted for sections 6 with one road bridge and one culvert 8 ft chord and section 7 with one culvert 8 ft chord and one waste weir on May 3, 1837. The latter being the culvert known as Possum Run along Oberting Road in Greendale, IN. The research also shows payments to Guard and Co for this work.

 Ref: Chuck Whiting

 In 1790, Alexander Guard and his wife, Hannah, and their four children including David, landed at the settlement of North Bend in the Northwest Territory after emigrating from New Jersey. This was a year after the first settlers arrived and a year and a half after settlers arrived at what is now Cincinnati. In 1793, they moved to Hayes Station at the mouth of the Great Miami and to Dearborn County in 1796.

From the year 1812 to 1820, the town of Lawrenceburg grew rapidly. One of the principal businessmen was David Guard in the list of 35 in the 1885 history.  He was one of thirteen men of enterprise who began the New Orleans trade. "They bought up all the surplus produce, paying for it in silver money, and that too when people needed it the most. Jacob Hays," (one of the thirteen) "was a very active and prominent trader on the river from 1820 to 1848, having from two to five flatboats on the river at any one time."

In 1820, Guard was a director of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, the first banking institution of the early village of Lawrenceburg.

On January 6, 1820, the ladies of the town met at the house of David Guard and organized a female Sunday School.

He served in the State House 1833-34 and 1836-37, was married to Beulah Miller (12 children). Lost for State representative in 1834. He was an anti-Jackson Whig. Methodist, not a church member, he was a merchant; farmer; New Orleans flatboat trader, 25 years.

Notice of his death was in the June 22, 1850, paper without additional details.

He is probably buried in the Guard Family Cemetery, Whispering Woods Drive, Greendale near the section of canal for which he contracted. There are many stones down or partially buried. Most likely, there are many others that are completely lost.

CAW, 11/03/06

Oxbow Nature Preserve  

Oxbow is the most important wetland area in the mid-section of the Ohio Valley. Birders have listed 270 species of birds on the area. 66 species of fish live here.
Oxbow is 5 square miles on the Ohio & Indiana borders at the confluence of the Ohio & Great Miami Rivers.  Access at Hardinsburg.  

 An important activity of Oxbow, Inc. is conservation education.  They offer monthly field trips and invite your participation.  Their speakers bureau will address your group at no charge.  Call and request a program.  Additional information can be obtained from www.oxbowinc.org
 

 
Hardinsburg                  

 An early flatboat landing.  The village was named for Henry Hardin who settled here in 1796.  Hardinsburg held promise of being a bigger shipping port than Lawrenceburg  until that fateful morning when the Great Miami river decided to change her course leaving Hardinsburg  high and dry.  With the river now a mile and a half from town, the residents of Hardinsburg  looked hopefully to the coming of the Whitewater Canal through their village.  Canal Locks 1 and 2 were located just south of Hardinsburg.

 Historic Marker              Lawrenceburg                                        

 Note: It is on the site of Argosy Casino that the Whitewater Canal entered the Lawrenceburg Canal Basin adjacent to the Ohio River.

The canal’s turning basin extended from the foot of Elm St., two blocks northeast of Walnut St., to the foot of St. Clair St. at what is now the river side of the levee.

 The building of the canal brought increased business, manufacturing establishments and settlement to the Lawrenceburg community.

Lawrenceburg Historic District    

Lawrenceburg was settled in 1802 and has a number of significant 19th and early 20th century structures. Two streets, Walnut and High, are the main veins of the town. These streets are densely developed with a mixture of architectural styles including Federal, Queen Anne, Italianate, Greek Revival and second Empire.

Lawrenceburg, Indiana, is the county seat and the most populous city in Dearborn County with a population of 4,738. Founded by Samuel C. Vance, the city was named in honor of the founder's wife, whose maiden name was Lawrence.

Located on the banks of the Ohio River, just 27 miles away from downtown Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg boasts an eclectic mix of the past and present. Historic buildings line downtown Walnut Street, which is within walking distance of the Argosy Casino and Hotel.  VANCE-TOUSEY HOUSE -The historic home also houses genealogical records and is next door to the pioneer homestead, complete with a 1820s log cabin. It is now owned by Historic Dearborn County.

 Hunt House Hotel                          

The Jesse Hunt House, a historic landmark building in the heart of Lawrenceburg, now the headquarters of  United Community Bank, an example of adaptive reuse fostered by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

The Hunt House sits on a prominent corner of downtown, but had been vacant for years. The building has a rich history and is believed to be Indiana's oldest three-story brick building.