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Oscar D. Boggess (1832-1907) was born in Virginia, the son of a slave and her master. He and his family were granted freedom in the will of his father and master. The will was contested up to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld Boggess’ freedom. Boggess moved to Pennsylvania at age 20, and during the Civil War, joined the 43rd United States Colored Troops. He earned the Butler Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of the Crater near Petersburg, Virginia, in July 1864. Boggess moved to Youngstown after the war, and worked as a stonemason. He was a charter member of Tod Post 29, Grand Army of the Republic, in Youngstown, and a co-founder of the Oak Hill Avenue African Methodist Episcopal Church, the city’s first African American religious congregation. The Boggess home, formerly located near this site, hosted the church’s first meetings in 1870.
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For more than ninety years, this area was the heart and soul of Berea’s sandstone quarries. In the early 1830s, John Baldwin discovered that the area’s sandstone deposits made superb grindstones and building stones. In the 1840s, thriving sandstone quarries developed and became Berea’s lifeblood. Searching for the “American Dream,” German, Irish, Italian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants, among others, came here to work. The quarries eventually encompassed nearly 250 acres and consumed the fashionable houses of Berea’s “South Side” and the buildings of Baldwin University. The Cuyahoga County Court House, Ohio’s Capitol, and Canada’s parliament buildings are among many structures in North America and Europe constructed of Berea sandstone. Decreasing demand for sandstone and the Great Depression closed the last of Berea’s quarries in the mid-1930s.
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Geauga Lake, a scenic destination for visitors to northeast Ohio, was initially named “Giles Pond” after settler Sullivan Giles (1809-1880). In 1856, the predecessor of the Erie Railroad stopped at “Pond Station,” spurring the area’s growth. In the 1880s, locals established picnic grounds, a dance hall, and other facilities for those seeking a country getaway. Picnic Lake Park, later Geauga Lake Park, opened in 1887 and thereafter offered rides, a roller rink, photo gallery, billiard hall and bowling alley, among other attractions. In 1888, the Kent House hotel opened on the southeast side of the lake. In the century that followed, more attractions were added, including SeaWorld of Ohio, and the park expanded. In 2007, the melodic sounds of the carousel and the echoing screams from the “Big Dipper” roller coaster ceased when the park closed. (Continued on other side)
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Known as the “Halfway House,” the Gooding House and Tavern was built by George B. Gooding halfway between the towns of Worthington and Delaware in 1827. Its location was influenced by construction of the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike that was chartered by the State of Ohio the year before. Also known as the “Mud Pike,” the turnpike was slow and difficult for travelers and could take nearly a day to travel 10 miles. The Gooding House was the perfect place for stagecoach drivers to change teams of horses and for travelers to rest and have refreshments. George Gooding also prospered as a farmer with over 1,000 acres of land. This stately brick farmstead remained in the Gooding family for 175 years with each succeeding generation adding its imprint on the property. The Gooding House and Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and restored in 2007.
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One of seven native Ohioans to serve as president of the United States, William McKinley (1843-1901) was born at this site. The original house was moved from this site and ultimately destroyed by fire. The McKinleys lived here until 1852 when they moved to Poland, Ohio, where William attended the Poland Seminary. He briefly attended Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, but poor health and family financial strain forced him to return to Ohio. As an enlistee in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, McKinley rose to the rank of major. After the war, he settled in Canton and practiced law. Elected to Congress in 1876, McKinley favored high protective tariffs, a policy he continued to support as President.(Continued on other side)
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The foundation for the first Welsh settlement in Ohio was laid on June 29, 1801, when William and Morgan Gwilym purchased land in what is now Morgan Township at the Cincinnati Land Office. The Welsh, who settled in Pennsylvania beginning in the late eighteenth century, moved westward and settled here in 1802. This area was also the major terminus for the 1818 migration from Montgomeryshire and Cardiganshire in Wales. In 1803 a Congregational Church was organized and services were held in members’ homes or outdoors. A brick Meetinghouse, complete with a Welsh death door leading to the cemetery, was constructed in 1824. The building now serves as the Community House. The present brick church was built in 1854. For many years, the library, formed in 1852, was housed in the New London Special School District building that stood on this site. (Continued on other side)
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The United Society of Believers (or “Shakers,” as they are commonly known) established White Water, the last of four Ohio Shaker villages, in 1824. White Water flourished throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At its peak during the 1850s, 150 Believers living in three semi-autonomous Shaker “families” farmed 1,300 acres of land in Crosby and adjacent Morgan townships. The Shakers were among the most successful religious societies in the United States. Belief in the equality of men and women, separation of the sexes, celibacy, communal ownership of property, and a distinctive style of worship — characterized by rhythmic movements and shaking — helped define the Shaker lifestyle. (Continued on other side)
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Lewis and Elizabeth (Lyons) Kemp were settlers of what became Mad River Township. With their eight children, the Kemps arrived here from Frederick County, Maryland around 1806. The stone part of the house was built shortly thereafter. Lewis donated nearby land for what became known as the “Kemp School,” established in 1815, and for a graveyard, which had its first burial in 1816 or 1817. The Kemps also hosted services of the United Brethren church. The Kemp house is an example of a “Saltbox” type, so called because of the long slope of its rear gable roof. It is believed the house’s brick portion was added around 1832.
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