MCCARTYVILLE — One of the most interesting but least known communities in early Shelby County was Rumley. This African-American pioneer community in Northern Shelby County played an important role in the development of this area.

Dr. Roy E. Finkenbine, professor of history and director of the black abolitionists archive at the University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, Michigan, will journey to Shelby County to present a program on the subject. The event will be on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, at 7 p.m. at the Parish Educational Center in McCartyville.

After the Treaty of Greenville was signed in 1795, efforts were started to remove the remainder of the Native Americans from the area north of the Greenville Treaty Line. As that was being accomplished, settlers rushed in to claim the rich lands of Northern Shelby County. Among these were African American pioneers. They established Rumbly in the area of McCartyville. It was a thriving farming community from its founding in 1837 through the 1880s. This served as a major stop for travelers going on the post road northward and a haven for hundreds of African American citizens coming from the slave south.

Finkenbine is an expert in African American history and black abolitionists’ activities. He has written and studied specifically on the Rumley community. He will add his insight to this very interesting and important aspect of our local history. Appropriately, his talk is titled “Rumley: An African American Pioneer Community in Frontier Shelby County”.

This program is free and open to the public. It will be held on Monday, October 14, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the Parish Educational Center in McCartyville, Ohio.

This program is part of a series of events presented by the Bicentennial Committee for the Bicentennial Celebration of Shelby County, Ohio. The series is being sponsored by Steve and Peggy Baker.