Newville, Ohio

Newville is a now defunct town located near what is now Pleasant Hill Lake, in northeastern Worthington Township, Richland County, Ohio, United States.HistoryNewville was founded by John Frederick Herring, and was platted in December 1823. It is situated upon section three, Worthington Township. Abraham Nye was one of the first settlers there, and was instrumental in inducing Mr. Herring to lay out the town. Newville lies in a small valley at the confluence of Slater's Run with the Clearfork of the Mohican River, nearly surrounded by tree-covered hills.In 1811 - 12, John Frederick Herring built the second grist mill in Richland County. This mill was situate on the Clearfork, four miles west of Bellville, in what is now Perry township. Peter Weirick was employed to do the carpenter work, and while he was erecting the building, Mr. Herring drove to Baltimore with a six-horse team to procure burrs, wheels and gearings for the mill. The round trip from this part of Ohio to Baltimore and return was then made by team and occupied about two months’ time. Now the same distance can be traveled in fewer hours than the days required then. After operating this mill for several years, Mr. Herring sold the same to Francis Baughman in 1815. In 1833, Mr. Baughman disposed of this property to John Hanawalt, who operated the same for about fifty years, and the mill is known in history as “Hanawalt’s.” This mill stood where the Lexington and Fredericktown road crosses the Clearfork. The building is now used as a barn. John Hanawalt was the father of J. L. Hanawalt of South Main Street, Mansfield.