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The first road through Marion County followed the Scioto Trail of the Native Americans. This 120-foot wide strip through Wyandot territory led from Lower Sandusky (Fremont) to the Greenville Treaty Line. A confederation of Ohio tribes ceded it to the United States at the Treaty of Brownsville, Michigan, in 1808. During the War of 1812, the troops of General William Henry Harrison’s Army of the Northwest traveled this road en route to Fort Meigs and the British fort at Detroit, using it to transport supplies to the army and to the chain of forts and blockhouses that protected the road. After the American victory, this area was opened for settlement by the 1817 Treaty of the Maumee Rapids, and soldiers who discovered the area while traveling the Military Road were among the first settlers. (continued on other side)
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The Johnson House was built in 1852 and its first owner was Henry J. Traver (1827-1911), owner of Traver & Company carriage factory across the street. From 1877 until 1994 the house was the residence and office of four doctors who maintained their practices there. The first was Dr. Daniel Cranz (1854 — 1914); followed by Dr. Thomas Ritter (1855—1928). In 1900, Dr. Robert Johnson (1878 — 1952) purchased the house. His daughter Dr. Myra Johnson (1909 — 1994) took over the practice after he died and until she retired in 1976. After her death, the house was converted into a museum. It is operated by the Wadsworth Area Historical Society and owned by the City of Wadsworth. (Continued on other side)
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Two leading figures in nineteenth century national and state politics were born in log cabins located near this spot. Lewis Davis Campbell (1811-1882) served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1858, rising to the leadership of Ohio’s “Know Nothing” Party. During the Civil War he raised the 69th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served as its first colonel. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson appointed Campbell U.S. Minister to Mexico. In 1870, Campbell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for another term by defeating Robert Cumming Schenck. Campbell is buried in Hamilton’s Greenwood Cemetery.
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The Seneca County Museum is the former home of local businessman Rezin W. Shawhan. Born in 1811, Shawhan arrived in Tiffin in 1832 and opened a store with his brother Lorenzo. The store’s success enabled Rezin to expand his interests into real estate and banking. Upon his death in 1887, his estate was valued in excess of $1 million. Much of it was bequeathed to his second wife, Della Watson Shawhan. He also left bequests to Heidelberg College, the library, and Tiffin’s churches. The Greek Revival-style house, built in 1853, was passed down through the family, ending with Lynn Troxel who, in 1941, donated it to the county for use as a museum. The house is a part of the Fort Ball-Railroad Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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Constructed of sandstone quarried from nearby Putnam Hill, the Stone Academy dates to 1809. The Springfield School House Company erected the building, it is believed, to lure the statehouse from Chillicothe. However, when Zanesville was chosen as the capital the following year, the building was used for public functions and for its “intended” purpose as a school. The Ohio Anti-slavery Society held its state conventions here in 1835 and 1839, with prominent abolitionist leader Theodore Weld, among others, in attendance. The Stone Academy became a private residence after 1839. In the 1870s, it was the childhood home of Elizabeth Robins, the famed late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century actress, playwright, author, and activist. The Stone Academy was donated to the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County in 1981.
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This Italianate-style house is the former home of noted educational leader Thomas W. Harvey. Here he wrote A Practical Grammar of the English Language, as well as a series of language texts and readers. First published in 1868, Harvey’s Grammar was a fixture in primary schools across the Midwest for more than fifty years. As State Commissioner of Common Schools, Harvey advocated legislation that greatly increased state support of local school districts. He also served as superintendent of Painesville schools, founded the Northeastern Ohio Teachers’ Association, and served as a trustee of Lake Erie Seminary (now Lake Erie College). Painesville’s high school, located one block southeast, is named for him.
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In the early 1800s, Jabez Wright, an early Huron County judge, purchased a large tract of lakeside land on the north side of what is now Cleveland Road. There Wright built an eight-room farmhouse that later served as a “station” on the fabled Underground Railroad, playing a vital role in aiding fugitive African-American slaves to freedom. Beneath Wright’s farmhouse was a sixteen foot-wide and ninety foot-long tunnel. Escaped slaves entered the passage through a trap door in the home’s basement and exited into a corn crib located a mere one hundred feet from Lake Erie. There the slaves awaited the arrival of rowboats transporting them to vessels heading north to Canada. (Continued on side two)
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Built on Main Street, circa 1815, this two story log residence was later sided. In 1974 during new post office site preparation, the log structure was discovered and moved to present location along Ohio-Erie Canal route. In adjoining Groveport Cemetery a monument honors local resident, John S. Rarey (1828-1866), internationally known horse trainer and owner of famous horse, Cruiser.
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