In 1881, the W. H. Beers Company of Chicago, published many Ohio county histories including Clark County. The 1178-page volume is undoubtedly a wealth of information, not only of statistics for county, but more importantly, of family and individuals who settled here, some making names for themselves and the land on which they lived.

In the name index we find nine listings for the Forgy family. The family as a whole is listed as original settlers to Pike Township along with others such as Bixlers, Basingers and Leffels.

C. S. Forgy is listed as a private in the O. V. C. Next we find him as a Second Lieutenant in Company G. By August of 1881, C. S. is a committee member from Donnelsville for the Clark-Shawnee Centennial held in Springfield on the 9th day of the month. That celebration was said to be the largest gathering ever to that date in Clark County.

Horatio J. Forgy is listed as a corporal in the 16th Ohio Independent Battery while Henry Forgy died as a Private in the same Battery. J. T. Forgy is found to be Eighth Corporal, Company E, in the 153rd Regiment National Guard which was organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio in May of 1864. John S. Forgy is listed among the men of Company F, 153rd Regiment National Guard.

By the time we find James Forgy in the area, he is with his brothers, John, Stewart and Presley. The year is 1806. Their father, John, came earlier and settled in Mad River Township. John’s sons, John, James and Stewart are all listed as early members of the Honey Creek Church, all described as “solid men, doing their share to clear up the country”. The elder John Forgy is listed as a member of the Board Managers of Clark County by 1822 in connection with the temporary organization of the Clark County Bible Society.

On the 1870 map of Bethel Township found in the Atlas of Clarke County, Ohio by C. O. Titus, we find J. T. Forgy owns land along the north side of National Road in Section 21. J. M. Forgy owns 160 ad ¾ acres south in Section 20 and also 25 acres is section 27.  J. V. Forgy owns 82 acres north and east of J.T. in section 21. W.  B. Forgy owns 83 acres between J. T. and W. R.

W. R. Forgy owns 97 acres in Section 15. P. & S. Forgy own 20 acres in Section 22. A new relative, Joel N. Forgy owns 225 and ¼ acres west and east of today’s Route 235, south of New Carlisle’ Section 32. His land includes a school house.

By 1875, W.R. Forgy has expanded his acreage to include that of W. B.’s. A school house is shown as built on the north side of National Road.

On the 1894, the Rerick Brothers produced “the County of Clark Ohio-An Imperial Atlas and Art Folio”. The Forgys are still there. Now, increased land holdings and ownership changes puts Jonathan V. owning the Forgy land in Section 32. Section 21 holdings now belong to Joel T., Jonathan and Cornelius S. The new item is the settlement of Forgy Station, located at the intersection of Lammes Lane (which ended at its north end on the National Road) and the C.C.C. & St.L. RR (or Big 4).  

A post card mailed in 1890 was from the Oakland Nursery Company, located at Forgy, Clark County, Ohio. It included a trade list from the “Growers of General Nursery Stock”. They could quickly ship anywhere because of the railroad’s handy location.

A mail train went through twice a day and passenger trains stopped daily. A post office was located there, where according to a March 1885 posting in a newspaper article, the post master salary was $4.01 a year. (At the time, Medway P. Master was paid a whopping $168.83 a year.)

Homes, a black smith and a grocery store brought daily life to a full here. According to another 1885 newspaper article, Mr. C. Hilleary and Mr. Frank Day were going to build a road from parts unknown to Forgy Station. Mr. Elmer Brechbill began his home construction the same year with a cellar being dug. He expected the masons to commence the foundation during July of same year. Mr. J. B. Forgy claimed a larger yield of wheat this year than he had last year.

One of the earliest pioneers of Bethel Township, Mr. Dodson, lived close by Forgy Station. Other residents included J. B. Forgy, Mrs. Jonathan Forgy, Miss Louie Forgy, Ed Forgy, and John B. Souders. John Johnson, another resident was reported to have a 3-year old black mare named Nelly that steps off easily and moves swiftly. William Hunter, Mr. Freet and Harry Brodbeck also lived in Forgy Station.

Most often in print of our hometown neighbors in Forgy Station was C. S. (Cornelius S.) Forgy. By 1887, Mr. Forgy was traveling across the country in business and pleasure.

June of 1887 found him in Fort Worth, Texas, arriving at the Ellis on the tenth. Six days later he was checked into the Long Beach Hotel in California. May of 1888 found C. S. and his wife arriving in Fort Worth again. This time the brief newspaper notice said, “Mr. Forgy is largely interested in Fort Worth real estate.”

May of 1887, it was reported in the Fort Worth Daily Gazette that C. S. Forgy of Forgy Ohio was a capitalist and one of the most enterprising citizens of Ohio. He was one of a party of men arriving in Fort Worth from Kansas who were stockholders in the new company, East Fort Worth Company, whose purpose it was to purchase land and build a new city. All the men were said to be “famous in the railroad world and capitalists of great financial ability”.

His daughter, Effie, traveled to Los Angeles, CA during April of 1888. Mr. Forgy was reported in the Springfield newspaper of July, 1888, to be on the “log cabin” committee of the Clark County Assoc. State Centennial Society for the Ohio Centennial.

A news-worthy man, a family well-rounded in community and business, a town on maps of old and new. Forgy, Ohio.

Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61, Medway, Ohio 45341