The areas east and west of Beaver Valley Road and south to Obetz Drive were 334 acres owned by Jacob Herring.  When the settling of Beavercreek was still underway, Mr. Herring who owned a tract of land near the creek in Alpha, heard that a fertile ground north of town was available.  General Benjamin Whiteman Jr., Major General during the War of 1812, famed leader of expeditions against the Shawnee, son-in-law of pioneer Owen Davis and one of the area’s original settlers, learned of Herring’s desire to acquire the land.  He approached Herring and negotiated a price of five dollars per acre for the tract.  Unbeknownst to Mr. Herring, the land was an unclaimed land grant and not owned by General Whiteman.  After consummating the deal, Whiteman immediately went to Cincinnati and entered it into his own name at less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre.  He then re-sold the land to Mr. Herring for nearly a thousand dollar profit!

This land now includes Grace Crossing Church (Howell’s Orchard), Rona Village Condominiums and the entirety of Hunter’s Pointe!  Beyond Obetz Drive is the 279 acre property that was owned by William C. Cline.  It encompasses Oakbrook Chase as well as Hunter’s Ridge One and Two.

• Herring House 1 Herring House 1
• Herring House 2 Herring House 2
• Howell's Orchard Howell's Orchard
• Hunters Ridge / Hunters Pointe Hunters Ridge / Hunters Pointe
• Martha Stauffer Murder 1 Martha Stauffer Murder 1
• Martha Stauffer Murder 2 Martha Stauffer Murder 2
• Stauffer Home on Beaver Valley Stauffer Home on Beaver Valley
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Behind Beaver Cemetery sits the Jacob Coy House, now owned by Beavercreek Township.  Five generations of Coy’s occupied the two-story log home built by Jacob in 1824.  It originally sat at 3279 Shakertown Road in the middle of 3,000 acres Jacob had purchased in 1801.

Mainly through the efforts of Roger Coy, his great-great grandfather’s home was moved intact, on July 6, 1989 to its present location in Phillips Park.  Protective siding has been installed and the basement of the structure has been modernized and is leased as the offices for the Beavercreek Wetlands Association.  The main level was leased by the Beavercreek Historical Society until 2016 when they moved across the road to the former Beavercreek Township office building.

Please exit the parking lot to the right, returning west on Dayton-Xenia Road.

Jacob Sr. sold much of his land to his children and their spouses for $1 per tract.  He donated land for the first schoolhouse in Greene County, estimated to be near the intersection of Homeway and Towncrest Drives.  This school was taught by a very eccentric English gentleman, who prided himself on a rich sounding name and an imaginary title – insisting, on all occasions, on being addressed as Thomas Marks Davis, the Second.  He succeeded in supporting the dignity of the title on a very uncertain salary, fluctuating between eight and ten dollars per month.

In the image above, Jill Kincer of the Beavercreek Historical Society presents a foundation stone from Greene County's first school to be incorporated into the construction of BCSD's new pre-school adjacent to the Board of Education building.  Several of the stones were also used as the base around the main informational marker at Wartinger Park in 2015.

Jacob Coy and his sons and sons-in-law were instrumental in the clearing of land and opening up Beavercreek for farming, several of them incorporating granite-carved timber into their burial markers.

Heading south on North Fairfield Road, through Apple Valley, brings you into the 3,000 acres (4.6 square miles!) of the Coy family, its patriarch Jacob emigrating to America in 1757 and settling in the Beavercreek area after several of his children had grown and married.  The log home they constructed in 1827 was moved and preserved and still stands in Beavercreek today near the Hagenbuch residence as previously described.  The home originally stood southeast of Kirkmont Church on the Coy Homestead, while Coy cemetery is located adjacent to the west side North Fairfield Road just south of the Shakertown intersection.

The configuration of Shakertown Road in the image above has changed, but you can get a small glimpse of the reach of the Coy family.  Many of the Coy descendants married and stayed locally, and the Coy name is prevalent throughout the township!

Here is a biography of Jacob Coy, Jr., believed written in 1888:

Jacob Coy, retired farmer, Alpha, is the oldest living settler in this township. He was born in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1792, being a son of Jacob and Susana Coy, who were born in Germany. They, with their parents, came to America when yet young, and while on the voyage, Jacob's parents died and were buried in mid-ocean. Their effects were confiscated by the ship's crew, and their children, seven in number, were thrown upon the shores of a new world penniless, in consequence of which they were sold to pay transportation. He (Jacob) was eighteen years old at the time, and labored six years for a Pennsylvania planter to free himself and younger brothers and sisters. He afterwards located in Maryland, where he was married, and lived a number of years, accumulating three hundred and fifty acres of land. When married he borrowed the money to cover necessary expenses. In 1800 be immigrated to Ohio, coming down the river to Cincinnati, where he stopped two months. Then there were only sixteen low log cabins in the place. He was importuned to stay, but pushed his way by team and wagon to Greene County; their way was cut through the woods in advance of the teams, and were eight days in coming. He purchased three thousand acres of land, all in a body, and erected a small log cabin, into which he moved his family. Two kegs of nails used in the erection of the cabin, were brought from Cincinnati on horseback, by young Jacob, our subject, for which twelve and one-half cents per pound were paid. Here Jacob Coy, Sen., lived and died, his death occurring in 1835 or 1836, at the age of ninety-three years. His wife died about 1840, aged eighty-three years. They were parents of twelve children, all dead except Jacob, who was the youngest. They were members of the German Reformed Church of many years standing. Jacob was eight years old when his parents landed in Ohio, and distinctly remembers counting the houses in Cincinnati, and says he has gathered hazelnuts where the city of Dayton stands. He has seen many hardships, and often working till midnight in burning brush; he has hauled flour from Cincinnati for $2.50 per barrel; wheat was sold for twenty-five cents per bushel, corn ten cents, coffee seventy-five cents per pound, and of the latter, three or four pounds did an ordinary family a year. He labored on the farm for his father till of age, when he began life for himself, but remained with his aged parents, to whom he was much attached, caring for then while they lived. On the old home farm he has lived four score years, and witnessed all the great changes that have transformed the wilderness to a garden of peace and plenty. In 1813 he was married to Barbara, daughter of Leonard Snypp, who bore him twelve children, five living; Peter, Henry, Adam, Leonard, and Susana. The deceased were, Rebecca, Catherine, Sarah, Jacob, David, Anna, and an infant. Mrs. Coy died in 1859 or 1860. Both were members of the German Reformed Church, having joined after their marriage. He has served as elder and deacon for twenty years. In politics he is a Republican, and during his long life has failed but once to cast his ballot for the benefit of that party.

Learn more about Jacob and his descendants on this family geneaology page.  There's a lot of great information with the links on the page.