The Early Years
On July 4, 1796, a surveying party of fifty two, under the direction of Moses Cleaveland landed at the mouth of the Conneaut Creek, to begin the task of surveying the Connecticut Western Reserve. This was the first recorded group of white men to enter the heretofore Algonquin hunting grounds, and live to share their discovery.
New Lyme Township, Number 9 in range three, on the Cleaveland Surveying Party map of 1796, was deeded to Elisha Tracey on May 17, 1799. On June 1, 1799, he sold a large portion of the township to Gilbert E. Tracey, a relative, and on May 15, 1803, 1000 acres to Joel Owen, from Nelson Township, Connecticut, and the balance of the township to Joseph Pepoon.
The New Lyme community's first settler was Joel Owen, who arrived in November 1803, from Tolland County, Conn. Owen established a log cabin northeast of the present village of Brownsville, named after Elijah Brown, and returned to Connecticut the following spring to bring his wife and two children to their new home. When they arrived at their new home, they were to find about 60 Indians encamped on their land just a short distance from the cabin. Fortunately, there was never any trouble between the white family and those unexpected and irregular neighbors and they always managed to keep on friendly terms. The Indians kept the Owen's supplied with elk, deer, bear meat, turkeys, fish, and maple sugar in return for which they would take almost anything in the produce line that the Owen's could spare. Joel Owen and his family were not only the first settler in the township, but the white family in Lebanon for nearly seven years.
In 1800, the state of Connecticut agreed to attach the Western Reserve to the Ohio Territory, which cleared the way for the Ohio Territory to be granted statehood, as the seventeenth state of the United States of America on March 1, 1803. Records indicate between 90 and 100 settlers arrived in 1811, which included the families of Daniel and Samuel Pecks, John and Salmon Gee, Vinton Way, John Strickland Dan Huntley, Joseph Miller, Peter Chapman, and Perry Beckwith and their families from Lyme, Connecticut.
In 1812, the community's first school began with 18 children being taught by John Gee. By 1878, six school houses were in operation. Also Rev. Cowles delivered the first sermon at the home of Zopher Gee in the fall of 1812 to group of about 20.
New Lyme Township was originally organized under the name of Lebanon in April of 1813. It continued under that name until 1825, when the community received its current name by a special act of the legislature. Since many of the area's first settlers were from Lyme, Connecticut and wished to honor their home town roots.
Unlike other townships in the Western Reserve, the old maps of the township showed there were two communities in New Lyme Township, one called Brownville, which was at the intersection of Brownville Road and Route 46, and the other just north of Brownville, called Dodgeville. A third center and post offices were established at New Lyme Station, which was next to the railroad on Dodgeville Road and in what is now Rome Township. Lemuel Lee was the township's first postmaster and mail was distributed from his home. Although the date of which mail service was started is uncertain, it is thought to have started shortly after the first mail route from Warren, Ohio to Jefferson, Ohio was established in 1826. The township's first physician was Jared Fuller who arrived in 1829 and remained in the southwestern part of the township until 1870. In 1831, Elijah Brown opened the township's first hotel.
Prosperous Times
In 1833, William S. Deming from Berlin, Connecticut settled on the banks of Lebanon Creek and latter married Mary Brown, the daughter of Elijah Brown. Deming established the Deming Mercantile Business and Country Store in Brownville, and invested in real estate in and around the Creek. A faithful member of the Republican Party, Deming was first appointed Associate Judge during the term of Judge Wade of Jefferson, and later elected to the Ohio State Legislature.
In 1865, Latimer and Bishop built a cheese factory, and Dodge and Brown built another one in 1870. At one point, the township was producing half a million pounds of cheese per year, which was more than any other township in the county. Along with the farms and cheese industry, the lumber business grew and thrived. Sometimes as many as 40 railroad cars loaded with pine lumber were shipped from the New Lyme Station. The township's growth was steady and in the early years. Beginning with Joel Owen's family in 1803, the community grew to more than 100 residents in 1811, 484 in 1837, and 708 in 1878.
The New Lyme Institute
Judge William S. Deming, having returned from public office in 1876, donated land on a picturesque and highly elevated section of Lebanon Creek, within a semi-circle of stately maples, for the construction of an institute of higher learning. He became personally involved with the development of the Northern Collegiate Business Institute and the New Lyme Presbyterian Church. The original building was finished in August of 1879, and consisted of a recitation hall, a young men's dormitory and a young ladies' hall, and about six homes called Newton.
The school motto was "To Secure the Highest Possible Mental, Moral, and Social Improvement" issued its first diploma for the completion of the first normal course in June of 1880. In the years to follow, additional classrooms and dormitories were added as the school grew in both reputation and size. The State of Ohio's Legislators in 1921 considered the establishing of a state supported college in the northeast corner of Ohio at New Lyme, to put state endorsement onto the New Lyme Institute. However, due to politics, the severe winters of Ashtabula County, and the extreme northeast location, the final state supported college was established at the normal school now known as Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The ultimate success of the New Lyme Institute resulted in more than 300 students per year graduating, many of whom are persons of renown, of whom might be mentioned Judge Florence E. Allen, Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Judge Deming's determination to have only the best of teachers for the New Lyme Institute offered to not only pay the annual salary of 1000 dollars for Doctor Jacob E. Tuckerman, A.M., Ph.D., but also to build him a house near the campus and to help establish a church near the campus to provide a spiritual dimension for the academic life of the students and faculty. On February 5, 1897, Doctor Tuckerman died after serving as a driving force in the quality of education made possible at New Lyme Institute. Dr. Tuckerman was remembered as Major Tuckerman who served with Company 1, 19th Regiment of the Ohio Militia during the Civil War, as a Scottish Rite Free Mason, and Elder of the Presbyterian Church of New Lyme. The Presbyterian Church of New Lyme is currently the only structure still remaining from the old New Lyme Institute being used on a regular basis, within this structure are the portraits of both Judge Deming and Doctor Tuckerman,
The Founding of the Church
The Rev. Sherman D. Taylor of Rock Creek, a man well into his seventies at the time, ministered to a small gathering of worshipers in the town hall in the early 1880's. On October 16, 1887, these worshipers were organized into The Society of the Presbyterian Church of New Lyme. The stones for the foundation of the church were cut and quarried in Windsor, and then hauled by horse and wagon to their current location. The red brick for the structure like those of the New Lyme Institute were kilned right in the Lebanon Creek area. The two room red brick church was constructed on the south side of Brownville Road and dedicated on September 2, 1890. At the time of its construction, the church supported a bell tower and spire, which was removed in 1958 and replaced with the current bell tower as a result of water damage. Over the years, Judge Deming and his wife continued to be major contributors toward the development and maintenance of the church, both with a gift of a pipe organ and financial support.
The leadership of this small community church was passed from the hands of The Reverend Taylor after his death in 1901, to The Reverend E. Young. The Reverend Drummond served from 1903 to 1904, The Reverend Alvin Crowe 1907-1912, The Reverend Nicklin 1914, The Reverend O.R. Newcomb 1918, The Reverend E.L. Smith 1922-1925, The Reverend Anna Eastwood (Baptist) 1926-1928, The Reverend Wise 1929, The Reverend Beer 1930, The Reverend Reed and The Reverend King in 1931.
For a period of time the lights of New Lyme Church were extinguished, with the exception of occasional services by The Reverends William and Maxwell. Then in 1937, under the guidance of The Reverend G. Taylor Wright, the church once again was activated. With the close of World War II in 1945, the church's congregation grew and expanded rapidly under the leadership of Lay Pastor Elder Bart Beckwith. However, the accidental death of Mr. Beckwith in 1953, left the New Lyme Church in a state of shock.
The Changing Years
Lay Pastor Elder Matt George filled the pulpit from 1955-1957. He was succeeded by The Reverend Donald Shaw from 1957-1958 and The Reverend Arthur Copeland in 1958. However, from 1958 the small red brick New Lyme Church had no stated pastor and was served by a number of pastors in various capacities. It wasn't until 1960 when The Reverend Charlotte Hotopp came to the church that a regular service was conducted. She was replaced in 1965 by The Reverend Elwood Temple, who divided his time between The New Lyme and Rome Churches, until 1968. Temple was followed by The Reverend James Leeson in 1968, and with his departure in 1974, the association with the Rome church was dissolved.
Then in November of 1975, New Lyme Church joined in a cooperative parish with the First Congregational Church of Andover, under the leadership of The Reverend Michael Vidaver until 1978. The Reverend David Semper served from 1979-1983, followed by The Reverend David Howard, 1984-1988, Elder Kenneth J. Ayers, 1989-1990, The Reverend Patricia Glover, 1990-1992, and The Reverend Dick Jones, 1993.
From 1994, The Reverend Philip Shear served the cooperative parish, however during this period of time, the cooperative parish agreement was dissolved, with The Reverend Philip Shear continuing as pastor of the New Lyme Church. However, with the death of The Reverend Shear in 1995, the worship leadership of the New Lyme Church was once again invested with Lay Pastor Kenneth J. Ayers.
After a severe storm in 1996, which resulted in the chimney being blown down through the slate roof, the total interior of the church was renovated and all exterior damage repaired with authentic brick and roof slate from the old New Lyme Institute.
Today's Church
On July 24, 2000, Elder Kenneth J. Ayers was commissioned by the Presbytery of the Western Reserve as its first Commissioned Lay Pastor in the presbytery and was assigned to the New Lyme Church; thereby establishing the Presbyterian Church of New Lyme as not only a church with a long standing history in the presbytery, but also as one of the presbytery's most progress congregations. Although the congregation's numbers are small, but growing, the members of this small family church with its rich historical building and reformed traditions, work hard at keeping the Light of God burning in New Lyme Township, south-central Ashtabula County, Ohio.
