14-52 Root Homestead & A. I. Root (1839-1923)

The Root Homestead was built in 1879 by Amos Ives Root, founder of the A. I. Root Company, shortly after he moved his business from the town square. The homestead housed several generations of the Root family until 1953 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. A pioneer of the […]
34-55 Bradford

Bradford began, in 1852, as a construction camp of the Columbus, Piqua, and Indiana Railroad. When the Richmond and Covington Railroad made a junction here in 1864, the village grew with the railroad yard. There were 60 miles of track, a 50-stall roundhouse, and jobs for 2000 men. Community life in Bradford centered at the […]
34-57 Triangle Park “A Gathering Place”

In 1916, Dayton industrialists Charles Kettering and Edward Deeds purchased the “Idylwild” estate of Daniel Eldridge Mead and a larger adjacent tract to save it from development and to create a park for their companies. The resulting “Triangle Park,” opened with a July 4, 1917, picnic for employees and their families. A few weeks later, […]
21-62 Holy Assumption Orthodox Church / Immigrants of Ottawa County

Established in 1898 as the Russian Orthodox Church of the Dormition, Holy Assumption was founded by Carpatho-Russian immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Constructed in 1905-1906, it is considered to be the oldest Orthodox church building in Ohio. Archbishop Tikhon, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America, consecrated the church and celebrated the first […]
18-67 Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad Randall Secondary / Aurora Train Station

The Randall Secondary rail line dates to the 1850s when the independent Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad (C&M) laid tracks through Aurora, Ohio. C&M, chartered in 1848, linked the Mahoning Valley coal and iron ore fields to the industries and lake port at Cleveland. For over a century, the Randall Secondary contributed to Aurora’s economic life […]
7-69 The Putnam County Historical Society / Pioneer Days in Kalida

The Putnam County Pioneer Association was organized September 6, 1873, at a meeting in Kalida, Ohio. Its stated purpose was to “perpetuate the early history of our county.” Members gathered oral histories from early residents and published two volumes of Pioneer Reminiscences in 1878 and 1887. The all-day annual meeting, held every year in September, […]
11-73 Theodore Roosevelt Game Preserve: Celebrating 100 Years of Conservation

In the early 20th century Ohio’s deer, wild turkey, beaver, bobcat, and other wildlife populations were facing extinction due to the widespread loss of forests combined with uncontrolled hunting. Ohio’s first wildlife area, The Theodore Roosevelt Game Preserve, was established in 1922 under the leadership of Ohio Governor Harry L. Davis. Its aim was to […]
6-75 Village of Rumley

The Temple of Rumley Church is of one of two remaining buildings in what once was Rumley, a thriving African American community in Shelby County. On May 19, 1837, the village was surveyed for Amos Evans, who built his hewed log dwelling and store. Brothers Joel and George Goings (aka. Goens), freed black men from […]
39-78 Highway of Light Airway Beacon & Tower No. 36 C-NY

A newer use for the airplanes after World War I was mail delivery. Airplanes moved mail faster than trains, but flying only during daylight hours slowed delivery and flying at night was dangerous. The Army Air Service constructed an experimental lighted beacon route for night flying between Columbus and Dayton in 1923. With proof that […]
28-76 Site of 1917 Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Christian refugees from Asia Minor migrated to Canton in the early 1900s settling in the industrial area known as “Carnahan.” Erected in 1917, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was chartered by Elies Korosedes, Nick Kessenides, Alex Heropoulos, Harry Achilles, and Paul Paulidis. It cost $50,000 to build and was repaid within 3 years by […]