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Benjamin Robbins By Ferne
Reilich, Curator Each day as I arrive at the Nutt Cottage, turn on the lights and put our OPEN sign in the front door, I have the chance to look across the street and observe the beautiful limestone building at 81 North Main Street. It is designated in our files as the Benjamin Robbins house. We know that Benjamin was one of Centerville’s earliest pioneers, coming here in 1797 with Aaron Nutt and Benjamin Archer. So, let’s find a few more important facts about Benjamin Robbins and his house.
He was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey in 1760, to Elizabeth and Richard Robbins. In 1782, he married Bathsheba Nutt of Mt. Holly, New Jersey. They were both 22 years old. Fortunately, we have in our archives a copy of the family record that Bathsheba wrote in their Bible. This document shows they had 12 children, including one set of twins. After they had the first 2 children Bathsheba noted, “In the year 1786 we moved to the back parts of Pennsylvania.” It sounds like she may not have been too enthusiastic about moving, however, we can imagine that Benjamin was starting to look for more land. He probably wasn’t satisfied with what he had there, as just two years later in 1789, they moved to Dry Ridge, Kentucky. They remained in Kentucky until 1797 and had several more children. Also living in Dry Ridge, at that time, were two other families from New Jersey and they were all related. Bathsheba’s brother, Aaron Nutt and his wife, Mary (Archer) Nutt, and her brother Benjamin Archer, were neighbors. Then we can imagine that the brothers-in-law got together and decided to look at the land in the Northwest Territory, later Ohio. Bathsheba notes again in the family Bible, “In the year of 1797 we moved to Montgomery County, Ohio.”
A grandson, also named Benjamin, later wrote that his father, Samuel, said they spent ten days on the road, cutting through dense forests almost the entire way to make a wagon road. They reached their destination on April 6, 1797 and built a small log cabin. One night during a violent wind and rain storm, the cabin was either blown down or unroofed, as different records disagree on that point. The land Benjamin had chosen was the Northwest quadrant of what is now Centerville, and the Montgomery County records show that he paid $1.30 in taxes on the land in 1798. He particularly chose that section, where 81 North Main now stands, because it had a large spring on it which was a good source of fresh water. Benjamin was both a surveyor and a farmer, so he recognized the potential of the property. In the early 1800’s he had a stone house built there and we know in 1809 he paid $200 to Montgomery County for taxes that year. The original house was thought to be a small one story structure at the back and the two story house we now see was added about 1820. How fortunate that the house has had only a few owners and has been carefully cared for these many years. One former owner was told that the stones for the house were probably quarried on the property, and many of them show the marks of being “dressed” by hand.
By 1814, our records show that Benjamin had also purchased several lots along what is now West Franklin Street. It seems he may have used all his cash to buy land, as it was later recorded that he wrote, “For medical service, I owe Dr. John Hole one pair leather shoes for a boy child.” Of course, we know that cash was not often in circulation and services were traded. Benjamin seems to have been respected in the community and was a member of the First Baptist Church of Sugar Creek, built on the land of Aaron Nutt. In 1807 the trustees of the church appointed him to “Lay off a burial ground in proper manner.” That cemetery is still a very important part of our historical community and many of our pioneers are buried there, including Benjamin and Bathsheba. He passed away in 1837, and Bathsheba in 1848. How fitting that they rest in the cemetery which Benjamin surveyed and not far from Aaron Nutt and Dr. John Hole.
Resources: The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, 1882, A Sense of Place, Genealogy and Landmark Files, Washington Township Cemetery Records |