Grove City History - Part 5

(The following was written by Harold Windsor and is reprinted from “Reflections II”, a collection of local stories available at the Grove City Welcome Center and Museum. Any opinions made in the article are from the author.)Breck's death occurred August 8th, 1864, in a very peculiar way, and Grove City and Jackson Township was bereaved of one of its leaders and great men.It is told by old residents that brick was loading oats in a field near the Old Johnston and Grant Lumberyard when one of the farmers of the community rode by on Horseback, returning from Columbus, and informed Breck that Abraham Lincoln had been nominated again for president. Breck, a staunch Republican, yelled with joy, frightening his horses which lunged with the wagon toppling Breck from the load of oats and breaking his neck from the fall. He died almost instantly and was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, August 11th, 1864. He had lived in this community for 18 years and during that time his dream of a town had been realized. Breck was 59 years of age. His wife died 30 years later. They were the parents of George and Sofia Breck. The former lives in Maryland, but the latter’s whereabouts is not known.(The continuation of this story in the next blog entry.)