Discover and Protect our

Quaker Scenic
Byway

Clinton County, OH
55 Significant Sites
230 Years of History
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The Quaker legacy is part of why Ohioans are free thinkers:

The first wave of Quaker settlers arrived from the Carolinas and by 1810, with the creation of Clinton County, the Quaker population was so great that its county seat was named Wilmington in honor of Wilmington, North Carolina. Their meetinghouses stretched across Clinton and Warren counties, creating interconnected communities between Wilmington and Waynesville. The Quakers’ legacy — including the founding of Wilmington College — continues to shape southwestern Ohio. Organizations in Harveysburg, Waynesville, and Wilmington all have exhibits and active programs to tell the story of the Quaker diaspora to Ohio.
The Quaker Scenic Byway (QSB) travels in a scenic loop for 54 miles across Clinton and Warren Counties so you can see this legacy, too. Explore Wilmington or Waynesville first in the morning, travel to the other by lunchtime, and end back toward your starting point in the late afternoon. You will encounter Quaker historical societies, the Quaker Heritage Center at Wilmington College, the Clinton County History Center, the Museum at the Friends Home, current and historical Quaker meetinghouses, and historical points of interest — such as the first school for free African Americans in Harveysburg, Ohio.
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The Quaker Scenic Byway is an official historic byway recognized by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
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historical photo of a husband and wife dressed formally and posed stoically for the camera
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A Cultural Heritage

The Quakers are known for their dedication to simplicity. Yet Quaker values include many things that most Ohioans still uphold today:

The Quaker religion recognizes each person’s own spiritual connection to God — the ability to sit quietly and feel divine grace on one’s own. Quietness is a way to recharge, and to come to wise decisions.

Ohio’s Quakers did and still do ground their lives in doing the right thing. They refused to participate in a slavery society, knowing it was wrong. They tried to do right by each other, and to strangers, and Quakers honored their word.

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Hadley Abolitionist Quilt

Rebecca Harvey Hadley and her husband Jonathan became ancestors of many families of western Clinton County. She had arrived to Ohio in 1806 as a child with her migrant family from North Carolina. She and other women members of the Anti-Slavery Friends quilted numerous beautiful squares, and a full “Abolitionist Quilt” is on permanent display at the Clinton County History Center.

historical photo of an elderly woman posed seriously for the camera
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Wilmington College

Founded by Quakers in 1870

The fledgling College represented the Quakers’ appreciation for higher education, their vision for the future and a perseverance to see that vision realized. Its guiding principle was the central testimony of the Religious Society of Friends: the supreme value of the individual, or “that of God in every man.” Its first class of students — all four of them — graduated in 1875. What is now College Hall at that time housed essentially the entire school, including dormitory rooms for students and faculty members.

A walking tour of campus is part of the Scenic Byway.

Along the Byway

Amenities & Nearby Attractions

In addition to the living history you’ll be driving through, there are dozens of opportunities to eat, drink, be entertained, and enjoy the outdoors:

Sight Seeing
  • Visit Quaker Meetinghouses
  • See museum exhibits
  • Walk through historic districts
  • Self-guided walk on Wilmington College campus
  • Explore historic cemeteries
  • Observe historic homes, barns & farmland with audio narration (Note: private residences must be viewed from the road)
  • Experience a historical recreation at Pioneer Village in Caesar Creek State Park
Historical Sites
  • Sites on the Underground Railroad
  • First Free Black School
  • Prehistoric fossils in Caesar Creek Spillway
  • Fort Ancient State Memorial (12 min. off of the byway)
  • Many other nearby Native American sites »
Restaurants
In Waynesville:
In Wilmington:
In Harveysburg:
  • BBQ and American/Grill
Bars & Taverns
  • Several pubs, bars, and taverns in Waynesville and Wilmington—most serving food
  • A cidery/taproom in Wilmington
Lodging
Outdoors & Exercise
  • Caesar Creek Lake Visitor Center and Trails
  • Caesar Creek Spillway & Fossil beds
  • Todds Fork Nature Reserve
  • Ohio To Erie Trail (biking)
  • World Equestrian Center—Wilmington
  • Kirkwood Adventure Park
  • Public golf course (by reservation)
  • Yoga studios
Farther Afield
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picturesque two-story building home of the Clinton County History Center

Clinton County History Center

149 East Locust St., Wilmington

The Center includes a museum with exhibits and special displays, research library, archives, textile and artifact repository, and conference center for meetings and programs.

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a closeup of three historical photos sitting framed on a simple table

Quaker Heritage Center

at Wilmington College

The center features 1,261 square feet of display areas, and a traditional Quaker meeting­house. It educates the public through artifacts, tours, and programming.

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Museum of Friends Home

Museum at the Friends Home

115 S. 4th St., Waynesville

The Museum is housed in the 1905 Friends Boarding Home which looks very much as it did when retired Quakers and single school teachers lived there in its early days.

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