Skip to main content

Quaker Ridge Preserve - COMING FALL 2025!

Nestled in Salem Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, this 102-acre aboretum and trail system is Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation District's most diversified preserve.  

Path through a forest with fallen leaves and a wooden fence on the right, surrounded by trees with green and autumn-colored leaves.

History of the Ridge

The farm was platted on June 10, 1808, by Robert Galloway -  a prominent and wealthy gentleman from Pennsylvania who was purchasing land in the newly formed Jefferson County, Ohio. The area surrounding this property was largely acquired by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) who were looking to create an area where members of the faith could live and help establish a series of communities on the western frontier of the United States free of persecution and encroachment from the development that was exponentially growing in their native Pennsylvania. The communities of Mount Pleasant, Smithfield, and Richmond were among the villages established following this plan. The villages and routes connecting the latter were heavily populated with members of the Society of Friends, so much so that the ridge running south from Richmond towards Smithfield became known as Quaker Ridge.

The property was acquired by David Watt, a member of the Quaker community,  on March 31, 1809. David Watt erected a small cottage on the property and soon left the Quaker community and became a Methodist with the onset of the War of 1812, when he enlisted in the Second Regiment of the Ohio Militia. David Watt bestowed the property onto his son John as a wedding present. John Watt had an atypical farm in that he also grew and sold nursery stock, although what he grew and sold exactly is still unknown at this time.

His wife was the former Jane Starr who was from a staunch Quaker family. Jane (Starr) Watt  acted out of love and married the Methodist, John Watt, and was disowned and shut off from the Quakers and her family. She was always a friend to the poor and the impoverished and always provided a place of rest for the weary traveler. When John Watt died, the widowed Jane opened the Watt farm as a side station on the Underground Railroad assisting the main stations run by fellow Quakers John Matthew Watson and J.D. Ladd. Files within the Wilbur H. Seibert collection document three known instances where runaway slaves hid in the hay mow of the Watt Barn between 1823 and 1854.

When Jane (Starr) Watt passed away her daughter Ruth and her husband, S.H. Ford, inherited the farm in 1868. The Ford family was very prominent and Mr. Ford served several years in the Ohio Legislature. The Fords in 1889 built the current barn.

The farm remained in tact and  had a series of owners until 1950 when it was broken up and parceled off. One hundred and two acres of the original 367 acre Watt Farm still remains, as well as a cut sandtone wall of the barn, springhouse, and milk house.

The Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District intends to do as every good manager of an arboretum by embracing the roots—but in this case that means both the historical and literal plant roots of the Quaker Ridge Arboretum & Nature Trails.

 

In Bloom

Spring brings a birth of color along the trails at Quaker Ridge.

Small cluster of light purple wildflowers with yellow centers in sunlight.
Purple wildflowers with yellow centers in a lush green setting.
Cluster of small white flowers with yellow centers.
A cluster of small, white star-shaped flowers with green leaves in a natural setting.
A single white trillium flower with green leaves, growing among dried leaves.
A ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora) with a white, waxy appearance among dried leaves in the forest.
White dogwood flowers on a branch with a blurred forest background.
Cluster of purple and yellow flowers with green leaves against a natural background.
Red flowers and green foliage in a sunlit garden or wild area.
Yellow flowers in a grassy field with a clear blue sky and trees in the background.
A close-up of a white flower with dew drops in a forest setting.
Purple wildflowers blooming in a lush, green forest setting.
Red star-shaped flowers in a forest setting with green foliage in the background.
A lush patch of green plants with large leaves in a forested area.
Purple wildflowers in a field surrounded by green foliage and yellow flowers.
Purple and yellow flowers in a natural setting with greenery in the background.
Small cluster of light purple wildflowers with yellow centers in sunlight.
Purple wildflowers with yellow centers in a lush green setting.
Cluster of small white flowers with yellow centers.
A cluster of small, white star-shaped flowers with green leaves in a natural setting.
A single white trillium flower with green leaves, growing among dried leaves.
A ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora) with a white, waxy appearance among dried leaves in the forest.
White dogwood flowers on a branch with a blurred forest background.
Cluster of purple and yellow flowers with green leaves against a natural background.
Red flowers and green foliage in a sunlit garden or wild area.
Yellow flowers in a grassy field with a clear blue sky and trees in the background.
A close-up of a white flower with dew drops in a forest setting.
Purple wildflowers blooming in a lush, green forest setting.
Red star-shaped flowers in a forest setting with green foliage in the background.
A lush patch of green plants with large leaves in a forested area.
Purple wildflowers in a field surrounded by green foliage and yellow flowers.
Purple and yellow flowers in a natural setting with greenery in the background.

Life along the Ridge

A brown frog sits among dried leaves and green grass.
Close-up of a tortoise shell with a pattern of dark and light markings.
Monarch butterfly resting on a cluster of pinkish-white flowers, surrounded by green leaves.
A group of small caterpillars on a green leaf in a forested area.
Close-up of a snapping turtle's face with textured skin, looking upward.
A brown frog sits among dried leaves and green grass.
Close-up of a tortoise shell with a pattern of dark and light markings.
Monarch butterfly resting on a cluster of pinkish-white flowers, surrounded by green leaves.
A group of small caterpillars on a green leaf in a forested area.
Close-up of a snapping turtle's face with textured skin, looking upward.

Where Water Flows

A small waterfall flowing over mossy rocks in a forest with fallen leaves.
Trees by a calm pond, with reflections in the water and lush green foliage in the background.
A small waterfall flowing over rock into a mossy, leaf-strewn area.
A small waterfall over rocks, surrounded by leaves and moss in a forest setting.
A beaver ecosystem restoration area with a small pond and sign surrounded by dry grass and trees.
A small waterfall flowing over mossy rocks in a forest with fallen leaves.
Trees by a calm pond, with reflections in the water and lush green foliage in the background.
A small waterfall flowing over rock into a mossy, leaf-strewn area.
A small waterfall over rocks, surrounded by leaves and moss in a forest setting.
A beaver ecosystem restoration area with a small pond and sign surrounded by dry grass and trees.

Location 

5105 OH-152, Richmond, OH 43944