Brian McKee, trustee of the Morgan County Historical Society, announced that an Ohio Historical Marker has been approved for Maple Grove Farm, 2415 N. Riverview Road, Malta. 

“This will be the 19th Ohio Historical Marker approved for Morgan County, and the seventh Ohio Historical Marker that I have researched and completed the applications to erect to document Morgan County’s heritage,” said McKee. 

“This is a very significant marker as it honors a significant piece of Morgan County’s agricultural heritage.  Maple Grove Farm, a farm laid out in 1818 by Rufus P. Stone, grandson of Revolutionary War General, Rufus Putnam, originally encompassed 1, 000 acres.  It was one of the most significant farms in Morgan County
history,” continued McKee. 

“One of the farm’s owners, John E. Thomas, was a man ahead of his time.  Approximately 50 years before President Teddy Roosevelt brought the cause of nature conservation to popularity in America, John E. Thomas developed an enclosed nature preserve on the farm for the protection and breeding of deer.  By 1855, when Thomas purchased the farm from the heirs of Rufus P. Stone, deer were nearly extinct in Ohio.  Over-hunting combined with purposeful slaughter of deer by early settlers, had resulted in their near extinction.  On his nature preserve, Thomas successfully repopulated deer and other native Ohio wildlife,” said McKee. 

“John E. Thomas was a country squire and gentleman farmer.  He carried on large scale agricultural livestock operations of breeding cattle and sheep.  However, his most noteworthy activity was the breeding of exceptionally high quality saddle horses on the farm.  The late Gregg sisters, who lived next door, commented on the high quality horses.  The Gregg sisters also wrote of seeing John E. Thomas riding one of his fine saddle horses around the estate supervising farm laborers.  The Gregg sisters commented that ‘he was a sight to see’, dressed in silk hat, frock coat, and all the finery of the day, carrying a riding crop with a gold handle,” related McKee. 

The Ohio Historical Marker has been approved by the Ohio Historical Society.  It is scheduled for installation in the early spring of 2008. 

“I considered it a great honor to document the history of this extremely historic Morgan County farm.  This is a significant part of our county’s heritage that will now be preserved for future generations,” concluded McKee.