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Meadowbrook Park began as a Tiffin, Fostoria & Eastern Electric Railway plan to draw weekend riders. Laura Stephenson Sneath, wife of a major company stakeholder, led the park development. Originally north of Wolf Creek, Meadowbrook included a baseball diamond and a 1902 dance pavilion. In 1923, William Richards purchased the buildings and leased the land from Henry Matthews of Matthews Boat Company. The pavilion was destroyed by fire under suspicious circumstances on October 12, 1925, but no one was charged. James Garfield Haugh, president of the Gem Manufacturing Company, purchased the land in 1925. (Continued on other side)
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Born in Cincinnati in 1850, Dan Beard was a nationally known illustrator and artist. Early years and summers spent here strongly influenced his career. Beard’s American Boy’s Handy-Book (1882), a manual of woodcraft and nature lore, was one of his twenty youth-oriented outdoors books. He founded the Sons of Daniel Boone circa 1906, a boys’ organization that he promoted as editor of Recreation magazine. After Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in England in 1908-based partly upon Beard’s writings-“Uncle Dan” helped establish the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1910. Since then, Scouting has promoted the development of character, citizenship, physical fitness, and environmental awareness for millions of boys. Beard served as the BSA’s first commissioner and participated actively until his death in 1941. The uniform design and the BSA emblem are among his many contributions to Scouting.
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The first religious society organized in Liberty Township was formed in 1810 by Elders Thomas Cellar, Josiah McKinnie, and Leonard Monroe. Cellar and McKinnie came to Delaware in 1802. In 1820, The Elders and others built Liberty Church and laid out a cemetery on land provided by Thomas Cellar. Along with the Cellar and McKinnie families, early settlers, church and community leaders are buried here. In 1855, John F. Cellar deeded the three acres on which the church was located to Liberty for one dollar. The land was to be used only for the Church, burying ground, and schoolhouse. In the 1990s, the congregation outgrew the old meeting house. A Barn Church was constructed by builder John Redding, assisted by Amish men Josie and son, Junior Miller and their crew. It was constructed in 1996 near the old Liberty Church.
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Following the Civil War, many of Ohio’s disabled and wounded veterans found inadequate provisions for their long-term needs. In response, the Grand Army of the Republic’s Department of Ohio lobbied for a state-operated veterans’ home. In 1886 Governor Joseph B. Foraker signed a bill establishing the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home for honorably discharged veterans. A board of trustees led by Sandusky publisher I.F. Mack selected the site, and the Sandusky community donated the tract of land, utilities, and a connection to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The facility opened in November 1888. (continued on other side)
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Established in 1873, Lakeside is a pioneer of the American Chautauqua Movement, one of the greatest revival movements in United States history which flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Founded by the Methodist Church, Lakeside is one of the few existing Chautauqua communities that remain and thrive today. Each summer, the late-Victorian community provides spiritual, cultural, intellectual, and recreational programs designed to nurture the mind, body, and spirit. It draws visitors from across the country and around the world for its Chautauqua program. Lakeside is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
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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.
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A direct descendent of original settlers in Jackson Township, Winter Zellar (Zero) Swartsel was born in 1876. Throughout his life he was a natural born showman, teacher, eccentric, anarchist, and “possibly the grandfather of American Pop Culture.” At a young age and tired of the routines of Farmersville, he declared that, “He would live by his wits while his brothers lived by the sweat of their brows.” He and a friend bicycled first to New York City and then turned around to head west and eventually the world. Later his home would overflow with items collected while traveling the world. Outside was a similar story. While chiding the American people for their wastefulness and abusing their environment, his 22 acres of farmland became his artist’s canvas filled with the thousands of items he collected from the “wasteful.” [continued on other side]
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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.
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