the
Rabbitsburg
mystery
In early 2021, while researching Darrtown history, this writer ventured into the recorded past, by searching through a collection of old newspapers that is stored at Newspapers.com.
And then, two things happened...
FAMILY NAMES that appeared most frequently in the Rabbitsburgh news:
Earhart - Roland and Estyl
Foutz - Henry and Jesse
Guiler - Wilbur
Harbaum - Barney
Inman - Everette Inman (of West Elkton)
Lamm - Chester and Norma
Pogue - Daisy, George, Lawrence, and Malcolm
Ponder - Justice and Taylor
Pyles - Gilbert
Reeves - J. L.
Shafor - Frank
Thomas - Jim, John, and Roy
Withrow - John
COMMUNITY NAMES that appeared most frequently in the Rabbitsburg news:
Camden
Collinsville
Darrtown
Gratis
Jacksonburg
Seven Mile
Somerville
West Elkton
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Butler County place names have been compiled at the Lane Public Library, in Hamilton, Ohio, thanks to the work of Mr. James Blount, a reporter for the Hamilton Journal - see Butler county place names.
Unfortunately, Rabbitsburg is not included in Mr. Blount's list.
The following information is offered, in hopes that someone reading this page will be able to correctly answer the question, "Where in the world was Rabbitsburg located?"
1
st
2
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It seems reasonable to assume that, in 1926, travel (to a nighttime basketball game, for example) was more limited in speed and distance, than it is now.
So, presumably / maybe / perhaps Rabbitsburg might have been located within a 15-20 mile radius of Darrtown.
The map at the right shows an area within which Rabbitsburg might have existed.
This assumption is also based on the following names of people and places that are reported in the Rabbitsville columns.
Unexpectedly, news from the community of "Rabbitsburg" appeared beneath the Darrtown item.
"...attended the basketball game at Darrtown Friday night."
Upon reading the opening item of the Rabbitsburg news, a Darrtown connection was discovered.
While searching for info about William Weiss of Darrtown, the following Darrtown community news article appeared.
NEWSPAPERS
The old newspapers at Newspapers.com contain lots of names of settlements that no longer exist. For example, news stories were regularly published about the lives of citizens from the likes of Fairview, Greenwood, Locust Grove, Princeton, Scipio, Sycamore, Tylersville, Valley View, and Woodsdale - just to name a few.
But, the location of villages is not specified in the newspaper articles.
IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOCATE RABBITSBURG, FOUR RESOURCES WERE TAPPED...
THE INTERNET
A Google search only brings up the aforementioned Rabbitsburg columns at Newspapers.com.
PERSONAL MEMORY
As of January 2021, no one associated with this website has reported any knowledge of Rabbitsburg.
RIGHT: This news clipping suggests that Rabbitsburg was located in Preble County (Ohio).
LEFT: This news clipping announces a fox drive "in Rabbitsburg."
THE THREE BOUNDARIES of the fox drive are listed as:
About a month after the above content was posted, the following information emerged about the location of Rabbitsburg.
While this information does NOT establish the exact location of Rabbitsburg, it does place the community EAST of Somerville.
Shaw Road on the south
West Elkton Road on the east
Seven Mile Creek on the west
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