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Organization of the congregation began in 1848 under the Rev. George Van Eman, and a charter was granted in 1854. The oldest Presbyterian church building in continuous use in Hancock County, the sanctuary was constructed in 1855-56. Members of the congregation included first Congressional Medal of Honor recipients John R. Porter and William Bennsinger, honored for their exploits as members of Andrews Raiders during the Civil War.
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The Marion Steam Shovel Company built the primary tools for America’s civil engineering for more than 100 years. Founded in 1884 by Henry M. Barnhart, George W. King, and Edward Huber, the company’s patent steam shovels helped revolutionize railway and road construction, and were used in the building of the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, and the Holland Tunnel. “The Shovel” also built ditchers, log loaders, dredges, and draglines, including some of the largest land vehicles ever built. The first electric machine was built in 1915, but it was not until 1946 that the name was changed to Marion Power Shovel. In the mid-twentieth century, “The Shovel” employed 2,500 workers. In the 1960s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected Marion to build the crawlers that transport spacecraft to their launch pads. Hundred-year rival Bucyrus International acquired and closed the company in 1997.
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Distinguished citizen, legislator, public servant, and historian born in Bellefontaine, January 23, 1840. A Civil War hero, he was promoted to brigadier general at only 25 years of age. Admitted to the bar in 1866, he practiced in Bellefontaine until 1878 when President Hayes appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue. He was then elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio in 1885 then served two terms in Congress from 1887 to 1891. Following the Spanish-American War, he was appointed by President McKinley to serve as head of the Insular Commission to establish the new government of Puerto Rico. In 1903 Kennedy published Historical Review of Logan County. Kennedy started the Bellefontaine Tree Commission. Gen. Kennedy’s home was on this site and later served as the Bellefontaine City Building. General Kennedy died on May 6, 1918.
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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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First known as the Webster House, later as the New England House, and finally as the Old Tavern, this inn has served travelers on the old Cleveland-Buffalo Road (now State Route 84) since before Ohio became a state. As traffic on the old Indian trail increased and it became a post and stage road, the two original log cabins, built in 1798 and later, were converted to this two-and-a-half story inn between 1815 and 1820. While the tavern was the scene of Civil War-era parties and dances in the second-floor ballroom, local tradition suggests it offered much more clandestine hospitality to escaping slaves as a station on the Underground Railroad. The Unionville Tavern was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1973.
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League Park opened on May 1, 1891, with the legendary Cy Young pitching for the Cleveland Spiders in their win over the Cincinnati Redlegs. The park remained the home of Cleveland’s professional baseball and football teams until 1946. In 1920 the Cleveland Indians’ Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam home run, and Bill Wamby executed the only unassisted triple play, in World Series history. Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run over the park’s short right field wall in 1929. With the park as home field, the Cleveland Buckeyes won the Negro World Series in 1945.
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For nearly a century, East Liverpool dominated the United States pottery industry. Drawn to easily accessible clay deposits and ready river transportation, British-born potter James Bennett established the first commercial pottery here in 1841. His success drew other enterprising and innovative craftsmen, and by the Civil War era, the local industry was well established. During its peak production years (1865-1910), East Liverpool’s potteries produced and sold the majority of America’s crockery, with nearly the entire city’s population employed in the industry. Competition from imports and plastics, along with limited expansion space in the narrow Ohio valley, brought a decline in East Liverpool’s importance in the ceramics industry in the 20th century. Three large potteries continue the pottery tradition. The Ohio Historical Society’s Museum of Ceramics displays collections of early local ware.
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William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) was a Miami University faculty member in 1836 when he compiled the first edition of the McGuffey Eclectic Reader in this house. His Reader taught lessons in reading, spelling, and civic education by using memorable stories of honesty, hard work, thrift, personal respect, and moral and ethical standards alongside illustrative selections from literary works. The six-edition series increased in difficulty and was developed with the help of his brother Alexander Hamilton McGuffey. After the Civil War the Readers were the basic schoolbooks in thirty-seven states and by 1920 sold an estimated 122 million copies, reshaping American public school curriculum and becoming one of the nation’s most influential publications. (Continued on other side)