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On March 2, 1942, four months after the U.S. entered WWII, farmers living between Marion-Williamsport and Marseilles-Galion Roads and between State Route 98 and the Norfolk & Western Railroad were notified to vacate their farms by the first of May. This displaced approximately 126 farm families from over 12,600 acres so that a munitions factory could be built. The site included the administration area, cafeteria, fire and police stations, and a hospital, in addition to the widely dispersed powder houses and the production lines. Manufacturing began in the fall of 1942. The plant’s operators included U.S. Rubber, Atlas Powder, the Permanente Metals Division of the Kaiser Corporation, Kilgore Manufacturing, and Ferro Enamel, who made bombs until August 14, 1945 — VJ Day. (Continued other side)
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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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Welton Cemetery was known as Roselawn Cemetery until the early 1900s. Early settlers to the Burton area donated the land. Welton Cemetery is the burial place for veterans of the nation’s wars and for several state officials. Judge Peter Hitchcock (1781-1853) served in the War of 1812. From 1810-1852, he was elected to both houses of Ohio’s General Assembly and one term in the U.S. House of Representatives and served on the state’s Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice from 1831-1833 and 1849-1851. In 1850, he was a member of Ohio’s constitutional convention. (Continued on other side)
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Benjamin Overfield (1774-1831), son of a Revolutionary War soldier, opened his tavern in this log house on September 13, 1808. Never moved, it is the oldest surviving building in Troy. The tavern provided food, lodging and space for business and social gatherings. Overfield agreed to let the county use a room on the second floor of the building as a temporary courtroom. Behind the tavern, Benjamin built a small log cabin that was home to his family. He prospered here until 1825 when he moved to the Public Square. Today’s structure includes the tavern, the cabin, and later additions. Used as a dwelling from 1825 until 1948, the building now houses the Overfield Tavern Museum. Benjamin Overfield and his first wife Mary are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
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One of the earliest and largest amusement parks in Northwest Ohio dedicated in 1906 on site of old waterworks. Trains brought visitors from as far away as Cleveland. 1907: Dance Pavilion and 2,000 seat auditorium built. 1908: Bathing beach made in old reservoir. 1925: Green Mill Dance Hall built on side near dam. Big name bands highlight entertainment. 1936: Shelters, band shell, and pool bath house made from bricks of old waterworks. 1978: Renovation of waterfront begins new era.
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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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The Bridgeport Iron Bridge, often called the Streng Road Iron Bridge, was built in 1914. It replaced a wooden covered bridge built in 1869 by Reuben L. Partridge (1823-1900) and Isaac J. Grummons (1828-1921), which was damaged by the flood of 1913. The 200′ steel superstructure uses a pin-connected Pratt Through truss design and was constructed by the Central Concrete & Construction Company, Canton, Ohio, at a cost of $8,987. The original substructure abutments were constructed by John A. Maugans (1861-1933) for $3,248, but have since been replaced. In 1992 and 1993, the bridge was renovated under the leadership of County Engineer Steve A. Stolte and Assistant Engineer Jeff Stauch.
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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.