On Feb. 6, 1816, William Robertson’s plat map for the village of Wilmington, present day Utica, was approved and recorded with the county. There is no record as to why he chose the name Wilmington; perhaps he believed it sounded like William, but the name wouldn’t last.
When the village applied for a post office, officials were informed that there was already a town in Clark County named Wilmington and if they wanted a post office, they would have to choose a new name. On Sept. 27, 1821, the new post office opened in the village of Utica. Roelof Brinkerhoff who in 1960 wrote the book, “A Sesquicentennial History of Utica, Licking County, Ohio 1810-1960,” commented that once again no one knows why the name was chosen since “there was no one from Utica, New York” in the village at the time.
History column:Licking County, then part of Fairfield County, first settled in 1813 at present-day Utica
Robertson was determined to build his community, and he figured prominently in the village. He already owned the sawmill and grist mill, and in 1821 he purchased a wool carding machine. These machines were used to mechanize the process of preparing wool for spinning. He probably owned the first one in the county.
He is sometimes referred to as Major Robertson, having attained that rank in a regiment of militia that trained in Granville. One day during training, Robertson and his men were ordered to cross a swollen stream. They tried numerous times and failed. Robertson was court-martialed and fined $50. He resented this and resigned from the Granville militia. After this, he formed his own regiment in Utica.
In 1825, he built a new house at South Main Street and Mill Street for his wife and four children. The Robertsons furnished and reserved an upstairs front room for any guest ministers that needed a place to stay in town.
History column:Before becoming home to Velvet Ice Cream, Ye Olde Mill was an Underground Railroad stop
William, 54 died Nov. 9, 1840. The cause of death was listed as consumption, resulting from his efforts to develop the area. His wife Sarah outlived him by 37 years when she died Dec. 28, 1877. The founder of Utica and his family are buried at North Lawn Cemetery.
The home was eventually sold to the telephone company. The company placed the switchboard in the front room on the first floor. For many years, the manager or chief operator was permitted to live in the home.
In March 1965, the telephone company tore the house down and constructed the red brick building that currently inhabits the site, erasing a part of Utica’s earliest history.
Doug Stout is the Licking County Library local history coordinator. You may contact him at 740.349.5571 or dstout@lickingcountylibrary.org.
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