I am a big fan of Great Parks of Hamilton County, and my
family tries to camp at Winton Woods at least once a year, ever since I was
little. We also enjoy their hiking trails, walking/biking trail, and their many
picnic areas. Parky's Farm is a great experience for all ages, and I even
remember a school field trip to the old Parkour Trail (does that still exist?)!
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| 2019; Google Street View |
But I have often wondered about the old farmhouse, on the
park road, just west of the Winton Road entrance, behind Winton Center. So of
course, I just had to dig more into it! Who owned the house before the park was
created?
Early deed records show transfers from John Cleves Symmes
to Andrew Wilson to Abraham Roll (who also owned a very large parcel just to
the north) to Roll's son-in-law, Robert Preston in 1825. In 1839, Preston sold
to Ogden Ross, whose house appears on the 1847 map. Ross sold just 10 years
later to Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Oberheu, who is listed in the 1850 Census as
living in Cincinnati with no occupation, but worth over $5,000 in real estate.
His sons, Ernst, Frederick, and Louis were successful grocers.
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| 1847 Map showing the house of Ogden Ross |
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| 1856 Map showing the 84.75 acres owned J. H. F. Oberhue |
There are no records showing the Oberheus ever living at
this location in Springfield Township. In 1867, they added an additional 25
acres to their property, making it over 109 acres. Johann died in 1859, leaving
the estate to his children, and in 1899, a court case was brought forward to
settle the estate for the grandchildren. John Hammel. husband of Sophia Oberheu
Hammel, who was Johann's granddaughter, purchased the entire parcel for $5,300,
keeping the land in the family.
It appears from a post on the Greenhills Historical Society Facebook page, that the Oberheu family rented their property to Heinrich Reinke. Known as Henry, he is listed as a farmer in this area in the 1870 and 1880 Census, but is not an owner of the land. Check out the full story of one of the Reinke descendants of the story of his grandmother living here on their page.
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| Courtesy of Greenhills Historical Society |
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| 1869 Map showing the initials of brothers Ernst, Louis, and Frederick Oberhue |
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| 1884 Map |
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| 1914 Map showing John Hammel as the owner |
Sophia and John must have had an interesting
relationship. John was a cigar maker living on York Street. His first wife had
died in 1889, leaving him with three boys, one who also died the same year as
his mother and another in 1899. John married Sophia the following year, and
they had three more sons. They are living together in 1900 and 1910, however,
in the 1920 and 1930 Censuses, Sophia and two of her sons, Maurice and Gilbert,
are living at the family farm in Springfield Township, with the sons listed as
farmers. Sophia died at the farm in 1935, but her obituary listed her as John's
"beloved wife". The same is listed in John's obituary from 1941. They
are buried together at Walnut Hills Cemetery. Very curious!
In 1936, John Hammel, sold over 103 acres for $26,250 to
the United States, as part of the huge development that became the Village of
Greenhills, a federal-developed "greenbelt" city. The US bought over
6,000 acres, with about 800 acres being used for the village. The rest was
planned as green space to surround the village and for farms to be leased by
the government.
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| Cincinnati Enquirer; Oct 25, 1948; p. 14 |
In 1939, the Hamilton County Park Board leased over 900
acres from the federal government, to be used as a park. However, plans were
put on hold due to levy failures and World War II. Finally, a levy was passed
in 1948, and a few developments occurred in the park, like an archery range and
golf course, first opened in 1951.
However, the Army Engineers wanted to use the West Fork of the Mill
Creek as a reservoir and for flood control to protect the Millcreek Valley. The
reservoir became Winton Lake, finally finished in 1953.
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| Cincinnati Enquirer; May 22, 1949; p. 147 |
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| Cincinnati Enquirer; Jan 2, 1949; p. 56 |
The house became the central office for all of the
Hamilton County Park District until a newer facility was constructed in the
1970s. The new offices have been expanded over the years, but the house also
continues to contain offices for various departments of the district as well. I
am sure the Ross, Oberheu, and Hammel families would be surprised that their
little brick farmhouse still exists to serve all the residents of the area with
our amazing park district!
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1932 - www.historicaerials.com
The house is just left of the center. |
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1960 - www.historicaerials.com
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| 1984 - www.historicaerials.com |
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| 1996 - CAGIS |
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| 2010 - CAGIS |
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| 2023 - CAGIS |
