In 1807, the John Wilson family moved into Shelby County, Ohio, after having first lived in Warren County, Ohio. They settled on Turtle Creek about a mile east of the Thatcher settlement. A Virginian whose family emigrated from Ireland, John Wilson married a Georgian girl named Anna. Anna’s mother was a daughter of British Royalty, George III, who ran away to marry and relocate in America.

Anna had risked her life in the Revolutionary War as a dispatch courier for the Americans. John was a member of the first Board of Commissioners and helped build many roads. His son, Jesse, also spent his life here.

At the age of 12, Jesse was taken to Piqua by his parents to protect him during the War of 1812. But, in typical pioneer spirit, Jesse didn’t want to be separated from his folks, so he walked home (12 miles through dense wilderness) to be with his parents. In later years, Jesse would be fondly remembered by local residents as "Colonel Wilson, a fine old man of courtly presence and with all the old Virginian instincts."

In 1816, John Wilson built the first brick house in Shelby County. He rapidly acquired property and was relatively wealthy at the time of his death.

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'Pioneer' segment written in October, 1997
by Sherrie Casad-Lodge

Above is the Wilson house in its earlier years. The front of the home, which now overlooks a cow pasture, originally faced a road. This road, like most in those days, followed a trail originally established by the Indians. This road is no longer in existence. Notice the cow; livestock was not penned up in early days, it was simply tagged with an owner’s mark, allowed to roam freely to graze.

There is a monument erected by the Shelby County Historical Society which marks the location of John Wilson’s house. This home still stands today and is seven miles west of Sidney, on Hardin-Houston Road, along Turtle Creek, one mile east.