The Piqua Civic Hall of Fame was initiated in 1994 to recognize citizens of Piqua who have made a significant contribution to society.
2007 Piqua Civic Hall of Fame Inductees are... Belle
C. Buchanan Evans (1854-19__) Evans was born
and graduated from high school in Piqua. She served as
the first female physician in Piqua in the 1880's, an era
when medicine was almost completely dominated by men.
She received her medical degree from Pulte Medical College
in 1883 as a homoeopathic physician. She began
practice in Piqua in 1883, specializing in the diseases of
women and children. She set up a dispensary on the
public square for the care of those in need. Dr. Evans
returned to Cincinnati to receive a second degree from the
Women's Medical College in 1894.
Francis Meilly Orr (1854-1910)
Orr was born in Lima, Ohio and moved to Piqua with her
husband William P. Orr in 1884. She was the first
woman ever elected to public office in Pqua. Orr
served on the Piqua Board of Education and promoted the
first one story cottage style school in the Miami Valley
(Favorite Hill School) as a fire safety measure. She
was also one of the founders of Ladies Aid Society (a
predecessor of the United Way) and served as the president
of the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs in 1899.
Lucius Cohen Cron (1836-1926)
Cron was born in a log cabin in Piqua and at age eighteen
was apprenticed to a local cabinet maker. He became a
"drummer boy" for the 110th Ohio Regiment, making
his own inlaid wooden drum. Cron founded a furniture
company in 1868, which became one of the largest of its kind
in the Miami Valley. Cron served as Mayor of both
Huntersville (Shawnee) (1867-1891) and Piqua
(1906-1909). He was also one of the founders of the
Democratic Publishing Company, President of the Third
Building & Loan and the Piqua Natural Gas and Oil
Company.
2006 Piqua Civic Hall of Fame Inductees are...
Alfred Willard French Sr. (1862-1925) French was born in Connecticut and graduated from M.I.T. in 1889. After graduation, he stayed at the college for several years to teach mathematics. In 1889, he patented an improved cake trimming machine for use in the linseed oil industry. The next year he founded the French Oil Mill Machinery Company in Piqua. He almost single handedly moved the new company from a tiny firm operating out of a former barn to one of the community's largest industries. French received over fifty different patents before his life was cut short by a tragic automobile accident.
Charles Butterfield Upton (1884-1979) Upton was born in Piqua and joined the French Oil Mill Machinery Company in 1905 as an office clerk. He rose through the ranks to general manager and finally to chairman of the board. Upton helped write the original 1929 city charter and served as one of the first city commissioners. He served as chairman of the board of the Piqua National Bank and as the first chairman of Dettmer Hospital. Upton was one of the chief promoters for the creation of a state historical park at the Johnston Farm site.
Robert M. Davis (1923-1990) He grew up in Troy, but moved to Piqua and joined the staff of the Citizens National Bank, an institution he would serve for thirty-four years retiring as the Chairman of the Board. As a banker, he actively promoted the economic growth of Piqua and Miami County by encouraging and supporting the creation of new and innovative local industries. As a community leader he was a driving force in the expansion of the YMCA, the Piqua Memorial Hospital, the United Fund, and the Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce.
2005 Piqua Civic Hall of Fame Inductees are... Samuel Knoop Statler (1844-1917)
Statler was born in Washington Township the son and grandson of pioneer Miami County farmers. He served as the chief superintendent of the Mercer Gas Company and helped construct the first natural gas line to Piqua and Miami County to light local homes and businesses. He was a director of the Citizens National Bank and one of the co-builders of the Plaza Hotel on the square. Statler was also one of the county’s most active and innovative farmers.
Laura C. "Lola" Hill (1888-1981)
Hill was born in Piqua, the daughter of Judge Walter D. Jones. She began her newspaper career in 1914 with the Piqua Leader-Dispatch. She wrote all of her reports in longhand without the benefit of a desk, only a tall stool against a counter. She was one of the community’s earliest female reporters, in an almost exclusively male world. She served as the society editor for the Piqua Daily Call from 1926 until 1964. She wrote a regular column,
Piquaisms, which ran for over forty-six years.
Richard E. Hunt (1919-2002)
Hunt was born in Troy, Ohio and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. In 1947, he was one of the organizers of the first radio station in Piqua and Miami County under the call letters
WPTW-AM. In the 1950’s, Hunt added several Michigan radio stations to his growing media empire. Hunt partnered with several local citizens in 1965 to establish Piqua’s and the area’s first cable
television company, Valley Antenna Systems. In 1984 he created the Miami County Foundation to provide support for county citizens.
Past Inductees of the Civic Hall of Fame
Click here to view biographies of past inductees
Leonard
U. Hill (1885-1984)
William
Perrine Orr (1834-1912)
Matthew
Caldwell, Sr. (1757-1810)
Stephen Johnston (1812-1885)
George Rundle (1847-1917)
Philip P. Gates (1894-1983)
Henry Flesh (1837-1919)
Kenneth McMaken (1911-1987)
Robert Hance, Jr. (1914-2000)
Colonel
John Johnston (1775 - 1861)
Robert Norris Hartzell (1896 - 1968)
William Moore McCulloch (1901 - 1980)
John Scott Garbry (1902 - 1990)
Dominick Salvotore Gentile (1920 - 1951)
Armin Jacob Kaiser (1895 - 1984)
Goodrich Giles (1846 - 1927)
Minabelle Abbott Hutchins (1909 - 1981)
Jacob Godfrey Schmidlapp (1849 - 1919)
John Allen Rayner (1864 - 1929)
Cecil M. Sims (1891 - 1978)
William H. Pitsenbarger (1944 - 1966)
Airhart M. Fry (1860 - 1939)
Helen L. Louis (1899 - 1984)
Raymond S. Mote (1892 - 1942)
Lucy B. Patterson (1871 - 1930)
George P. Wertz (1899 - 1969)
Rachel
Johnston (1785-1840)
Godwin
V. Dorsey (1812-1885)
Darrell
Taylor, Sr. (1896-1967)
Samuel
Knoop Statler (1844-1917)
Lauar
C. "Lola" Hill (1888-1981)
Richard
E. Hunt (1919-2002)
Alfred
Willard French (1862-1925)
Charles
Butterfield Upton (1884-1979)
Robert
M. Davis (1923-1990)
Lucius
Cohen Cron (1836-1926)
Belle
C. Buchanan Evans (1854-19__)
Frances
Meilly Orr (1854-1910)
The Mills Brothers:
John Jr. (1911-1936)
Herbert (1912-1989)
Harry (1913-1982)
Donald (1915-1999)
John Sr. (1885-1967 |
