John Sells MS

John Sells

John Sells Middle School was named after John Sells, who arrived in Dublin on a flat-bottomed boat, in the spring of 1809. He came to the area to join his brothers, Benjamin, Peter, and Samuel. John immediately built a log cabin to provide shelter for his pregnant wife and himself. He soon added the first Black Horse Tavern, named after his horse, as a place for travelers of the Scioto River to stop and rest. The tavern was a popular place for white men as well as Native Americans. Chief Leatherlips was often seen at the tavern.

John Sells also met John Shields, a land surveyor, at the Black Horse Tavern. John Shields surveyed the land in order for John Sells to form smaller lots for others to buy and settle. John Sells gave John Shields the honor of naming the community as a thank you for surveying the land. Shields named the community Dublin, after his hometown of Ireland.

John Sells was the first to do many things in the area we now call Dublin. He built the first general store in 1818 and the first mill on the banks of the Scioto River. John Sells and Daniel Wright also constructed the first stone schoolhouse on South Riverview Street. John Sells might be considered “The Father of Dublin.”

This video on this page is about John Sells' brother, Peter Sells. They started the Sells Brothers Circus. Their biggest act was Annie Oakley. A man named Bailey bought the Sells Brothers Circus when Peter died. Bailey eventually paired up with Barnum to form the Barnum and Bailey Circus that you may have heard of.