You’ll find Waynesville to be a warm and inviting town that requires return visits...and you’ll always find something unique & different.
The “Antique Capital of the Midwest”
Older than the state of Ohio, the village of Waynesville offers a fascinating combination of history and culture as it developed in southwestern Ohio. This “Antiques Capital of the Midwest” and “Home of the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival” is a microcosm of our American heritage with its dreams and accomplishments.
Waynesville’s History
Samuel Heighway founded Waynesville in 1797 and thought his town would become the capital of the Northwest Territory. A dream that never materialized. But Waynesville did grow up to be one of the most historically unique tourist spots in Southern Ohio. Heighway, an engineer from Shropshire, England, and some other ritzy English frontiersmen settled Waynesville March 8, 1797. He and his partners, Rev. John Smith, a Methodist minister, Dr. Evan Beans, a physician, and Sir Francis Baily, a young scientist, invested in 30,000 acres in the Symmes Purchase between the Little and Great Miami Rivers.
A plantation was their scheme. A settlement party, organized at Philadelphia in September 1796, cleared land previously surveyed by Heighway as early as 1792. Over 10 tons of implements and supplies were bought at Baltimore and brought to Philadelphia. These were stowed aboard a 12 by 36 foot “Kentucky Ark” flatboat and moved on the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers to the Ohio.
About Waynesville
Waynesville was awarded the Red Carnation Award in 1998. This award, sponsored by the Ohio Development Association, recognizes communities for their outstanding efforts in community and economic development.
Waynesville is a desirable place to live for any age, with its rolling hills and friendly people. Centrally located between Dayton and Cincinnati, access to interstates is just minutes away.
In 1999, Waynesville was named one of the “Most Walkable” communities in the country by Walking Magazine.
For those that like a more spooky nature, Waynesville is the “Most Haunted Town” in Ohio - complete with ghosts and ghost stories!
©2005 Oak Creek Realty