Wayne County Civil War Round Table to host John Burke program in Wooster

The Wayne County Civil War Round Table will host a free program at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at the schoolhouse at the Wayne County Historical Society, 546 E. Bowman St., Wooster.

The featured speaker will be Medina County Treasurer John Burke, who will present “Jim Smith, Prisoner of the Ohio Indians.” The program will explore the story of Jim Smith, who was captured by Native Americans following the 1756 defeat of British Gen. Edward Braddock.

Smith is recognized as the first recorded white man to set foot in what later became Medina County. The presentation will recount his capture and adoption by Native Americans, his winter encampment at Panther Cave — now known as Whipps Ledges in Hinckley — and his eventual escape.

Following his return, Smith served as a lieutenant under Col. Henry Bouquet during the 1764 expedition into Ohio to secure peace with various tribes. A second installment of the program will continue Smith’s story into the Revolutionary War including his service alongside Gens. George Washington and Lachlan McIntosh.

Burke has been a local historian for many years and is a lifelong Medina County resident whose ancestry traces back to the first pioneers of Valley City. His family includes veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War II.

Parking is available at the Wayne County Historical Society schoolhouse on-site via the Spink Street entrance and along the fence in the Drug Mart parking lot. For more information about the Wayne County Historical Society, visit waynehistoricalohio.org.

For more information about the program, call or email Penny Gasbarre at 330-845-3069 or pennygasbarre@gmail.com.