Northwood is a small,
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
crossroads village in northern
Logan County,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, United States. It lies along the line between
Richland Township and
McArthur Township, approximately two miles south of the
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
of
Belle Center and near the South Fork of the
Great Miami River
The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...
. Northwood was founded in the early 19th century, during the early years of settlement in Logan County. Its primary significance lies in its being the original site of
Geneva College
Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848 in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880. It enrolls about 1,400 undergraduates in over 30 majors, as wel ...
.
Geneva College
During the 1830s, the Rev. J. B. Johnston, pastor of the Miami
Reformed Presbyterian Church in Northwood, began teaching a small
classical school in his study. Friends and relatives, noticing the popularity of his classes, began to suggest the opening of a small
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
in the area. Eventually, Geneva Hall was opened in the spring of 1848, partially under the oversight of the Lakes
Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Despite its initial popularity, the school soon failed for lack of money and support. At the end of the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Geneva was reopened as a school for
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
and soon began to educate whites as well. The community received a post office on November 24, 1868.
During the 1870s, its name was changed from Geneva ''Hall'' to Geneva ''College'', and the college became significant enough that the town's name was changed to "West Geneva". Although the college flourished, it moved to
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania in 1880, largely because of Northwood's lack of a railroad and because of greater financial possibilities there.
Other schools
During the Geneva years, Northwood also hosted two other educational institutions. As Geneva was founded as a men's school, Rev. Johnston founded a similar Female Seminary in 1851. Furthermore, the
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary operated in Northwood for a short time.
History of the Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Accessed 2007-07-24.
Other history
Because of the strongly abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
beliefs of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and because of small cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s in the woods and fields nearby, Northwood was a center for the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
.
After 1880, Northwood declined. While Northwood was never a large town, the departure of the College removed the village's significance, and "West Geneva" reverted to the old name of Northwood. Its post office closed on June 6, 1901, and local residents received Belle Center addresses.quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
and asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
plant.
Notable natives
* Clarence E. Macartney, prominent Presbyterian preacher and author
References
External links
Detailed Logan County map
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Ohio
Unincorporated communities in Logan County, Ohio