About W.E. PetersTrained as an engineer, William E. Peters (1857–1952) first inhabited the Southeast Ohio region while helping construct railroads during the 1880s. He was then appointed Athens County surveyor, and later worked as an attorney specializing in local property law. His contributions to local historical records include a number of works and a manuscript collection that is housed in Alden Library.nter for Archives One of the most utilized and valued resources found within the Peters Papers are his Range Books, a 26-volume scrapbook series that documents unique and historic features of Athens County. Over the years, patron requests for information and reproduced images have included those of the National Park Service, while others have used photographic details found in the Range Books to successfully list properties in the National Register of Historic Places.

TOUR OF WINDY HILLS SPONSORED BY THE AMESVILLE SENIOR CENTER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 MEET AT CENTER AT 9:00 AM CAR POOL TO SITE AT 10:00
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Windy Hills Farm has a rich and deep history going back almost 200 years. Purchased in 1817 by William Donaldson I from lands owned by the Ohio Company and Ephraim Cutler and Thomas Hamilton, it has remained in just two families since then; the Donaldson/Beasley/Mathews family and the Howland/Hilferty family. One hundred and fifty acres remains intact from the original 500 acres.
The farm succeeded to William Donaldson Jr., who was an ardent abolitionist prior to the Civil war. A cave on the property sheltered many escaped slaves making their way across the Ohio and then northward to Canada. One son, William Wallace Donaldson died just after the Civil War battle of Shiloh; another Ed Donaldson married Johanna Starr from Athens. Their daughter, Jennie L. Donaldson married Fred R. Beasley, son of Frank Johnson Beasley, a prominent miller and wholesale grocer from nearby Amesville. Beasley Mills moved to Athens and its warehouse building is now an apartment building across from the old Athens Railroad Station.

Thanks to Brad Kasler for a new collection of historic photos. We will be adding these images each week to showcase the way things looked around Amesville over the last 100 years. 

We are looking for stories from Amesville's past. Stories about the baseball team from the 1920's or the circus that came to town in the early 20th century. Also, more stories about the 1998 or 1968 floods. More photos are always welcomed. 

The Amesville Senior Center (which meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at Village Productions on State Street) has started teaching genealogy classes. We have access to ancestry.com and are helping attendees research and start their family trees. More information can be found at ​http://www.village-productions.org/senior-center.html