Remarkable Ohio

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Front Text: Oldest Religious Congregation in north-central Ohio. First Methodist Sermon preached at the "spring" in 1809 by Rev. James Copus. Services then conducted in blockhouse, 1811; in first court house, 1813; at church home of Dr. William B. James, 1814; first church building located N.W. corner Park Avenue East and Adams, 1820; present site in 1870. All land donated by General James Hedges, a distinguished member. Back Text: Same

Address: 12 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield
Location: First United Methodist Church, 12 North Diamond Street

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Front Text: The killing of local shopkeeper Levi Jones stirred rumors of an impending Indian attack. Mansfield's settlers needed help. On the evening of August 9, 1813, Johnny Appleseed is believed to have embarked from here on a daring overnight journey to the settlements of Clinton and Mount Vernon for reinforcements. At the time of Appleseed's run, this square was the site of two blockhouses erected during the War of 1812. One blockhouse, constructed of round logs by a Captain Schaeffer of Fairfield County, stood at the intersection of Main Street and Park Avenue West. Colonel Charles Williams of Coshocton built the other blockhouse of hewn logs. It was located in the middle of the north side of the square and later served as Mansfield's first courthouse. Back Text: Same

Address: N. Main Street, Mansfield
Location: Main Street (W) side of north half of Mansfield Square, Park Ave. E and Main St.

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Front Text: Hemlock Falls is located nearby. Two small streams cascade down the face of the massive sandstone cliff in the shade of tall hemlock trees. One of the falls drops about 60 feet and the other about 100 feet. The rock is Black Hand Sandstone deposited in the deltas along the great salt-water sea during the Mississippian Period about 350 million years ago. The cliffs were created later and were produced by erosion along the side of the valley of the ancient pre-glacial Groveport River. One large slump block, which has separated from the rock wall by weathering, may be the largest in Ohio. Plants more typical of the Appalachian Plateau and rare to Richland County can be found in this area. The ecosystem is typical of that found at the past edge of a glacier. Back Text: Bunker Hill Road lies in a valley that once was the riverbed of the ancient pre-glacial Groveport River. This river flowed westward from the ancient Appalachian Mountains far to the east and turned southward here in the Bunker Hill valley and continued south by the present locations of Butler and Fredericktown to join the pre-glacial Teays River. The Groveport River was formed about 200 million years ago. The Illinoian Glacier blocked the Groveport River about 150,000 years ago and a new riverbed was formed. The new river known as the Clear Fork River is designated as a national natural landmark. As you drive Bunker Hill Road, remember you are in the ancient Groveport riverbed.

Address: 5370 Bunker Hill Road N, Butler
Location: 5370 Bunker Hill Road, N.

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Front Text: Acclaimed author, conservationist, and farmer Louis Bromfield was born in Mansfield in 1896. A graduate of the city's schools, he went on to study agriculture at Cornell University in 1914, but left in 1915 to help run his family's farm. In 1916, Bromfield enrolled in Columbia University to study journalism. As America entered World War I, he enlisted in United States Army Ambulance Service and saw action in seven major European battles. Determined to become a writer, Bromfield finished his education after the war and became a reporter. In 1921, he married Mary Appleton Wood and they would have three daughters. Bromfield's first published novel, the Green Bay Tree (1924), was a critical and commercial success; his third novel, Early Autumn, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1927. The Bromfields moved to France in 1925 where they lived until 1938. In all, he published thirty books and authored numerous stories, articles, and screenplays during his writing career. Back Text: The threat of war in Europe and Louis Bromfield's own desire to return to the land of his youth prompted him to purchase three exhausted farms here in Pleasant Valley in 1939. He named the estate Malabar Farm after the Malabar Coast of India, the setting of his 1937 book The Rains Came. Bromfield then set about to restore the land, putting into practice soil and water conservation techniques that later became widely influential. Devoted to educating farmers and the public about soil and water conservation, Bromfield hosted thousands of visitors at Malabar and expounded his ideas in speeches, columns, and over the radio. He also continued to write books, turning to non-fiction to share his experiences. Among these are Malabar Farm (1948) and Out of the Earth (1950). Bromfield died in 1956 and in the following years Malabar passed out of family ownership. Malabar Farm became a state park in 1976, demonstrating techniques that Bromfield put into practice.

Address: 4050 Bromfield Road, Lucas
Location: Malabar Farm State Park, S end of the visitor parking lot

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Front Text: The Ohio Standard Baseline (OSB) was a geodetic baseline that provided highly accurate measurements of the earth and made possible extremely fine calibrations of surveying equipment. Several such baselines were established in Europe and South America during the mid-twentieth century, specifically designed to use a measurement device called the Vaisala Comparator, a precursor of modern laser light measurement systems. In 1953, Dr. T.J. Kukkamaki, then a professor in the Department of Geodetic Science at The Ohio State University, proposed establishing a baseline in Ohio that would be part of the worldwide efforts to accurately understand how the size and shape of the earth change over time. Built between 1965 and 1966, the resulting OSB consisted of a series of eight concrete pillars supporting mirrors and instruments, spaced along a 500 meter distance. (Continued on other side) Back Text: (Continued from other side) In November 1966, a Vaisala Comparator performed the final measurements necessary to commission the new facility. The Ohio Standard Baseline, however, was abandoned shortly afterwards due to ground stability issues and never used again. The concrete pillar at the 500 meter mark was removed for the construction of the Health Sciences building in 1995, and others were removed in 2016 as part of the construction of a new road to the Mansfield campus via Lexington-Springmill Road. The lone remaining pillar sits at the 250-meter point along the OSB and bears witness to the only such baseline to have been built in North America. It also marks the first research initiative undertaken at the Mansfield Campus.

Address: 1760 University Drive, Mansfield
Location: OSU Mansfield Campus