In 1993, the American Studies Senior Seminar at Kenyon College, in nearby Gambier, Ohio, completed a project that documented two centuries of African American experience in Knox County.  

   The finished project, which was known as "The Community Within," involved a partnership between Kenyon faculty and students, as well as the local African-American community, who worked together to collect photographs, documents and other artifacts. Their work was supported by our Historical Society, the Ohio Humanities Council and other agencies. 

    Yes, there really was a person named “Johnny Appleseed,” and he lived for many years in and around Knox County during the early days of Ohio’s statehood.
   His real name was John Chapman, and he was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774, during the time leading up to the American Revolution. His father, Nathaniel, was one of the famous “minutemen” of New England that we read about in our history classes.