William_Smalley_(pioneer)
William Smalley (pioneer)
Ohio settler
William Smalley (1759/1760 {1762[?]–1838) was an Ohio pioneer, who settled in the area of what is now Cowan Lake State Park (very near the current address 10701 State Route 350, Clarksville, OH 45113) in 1797. He and his brother were the first white settlers in the area and cleared many acres of land for a farm and built a double log cabin on the site – years later to build the first brick home in the county on the same land.[1] They built a sawmill, a grist mill and a small distillery. They also formed Union Baptist Church that would meet in the mill. Smalley and his church were strict abolitionists and the church would divide over the issue. Smalley's wife Prudence Hoel is buried near the home site in an unmarked grave as is one of his daughters.[2]