‘Salute to Our Pioneers:’ American independence, war patriots honored at annual celebration

The lives of two patriots of the Revolutionary War, as well as the 250th anniversary of American independence, were honored during the annual “Salute to Our Pioneers” celebration hosted by the Indian Creek Pioneer Church and Burial Ground Restoration Committee on May 17.

Roger Koch, a member of the restoration committee, said the annual event is a way to remember the people who came to the area before and built the Indian Creek Pioneer Church at 3000 Indian Creek Road around 1830. 

“The foundation stone came from Indian Creek, so all these people put a lot of sweat and tears into this church, and we just want to remember them for doing that,” Koch said, adding about five years ago, an engineer demonstrated the building was made perfectly square and pointing due north. “It’s remarkable the craftsmanship that they have shown in that church.”

Today, the original foundation stones and brick walls are still standing, although the church was restored in the early 1960s. Inside, the original wood beams still hold up a roof that’s a replica of the original, although the building is filled with donated pews. Koch said the plaster ceiling was removed by restorers to expose the beams, and they believe there may have been a stove in the center of the building at one point, evidenced by a clearly patched area in the ceiling and what looks like a burned area.

Koch said the original Regular Baptist Church of Christ, established in 1810, had a requirement that members of the congregation could not own or benefit from slavery, which was unique for the time period. The church flourished after construction was finished until around the start of WWI, when Koch said membership subsided, and it was eventually abandoned in the 1930s between WWI and WWII and inhabited by raccoons, skunks and opossums. 

According to Koch, the building was in “deplorable condition” until locals, including his parents, “rescued” the property, and it was deeded to MetroParks of Butler County. 

“I just think we have to remember where we came from,” Koch said of the annual celebration. “We want people to respect what we do for today’s society, just like we’re respecting the pioneers (and) what they did for their society.”

During the celebration, attendees sang hymns and heard a speech from Brad Spurlock, manager of the Smith Library of Regional History and Cummins Local History Room at the Oxford and Hamilton Lane Libraries, respectively, who gave the history of Thomas Boone and Heman Adams, the two Revolutionary War patriots buried at the church.

Adams was born in 1761 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, and first joined the Barnstable County Militia in 1778 at the age of 16, according to Spurlock. He later reenlisted in 1779 in the Continental Army at 17, and his enlistment ended as a member of the 13th Massachusetts Regiment in 1780 in Story Point, New York. 

Thomas Boone was a first cousin of the famed Daniel Boone and a native of Reading, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1759 and enlisted in 1777 at 18 years old, according to Spurlock. Thomas Boone served in the 6th Battalion of the Berks County Militia, and he eventually reenlisted in the 10th Battalion of the Lancaster County Militia in 1781 – less than six months before the British surrender at Yorktown.

Both Thomas Boone and Adams settled in Reily Township, Ohio, between 1810 and 1820, and Thomas Boone was a founding member of the Indian Creek Baptist Church, according to Spurlock.

Joanne Ziolkowski, a Miami University alum from the Greater Cincinnati area, is the sixth great-granddaughter of Adams and attended the event to honor him. 

Ziolkowski said she discovered the connection when her cousin was researching their genealogy around 20 years ago and began sharing the history of the Adams family, and Ziolkowski was encouraged to do her own research. When she moved back to Cincinnati, she heard about the event and has been coming regularly ever since.

“I love the fact that there are people taking the time to come here and maintain the history of this particular location – the church, the cemetery,” Ziolkowski said. 

She said the idea that her ancestors may have sat inside the same church, stared up at the ceiling and daydreamed or looked through the windows, is a “really nice feeling there, to feel that continuity over time.”

“I just love how history comes alive when you start looking at the actual people and what they did,” Ziolkowski said, adding Adams was a descendant of someone who boarded the Mayflower and a cousin to former presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. “Their descendants are spread all throughout this country, and a lot of the people just need to dig far enough to discover that they have some pretty neat history.”

Following the Salute to the Pioneers event inside the church, attendees listened to Mike Donnelly play “Taps,” and were led outside to watch a wreath be positioned near Adams’ and Thomas Boone’s graves. 

To celebrate 250 years of American independence, each county in Ohio is planting a swamp white oak. Attendees of the event listened to music by the Pineridge Partners while watching the sapling being planted outside of the church.

Jackie O’Connell, executive director for MetroParks, said the swamp white oak is significant because it's a native tree to Ohio and will thrive when planted in all counties. She said the spot outside the church felt like an appropriate place for Butler County’s tree because of the history of the church.

“We have a lot of historic spots in the county, but this one people have embraced,” O’Connell said, adding the second and third generations of those who helped restore the church in the 1960’s have continued to keep the space alive. “There’s a community built around this. … It’s just a very special place for us.”

Koch said the windows of the church are now 100 years old or more and in bad shape, requiring a hammer and crowbar to open. There are currently sheets of plexiglass nailed to the outside to keep out the elements, but the Indian Creek Pioneer Church and Burial Ground Restoration Committee started a capital campaign for new windows.

Koch said the committee recently reached its goal of $42,000 and will begin installing new windows with shutters this summer, which he said could be completed by winter.