Remarkable Ohio

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201 E Water Street
Troy

, OH

Benjamin Overfield (1774-1831), son of a Revolutionary War soldier, opened his tavern in this log house on September 13, 1808. Never moved, it is the oldest surviving building in Troy. The tavern provided food, lodging and space for business and social gatherings. Overfield agreed to let the county use a room on the second floor of the building as a temporary courtroom. Behind the tavern, Benjamin built a small log cabin that was home to his family. He prospered here until 1825 when he moved to the Public Square. Today’s structure includes the tavern, the cabin, and later additions. Used as a dwelling from 1825 until 1948, the building now houses the Overfield Tavern Museum. Benjamin Overfield and his first wife Mary are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.

380 Mahoning Avenue
Warren

, OH

After embracing the cause of women’s suffrage, Harriet Taylor Upton (1854-1945) devoted her life to the movement. Born in Ravenna, she moved to Warren as a child and lived in this house beginning in 1873. Upton was treasurer of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1895 to 1910 and brought its headquarters to Warren in 1903, where it remained until 1910. She served as president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association for 18 years. As the first woman vice chair of the National Republican Executive Committee, Upton was instrumental in the passage of child labor laws and securing governmental appointments for women. Her devotion to women’s causes and skills as a public speaker earned her nationwide respect.

Toledo

, OH

East Toledo, early home of Ottawa Indians and originally part of Oregon Township, was annexed to the city in 1853. Peter Navarre, fur trader and War of 1812 scout, was a well-known pioneer resident. A post office named Utah was established in 1851 and located on Front Street near Oak Street, then the commercial center of the East Side.

Belmont Street
Bellaire

, OH

Labeled “Union Square” on the first village maps, block 12 of the City of Bellaire was formed by joining portions of the Harris and Rodefer Farms in 1857. Used for tent shows, circuses, political meetings, and playing baseball, the land during the Civil War was used as a canteen for feeding Union recruits from nearby Camp Jefferson. Stonemasons cut sandstone blocks here that make up “Great Stone Viaduct” railroad bridge. A steam derrick and stable for horses that helped to move the sandstone to the bridge’s construction site were also placed temporarily on this land. In 1882, a monument was erected to honor Civil War veterans as “Union Square” became a city park. Former President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech here to the citizens of Bellaire in 1912.

35th & Guernsey St
Bellaire

, OH

The Bellaire High School Clock Tower was erected in 1925 as the second town clock to be mounted on Bellaire’s public schools. C.W. Bates of Wheeling designed this tower, built by C.D. Keyser & Co. of Bellaire. The school building stretches 256 feet along 35th Street, and the tower rises 40 feet above the 3rd floor parapet of the roof. The clock faces are 6 feet, 7 inches in diameter. At the exterior corners of the bell room are 11 foot columns. The tower dome is painted red. E. Howard & Co. of Boston made the clock works and the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore cast the bell in August 1888. The BHS Alumni Association lighted the tower in 1998 to honor all “faithful and true-hearted” graduates of the school.

1231 W. Kemper Road
Cincinnati

, OH

A school has stood on this site almost continuously since the late 1840s. The first school here was the Newell School, a white-frame, one-room school in use from approximately 1847 to 1939. The building was a part of the Newell Rural School District, which extended from the north border of Greenhills to present-day Interstate 275. Area schools consolidated in 1939 and the Newell district was absorbed into the Science Hall Rural School District and then into the Greenhills Rural School District (later renamed the Greenhills/Forest Park School District). The site of the old Newell School is now a part of the Winton Woods City Schools. The building directly behind this marker opened in 1968 as Forest Park High School and later became Winton Woods High School.

NE corner of Bellpoint Road & OH 257
Bellpoint

, OH

In the early part of the twentieth century, most small villages in Ohio focused community pride on the accomplishments of their high school’s athletic teams. The Bellpoint basketball teams of the 1920s were a great example. In 1922-1925, the Bellpoint Buccaneers participated in the Ohio State Invitational Tournament to determine the state basketball champion. In 1922, they participated, and then, in 1923 the team lost by a single point to Plattsburg. The Bellpoint teams of 1924 and 1925 were victorious, earning the title of the State Basketball Champions. It was a much slower game in those days with a “center jump” after each score and forty points scored was quite a feat. The Bellpoint High School no longer stands but the accomplishments of these “Cinderella” teams remain an important source of pride for the Bellpoint community. These events are an integral part of the history of Delaware County.

325 Ohio Street
Huron

, OH

Ohio’s oldest continuing summer theatre, the Huron Playhouse has been housed at McCormick Middle School for its entire history. Dr. Frederick G. Walsh (1915-1999) of the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Speech Department founded the theatre in 1949. Huron met Walsh’s expectations for an attractive site for the playhouse, and Huron Schools Superintendent R.L. McCormick (1904-1978) offered the use of this school. The curtain opened on the first Huron Playhouse production, Norman Krasna’s hit Broadway comedy John Loves Mary, on June 29, 1949. With persisting support from BGSU, actors and alumni, and the local community, the acclaimed Playhouse has provided theatrical experience for thousands of students and entertainment for generations of Huron residents.