One nice thing about Preble County is that there’s not another one. Doug Kramer of Winnerline Road gets the credit for this phrase. Sure, you can find other Wayne or Union Counties or Richmonds or Lewisburgs. But scour your road atlas, Google it, take a poll, or just ask your next-door neighbor. There’s not another Preble County to be found anywhere.
The United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, (GNIS for short), lists Fort Preble, Preble Island, Preble Corner, Preble Point, Preble Hill (two of them) Preble Peak, Preble Mountain (presumably taller than Preble Peak), as well as one town of Preble, two Preble Townships, two Preble Coves, and five populated places known as Preble. Still not another Preble County out there.
Preble County was settled in 1798 by John Leslie and was established as a county in March of 1808, five years after Ohio was admitted to the Union in March of 1803, as the seventeenth state of the United States of America. The county was named for Commodore Edward Preble who served as the Commander of the American Naval Fleet in the Mediterranean during the Tripolitan War, as well as in the Revolutionary War and later on in the War of 1812. It would be speculation at best to say how all the other Preble places got their names.
Aside from the naming aspect, what makes our county truly unique? While we do have the Preble County Pork Festival, there are at least a couple other Pork Festivals out there. Unbelievable as it seems, there is another Eaton Place in Eaton County, Michigan. We have the Roberts Covered Bridge which was severely damaged by fire, but then, Philippi West Virginia has the Philippi Covered Bridge which had a similar fiery past. Four Mile Creek? Nope, gobs of other Four Mile Creeks out there. A county name that’s moderately difficult for an outsider to spell? Maybe, but Tuscarawas and Geauga Counties in Ohio have us beat hands-down.
I would contend that part of what makes Preble County unique would be you, the folks reading this right now. Sure, there are people anywhere and everywhere else you go. I’m reminded of that whenever I’m looking for a parking spot on vacation in a place far from home. But the people right around us, in our townships, villages, and small towns, that’s part of what makes us unique. Those of you with connections to families that have been here since the first groups of settlers arrived as well as the folks who just moved here last year.
We come across all sorts of personalities in our work at the Preble Soil and Water Conservation District. Getting to know some truly interesting folks and working alongside them reminds us that there really is not another Preble County.
Reach Executive Director BJ Price at the Preble Soil and Water Conservation District by calling 937-456-5159, or by email at [email protected].
