Bottle Digging - FIND OF A LIFETIME - Hannibal Ohio Crock - Trash Picking - Metal Detecting

Although it may be difficult to imagine today, the Hannibal area (like other areas in this county), was once the wild frontier. Before settlement, the area was filled with large trees and thick forest. Information taken from the Monroe Gazette and compiled in the book History of the Early Communities of Monroe County, Ohio indicates that the river bank was actually higher in elevation than what would now be the west side of State Route 7. There was a depression there with swampy land and a large pond as the elevation sloped down. It was on that river bank in the wild Ohio wilderness where the village, then named Baresville and now named Hannibal, was settled. (1).

After being founded by Jacob Bare in 1809, Baresville saw slow growth. Earl Sprout and a Johnson were the next to own land in the area after Bare. They both came from Virginia. Another prominent early citizen was Abraham Tisher, who immigrated from Switzerland in 1819 as a Methodist missionary. [Tisher's descendants still live in the town].

The area would have been much different when Baresville was being settled. According to an account in History of Monroe County, Ohio, George Barnhart killed the last elk in Lee Township on Witten Fork around 1820. The “horns of the elk were seven feet from tip to tip” and were sold to Jacob Bare. Bare then sold them to a steamboat captain who displayed them in his pilot house. (2).

Despite several families moving into the area and Bare's operation of mills, the residents seemed content to live amongst one another with no real effort to incorporate. In History of the Early Communities of Monroe County, Ohio, it was written, “Several years seem to have elapsed before there was any thought of building a village here. Indeed it does not appear there ever was a deliberate determination to found a town. It rather grew of itself from force of circumstances.” Surveyor John Noll moved to the area in 1837. He laid out the town and Baresville was finally established as a village in January of 1846. (1)

Even though growth was slow initially, the mid 1800's saw several merchants and craftsmen open up shop in the village. The following businesses opened and expansions took place during that time: Lenkard and Fish store in 1850, Ultchy tan yard in 1844, Voegtly's addition built in 1857, Hannibal House hotel in 1861, and Hofer addition built in 1865. (1).

The late 1800's saw tremendous growth in Hannibal. H. Neuenschwander opened a dry goods store in 1883. It was said that he handled over 65,000 pounds of dried apples in one winter. A.H. Hofer, described as a “large man of commanding presence and courtly manners” added a dry goods store in 1875. Alex Martin, a shoemaker, opened a dry goods store in 1882. Other stores opening during that time included Voegtly Brothers (in 1869) and M.F. Noll and Co. (in 1884). (1).

The time period also saw many types of businesses not generally seen in small towns today. Bramlick and Son opened a boot and shoe manufacturing facility in 1882. M. Ludtman, opening a store in 1876, picked two disciplines: manufacturing wagons and bee hives. It was said that he had 44 colonies by 1887 and was “prepared to furnish Italian queens or full colonies at reasonable prices.” Also into bees was Phil Tisher who was vice president of the Pan Handle Bee Keepers Association. Tisher had 70 colonies and sold German Carp out of a stock pond on his farm. (1).

Other businesses in Hannibal at the time included tinners, cigar manufacturers, dress makers, etc. All in all, with the packet trade on the river and the commerce in town, Hannibal was a vastly prosperous place by the end of the century. (1).

Hannibal's prosperity and reputation were highlighted in a Spirit of Democracy article, written by Charles Brown in 1891. He wrote of Hannibal, “Baresville's girls are remarkably good looking and best of all they are not at all scarce.” Apparently not afraid to compliment the opposite sex, Brown also called Miss Alma Neuenschwander, the town milliner, “tastey.” (3).

Beyond highlighting the beauty of Hannibal's inhabitants, Brown also described further businesses that had been established in the town. He described L.T. Bare & Son as “artistic painters.” John Buchwald was a silver smith who specialized in clock and watch repair. He also called village resident Samuel Branlich a “popular agent for the Meisenhelder and McLaren marble and granite works of Marietta. (3).

Within the 19th century, Hannibal had gone from a swampy area along the Ohio River to a prosperous village. It was a perfect showcase for American progress during that century.

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