, OH
On a forested hillside south of New Straitsville, the spacious 1000 square foot Robinson’s Cave offered a secluded location with great acoustics where large groups of Hocking Valley coal miners could meet in secret. Beginning in about 1870, labor-organizing meetings were held at the cave by various emerging unions including the Knights of Labor. New Straitsville resident Christopher Evans, a well-known union organizer, used Robinson’s Cave to lead miners throughout the long Hocking Valley Coal Strike of 1884-1885. These meetings gave the miners a voice in the formation of a national organization called the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers, later renamed the National Progressive Union. The cave was also where non-union miners met to plan to set the Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron Company mines on fire in a desperate attempt to end the Hocking Valley Strike. [continued on other side]
, OH
On March 11, 1817, Rev. Roger Searle of Connecticut met with a group of settlers at the home of Zenas Hamilton in Medina Township and founded St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. On April 10, 1817, the congregants cleared land near Weymouth and built a log church, which served as a school, place of worship for other dominations, and meeting house. The congregation eventually moved to Medina to serve the village’s growing population. Around 1883, noted Detroit architect Gordon W. Lloyd designed a new church in the Victorian Gothic style, thereafter described as “incomparably the finest Episcopal church in any country town at the time.” The first service was held on December 19, 1884. St. Paul’s was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is the oldest congregation in Medina County still in existence.
, OH
The Granville Congregational Church erected this building in 1833 for its Female Academy and a church meeting room. The school prospered and, in 1837, moved to make way for the Granville Male Academy. The Welsh Congregational Church purchased the structure in 1863 and converted its two stories into a single room with full-height windows. Welsh language services were held here for sixty years. Granville Grange #2230 met in the building from 1923 to 1973. It then became Granville Historical Society’s property and, in 1981, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
, OH
Lakeholm was built as the home of Columbus Delano while serving as Secretary of the Interior under President Ulysses S. Grant from 1870 to 1875. Delano (1809-1896) came to Mount Vernon in 1817, attended public schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1831. In addition to practicing law in Mount Vernon and serving as the Prosecuting Attorney of Knox County, Delano was a farmer, mill owner, and politician. Lakeholm, originally part of a 300-acre farm, contains many of its original rooms and Italianate features. In 1966, 209 acres of the farm were acquired for the establishment of the Mount Vernon Nazarene College. The house served as offices, meeting rooms, and classrooms. In 2002, the college became a university and continues to use Lakeholm for administrative offices. Historic Lakeholm is a focal point on the Mount Vernon Nazarene University campus and a symbol of the institution’s ties with the Mount Vernon community.
, OH
This Depot, dedicated on December 27, 1900, served as division headquarters for the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis railroad, commonly called the Big Four. Peak passenger usage occurred during and after World War I when 32 trains stopped here daily. Railway Express serviced as many as 20 trains a day into the 1950s, and Galion became a “whistle stop” for presidential campaigns with speeches from the train platform from such candidates as Al Smith in 1928, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon in 1952. In 1929 the New York Central acquired the Big Four, which moved the division headquarters west to Bellefontaine in Logan County. The ticket office remained opened until 1964, but all railroad offices closed in 1969. The Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
, OH
The Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County, one of 111 Carnegie libraries in Ohio, opened its doors to readers on June 30, 1904. A $12,500 gift from steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie financed construction of the original 3,360-square-foot building. The community provided the building site, formerly known as Martin Field, and pledged tax funds for the library’s ongoing operation and maintenance. Expansions and modernizations have incorporated the original building and preserved its historic architectural style. “A Library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people.” – Andrew Carnegie
, OH
James Birdseye McPherson was born in Hamer’s Corners (now Clyde) on November 14, 1828. He left this house at age 13 to work in nearby Green Springs. He attended Norwalk Academy and West Point, where he graduated first in the class of 1853. Early in the Civil War, he was appointed by General Ulysses S. Grant to command the Army of the Tennessee. He received the rank of Major General with the United States Volunteers in October 1862 and was promoted to Brigadier General in the Regular Army in August 1863. He was killed in action during the battle of Atlanta, Georgia on July 22, 1864. General McPherson was the youngest and highest ranking Union officer killed in the Civil War. He is buried in the local McPherson Cemetery. This McPherson home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
, OH
Constructed and first lit in 1897, the South Bass Island Light was in continuous operation until 1962 when the U. S. Coast Guard built an automated light tower to replace it. Significant for its contribution to transportation and commerce on Lake Erie, the South Bass Island Light was built to safely guide vessels through the crowded South Passage. Although many light stations were constructed with a dwelling as a separate structure, the keeper’s dwelling of the South Bass Light was attached to the 60-foot tower. The dwelling was designed in the Queen Anne style with red brick laid in Flemish bond. Outbuildings, a barn and oil house, were built in 1899. In 1967, The Ohio State University acquired the property for support of the F. T. Stone Laboratory programs for research, education, and outreach. South Bass Island Light was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
614.297.2300
Contact Us
