In 1982 a logo was created for the newly formed city of Beavercreek. It was designed to reflect the spirit of city with images inside a giant letter “B”. Over time the logo became scorned, outdated and was replaced in 1997 and 2001 with simpler, sleeker versions.

The original logo was never very popular and most people agreed that it wasn’t very functional either. Some complained that it was ugly and said that from a distance it was impossible to make out the fine details of the artwork. The complexity and intricate detail of that artwork also meant that it rarely reproduced well in print, causing headaches for printers at the time. The result in print often looked like a letter “B” in a circle with indistinguishable blobs spread about which only served to fuel the logo’s detractors.

There are few places left where you can see the original city logo today, especially in an outdoor setting. One of the few remaining places is on the ground sign between the Police Station and City Hall. There has been some discussion about renovating these building in the not so distant future. If those plans go forward, the logo may disappear from sight altogether, at least outdoors.

Those who have seen the logo often find it difficult to describe the four scenes because of the reasons listed earlier in this article. The logo contained a large, rounded letter “B” in a circle with four scenes portraying different aspects of the city nestled in the four corners.

In the upper left was a graphic depicting residential houses with some larger buildings in the background. The upper right showed a school bus with children and college graduates in the foreground. In the lower left, near the center, was a scene showing a factory with factory workers. The lower right had an agricultural scene showing a farmer on a tractor with windmill in the background. Surrounding the logo in type that looked modern for the time was the slogan, “Beavercreek, Ohio — our home, our city, or future” along with the city’s incorporation year, 1980.

A New Take on Beavercreek’s Logo in 1997
In 1997 a new logo featuring a beaver with dangling tail and swooshes of a creek was created and used on stone signs greeting visitors and at the city golf course. Photo © Craig Barhorst

Changes in the city’s logo and the way it projected it’s image to the public started to happen in the late 1990’s when the city needed a logo for use on stone signs to greet visitors as they entered the city and on signs for the new city golf course. In 1997 Beavercreek’s City Council approved a new official logo featuring the familiar beaver with dangling tail and swooshes of a creek. Even though the new logo was being used for many public signs, in 1997 the old city seal with the “B” in a circle was sill being used in many places within the halls city government.

The Beavercreek City Logo Today
A view of the current Beavercreek City logo in use today. This version, which greets drivers on US Rt 35, was adapted from the official city logo on display in city council chambers. Photo © Craig Barhorst

In 2001, a new city seal was approved which dropped the big letter “B” in a circle altogether and focussed entirely on the beaver with dangling tail and creek. The new official city logo was an outgrowth of the designs of the late 1990’s, but now it was self-contained. The design featured the text “City of Beavercreek” on a solid brown background. The beaver with dangling tail was moved to the right and an abstract representation of a creek appeared at the bottom. The 2001 design currently rests on the wall behind the mayor during city council meetings and was recently adapted with some minor color changes for use on the US Rt 35 overpass to greet drivers on Rt 35.

Whether you were a fan of the old logo or one of those happy to see it go, it is a part of the history of Beavercreek and helps to remind us of years gone by. Beavercreek is not alone in changing it’s logo. In the past 30 years many nearby cities including Fairborn have also changed their look.

Story by Craig Barhorst. Original Beavercreek City logo captured from a photo taken of the sign in front of City Hall.

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Hazardous Waste Site May Get Attention This Year.
The fenced in property on the corner of Grange Hall and Patterson Roads in Beavercreek listed on the National Priorities List of EPA Superfund sites for cleanup. Photo © C. Barhorst

Residents know the corner as a strange looking fenced in vacant lot with odd well caps visible beyond the fence line. The site was once the location of the Lammers Barrel Factory which dealt in the disposal of hazardous chemicals. In 1969 the Lammers Barrel Factory was the scene of a huge fire that dumped thousands of gallons of chemical waste into the Little Beaver Creek and contaminated the ground soil.

The site has long been considered a problem and in 2002 the US EPA recommended it be added to National Priorities List, also referred to as the EPA Superfund list. The site was added in 2003.

Local residents and environmentalists are anxiously awaiting a decision this year regarding a possible cleanup of the site. Last year the EPA announced they were exploring options for a cleanup of the site and would announce plans in 2008.

Testing Efforts in 2007.
EPA testing efforts that were seen at the site in early 2007. This photo was taken January 20, 2007. Photo © C. Barhorst

Many environmentalists are concerned about the Little Beaver Creek, which runs through the site and is in the contamination zone. Residents are also concerned, particularly those homes located in the northern part of the Valleywood residential neighborhood, many of which also lie in the contamination zone. In 2000 and 2001, an investigation by the Army Corps of Engineers indicated that the extent of contamination still present at the site was more extensive than originally anticipated. The Army Corps of Engineers was investigating what measures would be needed for a clean up of the site.

No official decision has been announced yet by the EPA, but many hope some news will come soon about what will be done to clean up this hazardous waste site in Beavercreek.

For more information about this story read the additional articles below:
The 1969 Fire at the Lammers Barrel Factory and Hazardous Contamination Found in Beavercreek Neighborhood.

Lammer’s Barrel Factory
Fire, 1969. Image from US
EPA. Photo by Don Reed

The 1969 Fire at the Lammers Barrel Factory

In 1969 a fire broke out at the Lammers Barrel Factory, also known as the Kohnen and Lammars Chemical Company, which once occupied 2 acres of land on the corner of Grange Hall and Patterson Road. The property at that time was in what was then Beavercreek Township.

The fire completely destroyed the buildings. All that remains now is a concrete pad and pipes that apparently ran from the former facility into the Little Beaver Creek.

Operations began at Lammers Barrel Factory in 1953 and continued until the fire in October 1969. According to former employees, the facility bought, sold and reclaimed all types of solvents.

During operation, the facility had an above-ground storage capacity of over 500,000 gallons of chemical solvents. Any inventories of chemicals handled at the facility were reportedly destroyed in the fire.

The Site of the Lammers Barrel Factory Today
All that remains now is a concrete pad and pipes that apparently ran from the former facility into the Little Beaver Creek. Photo © Craig Barhorst

Chemical solvents stored at the facility included trichloroethylene, methyl-ethyl ketone, tetrachloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, ketones, esters, and alcohols. The site had eighteen vertical tanks, ranging in size from 2,500 to 25,000 gallons and approximately 6,000 55-gallon drums.

Hazardous Contamination Found in Beavercreek Neighborhood

In 1969 a huge chemical fire at the Lammers Barrel Factory in Beavercreek dumped thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into the Little Beaver Creek and contaminated the ground soil. The property is located at the corner of Grange Hall and Patterson Roads.

Serious concerns about contamination around the site arose in the mid 1980’s when local residents and the Ohio EPA initiated testing of residential wells. In 1985 about 90 residential wells in the northern end of the Valleywood subdivision, located southeast of the facility, revealed the presence of vinyl chloride above the federal maximum contaminant levels. Several wells also contained other volatile organic compounds, such as chloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethene, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene.

The problem was considered so bad in 1985 that the Ohio National Guard brought a 350-gallon mobile water tank as an emergency water supply for five homes along Patterson Road. Nine other homes that exceeded acceptable levels were subsequently connected to the county water system.

The Site and Extent of Contamination
The site lies on the corner of Grange Hall and Patterson Roads. Well water contamination was found in many of the homes in the Valleywood subdivision.Photo USGS

In 1992, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency conducted a site inspection. Six soil samples, four sediment and four surface water samples from Little Beaver Creek were collected along with additional residential well samples. The six soil samples from the site indicated high concentrations of volatile chemicals, lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Analysis of the creek sediment samples also revealed the presence of xylenes and heavy metals.

Periodic ground water testing continued and the extension of the county water line or installation of filtration systems occurred in several homes. In 1997 testing showed that the contaminated ground water plume had advanced further than the Valleywood subdivision. Additional investigation showed that ground water contamination extended from the site outward to the east, south, and southeast and also impacted an area along the northern end of the Woodhaven subdivision.

In 2000 and 2001, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a Hydrogeologic Investigation to look at contaminant removal at the site. Results indicated that the extent of contamination still present at the site was more extensive than originally anticipated. County water lines were extended to four additional homes in 2000.

In September 2002, U.S. EPA proposed that the Lammers Barrel Factory site be added to the National Priorities List of hazardous waste sites, also referred to as the EPA Superfund list. Additional testing occurred from 2003 through 2007 and a recommendation for a cleanup plan is expected in 2008.

Source: US Environmental Protection Agency. br20080204-01

Note: An earlier version of this story ran with an error. An EPA study from 1997 was erronously listed at EPA’s website as being dated January 30, 2008. The previous article reported on the conclusion of that study, which recommended against Superfund involvement, as being new information. We caught the error while verifying the accuracy of the story and immediately corrected the story 4 hours after it’s original posting. We appologize for the error.

David Simmons of the Ohio Historical Society will discuss “The Romance and Symbolism of Covered Bridges” at the next meeting of the Beavercreek Historical Society, January 22, 2008. The public is invited to attend.

Romance of covered bridges discussed at Jan. 22 meeting of historical society. Photo LOC

Simmons is chief editor of Timeline, an illustrated magazine that embraces the fields of history, prehistory, and the natural sciences published by the Ohio Historical Society. Prior to this position he was in charge of the Department of Historic Preservation at the Ohio Historical Society. The department was responsible for the identification and listing of historic sites in the State of Ohio.

David Simmons, Ohio Historical Society

Simmons holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in American history from Miami University and has published articles on a variety of technological history topics, including military architecture, canal construction, and the history of bridge engineering.

The meeting is scheduled for January 22, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Peace Lutheran Church located at 3530 Dayton-Xenia Rd.




Contributed by Charlotte Panton, Beavercreek Historical Society, additional by staff.   C-BR20080112-01

Dr. Michael L. Grumelli examines the relationship among airmen, technology and airmindedness in early military aviation at 7:30 pm Jan. 16 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in the lecture, titled “Billy Mitchell’s Air War: Practice, Promise and Controversy in Early Military Aviation.”

Planes of these type were used in military training in 1919 following World War I. Photo LOC

The lecture is part of the museum’s Wings & Things Guest Lecture Series. The lecture pays particular attention to the formative influence of the Great War in the air on the development of Mitchell’s uniquely American air power thought in the 1920s.

Dr. Michael Grumelli

The son of a 30-year Army non-commissioned officer, Grumelli earned his Ph.D. in military history from Rutgers University in 1991 and is currently on the faculty of the Air Command and Staff College and the School of Advance Air and Space Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. A colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, he has deployed in support of contingency operations as a planner from Uphold Democracy to Operation Iraqi Freedom and most recently served with Multi-National Force Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, as the chief of campaign planning.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. Admission and parking are free. For more information or special seating arrangements, contact the museum’s Special Events Division at (937) 255-1743. Filming or videotaping the lecture is prohibited.

The B-25 “Billy Mitchell” bomber on the flight ramp in Inglewood, California in 1942. The bomber was named after the general who was an early advocate of air power in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Photo LOC

Source: The National Museum of the United States Air Force

Anyone who grew up in Beavercreek probably has more than a few fond memories of the Bellfair Country Store & Restaurant. It’s quaint rustic atmosphere inside and unmistakable look of an old-time red barn on the outside is the stuff of childhood memories.


But if you left Beavercreek for a time and recently moved back, you might be wondering, ” What ever happened to the Bellfair Country Store?” For those of you who missed the abrupt announcement of it’s closing in early 2003, the year it sat vacant and the later renovation, we have the story.


The Bellfair Country Store and Restaurant was a fixture in Beavercreek throughout the city’s history. It was even around before Beavercreek officially became a city in 1980. It first opened it’s doors in 1965 on the corner of North Fairfield a Lantz Roads. The place was part restaurant and part antiques shop with an old-time rustic theme. Walls were adorned with trinkets and mementos from the past and on the inside it looked as if little had changed since it first opened it’s doors.



The photo on the left is what the Bellfair Country Store looked like in early 2004 after a year of sitting vacant. The photo on the right shows the property today, renamed Brook-Field Station and housing Nedelko’s Banquet Hall plus a number of other businesses. Photos © Craig Barhorst


But in early 2003, the owner, Gary Deis abruptly announced that he was retiring. He said that the place was for sale and if no one came forward to buy it, Bellfair Country Store would close it’s doors at the end of February of that year.


Reports from the time say he was asking for over 1 million dollars for the building and it’s 5 acres of property but rumors had also circulated around town that the building needed a lot of work. No one purchased the building for his asking price and the property remained vacant for nearly a year. In February of 2004, Brook-Field Station Ltd. bought the property for $279,000 and began a complete renovation of the structure.


After sitting vacant for a year, the building was showing visible signs of distress including peeling paint. Brook-Field Station Ltd added new siding to the structure and the inside was completely renovated to house the building’s largest occupant, Nedelko’s Banquet and Reception Hall. The building also houses offices for State Farm Insurance, Ambiance Hair Salon, Jill’s Deli-licious, All About Pink and Rubber Bowl.


The inside of Nedelko’s features polished brass chandeliers, sconce lighting and cornsilk colored walls. It seats up to 118 guests and features a dance floor. Nedelko’s is available for weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners and any other corporate or personal events that require a banquet hall.

Note to Readers: Look for an updated version of this story coming soon. We have located the original newspaper article from 1872 detailing the murder and are working on a new story with much more detail including what Fogwell was doing in Dayton, who rushed to his aid after he was shot, where Fogwell was injured, the physicians who tried to save his life, the checkered past of his murderer, more details about the investigation and the CSI type of techniques that were used, the events that led up to and preceeded Fogwell’s murder and more.

An 1872 Railroad Map of Greene County, Ohio
showing townships.Source: Library of Congress

The date was October 22, 1872 and John William Fogwell was returning home to his wife Josephine and infant son Edward from a trip to Dayton, Ohio. He was traveling home on the road north of Beaver Station.


Beaver Station was one of the stops along the railroad line that ran from Dayton to Xenia. A road, Dayton-Xenia Pike, ran roughly the same route as the train. Beaver Station was located a few miles east of Alpha near where present day Trebein Road meets US 35.


At about eight o’clock on the road, just a mile north of Beaver Station, shotgun blasts pierced the otherwise calm and tranquil evening. Fogwell had been shot four times and the wounds would eventually prove to be fatal. He had been ambushed by an assasin who had been lying in wait with a loaded shotgun along the corner of a nearby fence. But while the shotgun balls had fatally wounded John Fogwell, he would live long enough to tell others who had shot him. Fogwell had seen see the face of his murderer in the darkness.

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Grave of John William Fogwell in Beaver Cemetary,
Beavercreek, Ohio.   Photo © Craig Barhorst

Richison was arrested and evidence was siezed from his house in Beavercreek Township. At trial, the evidence of the dying victim’s last words was strengthened by forensic evidence and testimony of experts that might even earn the respect of modern day crime scene investigators.


Officers had siezed torn paper from his house. The torn paper was matched to similar torn pieces of paper used as wadding for the shotgun found at the scene of the crime. Footprint evidence was also presented.


The court found Richison guilty of murder. He was later given an unprecedented second trial and was found guilty once again. Richison’s sentence was death by hanging for the capital crime of murder.

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This historical account is based on information found in The History of Green County, Ohio by R. S. Dills, published in 1881, and from other related sources.

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The park was first dedicated a little over 3 months before the tragic events of 911 in 2001. Now, each Memorial Day, it not only serves as a gathering place for remembering those who have served in the past, but also those who are in harms way at present.


Each year on Memorial Day, Beavercreek’s Veterans Memorial Park is the site of a tribute to the nation’s armed forces. This year’s event begins at 2:00 pm, Monday May 28, and will feature music and speeches with a patriotic theme honoring veterans of all branches of service from all eras. This will mark the seventh Memorial Day event held at the park.

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Photo Feature: Tour of Beavercreek’s Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans Memorial Park, located along North Fairfield Drive, pays tribute to all branches of the military. It’s centerpiece is a tall column topped with a globe and eagle. The insignias of each branch of the military carved in marble on each side. Surrounding the column are three flags featuring the stars and stripes, the flag of Ohio and the POW flag. At the base of the column is a giant star pattern created with bricks filled with names of Beavercreek Veterans.  A sidewalk with additional names also spans the park with a the Walk of History, featuring marble markers that detail each major conflict the US military has been involved in.

The Veterans Memorial sign and view from the memorial facing North Fairfield Rd.

The Walk of History leading up to the memorial column topped with eagle and globe.

The base of the column featuring insignias from the all branches of the military with histories.

The star pattern at the base of the column fashioned from bricks with Beavercreek veteran’s names.

The History of Beavercreek’s Veterans Memorial Park

Phase one of the Veterans Memorial on Old North Fairfield Road was dedicated Memorial Day, May 28, 2001. Nearly 1200 visitors attended the dedication event. Phase one included the 23-foot memorial, the three flagpoles with flags of the United States, State of Ohio and POW-MIA, granite sign, gazebo, drinking fountain, and brick star at the base as well as initial landscaping.

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