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Amelia, OH 
History of Amelia
Condensed by Cliff Hughes, Co-Historian The early settlers came from Maine, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
David Jernegan and John Butler built a saw mill in the vicinity of the present day Methodist Church. The area was called Mill Town and soon was changed to Milton and was changed again to Amelia when the Post Office was established (Feb. 25, 1836). This change was in honor of Amelia, the wife of Wesley Bowdoin, the tollgate keeper.
Mr. Robinson, an undertaker, owned a large track of land in the middle of the area. He had the timber cut and sawed for caskets. His wife made the linings. Mr. Robinson donated a portion of his land for a school. It was agreed that if it was ever used for anything else, it would revert back to him or his heirs.
There were five graduates in the first class (1893). Ninety five years later (1988) there were five hundred, twenty three graduated from the West Clermont School District, (Amelia & Glen Este).
All Amelia School activities, plays, graduations, and basketball games were held in the building at 41 W. Main St., known as Town Hall and later as Amelia Outlet. In 1931 a new school building was erected and future school activities were held in a new gym.
The Post Office has been in seven different locations and has had twenty six Postmasters in one hundred and sixty years.
There have been many businesses over the past years and as of Nov. 1996 there were eighty five within the corporation.
Over the years there have been many places of worship in the vicinity, but Amelia proper area has only two, the Methodist and Baptist.
For entertainment there were Ice Cream Socials, Taffy Pulls, Band Concerts, Pool Rooms, Silent Movies, Medicine Shows, and Boxing Matches. The building at 30 W. Main St. (The World of Wood) was used for the Boxing Matches.
The I.O.O.F. Lodge was organized in 1848 and moved into their building at the corner of St. Rt. 125 (Main St.) and Oak St. Later they purchased the building at 41 W. Main St. (Town Hall). This was sold to the Masonic Lodge in 1950 when their membership moved to Batavia.
The first Masonic Lodge #299 was organized in 1858 but went down in 1865 due to lack of attendance. The second Masonic Lodge, Amelia 590 was started in 1904.
Upon checking various records, Amelia is the youngest, Incorporated town in Clermont County. It was incorporated on Dec. 20, 1900.
|  History of The ABA
The Amelia business area, along with the surrounding area, began to grow immensely in the early 1980's. A handful of local business people and a few Village council members saw a need to work together, to promote and to advance the core business area.
Late in 1991 this small group got together to decide how best to address this challenge. After a number of preliminary meetings the idea of a Business Association was accepted as the best method to achieve everyone's desires. A small deposit was made in February 1992 to start the Association.
At the Feb. 11, 1993 meeting the Association voted on and passed the "Code of Regulations". The Amelia Business Association was the accepted name. From its beginnings the few businesses involved worked hard, not only to invite other businesses in but to promote the area to outsiders. It was apparent that if they were to accomplish anything, membership was a priority. This they actively addressed.
In 1994, with membership growing, the association voted to accept the proposed "Articles of Incorporation" which were then presented by the Board of Directors with Terrance Monnie as the legal advisor. Work began on a Mission Statement and a few months later that statement was approved.
The association has accomplished a number of things in these early years. It has worked to support education, to promote the area to new businesses and builders. It has been involved in area contest and sponsored the first Great Amelia Steak Out. It provided funds to begin the Chatterbox, a monthly area letter. It has donated two special bikes to the Amelia Police Department and the necessary items to go along with the bikes. It supports the Annual Amelia Christmas Parade. It hosts a Christmas Party for its members. In 1997 the first ABA Directory was introduced at the Christmas Party. Membership doubled in 1998 and continued to grow in 1999. In 1999 the first golf outing to raise money for the Scholarship Fund was held and will become an annual event. Evening get together socials are planned for the new Millennium.
The future of the Amelia area depends a great deal on our youth. Support of education on all levels must be a major concern. Our future has just now begun. Yesterday is history. How we can help our youth now, is today's challenge. The ABA, Inc. is dedicated to being a major player in the growth and advancement of our youth and our area.
| Amelia Area Census Data Population (year 2000): 2,752. Estimated population in July 2005: 3,481 (+26.5% change)
Males: 1,296 (47.1%), Females: 1,456 (52.9%)
Median resident age: 29.1 years
Median household income: $44,900 (year 2000)
Median house value: $111,300 (year 2000)
Races in Amelia:
White Non-Hispanic (96.3%)
Two or more races (1.6%)
Hispanic (1.3%)
Other race (0.7%)
American Indian (0.7%)
Black (0.6%)
Ancestries: German (30.1%), Irish (16.5%), United States (16.0%), English (8.2%), Italian (4.4%), Dutch (2.0%).
Elevation: 880 feet
Land area: 1.4 square miles
For population 25 years and over in Amelia
High school or higher: 83.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 13.8%
Graduate or professional degree: 2.8%
Unemployed: 3.4%
Mean travel time to work: 30.3 minutes
For population 15 years and over in Amelia village
Never married: 23.3%
Now married: 58.1%
Separated: 1.8%
Widowed: 5.6%
Divorced: 11.3%
1.9% Foreign born
Population change in the 1990s: +744 (+37.1%).
Industries providing employment:
Manufacturing (17.8%), Retail trade (14.9%), Educational,health and social services (14.3%), Professional,scientific,management,administrative,and waste management services (10.2%), Construction (10.1%).
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