PLEASANTVILLE TO VILLAGE OF PLEVNA

Settled by Edward Saul in Year 1848

Thriving Little Town North of Greentown

Many Descendants of First Settler Still Live There

Village Takes Much Pride in Beautiful Trees and Neighborly Spirit Prevailing

The following article was written specially for this paper by a correspondent, and deals with the history of the village of Plevna, and is a very interesting article. Greentown Gem, 1926

It is not always the size of the town that makes it great, but the spirit that exists in the hearts of its inhabitants.  Not all heroes were on the battle field, neither do all the great men and women live in cities or large towns.  In our little cross-roads town, exists a spirit of neighborliness and kindness, not excelled anywhere.  We have shared our joys and sorrows; have known our peaks of prosperity and depths of despair; we have our little booms, fires, accidents, robberies and scandal, evangelistic and political meetings, our lecture courses, and farmers' meetings, and most everything else that a larger place experiences, only of course, in a smaller way.  But after all the larger places are just the smaller ones magnified. 

One thing we do have that no larger place enjoys and that is the little country store (and by the way it's not so small either judging from the amount of business handled,) where farmers come from miles around to do their trading and enjoy an hour or two taking with neighbors and friends, swapping jokes and experiences and deciding various questions of the day.  The debates and arguments threshed out here would make many a wise man wiser.  And the whole crowd pauses to listen, when the "chicken man" from Swayzee drops in and says, "Howdy boys," and starts a flow of wit that sends the whole crowd into roars of laughter that dispels the "rainy day" gloom quicker than all "Dr. Killem's" pills and powders.  Many traveling salesmen manage to drop into Plevna about the noon hour, and lunch on cheese and bologna and ice cold pop, in order to spend an hour with the bunch and have a real good time.

At present we have sixty-six inhabitants of Plevna proper, but we claim the neighborhood north to the Mennonite neighborhood, east to Law Kern's corner, south as far as Greentown will allow us and west to the Zion neighborhood.  Just where that dividing line is we will allow the Zionites to decide.  [Kokomo Zion United Methodist Church is west of Plevna on 400 N.]

Kokomo Zion United Methodist Church, est. 1865

(Zion's sesquicentennial booklet of 2015 notes that "in 1883 the German language was used.  In 1884 the church ordered 40 English and 40 German quarterlies for Sunday School.  The leaders at Zion were wise in slowly incorporating English, yet keeping German, in their services.")

The ground upon which Plevna is located was entered in the year 1848, by Edward Saul of Sennica County, Ohio.  Mr. Saul entered several acres and most of it still remains in the Saul name or belongs to his heirs.  Mr. John K. Saul is one son still living.  Mrs. H. J. Weisenauer, Mrs. Martha Kingseed and Mrs. William Smeltzer, are three daughters, all living on parts of the land entered by their father.

Plevna was first called Pleasantville.  The year in which Grant and Greely ran for President, this place was granted a post office.  "Brick" Pomeroy was editor of an Ohio paper highly in favor of Greely and so many of our settlers were Ohio people it was decided to change Pleasantville to Pomeroy.  Mr. Chart Bull, then notary public and Mr. Steve Colescott, sent in the necessary red tape for the change.  So for a short time Pomeroy existed.  But it was soon discovered that there was another town in the state by the same name making another change of name necessary.  About this time a little province in Turkey by the name of Plevna was being so unjustly warred upon, that the sympathy of all other nations was aroused.  In the United States five towns were named after this province, and our own little Plevna was one of the five.

Plevna's first industry was a saw mill owned and operated by John Schmucker or Smoker, as the name is now pronounced.  Several men were employed and for their convenience, "Billy" Nuner started a little grocery.  In 1857, Mr. Saul built on his claim a log home, which had no windows.  The contract had been let to several men to clear the land, but when the Civil War broke out, the work was dropped and not taken up again until 1878, when a son, John K. Saul, came out here from Ohio, to make a home.

Following is a list of names of other early settlers: Smeltzer, Kingseed, Martin, Schaaf and Graf.  Mr. Steve Colescott was the first postmaster, and the mail was brought here from Kokomo by first one and then another, they sometimes receiving one dollar for their trouble.  Some of the other postmasters were, Henry Miller, John K. Saul, Walt Kaylor and G. W. Smith.  Mr Smith was postmaster when the rural route was established some twenty-two years ago.  Since then Plevna has had no post office.  

Some of the younger generation might wonder why at first the mail was brought from Kokomo instead of Greentown.  This is the reason, Greentown had no railroad.  So you see there was a time when Plevna did not enjoy the distinction of being about the only "cross roads" town around here.

Some forty years ago, the Dunkard Church of the Brethren, was built, this being the first church here.  Several years later, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was built.  Mr. Jake Weisenauer and Mr. Steve Saul sold some lots off their farms to people who wished to build homes and Plevna began to grow, but we guess it was never "measured," and almost died of "short growth."  However, later on it took a new lease on life and grew a little more.  One or two stores were built and as near as we can learn here is a list of owners from the first to the present: Billy Nuner, Lee Disbro, John Bish, Dr. Steve Colescott, George Mast, George Dalyrimple, Harrison Massey & Charles Sloan, Alfred Troyer, Eli Walters, Nick Richer, William Dawson, Elsie Marvin, George Smith, William Kennedy, Kennedy Bros., Henry Lorenz, Pete Remington, Edd Drinkwater, Earl Cook, Arthur Gross, Earl Mounsey, Floyd Lantz and Lantz Bros.