World Heritage Sites are sites (including natural and man-made places) that are so designated by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, an international body charged with cataloging and preserving sites “of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of mankind,” according to Wikipedia. Sites must meet one of ten listed criteria and be of “outstanding universal value.”

The website of the World Heritage Committee includes a list of current World Heritage Sites, among which are approximately 20 properties in the United States, ranging from Yellowstone National park to Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

At present, the United States, through the National Park Service, is compiling a list of 20 to 25 potential nominations as World Heritage Sites over the next 10 years – and the Ohio Historical Society and the Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park are soliciting public support for two proposed Ohio nominations to be among them:  a general Hopewell Culture nomination which would include the Newark Earthworks, Fort Ancient and the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, and a separate nomination for Serpent Mound in Adams County. Public support is deemed crucial in this process, and letters and other expressions of support are strongly encouraged.

For more information, please visit this special page on the Ohio Historical Society website, where you can read more about the nominations and the nomination process, and where you can find contact information to register your support. Click here to learn more about Serpent Mound and to follow links to information on the Hopewell, Fort Ancient and Adena cultures.

Photo: Fort Ancient Earthworks, Warren County - berriehol/Creative Commons License

An increasing number of non-profit organizations nationwide are taking advantage of the phenomenon of social networking to expand the reach of their message. Many of those organizations have done so by creating sites on MySpace, the leading social networking site that boasts over 100 million subscribers.

The potential of this medium has not been lost on preservation, history and revitalization organizations nationwide, many of whom now have a presence on MySpace. This past year, this trend has hit Ohio, and now both local and statewide groups have joined the site, building new networks of communication and cooperation.

In the summer of 2006, the venerable Ohio Historical Society opened its MySpace site (www.myspace.com/ohiohistory), which includes a blog covering Society programs and events. Local Ohio sites have also joined, including one for supporters of historic theaters of Youngstown, the Franklin Castle in Cleveland, and Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, among others.

In January, Preservation Ohio joined in the fun, becoming the first statewide preservation organization nationally to do so. Our site was designed by Judd Palmer, the 17-year-old son of our Executive Director, and can be found at www.myspace.com/preservationohio. The site includes a slide show of past Ohio’s Most Endangered Properties, and links to this blog. Come on in, take a look around, and please visit our friends – a group which is growing daily.

Preservation Ohio joins other statewide history-related organizations for Statehood Day 2007.

You too can join Ohioans at the historic Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus on Thursday, March 1 to commemorate the founding of Ohio by advocating for the issues important to suitably preserve our state’s history. Join us at the Statehouse Atrium on Statehood Day from 10 am – 4 pm for special guest remarks, a luncheon and meetings with state legislators. Governor Ted Strickland has been invited to speak at lunch.

Please visit the Statehood Day webpage for more information by clicking here.

Statehood Day activities were established in 2006 as an annual gathering of Ohioans who represent history and heritage interests from communities throughout the state. History organizations including the Ohio Historical Society, Heritage Ohio, the Ohio Archaeological Council, the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums (OAHSM), the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB), Preservation Ohio, the Society of Ohio Archivists and the Ohio Genealogical Society are all major stakeholders in Statehood Day. Together, the collective voices of Ohio’s historical societies, preservation groups, archaeological organizations, downtown Main Street centers, archival institutions and genealogical societies are united.

For more details on Statehood Day, including the latest list of legislative priorities to be presented, contact Preservation Ohio at 1-888-887-2577, or e-mail Executive Director Thomas Palmer at: tpalmer@preservationohio.org. To RSVP for Statehood Day, please contact Todd Kleismit, the Ohio Historical Society’s director of government relations, at tkleismit@ohiohistory.org or at (614) 297-2355 no later than Feb. 16.

Ohio's history needs your voice.  Please come and help us make the case that History Works! for Ohio.

Here are five quick links to repositories of information and material concerning Ohio history:

National Register of Historic Places -- Independent website with individual and district listings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ohio Historic Inventory, Butler County – Complete listing of Ohio Historic Inventory forms for Butler County, Ohio, including PDFs of each form.

Panoramic Maps in the Library of Congress Collection for Ohio communities, dating from 1847 to 1929.

Ohio Memory – An Online Scrapbook of Ohio History – Includes over 26,000 primary sources for 330 archival repositories, and presented by several organizations and institutions, including the Ohio Historical Society.

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History – the first complete online urban history encyclopedia.

Photo: Downtown Youngstown, from panoramic map of Youngstown, circa 1882/Public Domain

Akron... The Highland Theater on West Market Street in Akron faces imminent demolition, according to this recent story from WKYC television. Opened in 1936, the Highland received a half-million dollar renovation in 2000, and has shown first-run movies for the last two years. The story notes surprise and concern expressed by neighborhood residents. A photo of the Highland facade and marquee is available here.

Cleveland... It was a bizarre accident, and one that may prove costly to local history. On January 10, a motorist crashed into one of the bases of the Euclid Beach Park Arch, the sole surviving remnant of the Euclid Beach Amusement Park. Click here for a story, photos and video. Euclid Beach Amusement Park, which closed in 1969, is profiled in this Wikipedia article. As of the time of this entry, there is no further word on whether or not the arch can be saved – although preservation clearly has the support of the local ward councilman.

Indian Hill... A metal, wood and glass modular house constructed in 1952 and designed by architect Woodie Garber is in danger of possible loss as a local developer has requested a demolition permit for the property, according to this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Garber designed several other houses in Cincinnati area, as well as the main building of Cincinnati-Hamilton County Public Library. Although only a bit over 50 years old, the uniqueness of design and quality of construction has caught attention of Cincinnati Preservation Association, which is advocating for its future.

Photo: Euclid Beach Park Arch, Cleveland/Stu_Spivak/Creative Commons License

Our second look at recent stories from across the country looks at a situation in Virginia that highlights a growing national challenge for historic preservation.

Carter’s Grove is a Virginia plantation, including an extraordinary 1755 brick Georgian house. Through a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation, the house came into possession of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1964, although it remains furnished as it was in 1928.

Over the last few years, the Foundation has reevaluated its ownership of the estate, based on its non-period interior, the distance between Williamsburg and the site, and possibly the ongoing cost of maintenance, and has announced that it will make Carter’s Grove available for sale.

As a recent story in the New York Times revealed (click here to read excepts from that story in the Seattle Times), some lovers of historic architecture from Virginia and across the country have cried “foul” at these plans. While the estate will be protected by a historic conservation easement, there will apparently be no requirement, for instance, that the house will be open to the public. This fact, as well as the fact that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has publicly supported the sale, has many preservationists concerned about the precedent set by Carter Grove’s sale.

Click here to access the full New York Times article (NOTE: cost required). Preservation Ohio has a copy of this story, which includes a discussion of other historic museum houses which have been put up for sale, budget problems at sites like Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and more quotes concerning the nature of the precedent that will be established with the Carter’s Grove sale and the National Trust’s involvement.

Interestingly, this sale comes at a time when other house museums, even the largest, have enjoyed success at using branding to generate revenue (click here to read about Biltmore's efforts).

Ohio is certainly not immune to these issues. The large number of historic house and building museums across the state are owned by a variety of interests, including local historical societies, local preservation organizations, municipalities, and certainly the Ohio Historical Society. Over the last two years, a situation similar to Carter’s Grove has played out along Whitewoman Street in Ohio’s only fully-restored canal village, Roscoe Village in Coshocton County, where the Roscoe Village Foundation sought and obtained court permission to sell a portion of its holdings to private owners. As this Columbus Dispatch story details, the Foundation’s actions were taken in part in light of a $19 million deficit and a desire to re-focus their attention from property management to public education. The village’s Roscoe Inn was sold to the Central Ohio Technical College for use as a new college campus.

Photo: Roscoe Village - RLA42/CreativeCommonsLicense

A sampling of recent posts from state and national blogs which touch on Ohio preservation and revitalization:

REALNEO features a post titled “Give former Governor Taft credit for signing Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit into Law.” The post highlights provisions of the new legislation as well as solicits thanks for the bill’s sponsors in the General Assembly.

Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio looks at a new bed-and-breakfast planned for the community, to be located in an 1890 brick Italianate house on West Winter Street.

A recent posting on Blogging Ohio looks at “Marysville, a historic town of then and now,” which profiles reasons to make the short trip from Columbus to visit the community.

This past June, the Ohio Archeology Blog was launched, which provides “Current archaeological activities, updates and discussion from the staff of the Ohio Historical Society.” Recent stories include a review of the Midwest Archeological Conference, a review of a story that reveals the ancestry of the famed Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket, and an ongoing series profiling field work being conducted with Urbana University.

And – while not a blog – the city of Vermilion now has its own “wiki,” called “My Vermilion.” According to Wikipedia, a “wiki” is a website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit change available content.” Already on MyVermilion, visitors can access information about the community, including local history and landmarks, as well as pages created by area residents. It is definitely worth a look.

Photo: Union County Courthouse, Marysville - fusionpanda/CreativeCommonsLicense

Although this site concentrates on stories concerning Ohio’s historic resources, revitalization, heritage tourism and sustainable growth, occasionally stories from elsewhere impact the past of our state or highlight universal preservation issues. We will look at two such stories this week, the first concerning the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania.

Ohio has a special connection to that hallowed ground. The Ohio At Gettysburg website, for instance, profiles the numerous Buckeye infantry, cavalry and artillery units that were a part of that three-day battle in July, 1863. Over 4,400 Ohioans participated in the conflict, and almost thirty percent of them were killed. Without question, Ohio was well-represented in this pivotal battle and has a vested interest in what happens to the battlefield.

With good reason, therefore, Ohioans joined other Americans in advocating for keeping Gettysburg free from overtly non-sympathetic commercial intrusion. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Civil War Preservation Trust, collections of Civil War historians and others lobbied the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to reject an application for a 5,000 slot machine casino that would have been constructed a mile from the battlefield. Casino backers had the strong support of the Adams County business community and local politicians, and suggested that at least 2,000 jobs would be created in the project.

On December 20, the application was rejected.

As this coverage in Preservation Online points out, however, the victory may be a somewhat hallow one, as the site already features a Wal-Mart and commercial strip center.

Photo: Marker for 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Gettysburg Battlefield, Erected by the State of Ohio - jeffq/Creative Commons License