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A group of Freemasons, inspired by the concepts of a new country, of Freedom with Responsibility, Brotherly Love, and Truth, formed Harmony Lodge near this site in 1809, the first Masonic lodge in western Ohio. Meetings were held in the log court house, located on Lot 174, East Court Street, and also in Dayton and Springfield.
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Norwalk West Main Street Historic District. Oldest Standing House 1826. Entered in the National Register of Historic Places 1974.
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America’s first concrete streets were those which surrounded this court house. Concrete was first used in 1891 to provide an 8-foot strip along Main Street where horses were hitched. Two years later Court Avenue was paved with concrete made from native marl supplied by the Buckeye Cement Company, 8 miles to the northeast. This marker was erected in 1968 at the 75th anniversary of the paving of Court Street.
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Prisoners convicted of rioting, larceny and adultery in Morgan County between 1833 and 1839 were confined to a dungeon near the Court House in McConnelsville. This stone vault, 11 feet high, 5 feet wide and 12 feet long, was discovered in 1964 and is believed to have been used as the county dungeon. The Morgan County Pomona Grange #81 in co-operation with the County Commissioners and the County Agricultural Society reconstructed the structure on this site in 1965 as a community service project.
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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.
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In memory of Benjamin R. Hanby (Otterbein College Class of 1858) whose Christmas song “Up on the House Top” was first given to the world December, 1864.
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The construction of Putnam County’s first public swimming pool helped Columbus Grove weather the Great Depression of the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Village of Columbus Grove planned the pool to provide much-needed jobs and recreational facilities for the residents of Putnam County. Between the fall of 1935 and 1936, local men (and two women) built the pool and shelter house by hand from rock quarried on site. The workers were not trained stone masons or cutters. Befitting their limited skills, the pool was built in a simplified Norman Revival/Rustic architectural style. Wages ranged from $.33 to $.55 per hour. The pool’s grand opening was July 1, 1937. That first year, adults paid $.25 to swim, and children were charged $.10. The Columbus Grove Municipal Pool was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
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Near this site in 1879, J.E. Newhouse discovered a magnetic spring in his park, Green Bend Gardens. It was found that a knife blade dipped in the water could pick up small metal objects like a magnet. The spring became known for its curative powers and was advertised as a treatment for ailments including rheumatism, gout, insomnia, and diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and nerves. To share the health-giving water, Mr. Newhouse opened the Magnetic Bath House, which became famous for its water cures. To reach a larger market, the magnetic water was sterilized and bottled and sold under the Magnetic Springs label. Advances in medicine after World War II led to the decline in the popularity of mineral baths.
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