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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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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.
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The Canfield War Vet Museum was chartered in 1988 by American Legion Post 177 and Ladies Auxiliary to collect and preserve items and history from American wars. The building that houses the museum was built in 1809 by Comfort S. Mygatt, a Revolutionary War veteran, and later, passed through several generations of the Church family. Colonel James Madison Nash, a Civil War officer, lived here for a time, giving the house its nickname, “The Colonel’s House.” The structure stands as the oldest building in Canfield on its original site. The carding barn on the rear of the property was built in 1810 to process sheep wool. The Wall of Honor at this site honors war veterans, in particular, the Revolutionary War veterans interred in Canfield cemeteries and the 18 Canfield men who lost their lives in World War II.
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Doctors Charles Elmer Sawyer and his son, Carl Walker Sawyer, opened Sawyer Sanatorium on White Oaks Farm in 1911. Built to provide physical and emotional healing in a unique environment, the complex incorporated six patient bungalows, houses for the two doctors, offices, a large dining and social hall, and treatment buildings. An enclosed quarter-mile-long cloister connected these buildings around a large courtyard. Each bungalow, given botanical names such as “Ivy” and “Rose,” contained individual patient rooms, a communal living room, and bathing facilities. Hydropathic and electropathic treatments buildings were added later. A shady ten-acre knoll on the farm featured a grove of white oak trees that served as a picnic area for patients. Over the years, the facility also hosted local and national social and political events. (Continued on other side)