Shandon, Ohio

Shandon is an unincorporated community in southeastern Morgan Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. It is located on Paddys Run, a tributary of the Great Miami River, about four miles west of Ross at the intersection of State Routes 126 and 748 in section 25 of R1ET3N of the Congress Lands. It was originally called Glendower as the town was settled by immigrants from Wales. It was later called New London and this survives in the name of Alert-New London Road. The town is in the Ross Local School District.

History

The foundation for the first Welsh settlement in Ohio was laid on June 29, 1801, when William and Morgan Gwilym purchased land in what is now Morgan Township at the Cincinnati Land Office. The township was named after General Daniel Morgan for his victories in the American Revolutionary War; he too was a Welsh descendant from the colony of Virginia. Settlement in the Paddy’s Run area started in 1802, a year before Ohio became the 17th state. The land was then in Hamilton County. Ohio’s first General Assembly carved Butler County out of Hamilton County March 24, 1803. Hamilton was selected as the county seat July 15, 1803. Shandon may be the Butler County community that’s had the most names in its 200-year history. Although settled by Welsh, its first post office created June 10, 1831 bore an Irish name, Paddy’s Run. It’s also been known, officially and unofficially, as Cambria, Glendower, Vaughan, New London and Bagdad before becoming Shandon more than 110 years ago.

Ohio nineteenth Governor William Bebb (December 8, 1802 - October 23, 1873) was an early resident of Paddy's Run, before entering politics he ran a boarding school for boys here which was called "Bebb's High".

Some original Welsh settlers are also buried in the New London (Paddy's Run) Cemetery. The cemetery is adjacent to the old Congregational Church. The church was founded 1803, a brick Mettinghouse was built in 1824 and it is now being restored as the Community House. The present church was built in 1854. The church and cemetery are on Alert-New London Road in Morgan Township.

References

*Bert S. Barlow, W.H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, and Frederick Schneider, eds. "Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio". Hamilton, Ohio: B.F. Bowen, 1905.
*Butler County Engineer's Office. "Butler County Official Transportation Map, 2003". Fairfield Township, Butler County, Ohio: The Office, 2003.
*"A History and Biographical Cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers". Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1882. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbutler/cyc/index.html]
* [http://www.lanepl.org/Blount/jbplaces/documents/48CF90526AB32AD8B43C85F64AEF01ECE354E9EA.html Shandon]

External links

* [http://home.fuse.net/jerry.johnson/Old%20Welsh%20Cemetery/OldWelshCemetery.html Paddy's Run Old Welsh Cemetery in Shandon, Ohio]
* [http://www.lanepl.org/blount/jbcols/documents/5FE8854BAED9B578399C3ECF9A92C97872365605.html New historical marker in Shandon, Ohio]
* [http://home.fuse.net/jerry.johnson/Old%20Welsh%20Cemetery/BicentenialPlaques.html Marker (photo) Shandon, Ohio]
* [http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/14/loc_shandon14.html Church is central to Butler Co. Village]
* [http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/ohgovernment/governors/bebb.html Ohio's nineteenth Governor William Bebb of Paddy's Run]
* [http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/11/30/loc_McNutt30.html Christmas in Shandon]
* [http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~butlercounty/paddyband.html Paddy's Run Cornet Band, Shandon]