Madison County with its county seat London, is located just west of Franklin County. On February 16, 1810, the Ohio Legislature created Madison County, named for then president James Madison. In September of that year, Patrick McLene and his team of 30 surveyors began surveying the county and completed the task in the following year.
In 1810, the Court of Common Please of Franklin County appointed Philip Lewis director to lay out the county seat of Madison County. The site had been selected earlier by John Pollock and George Jackson. The plat was recorded on November 13, 1810. There was some doubt as to the name assigned the new county seat. In the court records it reads Madison, Deer Creek Township, Philip Lewis Director. Some of the early settlers later claimed that London was built upon a site that was originally referred to as Madison.
At that time in the state's history, this area was more than half covered by water according to the county history. Lakes, ponds and wet lands made the land almost worthless. Yet through great effort the wet lands were eventually drained and for many years it provided excellent grazing land. In time the land dried out so it could be tilled and the once wet swamp land became good, flat farm land.
The Darby Creek Watershed has long been an important area to people living in the area or just moving through. Today, both Big and Little Darby Creeks are designated as Scenic Waterways. Both creeks are noted nationally for their abundant plant and animal life in and around the streams. It is estimated that there are about 86 different species of fish living in the streams with 5 of those are in danger of disappearing from Ohio waters altogether.
The name Darby was given by early surveyors who found an old Native American named Darby had a camp at the confluence of what became known later as Big Darby Creek and the Scioto River. Darby's camp was a place in the wilderness the surveyors could trust as a place of relative safety.
One of central Ohio's largest Metro Parks is located along the creek, Battelle Darby Metro Park.
One of the major drainage creeks in eastern Madison is Deer Creek which engineers damned up in the mid 1950s to form Deer Creek Reservoir, located just south east of Madison. Deer Creek was so called because it was known to Native Americans as a great hunting area for deer that were known to inhabit this particular area of the county.
Red Brick Tavern is located on the National Highway in Lafayette.
Just north of London is the Red Brick Tavern located on the old National Road in Lafayette. Originally founded by William Minter, the Red Brick Tavern dates back to 1837 as a popular stagecoach stop along the National Road. It has been visited by a number of important historic figures includes Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison and Henry Clay.
The town of London was formed primarily to be the county seat at a location that was somewhat central for the county. Several years after the geographic location had a population of several families, but in time once the county courthouse was constructed, the location became a focal point for growth.
Perhaps the most famous resident of Madison County was Jonathan Alder who chose to spend his life here after being kidnapped by Indians when he was just a child. He spent many years with various Native American groups and in his old age he dictated to his son those experiences giving us a vivid description of Indian life in the Northwest Territory.
©
Ohio City Productions, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.