In 1794, Christian Waldschmidt and his family migrated from eastern Pennsylvania to the Little Miami River Valley near Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Waldschmidts, along with several other families, established and settled the community of “New Germany.”
The nearby Little Miami River was dammed to create a mill race that operated the water wheels for New Germany’s many industries. By 1803, Waldschmidt was shipping flour, beef, pork, whiskey, and lumber to Cincinnati and then on to New Orleans. His most significant contribution, however, was undoubtedly his paper mill, established by 1810 and one of the earliest paper mills in Ohio. The scarcity of paper was a serious problem, not only for the newspapers but also for the courts, busy land offices, etc. Products from the Waldschmidt paper mill were shipped to markets in the south as well as to stores and printers in Cincinnati.
Waldschmidt’s wife Catherine died in 1810, and in 1811 he married Magdalena Kern Custard. Their only child was born the following year.
Christian Waldschmidt owned the paper mill, a woolen mill, blacksmith shop, harness shop, grist mill, distillery, and a sawmill — quite a conglomerate of businesses. He also served as one of the Directors of the Miami Exporting Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died of influenza on March 30, 1814.
Waldschmidt’s stone house is considered one of the finest examples of Pennsylvania-Dutch architecture west of the Alleghenies. Construction on the house began in 1794, and Waldschmidt would have conducted his many businesses from this house. The house is now a period museum owned by the Ohio State Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and is furnished with many original family pieces and portraits.
Christian Waldschmidt is buried at the nearby Waldschmidt Cemetery in Camp Dennison, Ohio.