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This federal style house was built in 1827 by James A. Wolcott who migrated to Ohio in 1818 from Connecticut. Of distinguished parentage, Wolcott was a leading merchant, shipbuilder, judge and politician. Here he and his wife, Mary Wells, daughter of scout William Wells and Sweet Breeze, Indian Chief Little Turtle’s daughter, made their home a center of frontier activity. This house stands as a tangible symbol of this Maumee pioneer, a Registered National Historic Place.
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Myron T. Herrick, Governor of Ohio from 1904 to 1906, was born in Huntington Township in 1854 and lived here until age 12. A respected Cleveland attorney and businessman, Herrick was a friend and confidant to Senator Mark Hanna and Presidents McKinley, Taft, and Harding. His public service career culminated in two appointments as ambassador to France, from 1912 through the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and again from 1921 until his death in 1929. Enormously popular with the French people, Herrick escorted Charles Lindbergh in Paris after his historic 1927 transatlantic flight.
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Born in Piqua, Ohio, the Mills Brothers grew up and attended school in Bellefontaine. The brothers — John, Jr., Herbert, Harry, and Donald Mills — were the first African-American vocal group to perform on a national radio broadcast and achieve commercial success. Enjoying worldwide fame throughout their career, the Mills Brothers popularized such hits as “Tiger Rag,” “Paper Doll,” and “You Always Hurt the One You Love.” After the death of John, Jr. in 1936, the remaining brothers were joined by their father, John, Sr. In all, the Mills Brothers recorded over 1,200 songs.
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Y-Bridge—1902—World Famous Part of the Old National Road
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Originally called St. Clairsville and platted in 1801, Decatur was named for early 19th century naval hero Stephen Decatur. It is among the oldest villages in Brown County, which before 1817 was a part of Adams County. Among its notable early residents were Nathaniel Beasley (1774-1835), the first surveyor of Adams County, and Sarah Boone Montgomery (1763-1848), a heroine of the border wars in Kentucky. Decatur and Byrd Township supported at least four known stations on the Underground Railroad. Many area residents helped conduct escaping slaves northward to freedom.
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The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) traces its origins to mid-18th-century England, where it served as a mutual benefit society for traveling workmen. Odd Fellowship moved to the United States in 1819; the first Ohio lodge was established in 1830, and the Canfield Lodge was instituted in 1850. The charter members of this lodge were E.J. Estep, John G. Kyle, James Powers, W. M. Prentice, and William W. Whittlesey. Many of the early members of this lodge were businessmen, lawyers, physicians, and tradesmen. Lodge 155 remains one of the oldest active lodges in northeastern Ohio. (continued on other side)
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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.
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The pioneer village of Vistula is now bounded by Walnut, Champlain, Chestnut, Magnolia, and Summit streets. Established in 1833 by Benjamin F. Stickney and Edward Bissell, Vistula was merged with its rival, Port Lawrence, and in 1837 both villages were incorporated as Toledo. The Vistula Historic District, Toledo’s oldest neighborhood, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.