5 Fun Facts About Newtown

August 11, 2020 17 Comments

Anderson Township is one of the largest communities in Cincinnati, both in terms of population and land area. However, folks sometimes forget three separate communities once belonged to the township. Two, California and Mt. Washington, were annexed by Cincinnati in 1909 and 1911, respectively. 

The third, Newtown, stuck with the township until 1960. At that time, Newtown became a village.

1. Lots of native peoples called it home

Newtown, and the surrounding area, was steeped in Native American mounds built by the Adena and Hopewell people. There are settlements closeby. One is just west of the village, along the Little Miami River, near where Clough Pike meets State Route 32. Another is located just south of that highway after you enter Newtown from the west. There was likely a third settlement around what is now the Little Miami Golf Center.

While most of the mounds were destroyed over the years, a few still exist. The most notable is located in the middle of Odd Fellows’ Cemetery (now known as Flag Spring Cemetery).

2. It wasn’t always called Newtown

The village was originally called Mecrersburgh for General Hugh Mercer, a hero of the American Revolution who perished in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. That event is immortalized in a famous painting of the same name by John Trumbull.

Before the village was incorporated in 1901, the name was changed.

3. It was one of Cincinnati’s first “railroad suburbs”

In the 1870s, the Cincinnati & Eastern Railroad came through the village. The tracks are still there, though the section going through Newtown is inactive. The tracks partially follow the bike trail from a bit east of Clear Creek Park in Anderson to just past Short Park in Newtown.

It was in this area that many houses were built just after the Civil War to take advantage of the proximity of the railroad.

4. The first Cesarean section was performed in Newtown

In 1827, John Lambert Richmond performed the first professional cesarean section in the United States. It was done in a cabin on Bass Island along what is today Newtown Rd., between the golf course and the Little Miami River. His detailed report, published in 1830, recorded the entire 30-hour (!) event.  Even stranger, Richmond's medical education was limited to four semesters of lectures.

5. Doscher’s Candies calls it home

In 1871, in Cincinnati, Claus Doscher created the first Doscher’s handcrafted candy cane. The process involved using real peppermint oil, cooking small batches in copper kettles, and working with the best tools known to man – his hands – to roll, knead, stripe, and hook the canes. It was the beginning of a company that’s still in existence today, though its most widely-known product is French Chews. 

In 2003, the company was purchased by the Cook family, who are later joined by the Nielsens. A new headquarters was established in the heart of Newtown. Formerly a farmhouse built in 1835, it was the home of the McGill family, whose estate covered the area east of Church St. to Roundbottom Rd and straddled the Batavia Pike.

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