Baltimore Bicentennial Events

Baltimore Bicentennial Lecture Series #1: From Basel to Basil – Swiss Settlement in Liberty Township


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Description

This is the first of three lecture series being provided as part of the Baltimore Bicentennial. Join Cyrus Moore, Executive Director of the Baltimore Museum, and Julia Miller, a Baltimore native and museum volunteer, at the Victoria Opera House for an interesting discussion regarding the Swiss Settlement in Basil prior to Basil becoming part of Baltimore.
Liberty Township owes many of its toponyms to Swiss settlers. The township itself earned its name from the Swiss immigrants who came to the area seeking freedoms that had been taken from them. Basil derives its name from their home, Basel, Switzerland, and the names of those families remain throughout the community. This presentation will look at the reasons why Swiss immigrants left their homeland starting in the early 1800s. It will look at the individuals and their families who first came to settle the land, before tracing their descendants and the extended family members who followed their relatives seeking new opportunities.
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About the Speakers:
Cyrus Moore Portrait
Cyrus Moore currently serves as the Executive Director of the Baltimore Community
Museum. Born and raised in Appalachian Ohio, Cyrus grew up with a deep fascination
in the past and developed an appreciation for history at an early age. With a masters in
history, Cyrus’s area of study is the Ohio National Guard in the World War I era, but his
interests are many, and has recently done presentations on the Marietta & Cincinnati
Railroad, the Enlightenment’s influence on the Fort Gower Resolves, and Canals in
Ohio.
Julia Miller
Julia Miller – A Liberty Union graduate, has grown up in the Baltimore area and
developed a love of history passed down from her Great Grandmother. She has been
volunteering at the Baltimore Museum for 6 years and is active on the Museum Board.
She has a love for local history and genealogy and loves to host events at the museum to
keep our local history alive!

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