The town of Owensville in Stonelick Township, Clermont County stands on Dr. Richard Allison’s Revolutionary War military land grant, which was originally 441 acres.
The first man to be called “Surgeon General” of the United States, his two-story double-log cabin stood on the north side of U.S. 50 just east of the intersection of State Route 222 and U.S. 50. The area was originally named Allisonia after him. He died there in 1816 and was buried in Cincinnati, the site of Ft. Washington where he served under Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne in the early 1790’s.
In 1792, pioneers built a small log cabin and deadened the timber about a mile above the mouth of Stonelick creek, but immediately were run out by the Indians. The hut stood empty until 1798 when Dr. Allison’s brother Henry moved into it. The next year, the doctor himself moved in and remained there until his big hewed log house was built. As owners of Stonelick Township, Dr. Allison and his brother were its first residents. Others who followed the Allisons into the area were some of the first families to settle in the vicinity of what is now called Owensville. They included John Metcalfe, Richard Hill, Richard Taliaferro, Josiah Prickett and Conrad Harsh.
1802, Conrad Harsh settled on a farm north of Owensville, which later became the property of F.X. Iuen. Harsh’ Run names the stream and the surrounding land by the bridge on the east side of town, that was to be renovated in 1989. Harsh was the first blacksmith in the area, and he and Elza Cook also did carpentry from 1828-1831 on what was later to become the site of St. Louis Catholic Church.”