Presented by Faith Skidmore

Erastus and Sally (Milligan) Birch were true pioneers. In 1834 the western fever took possession of their minds and they sold their farm in New York, gathered all their belongings and journeyed to northern Illinois, where they lived for a number of years in what was then practically a wilderness, but in spite of suffering and hardship, they prospered. By 1850 the family had moved to Indiana. To Sally this was still wilderness; her nearest neighbor was five miles away. In 1856 Erastus accepted an invitation from Horace Mann to become a Trustee of Antioch College. By spring 1857 Sally Birch was, for the first time in her life, living in a beautiful house in a civilized town in the midst of education and refinement. Sally's elegant parties at Birch House were social events not to be missed.

Their son Hugh Taylor Birch left an important legacy to Yellow Springs; he bought over a thousand acres of land and donated it to Antioch College for preservation. That land is today known as Glen Helen Nature Preserve, named for Hugh's daughter, Helen Birch Bartlett.