Two Ohio post-secondary institutions are bucking the trend of locating new facilities in the midst of urban sprawl, instead choosing to invest in Ohio communities through launching new downtown operations. In both cases, current buildings are being renovated.
Miami Universityhas recently announced that it will be relocating its Applied Research Center to the former Bank One building in downtown Middletown. The Bank One building occupies the primary bank corner downtown, a location of significance to Middletown history. A downtown location was made possible by the use of technologies, primarily fiber optics, that will effectively link the Applied Research Center to the Miami University-Middletown Campus.
In Mount Vernon, city leaders are thrilled with the decision of the Central Ohio Technical College to locate its Knox County campus in the former Colonial Theater building, located on South Main Street. The new facility will be in the same block (on the other side of the street) as The Woodward Opera House, America's oldest opera house, which is undergoing a multi-million dollar restoration. The commitment of COTC to downtown Mount Vernon came as a direct result of coordinated community support and fundraising. The college has purchased the building, and limited operations will begin there this Fall.
Kudos to Miami and COTC for these outstanding investments in Ohio's downtowns.
Photo Credit: "5 to 2 in Mount Vernon Ohio" - St. Paul's Episcopal and Knox County Courthouse, Downtown Mount Vernon/simplyjake/Creative Commons License
Here’s a sampling of recent blog posts that discuss revitalization and Ohio history:
Great Lakes Guy profiles the status of the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, which will connect downtown Cleveland with the University Circle area.
The BJ Retirees Blog, which connects former employees of the Akron Beacon Journal, discusses the recent announcement of major donations by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. These multi-million dollar donations include a sum to jump-start a major downtown neighborhood revitalization project.
The author of My Celtic Ramblings shares a glowing account of his evening at last week’s “All Hallow’s Eve” at the Ohio Village, adjacent to the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus. In his words, it was “…one of the greatest nights I had had in a long time.” Included are several photos of the evening's festivities.
The recent dedication of an Ohio Historical Marker at the site of The Ohio State University’s first home football game was featured in BuckeyePlanet Forums.
GreenCityBlueLake joins blogs discussing the fate of the Cleveland Trust Tower, slated for demolition by the Cuyahoga County Commissioners, including coverage of a recent public forum on the issue.
The blog of the Museum of Western Reserve Farms and Equipment asks for assistance in rescuing the Abbeyville one-room school house. The Museum complex includes “…26 buildings including what may be the largest surviving early blacksmith shop in Ohio, the oldest barn in the state, the Stouffer farm (where the mega-corporation began) smoke house and one of the largest surviving post and beam barns in Summit Co.”
Photo Credit: Downtown Akron from the top of the Akron Beacon Journal Building - BohPhoto/Creative Commons License
In New Richmond, an Ohio River community of 2,500 nestled along the banks of the Ohio River in Clermont County, residents are celebrating receipt of a United States Department of Transportation grant aimed at boosting local heritage tourism.
According to this Community Press & Recorder story, the $190,000 funding through the National Scenic Byways Program will aid in the construction of a river observation deck in the midst of the village’s downtown area. Village economic development officials are hoping that once there, visitors will proceed to shop in local shops and eat in local restaurants.
The new deck is part of an overall economic development strategy with heritage and cultural tourism as its focus. Construction comes at a time when investment is being made into local heritage attractions, such as the Dr. John Rogers House. According to the story, “Rogers is known for, among other things, being the doctor who delivered President Ulysses S. Grant, being the first president of the Clermont County Anti-Slavery Society and working to help fund the abolitionist newspaper The Philanthropist.”
Click here to access the website of Historic New Richmond, a local group dedicated to preserving the history of this unique and valuable Ohio place.
A trip down a county road near Mount Vernon in Knox County this Fall will bring you face-to-face with something your grandparents might have recognized.
Most of us may be a bit young to remember Burma-Shave signs, which graced many highways across the country several decades ago. Signs would be placed one after another in a series, spelling out a verse that invariably included a bad pun.
Fast forward to the present, and a new series of Burma-Shave-like signs are popping up in farm fields – this time promoting the idea of farmland preservation and sustainable growth. According to this story in a recent edition of the Mount Vernon News, the idea was hatched by a farmer in Portage County, Ohio as a part of his campaign to promote Ohio farms.
These Save-A-Farm signs now have their own website, which not only includes a selection of jingles, but also includes links to resources about farmland preservation – and what you can do to promote the future of Ohio farming.
In the meantime, keep your eye out for the verses like the following:
“Carrots from out west/Greens and all the rest/Import them? Why, oh?/Farm in Ohio!”
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has recently announced the publication of an updated version of a map which depicts Ohio’s original land subdivisions - from the largest areas to the smallest sections and ranges.
The new map clearly delineates the myriad system of land divisions that occurred in the settlement of Ohio. Many sections of land were set aside for specific purposes. The Firelands, for instance, represented land given to “fire sufferers” from the area surrounding Norwalk, Connecticut, who were the target of British raids during the American Revolution. The Ohio Company Purchase was made through the efforts of the Ohio Company of Associates, a land investment and development group headed by the likes of General Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Samuel Parsons and Manasseh Cutler. The United States Military District lands, which included the modern counties of Delaware, Knox, Licking, Coschoton and others, were given in compensation for the service of soliders of the American Revolution – although many of the recipients sold their land without ever reaching Ohio.
Interestingly, Ohio cities and towns in each of these sections developed somewhat differently, as street configurations, building styles, and even street names tended to be consistent within each district.
Several of the smaller subdivisions of land are not included on the map, but are a part of the GIS-based files which are also available from the ODNR. The wall map itself is a great deal for only $15!
Recent media stories have profiled the dramatic rise of Halloween as America’s second-best “decorating holiday,” with a full 67% of consumers buying some form of spooky decoration - $4.96 billion dollars worth, according to the National Retail Federation.
Ohioans certainly get into the holiday “spirit” each October, and across the state older houses and buildings with interesting pasts open their doors to greet visitors. Whether you believe in such things or not, the stories can be fascinating – and local historical societies and building owners can take in needed operational income.
At least two haunted Buckeye buildings open to the public this Halloween season:
In Mansfield, the Ohio State Reformatory, home of the world’s largest free-standing steel cell block, welcomes thousands of visitors to the “Haunted Prison Experience.” The Reformatory has served as a movie set for well-known films such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Air Force One.” Its sits just north of US 30 near downtown Mansfield, and is one of the largest castle-like structures in the world.
On October 27 and 28, the amazing Prospect Place north of Zanesville will host three sets of haunted tours of the 29-room mansion. The house has a documented association with Ohio’s Underground Railroad, and when constructed in 1856 it featured several innovations, including a pressurized central water system and the first flush toilets in Muskingum County.
If you prefer to visit spooky places from the comfort of your own home or office, a virtual visit may be in order. The website of the Ohio Exploration Society, for instance, includes links to virtual visits to dozens of Ohio’s older and abandoned structures, including houses, commercial buildings, factories and more - such over four pages of photos of the Mast Castle in Springfield (pictured to the left). And, if you have the urge, the site features a geographical index to “hauntings and legends of Ohio.”
Photo Credits: Mansfield Reformatory/Used with permission for 2005 Most Endangered Historic Sites/Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society; Prospect Place, Used with permission; Ohio Exploration Society screenshot
The 2006 Tall Stacks Music, Arts and Heritage Festival has now concluded in Cincinnati, an event which is estimated to bring at least $45 million into the local economy.
According to this story in the Cincinnati Post, one of the highlights of the Festival was a steady stream of top-notch musical entertainment performing along the banks of the Ohio River. The Tall Stacks Festival had returned to Cincy after a three-year absence, bringing with it 16 riverboats arriving from as far away as Galveston and New Orleans. The oldest boat on the Ohio, the 1914 Belle of Louisville, also made a visit.
The history of steamboat traffic down the Ohio is a storied one. In 1848, when the famous eight-pate daguerreotype of the waterfront in Cincinnati was taken, over 50 steamboats were docked; in the year 1852 alone, almost 8,000 riverboats visited the Queen City, many associated with the community’s renowned pork-packing industry.
To get a feel for the event, click on the arrow below and take a minute to “hop on board” the Belle of Louisville as it comes into town.
The 2006 Ohio Historic Preservation Office Awards were announced last Saturday, and this year’s list of honored projects is a varied and outstanding one. According to the Press Release from the Ohio Historical Society, award winners include:
Historic restoration and renovation projects in Akron, Cincinnati, Chilo (Clermont County), Cleveland, Dayton, Delaware and Springfield (this includes the restoration of the 1848 Montgomery County Courthouse in Dayton, pictured here).
A project to restore a historic statue in Mahoning County;
Displays, media productions and ongoing public relations efforts in Cincinnati, Columbus (German Village) and in the “Little Cities of Black Diamonds” area;
A new map and guide for the Muskingum Valley Water Trail in Southeast Ohio.
To read about the 2006 Award recipients, please click here. To review past winners of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office Awards, click here.
Photo Credit: 1848 Montgomery County Courthouse/Public Domain
On October 27 and 28, the amazing 
