Johnston Farm & Indian Agency

Johnston Farm and Indian Agency presents a span of Ohio history, beginning with the Mound Builders through the years of Indian Removal and the Canal era.

Born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, John Johnston (1775-1861) first visited the Piqua region while working as a merchant transporting supplies to the frontier. In 1804, while serving as a US Indian factor at a trading post in Fort Wayne, he purchased land in Ohio. At the time, he Intended to retire as a gentleman farmer; he moved his family to Ohio in 1811 and began building his farm. His plans were disrupted when the War of 1812 broke out and the federal government sought his service as Indian Agent for the Shawnee, Seneca and Wyandot. His farmhouse, completed in 1815, included an office from which he conducted the only federal Indian agency in the state of Ohio. Johnston operated the agency until 1830.

Operated by the Ohio History Connection and the Johnston Farm Friends Council, the Johnston Farm and Indian Agency depicts several important periods of state history. In addition to the house and farm buildings, visitors can view an Adena mound preserved by Johnston, tour a section of the Miami-Erie canal on a replica canal boat, and visit the site of Pickawillany, an Indian village where contemporary archeologists continue to uncover Native American history. A museum built to resemble a log block house features exhibits about the Woodland Indians of Ohio.

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