Dr. John Hole: Miami Valley’s first doctor

Hole was appointed the assistant surgeon in the Continental army. He was in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Then he was placed on the medical staff of Brig. General Richard Montgomery. Hole was present at the Quebec battle in a field hospital. He is quoted as saying in “The History of Montgomery County” by W.H. Beers in 1882, “I dressed the wounds of the soldiers beneath the walls of the fort by the flash of cannon.”

He saw Gen. Montgomery when he was shot during the Quebec battle and was in the field hospital when the body arrived.

On Aug. 4, 1778, Hole married Massie Ludlow. They had three children before the war ended.

Hole decided to move west in 1796 and settled in Cincinnati (then named Losantiville) for a short time.

He explored for land farther north of the city and decided to buy 1440 acres on Silver Creek, which he paid for in military land bounty warrants from his Revolutionary War service. Silver Creek is now known as Hole’s Creek and is in Washington Twp. of Montgomery County.

Hole built a round log cabin near the creek and cleared several acres before he moved his family there in 1797. He also built two sawmills.

His wages as a physician were paid by the barter system, in items such as shoes or in produce such as hams.

Hole later built a log house on a hill northwest of the original cabin. Two daughters were born when they were living there.

The family was known for their hospitality to strangers including travelers and Indian groups.

The doctor died on Jan. 6, 1813, while his wife died July 25, 1842. They are buried in the Sugar Creek Baptist Church Cemetery on North Main Street in Centerville.

Dr. John Hole School is named for the first physician in the area. Hole was responsible for the name of his new county because he had suggested it be named Montgomery after his former commander General Richard Montgomery.

Hole’s three brothers and father settled in Miami Twp. They built a blockhouse and stockade near the Great Miami River. The settlement was named Hole’s Station, but the name was later changed to Miamisburg.