Yellow Springs
Yellow Springs is located along the Caesar Creek Section of the Buckeye Trail in the Miami Rivers Chapter area. Yellow Springs became the 8th Trail Town April 27, 2017.
As the hiker continues on the Buckeye Trail in a clockwise manner, the BT enters on the East Enon Road. The Trail passes by Antioch University Midwest. The trail turns left onto Dayton Street. As the hiker passes the Trail Town Brewery, the trail turns onto the Little Miami Scenic Trail. Glen Helen Preserve will be across the road from the Little Miami Scenic Trail. The hiker will also pass by Antioch College. The Buckeye Trail will continue out of town on the Little Miami Scenic Trail to the Trail Town of Xenia.
Yellow Springs was founded by William Mills. It was named after the natural springs composed of high concentrations of iron, thought to have healing and therapeutic value.
The completion of the Little Miami Railroad in 1846 brought an increase of commerce, inhabitants and tourism. Many regular visitors came for the healing benefits of the spring. The Village of Yellow Springs was incorporated in 1856.
Antioch College was founded in 1850, being the fourth college in the country to admit African-Americans on an equal basis with whites.
Plan your Visit
Yellow Springs is a mix of rural and urban, with a thriving downtown, eclectic neighborhoods surrounded by farms and orchards. There is something for everyone in the village of Yellow Springs, full of restaurants, shops, and a brewery. If your bike needs maintenance, or if you are in the mood for a new bike, visit Village Cyclery, a full-service shop 110 Dayton Street.
Little Miami Scenic Trail
For the hiker enthusiasts, there are 2000 acres of woodland and trails in Glen Helen Nature Preserve, Clifton Gorge and John Bryan State Park.
Yellow Springs Station is a replica of the 1880s train depot reconstructed in 2001 a few hundred feet north of the original location using pieces salvaged from the original building by local railroading enthusiasts. Today it serves as the office of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce, an information center and public restrooms, offering a welcome respite to the thousands of cyclists annually riding the Little Miami Scenic Trail.
In 1982, the Yellow Springs Historic District was designated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both because of its place in the area's history and because of its historic architecture. The district embraces the majority of the village, beginning at the railroad line and continuing several blocks westward, including both sides of U.S. Route 68 and much of the Antioch College campus
Walking/Bike Tour of Yellow Springs
https://www.yellowspringsohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/YS-Historical-Walking-Tour.pdf
Wheeling Gaunt Statue
A statue of Wheeling Gaunt stands outside the Yellow Springs library. Gaunt was born on a tobacco plantation in Kentucky in 1812. Gaunt was allowed to earn money away from the plantation, and bought his freedom in the mid-1840s. He worked as a laborer and teamster in Carrolton, and was able to pay for the manumission of his wife and another relative. He also began buying commercial and residential real estate.
Gaunt moved north to Yellow Springs, which had a growing anti-slavery reputation, home of Antioch College, whose President, Horace Mann was a staunch abolitionist, and close to Wilberforce, where the African Methodist Episcopal Church was operating a fledgling college, now Wilberforce University, for Black students.
Wheeling Gaunt prospered in Yellow Springs, buying property and building houses. By the time he died in 1894, he was one of Yellow Springs' wealthiest, highly respected residents.
Gaunt willed all his Yellow Springs real estate to Wilberforce University, with the exception of 9 acres of farmland reserved for the Village of Yellow Springs — with the stipulation that income from renting it would go into a fund used to give flour to “poor worthy widows” on the evening before Christmas Day. That December, village workers delivered 69 sacks of flour to 23 widows.
Today, the acreage Gaunt donated is the Gaunt Park recreation complex, and the village continues to support the widow’s fund from swimming pool entry fees. Decades ago, the village opted to distribute sugar as well as flour to widows and now widowers. On average, about 90 individuals annually benefit from Gaunt’s bequest. This tradition continues to this day.
Accommodations
Lodging
There are numerous locations at Vrbo and Airbnb in the village.
Mills Park Hotel 321 Xenia Avenue (bike racks available)
Camping
Camping is available at John Bryan State Park