The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Schoolhouse Restaurant, Camp Dennison, Ohio-- Part 1

Saturday, I wrote about this restaurant outside of Cincinnati which was built in 1863 and reportedly Abraham Lincoln visited. It is in a town called Camp Dennison which was a Union training facility during the war and later a hospital.

I do not know if the structure is located within what used to be the boundaries of Camp Dennison or outside it. If it was inside the camp, I doubt that it would have been built with the initial purpose of being a school.

Perhaps a hospital administrative building would have been a use, but then again, if the army wasn't planning on keeping the camp, I doubt they would have built it out of brick.

According to the Schoolhouse website, the building was constructed in 1863, the first school in the Midwest with a second story. Today is features family-style dining with lazy Susans, fried chicken, roast beef and meatloaf.

There have been three school buildings in the Camp Dennison area. The first one was a log structure which no longer exists.

The second one was a brick building that still stands as a private residence, but has had siding put on it and is hard to recognize as a former school. Area children used it until the Civil War.

Landowners in the area (then called Little Germany and Big Bottom) leased their land to the government for use as a training facility and most families moved away, which makes me wonder why they would have built a school in 1863.

More to Come. --Old B-Runner

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