My initial research revealed two places in Ohio called Belfast, one in Clermont County and the other in Highland County. Then during my time in Belfast, Maine I was told of another in Licking County, so I went looking for all three. I’ll relate the story in order of my success in finding them.
Belfast, Jackson Township, Highland County, Ohio – 08 June 2024
After my gruelling ride, I awoke, next morning, at the usual 0600 and felt tired all over, not mentally but physically. Every part of my body was telling me I had worked hard yesterday – I had ridden nearly 400km, a long way for an old bike, never mind an old body. I had some coffee. went back to bed and woke up again about 0730.
After breakfast, I helped Terry fix his garage door, which had inexplicably, suddenly stopped working that morning; it was a simple fix in the end, but it took a while to find. In spite of his full-leg brace, Terry had thought to accompany me on my ride to Belfast as it wasn’t very far away. This would be his first outing since the surgery, and Rhonda clearly wasn’t too keen on the idea. I offered my tuppence worth as both a doctor and a biker, who had experienced a similar dilemma previously. He wisely listened to my council. 😊
The door fixed, I set off to find Belfast No 6. It was only 50 km away so I arrived fairly quickly. The first thing I noticed was a run-down looking store called “Belfast Grocery and Carry-Out”. As I pulled up in the adjacent parking lot (like my American?) I got talking to a lad standing outside his house. He didn’t know much about the area but he was sure his Father had a lot more local knowledge then he.
His father was Josh Gilbert and he certainly did have a lot of local knowledge, having lived in the area since birth. He pointed out the old, now derelict hotel, the blacksmith’s and the barber shop opposite his house, which stood next to the still inhabited and smart looking doctor’s house. He didn’t know exactly how the village got its name, but one of the original families was called Kelly, so maybe that was the link. Although there were still Kellys living locally, their mother and grandmother had passed in the last few years and the still-living younger ones wouldn’t have much information he thought; since he had grown up with these younger Kelly’s, I took his word for it.
When I asked about a place to have coffee, he directed me to the aforementioned store where I met Julie and Emily Pence. Julie ran the store, which has been there for at least 150 years, with the assistance of her daughter Emily. After a bit of a chat, Julie said had a book on the history of the village, written some years ago by an old local guy. She very kindly went home to fetch it so I could have a read; mind you, Emily had a hand in persuading her.
From this, entitled “An Old Timer’s Recollections of Belfast Ohio” written by Ernest W Williamson, I learned that there were settlers in the general area as early as 1792; that the first settler in what is now Jackson County, was one Thomas McCoy; that the town itself was platted (a North American verb meaning to plan out or make a map of) on the 19th March 1834; and that the owners at that time were James Storer, Jonathon Weaver and Lancelot Brown. Perhaps the McCoy was the one to christen the town; who knows now?
Serpent Mound
Josh Gilbert had also mentioned an archeological site nearby called the Serpent Mound, which was, he said well worth a visit, so after I had perused the Recollections, I headed off to visit the snake’s hill.
Serpent Mound is the world’s largest and oldest surviving effigy mound estimated to have been constructed around 100-1200 AD. It is a 411-meter-long native Native American earthwork structure, the origins and function of which remain a mystery. The Great Serpent had a central role in Native culture which could be involved to help with hunting or curing illness. At one end there is an embankment that has been interpreted to represent either the serpent’s eye, part of its head or an egg grasped in the it’s jaws. The head of the serpent points towards sunset on the summer solstice and two of the curves appear to be aligned to sunrise on the summer and winter solstices. The site is under consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I made some new acquaintances at the Serpent’s Mound; the first was Giovanni Principe, an Italian riding a BMW. He has been living in the US for 30 years, and is, he says, one of 2 or 3 experts in the country on 6-spindle lathes. When he tried to explain what a 6-spindle lathe was, my response was, “I can see why there are not many experts!”
I also met two delightful ladies, Jan and Judy, who were – I’m not sure if trying to convince themselves is the right phrase – wrestling with the fact that their compass was not showing North where it should be. There invited me to point out where I though North was, which I duly did. My phone suggested it was about 130º west of where it should be.
After agreeing on this anomaly, which they claimed, and I have no reason to doubt this, was due to deposits of a mineral, the name of which I forget, we had a got into a long conversation ranging across numerous topics. Eventually, they suggested lunch, but as it was already 2pm and I was going out to dinner later, I declined, but suggested that I knew a great place for coffee nearby. Hence, we ended up back at Belfast Grocery and Carry-out having some strawberry finger pie, sold by an Amish lady in the other parking lot – there was one on each side of the store. Since it was end of the day and she was packing up as we arrived, I negotiated on the price, which, I think embarrassed Judy a little, until the Amish lady said, “That’s the Amish way too,” and agreed to a $1 reduction in the price. J
We parted shortly afterwards, with them saying that they hoped I would get in touch if I passed close to their homes on my travels, and me advising them to be careful what they wished for! As I was leaving Emily came out of the store and presented me with a promotional beer cosy, proudly displaying the name “Belfast”
In the evening Terry and I went out for dinner and I had an excellent steak, served by a very sweet young waitress who also happened to be called Emily. Her only fault was to bring me a glass of white wine after I had ordered a Cabernet; but I suppose not everyone can be perfect.
Belfast, Stonelick Township, Clermont County, Ohio – 09 June 2014
According to Wikipedia,
Belfast was founded in 1834, and named after Belfast, in Northern Ireland.[2] The post office was first established under the name Bell[2] in 1845, the name was changed to Belfast in 1910, and the post office closed in 1944.
However, when I went there in 2024 little evidence of this remained. The only things I found bearing the name were two churches: Belfast Baptist Church and New Beginnings of Belfast. I enquired of some of the congregation at the former, and at the garden centre, but no-one had any inkling that the place was or had been called Belfast.
This 1870 map provided further proof that at that time, Belfast did, in fact, exist in Stonelick Township, Clermont County. However, it’s current situation does not qualify it for my list.
As I said, today was reality day, and the bike failed to start in the carpark of one of the churches. A battery check revealed a low voltage, so disappointingly, I am back to square one on this issue. I made it back to Mt Orab, and set about an investigation with Terry’s and Tim’s – a friend of Terry – help. Tim is an electrician by trade so this added some credibility to our conclusion that since the charging system checked out all round, the battery must be at fault, in spite of it being only 2 weeks old.
A check at two car parts stores didn’t help, as one said it was defective and the other that it was OK, just discharged, so we put it on charge overnight and will start again tomorrow.
10 June 2024
Everything in and on the charging system was checked, and almost everything checked out. The one thing I did find was a melter connector block suggesting overheating. This it was suggested could be due to a bad earth connection, and if this involved the starter, could result in a large current to the rectifier, damaging it. Based on this, the fact that the battery seemed to be holding up, and with a plan to avoid using the starter, I decided that I would head black “home” to Greencastle.
The gremlins I had in the charging system are, it would seem to be self inflicted, due to the modern parts I had used to replace the originals. Remember my first ride out in Zimbabwe? No? Well, I needed rescuing on a 200km round trip about 40km from home because the modern, off the shelf, regulator/rectifier wasn’t working and the battery discharged.
The second one was equally suspect, so I changed to a tailor-made solution, replacing the original mechanical parts with a circuit board in the same housing. Then came my trials in Ethiopia and Sudan? Remember that? Incorrectly wired modern circuit board and then an exploded transistor. So now I am back to an original, mechanical regulator and, thanks to Mark Parrish, aka Hondaman, I will soon have an original rectifier to replace the replacement.
I set off with a plan to take 3 days to reach Greencastle, by a route that was direct-ish, and would take in parts of recommended rides. But before I leave you ….
Belfast, Licking County, Ohio
This story could have started, “once upon a time in Licking County, there was a place called Belfast.” Licking County is north-west of Columbia, but according to the1837 Centennial History of Licking County, Belfast was one of six towns considered to be virtually extinct. No record that I could find noted its location, and, in fact, Ohioghosttowns.org simply says, “Location unknown”
I did find a map of Licking County dated 1875, but minute scrutiny failed to reveal a place called Belfast; if you spot it, do let me know. Reluctantly, I accepted what we all know, ghosts are invisible! 👻
Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike 