The Ohio Connection

Bierce was born in Meigs County, Ohio on June 24, 1842.
He left his family for Indiana in 1857, where he worked as “printer’s devil” for an abolitionist newspaper.
He returned to Ohio to live with uncle, Lucius Verus, before enlisting and fighting in the Civil War. Lucius Verus Bierce was Grand Master of Ohio freemasons in 1854.
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was adapted as a French film in 1962, directed by Robert Enrico and broadcast by Rod Serling (http://www.ohioana-authors.org/serling/index.php) on The Twilight Zone in 1963.
An Ambrose Bierce marker was dedicated on November 6, 2003 at Eastern District High School on Ohio Route 7, approximately 10 miles from his assumed birthplace. (http://www.biercephile.com/images/largemarker.jpg)
Around the time of the marker’s placement there was some controversy over whether Bierce had, indeed, been born in Meigs County. Some sources suggested he had been born in Portage County instead. Ultimately, the Meigs County location was confirmed. Read about the controversy online.http://donswaim.com/bierce-parker.html
The birthplace marker controversy brought to light another Bierce marker in Ohio, the only other known marker, in the Chester County Courthouse, Ohio's oldest standing courthouse building.
In addition to the new marker, plans are in the works for an Ambrose Bierce Society in Meigs County, so its most famous literary son will finally get his hometown due.