Just a few miles from Cincinnati's eastern suburbs are the small towns of Batavia and Williamsburg in Clermont County, Ohio, the seventh county established in the state and the 11th oldest in the Northwest Territory. In 1793, William Lytle and his brother John came from Kentucky to the scenic area on the East Fork of the Little Miami River to do surveying work. A short distance from their camp, a tornado had leveled many trees, making it easier for Lytle to clear 40 acres with the help of James Kain and his two sons, who were to become Williamsburg's first citizens. In 1796, a site for...