From time to time I’ve written articles on the suburbs and small towns around Youngstown. East Palestine is a little further afield, about twenty miles south of Youngstown near the Pennsylvania border on the eastern edge of Columbiana County. Growing up, I mainly heard of East Palestine on Friday nights when newscasters were reporting football or basketball scores from high schools in the region. My dad loved to go on Sunday drives and we might have driven there. Now much of the world is paying attention to East Palestine as evident in this BBC story of the aftermath of the derailment on February 3 and its impact on the life and business of one East Palestine family.
The current situation continues to unfold and is receiving abundant news coverage (and should). I thought I would write about the history of the village, how it began and what it was before the crash on February 3.
The village had its beginnings in 1828, when it was named Mechanicsburg. The name only lasted until 1836 when Dr. Robert Chamberlain’s wife Rebecca wanted a “holier” sounding name and suggested the name Palestine. Village officials agreed. Under Christian influences, many area towns had names connected to places in ancient Israel, for example, nearby Enon Valley and Salem. There was just one problem with the proposed name. There was already a town in western Ohio named Palestine. Hence the village became East Palestine (pronounced East PAL-ə-STEEN). The village was incorporated in 1875.
The Chamberlains lived in the Log House at the corner of West Main Street and Walnut Street. Dr. Chamberlain came from Fairfield County, Ohio at 20, read medicine, and practiced in the area for 30 years, also serving as a railroad surveyor, a store owner, and the first postmaster and township trustee. The Log House, built in 1840, was moved in 1886 to 55 Walnut Street, where it sat until 1978 when it was given to the East Palestine Historical Society, who moved it to 555 Bacon Street.
Nearby clay pits supported a pottery business, the East Palestine Pottery Company, which became the W.S. George Pottery Company in 1909, employing many people in the town until it was closed in the 1950’s. The railroad lines, so much in the news of late, supported in the 1920’s, the growth of automobile tire manufacturing by the Edwin C. McGraw Tire Company, and a variety of other factories producing steel tanks, foundry work, electrical refractories, food products, electric wiring devices, wooden ventilators, fireproofing material, synthetic ice, and lumber. Around this time, orchard concerns also flourished and continue, along with other farms, to be part of the local economy, a part very concerned by the toxins released by the derailment.
The village reached a population topping 5,000 in 1920, attaining the status of a city, which it kept until 2011, when it reverted to a village once more, with a population of 4761 in the 2020 census. Some of the important manufacturers currently include Stocheck Incorporated, a copper fabricator; and Cardinal Welding Service, a metal fabricator; also well welders, and companies that do machining, ceramics and drilling. All told, Manta lists 324 companies under businesses in East Palestine. About 1300 students are enrolled in the East Palestine schools.
Perhaps one of the most famous of East Palestine’s residents was Martha Hill, the first director of dance at the Juilliard School. In sports, Wayne Firth Hawkins was the right handed pitcher for Cleveland in 1960 who gave up Ted Williams 500th home run. Also, all of us who love Mill Creek Park have East Palestine to thank as the birthplace of Volney Rogers.
It awaits to be seen what the long term impact will be of the derailment and the release of toxic chemicals in the streams, on the ground, and in the air around East Palestine. We will all be watching what happens here. There are few of us that do not have rail lines running through our communities. CSX has a busy line running within a quarter mile of my house. What happened in East Palestine could happen anywhere. Such a catastrophe could spell the end of a place where people work hard in a variety of pursuits. The burden is on Norfolk and Southern and our elected officials to see that doesn’t happen, and to justly reimburse the residents for what this accident has and will cost East Palestine. I want to see East Palestine celebrate its 200th birthday in 2028.
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!
Bob on Books 
Good article, wasn’t their a golf pro from that area. Jim
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Great article! Just 2 add ons. Bob Hope earned his first entertainment paycheck from a theater in EP. Mr Hope was in a traveling troupe. He lived in Cleveland at the time. The lead couldn’t perform one evening and Hope filled in. The rest is history. He mentioned this on Johnny Carson. I saw Hope in concert at college and he mentioned the same thing to the crowd. Our park is also a highlight.
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Yes, Jerry McGee. He recently passed away
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Wonderful article. Thank you for this and other great articles that you write. Always informative and very interesting!!
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I love this. Thank you for writing about my hometown 🙂
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What would you add about your home town for our readers.
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Thank you ! Former Campbell resident
Marcia
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Thanks for reading and taking time to drop a note.
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Great article, the name confirms what another man said about the spiritual warfare and why this train derailed in Palestine. Palestine is symbolic in 3 religions; the Christian, Muslim, and Judaism. All 3 it is the Holy land in their religion. Just a small fact to add to your writing. You also confirmed this. There is a spiritual war going on.
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Thank you for ending your piece with hope. As a long time, dedicated member of the community, that message touches my heart than you will ever know.
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Susan, I do believe that it will be the love of the people of East Palestine for their place that will prevail. I don’t think it will be easy but I also have the sense that the people of these parts aren’t quitters.
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I grew up near by Petersburg OH. My brother and I loved going to East Palestine. (1965-1974) There were shops, the movies and of course a lunch counter at the small diners. My mother was a Realtor and spent a lot of time at the bank. It’s were I first met Santa Claus. I still have relatives who live in East Palestine.
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I am heartbroken and deeply concerned about this. I have friends and family all over the surrounding area. This isn’t just a story that fades as other news items come along – this bodes ill for the long term, I fear.
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I fear this as well.
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Thank you for that article I live a couple streets over but I work right where the train wrecked was. I could throw a stone and hit the back of it not sure if we should be here or not but money drive us to be here by the railroad in our company seams all peoples are worried about is money nature humans nothing seems to matter to them and the governments right behind them . I just hope somehow that it’s taken care of it’s not gonna be by the railroad or the government but nature sometimes has a way I just hope it can do it this time but it’s highly doubtful love your love ones hold them tight you never no ! We deal with sore throat headache nobody has had a rash that works here yet but they keep telling us the air is OK and the water is drinkable I would like to see our governor come down and drink a glass of water out of our water fountain and tell me it’s OK we don’t care about the truth we don’t no life matters to them. SAD
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Hi, Bob.
Thank you for bringing us up to speed on East Palestine. It adds better perspective when we listen to the national news coverage of the train derailment. We grew up on Youngstown’s south side and visited the East Palestine area many times in those years. Thanks for adding the correct pronunciation of East Palestine. Our parents spoke it that way. We’re surprised that no one seems to have corrected the media yet. Maybe you should set them straight.
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Hi Bob, Just a small correction.
Many people misspell The Juilliard School by leaving one of the i letters out. 😉
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Tom, you are right and I made the correction. I believe it was misspelled in my source. Thanks!
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Such an unfortunate accident in this community. From Youngstown and moved to So Ca 1980. Married 1983 and had two children. Bought house 1987 Simi Valley CA. Roughly 2015 Los Angeles local news did special on nuclear meltdown early 50s in the hills of Simi Valley. In The Shadow Of the Valley is documentary about this disaster. Mom of child w/cancer discovered many children on her street had cancer. Point being how much was hidden and nobody wanted to take responsibility. My next door neighbors girls, junior high both diagnosed with several autoimmune disorders. Sad how our country treats its citizens.
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