Attention history buffs! A new book on the life of Major General William Lytle has just been published. The book, “General William Lytle, Gentleman Surveyor and Prominent Cincinnatian,” was written by his great-great-great grandson, Virginius Cornick Hall, Jr. It includes material compiled from the famous, “Lytle Papers.” In Lytle’s own words, he chronicled his life from a young boy, traveling by flatboat down the Ohio River to Kentucky, fighting Native Americans, becoming a surveyor, founding the town of Williamsburg, Ohio and ending with his final days as a prominent citizen of Cincinnati.
Of particular interest locally is the description of how he carved the town of Lytlestown, later to be known as Williamsburg, from the wilderness and his days living at Harmony Hill. The book includes a copy of the earliest known map of Williamsburg, though to be drawn by Lytle. The paperback book is available for $15.00, plus postage from the Williamsburg Harmony Hill Association, 299 South Third Street, Williamsburg, Ohio, 45176. To order, call 513-724-7790 or 513-724-3657.