Killbuck is a small village just west of SR 62 (the Amish Country Byway. On it's west side is Killbuck Creek. Like many small town's in Ohio, Killbuck had a bright future in the new state. It was located in a beautiful valley along a navigable stream that made it not only attractive, but good for farming, and that stream connected to the Ohio Erie Canal.
When railroads began to crisscross the state, Killbuck's Town was one of the lucky communities. This was short lived however, as the railroads began to consolidate and unprofitable lines were abandoned. Through Killbuck, the old line ran between the stream and Main Street. The railroad crossed the river just about where Shrimplin Creek enters into Killbuck Creek.
The first American settlers arrived on the banks of the Killbuck Creek was Abraham Shrimplin and his wife arrived here in the early spring of 1809. Together they built a small, crude cabin, cleared some land and by late summer were able to get a crop of corn planted. After harvesting their crops, the Shrimplins departed further up the creek to where a small village of settlers and remained that winter. In the spring, they again set out for their farm and they were joined by Abraham's brother Samuel who also carved out a farm along the creek.
Over the next few years more settlers arrived here. Abraham built a trading post and became a popular place for a number of American Natives to trade for goods as they migrated along Killbuck Creek. In 1821 a mill was erected along the creek that capable of producing lumber and processing corn.
For many years the little village was called Shrimplin. After many years the name changed to Oxford, and then in 1882 the village was incorporated as Killbuck.
During the early years of the village, it became a trading center and a stop over for traders shipping goods down Killbuck Creek to Coshocton where it could be further shipped to distant markets on the Ohio Erie Canal. When the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon and Columbus Railroad passed through Killbuck, the community became increasingly important. In time the village had numerous stores, a hotel and a flour mill. A few years after it was incorporated, the first oil well in Holmes County was built.
Killbuck was a Delaware Native American leader that lived in this area during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the few American Natives in the Ohio Country supporting the Americans. His Lenape (Delaware) name was Gelelemend.
Gelelemend was born in 1737 and died in 1811. Although many of the Delaware fought against the Americans, Gelelemend remained loyal
to the Americans and after the war became a Christian at under the guidance of the Moravian mission in Salem, Ohio.
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