Mechanicsburg, OH

Mechanicsburg is a Champaign County village on Little Darby Creek, platted in 1814 and named for the mechanics among its early settlers. The creek runs toward the Scioto and Ohio rivers, a route that later mattered during the Underground Railroad. Local abolitionist Udney Hyde helped hundreds of freedom seekers from the village, including Addison White, whose attempted capture led to an 1857 standoff involving local residents, Ohio officials, and federal marshals. Today the village map is still mostly creek, crossroads, Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools, and the public library. Mechanicsburg is a small Ohio place with a workingman's name and a serious abolitionist chapter.