The first settler to the area was Christian Waldschmidt. Waldschmidt, a Revolutionary War soldier, was born March 23, 1755 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and journeyed to the Little Miami Valley in 1794. In 1795 he bought a large tract of land from John Cleves Symmes and in 1796 settled with his family in this valley of the Little Miami River. Being of German decent he called the area "Germany".
Waldschmidt completed his large stone home in 1804. This house, the smaller stone house (probably built for his daughter) and millwork's house still stand on SR 126. Waldschmidt redirected the nearby Little Miami River via a millrace and built a sawmill, his first industry. Soon he was not only sawing wood, but had a gristmill, a fulling mill and a paper mill. He supplied paper for the Cincinnati newspapers and his establishment was the largest in the area. Waldschmidt died in 1814 and he is buried in the Waldschmidt cemetery. The Waldschmidt industries were taken over by his son-in-law Matthias Kugler. Gradually, Kugler moved the businesses to Milford and when some mills burned in 1848 they were not rebuilt. The Little Miami Railroad, which began operating in 1842, had a negative influence on the Waldschmidt-Kugler holdings. The railroads opened up commerce to many communities and competition was too great for the business to continue.
In 1861 General Rosecrans selected the area as a recruitment and training area for Union soldiers. Germany and the surrounding area were chosen because of the proximity to the Little Miami Railroad and the closeness to Cincinnati (17 miles away). It was thought that Cincinnati needed to be protected from Confederate invasion. The camp was named Camp Dennison, after Ohio Governor William Dennison, who was governor at the outbreak of the Civil War. Thousands of Union soldiers were mustered in or out of service at Camp Dennison. As casualties of the was mounted a hospital was established. The hospital had over 200 beds in wooden barracks. Many soldiers died at the Camp Dennison Hospital. The Waldschmidt Cemetery served as the temporary gravesite for 340 Union soldiers and 31 Confederate soldiers who were prisoners of war. These soldiers were moved in the late 1860's to Spring Grove Cemetery or Camp Chase in Columbus. The Camp was disbanded in 1865.
After the war it was thought that the area could be a suburb of Cincinnati. Residents could commute to the city by railroad and there was abundant material for houses from the camp barracks. Soon after the war a number of homes were built; subdivisions and roads were laid out. Camp Dennison did not seem an appropriate name and the community's name was changed to "Grand Valley". This was short lived however as the railroad refused to change the name on the schedules. So Camp Dennison it has remained since 1861.
Presently Camp Dennison still has it's own Post Office which was established during the Civil War. The Waldschmidt houses are on the National register of Historic Sites and are available for tours on Sunday. The Waldschmidt Cemetery has undergone a recent renovation and rededication. The railroad, which had such a significant impact on the growth and decline of the area. Is now the popular Little Miami Bike Trail.
July 11, 2001
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