Captain James Riley - namesake of Riley Creek (aka Dr. Darrell Groman) will entertain GOBA audience with tales of the 1800s
The namesake of Riley Creek - Sea Captain James Riley - will be in Bluffton for Sunday's GOBA actitives. He will talk about his experiences, which include surveying Riley Creek and traveling across the globe.
His talk, open to the public, is at 5 p.m., either outdoors in GOBAville, along Rosenberger Drive and Elm Street, or in case of rain, in Marbeck Center. (Captain Riley is also known as Dr. Darrell Groman.)
We asked the good captain to tell Icon viewers alitle about himself. Here's what he told us:
The title of my presentation, for years has been...
"History Comes Alive! with little-known facts about Sea Captain James Riley and How the Creek was Named."
The history books from upstream Riley Creek in Bluffton's 100th, 125th and 150th celebrations all report the same information: "Surveyor Named Riley. The final survey was completed July 20, 1820, by one, James Riley. It is supposed that Riley Township (of Putnam County) may have been named for him, and perhaps, Riley creek."
That's it, folks. James Riley, Surveyor.
However, if you would take a canoe downstream eight miles to Pandora and read the history books from Pandora and Putnam County, then you would learn a few more little-known facts about "old Captain Riley, of whom history gives some striking narratives." (Judge J. Y. Sackett in Putnam County Pioneer Reminiscences Nos. 1 and 2 of 1878 and 1887.)
It was actually Captain Riley's son, James Watson Riley, who at age 19 fell into the rain-swollen Deer Creek near the confluence with the Blanchard River, during the actual July 1820 survey of the new Putnam County, and almost drowned.
James Watson was the son of Sea Captain James Riley, who had been appointed to be Deputy Surveyor by the 4th Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory Edward Tiffin, the first and former Governor of Ohio.
Sea Captain Riley had written the national best-seller book, "Riley's Narrative ..." of the shipwreck of his brig The Commerce off the coast of West Africa.
John Locke Scripps, published Abraham Lincoln's authorized biography for the presidential campaign of 1860. Of the six books which influenced Lincoln as a teen-ager growing up on the western frontier in Illinois, "Riley's Narrative" was the sixth. This was one of the most significant books during the ante-bellum regarding slavery.
James Watson Riley, the son of the famous sea captain James Riley, couldn't swim and almost drowned in the rain-swollen Deer Creek, much like the creek has risen during this week's rainstorms.
The teen-ager survived. And, the surveying party could laugh about it later. Someone else in the surveying party took the surveyor's map, crossed out "Deer Creek" right on the spot and penciled in "Riley Creek." Edward Tiffin eventually approved the official name-change of the creek.
"History Comes Alive! with little-known facts about Sea Captain James Riley and How the Creek was Named."
Come listen to Darrell Groman, dressed as how James Riley, as a deputy surveyor may have looked in 1820 and learn more little-known facts from ... Along the Banks of the Riley."
Stories Posted This Week
Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Pirate baseball win vs. Tigers
- Bluffton softball edged in battle of Pirates
- Committee meetings scheduled for Bluffton Council
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- Mental Health Awareness event with Seth Gehle
- Ohio highway patrol promoting motorcycle safety
- Recap of Bluffton Board of Education meeting for April 2025
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Friday, May 2, 2025
- BHS seniors exhibit art at Gallery 323 through May 7
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- Pirate softball blanked by Lancers
- Pirate baseball blanked by Lincolnview
- Laman Promoted to VP Retail Credit Manager by CNB
- Local land conservancy hires first Executive Director
- Steiner to present Swiss Family Migration program on May 21
- 850 Days of Caring volunteers will pitch in for Hancock County
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Angel M. Langhals owned LFE/API Meters
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- Blessing of the Bikes, May 4
- Metzger honored at 2025 Black Swamp Council meeting
- Volunteer invitation for Bluffton Pathway Count in May
- Pirate tennis edges Ottawa-Glandorf
- Bluffton EMS station staffing goes 24/7 on May 1
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Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Observation deck added to Motter Park cascading pools project
- Bluffton Women in Business meet May 15
- Four sportsmen stock 200 trout at Buckeye Lake
- Pirate girls, boys 2nd at Minster track quad
- Pirate baseball win vs. Riverdale
- Pirate softball loss vs. Riverdale
- Field reports from NW Ohio wildlife officers