Remarkable Ohio

Results for: transportation
110 E. Court Street
Washington Court House

, OH

Opened on May 1, 1885, this is the third Fayette County Court House building. Ohio artist Archibald Willard, who is best known for the patriotic painting, “The Spirit of ’76,” was commissioned by the firm Cooks Brothers to do painting and fresco work for the interior walls of the courthouse. Willard did not sign his work and the artist’s identity remained a mystery for nearly 75 years until confirmation was made in August 1956. The artist’s name was cleverly disguised in the delivery address of the letter in “The Spirit of the U.S. Mail” mural. The other primary murals, “Spirit of Electricity” and “Spirit of the Telegraph,” adorn the third floor corridor.

7919 OH 177
Fairhaven (Camden Post Office and for GPS)

, OH

The Bunker Hill House, previously the Bunker Hill Tavern, was built in stages between 1834 and 1862. The building is one of Ohio’s best representations of Federal-Greek Revival style “pike town” architecture. This architectural style is closely associated with pre-Civil War horse-powered turnpike transportation and lodging. The building was a way station for pioneers heading west and for drovers driving their animals to Cincinnati stockyards. It was also a stagecoach stop on Eastern Stage Coach Company’s Cincinnati Omnibus Line that operated daily between Cincinnati and Richmond, Indiana. Tavern operations ceased in 1858 due to decreased turnpike travel resulting from the newly completed railroad through nearby Camden. In 1862, a general store was established to supply the growing population in the area. The store closed in the early 1900s with the advent of the automobile, which made travel to larger, more distant stores viable. The Bunker Hill House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. (continued on other side)

NE corner of N Main Street & E Foster Street
Bryan

, OH

Here, on September 6, 1918, Bryan’s Air Mail Field began operations as one of Ohio’s first official airfields with the arrival of a survey flight to establish air mail service between New York and Chicago. Scheduled service began on July 1, 1919, and stretched west to San Francisco on September 8, 1920, completing the 2,666 mile U.S transcontinental air mail route. Flying the Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny,” R-4, Standard JR-1B, and later, the De Havilland DH-4, aviators pioneered cross continental flight in open cockpit biplanes without radios or electronic navigational aids and reduced coast to coast mail delivery from 87 hours by rail to 33 hours by air.

4500 Market Street
Boardman

, OH

Youngstown’s earliest automobile suburb, Forest Glen Estates was developed in the 1920s during a period of change in urban transportation patterns and rapid expansion in the regional steel economy. A composite of design work by leading northeastern Ohio landscape and residential architects, the park-like suburb integrates period revival architecture into the natural landscape and blends gracefully with adjacent Mill Creek Park. Gently curving streets with low curbs and landscaped islands were a novel departure from traditional grid patterns. Attached garages and walkways that connect to driveways rather than the street reflect the influence of the personal automobile in the suburban landscape during this era. In 1998, the Forest Glen Estates Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Canal Museum, 1605 N Verity Parkway
Middletown

, OH

At Middletown, Ohio, on July 21, 1825, ground was first broken for the Miami-Erie Canal, which eventually linked Cincinnati and Toledo. The canal created much change in the region, including increased population and commercial, political, and industrial growth. Products grown and manufactured in this previously isolated area now had access to world markets. Prosperity reigned until the 1860s when railroad competition caused a slow decline in canal transportation. The canal was officially closed on November 2, 1929, again, as it had started, in Middletown. The canal bed was converted into a modern highway, known as Verity Parkway, which runs parallel to this park.

Auglaize Township Road 163
Defiance

, OH

On this site, the Miami and Erie Canal, that came north from Cincinnati and the Ohio River, intersected with the Wabash and Erie Canal that came from Fort Wayne and Evansville, Indiana. From this point, which became the town of Junction, the canals proceeded as one to Defiance, Toledo, and Lake Erie. From the 1830s to the 1870s, the canals played a key role in the settling of Paulding County, an area that was once a part of the Great Black Swamp. They held the promise of easier and quicker passenger transportation and commodity shipping and Junction became a landmark for fugitive slaves escaping to Canada. Once a thriving and growing community, the village of Junction became a forgotten historical note with the passing of the canal era and the coming of the railroads. Today, the Buckeye Trail and North County Trail follow the canal path through Paulding County.

862 OH-416
New Philadelphia

, OH

Seeking an alternative transportation route to distant markets, many farmers and manufacturers in Ohio wanted to connect the Ohio River to Lake Erie with a canal. Beginning in Cleveland the Ohio-Erie Canal ran south, the length of the state, to Portsmouth. The canal was a total of 308 miles long, 40 feet wide at the surface, and 4 feet deep. The Ohio-Erie Canal opened for traffic along its entire length in 1832 and consequently effected great change. Population along the canal increased, and commercial, political, and industrial growth in Ohio boomed. Products grown and manufactured in this previously isolated region now had access to world markets. Profits for farmers and merchants increased, and the entire state economy was bolstered. With the rise of railroads in the 1860s, however, canals were destined to become obsolete because the railroad was a faster and more dependable means of transportation. The canal system ceased to operate altogether after a disastrous flood in 1913.

1258 Main St
Evansport

, OH

Evansport is named after brothers Amos and Albert G. Evans who, with Jacob Coy, had the village surveyed next to the Tiffin River on December 14, 1835. The “port” suffix in Evansport’s name reflects the river’s significance as a transportation thoroughfare. Evansport’s early growth was spurred by its mills powered by the Tiffin River. The mills provided settlers with lumber for buildings and supplied flour and cornmeal for sustenance and commerce. Settlers who poured into Williams County’s northern townships in the 1830s agitated debate about moving the county seat to a more centralized location. Evansport was platted as a possible site for the county seat. The Williams County seat was moved to Bryan in 1840 and in 1845 Defiance County was created, leaving Evansport on the Williams-Defiance county line.