, OH
This building was a center of community life from the time of its construction in 1886 to the late 1930s. Once common, such combinations of governmental offices and commercial and entertainment space are today rare. The second floor opera house retains many original features, including stage backdrops, dressing rooms, and seats. Vaudeville, theater companies, and entertainment of all kinds were hosted here and many performers signed the backstage walls: Buffalo Bill dated his signature October 28, 1888. Along with village offices, first floor tenants have included the Vermillion Township Trustees, the Eddie Stover Hat Shop, and the F.L. Smith Watch Repair and Jewelry Store. Hayesville’s citizens approved the hall’s construction on April 18, 1884 by a vote of 100 to 13. Contractor Samuel Craig completed the building two years later at a cost of $4,852.20. Located on the Lincoln Highway, this building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
, OH
The construction of Putnam County’s first public swimming pool helped Columbus Grove weather the Great Depression of the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Village of Columbus Grove planned the pool to provide much-needed jobs and recreational facilities for the residents of Putnam County. Between the fall of 1935 and 1936, local men (and two women) built the pool and shelter house by hand from rock quarried on site. The workers were not trained stone masons or cutters. Befitting their limited skills, the pool was built in a simplified Norman Revival/Rustic architectural style. Wages ranged from $.33 to $.55 per hour. The pool’s grand opening was July 1, 1937. That first year, adults paid $.25 to swim, and children were charged $.10. The Columbus Grove Municipal Pool was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
, OH
With a population of 475 residents, the Beallsville community gained the unfortunate distinction of having suffered the highest known per-capita casualty rate during the Vietnam War. Six Beallsville men, all under the age of 21, were killed in action in Vietnam between 1966 and 1971, a profound tragedy for this close-knit community. In 1969 Beallsville citizens worked with congressional representatives to prevent further loss of life, to no avail. Five other Monroe County men lost their lives in the conflict as well, magnifying the loss for one of Ohio’s least-populated counties. (continued on other side)
, OH
Chardon was designated the county seat of Geauga County in 1808. On July 25, 1868, the entire village business district (now Main Street) was destroyed by fire, including forty businesses, offices, meeting halls, and the 1824 courthouse. Citizens immediately rallied and formed the Chardon Building Company. In August 1868 they contracted with Herrick and Simmons of Cleveland to build the Union Block using fire-resistant brick. This was one of Rensselaer R. Herrick’s (Cleveland Mayor 1879-1882) last construction jobs. The Union Block occupies the northern half of this block of Main Street. (Continued on other side)
, OH
The prehistoric Erie Indians built a fortification across this neck of land sometime before 1650. A low wall is all that remains today of a stockade where earth had been piled at the base of posts. The stockade and the naturally steep embankments of the ridge provided a safe location for an Indian village.
, OH
Near this site in 1879, J.E. Newhouse discovered a magnetic spring in his park, Green Bend Gardens. It was found that a knife blade dipped in the water could pick up small metal objects like a magnet. The spring became known for its curative powers and was advertised as a treatment for ailments including rheumatism, gout, insomnia, and diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and nerves. To share the health-giving water, Mr. Newhouse opened the Magnetic Bath House, which became famous for its water cures. To reach a larger market, the magnetic water was sterilized and bottled and sold under the Magnetic Springs label. Advances in medicine after World War II led to the decline in the popularity of mineral baths.
, OH
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 defined the boundary of the northern and southern tier of states to be carved out of the Northwest Territory, as a line drawn east from the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan until it intersects Lake Erie. Controversy over the exact location of that line led to the 1834-1837 boundary dispute between the State of Ohio and Michigan Territory. Passions ran high as everyone on both sides of the boundary knew that a great port city (Toledo) would emerge in the disputed territory. President Andrew Jackson settled the dispute in 1836 when he signed an act that recognized the current border between Ohio and Michigan, giving Michigan 9,000 square miles of Upper Peninsula land and awarding the disputed strip of approximately 470 square miles to Ohio. Michigan then joined the nation as a state the following year.
, OH
The ancient trail that passed near this spot was the major overland route entering the Ohio Country from the east through the 1700s. Also known as the Tuscarawas Path, the Great Trail was used by Native Americans, European explorers, fur traders, missionaries, military expeditions, land agents-and settlers after Ohio became a state. In January 1761, during the French and Indian War, Major Robert Rogers and thirty-eight rangers passed en route to Fort Pitt after taking Fort Detroit from the French. In 1764, during “Pontiac’s Conspiracy,” Colonel Henry Bouquet crossed here with an army of 1,500 men on his way to Goshachgunk (Coshocton), where he treated with the Delaware and freed captives. During the American Revolution, the Continental Army under General Lachlan McIntosh camped here for two days in November 1778.