ARCANUM – Roane Smothers will speak Sept. 12, 7 p.m., about Longtown and his ancestors James Clemens at the Arcanum Wayne Trail Historical Society (AWTHS).

Longtown, located at 457 Stingley Road, is the site of the James and Sophia Clemens Homestead in Darke County. Clemens was a freed slave from Virginia who became a prosperous farmer and founded Longtown. The tri-racial settlement included the Union Literary Institute where trades were taught which helped the community be self-sufficient. The site is now an Ohio Historic Site. History recorded that James Clemens had a prominent place in the early years of Darke County.

Join them when Smothers tell the history of Longtown and the journey to preserving this important community in Ohio.

AWTHS, 123 W. George Street, Arcanum, is open for visitors the first Saturday of the month or by appointment. Learn more at www.arcanumhistoricalsociety.org or like them on Facebook.