The Village of Yellow Springs is known today as an eclectic village of artisans, educators, and musicians. Visitors come to Yellow Springs in order to enjoy local restaurants, unique shops, cultural events, and recreational activities that are offered throughout the village. In addition to the cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities Yellow Springs has a rich and diverse history waiting to be shared.

The 154th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.) was organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio on May 9, 1864 to serve for one hundred days. On May 12, 1864, the regiment traveled from Columbus, Ohio to New Creek, West Virginia.  Duties of the 154th O.V.I. included guard, picket, and escort duty until May 29, 1864.  On June 4, 1864, Company F had a skirmish near Moorfield, West Virginia.  Various detachments also performed a variety of scouting expeditions from June 12-July 4, 1864.  The 154th suffered an attack from Confederate forces on August 4, 1864.

One hundred and seventeen years ago, Yellow Springs was in the midst of dealing with one of its biggest disasters in its history.  Around noon on May 5, 1895 a fire broke out in the grain elevator, owned by Jeremiah Little, that would wreak havoc on the village for hours.At the time of the fire, Yellow Springs did not have a fire department to battle the blaze when it was first spotted.

In the summer of 1862, the Civil War had been raging for just over a year and both sides were beginning to understand that this was going to be a long fight. A Confederate victory at Richmond, Kentucky on August 30, 1862 gave the Confederate General Kirby Smith the confidence to push further into the north. General Smith believed that his troops could now push north and capture the important city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati was a major source of both supplies and troops to the Union Army and if the city was captured it would be a great victory for the Confederates.

I have been enjoying looking through copies of the Cincinnati Enquirer this week and searching for anything of historical significance, related to Yellow Springs.  It has been interesting reading the ads for some of the hotels in the late 1890s, as well as some of the "police reports" of the day.  If you have been keeping up with my site, you have probably read the article on the Means family who once resided in the Mills' mansion, specifically the story of Pearl Means and the legal drama over her family home that occurred in the 1920s.  While looking through the Cincinnati Enq

The Yellow Springs Exchange continued to grow throughout 1932.  Arthur Morgan traveled throughout the country giving talks about the Exchange and offering advice to various communities on how they could begin their own exchange system. A 1933 article in the New York Herald Tribune describes the Yellow Springs Exchange as follows: "The shelves of the Yellow Springs Exchange are exactly like the shelves of any general store doing a large business. They are packed to the ceilings with canned goods. There are departments for meat, vegetables, fresh fruits and dairy products. There is a new and second-hand clothing section."  From this description, the Yellow Springs Exchange sounds like one of today's 'super centers' except that you did not need to have cash to purchase items at the Exchange.  

The recent economic downturn has been compared to the period known as the Great Depression in American history. The Depression was a period of economic turmoil and uncertainty throughout the country when unemployment numbers were high, banks were closing their doors, and people could barely afford to put food on their tables.  People all over the country were looking for a way to take care of themselves and their families during these hard times.