Throughout the years and continuing on through today there have been many books written about Ottawa County’s people and places. Here on the Society’s Library Shelf we are providing information on books known to us along with a short description and where you may obtain a copy. We believe the more you know about Ottawa County, the more you’ll want to participate in that history by becoming a member of the Ottawa County Historical Society. Click here for membership information and an application.  We have not included in this Library Shelf, full descriptions for publications listed on our "Shop" page (History of Ottawa County--The First 175 Years, the Page & Stage Oral Histories, etc.)  To view the Society's books for sale, please visit our "Shop" page here.

Good reading!

By Category

(click on an individual title for complete book information, unless otherwise noted)

Events

Battle of Lake Erie/War of 1812:

      A Signal Victory, The Lake Erie Campaign 1812-1813

People

Adolphus Kraemer: A Man of Vision for Oak Harbor and Salem Township

Ernst Niebergall: Sandusky's Photographer

Henry Procter (British Commander, War of 1812): A Wampum Denied

History of the 41st Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry

Places

Catawba Island:

     Geology of Catawba Island

Elmore:

     Brown House Stories, A Child's Garden of Eden

     Clock of the Covenant

     Elmore and Genoa

Islands of Lake Erie (and more): 

     Enchanting Isles of Erie

     Lake Erie's Shores and Islands

Johnson's Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers

Kelleys Island

Oak Harbor:

     Footprints in a Small Town

     Oak Harbor, Images of America Series

Ottawa County "History of Ottawa County--The First 175 Years" (see our "Shop" page for full description)

Ottawa County "Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. II"

Ottawa County "Along the Highways and Waterways" (see our "Shop" page for full description)

Port Clinton, The Peninsula and Bass Islands

Things

Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad

Lights at the Portage, A History of the Port Clinton Light Station, 1833-1952 (see our "Shop" page for full description)

Marblehead Lighthouse on Lake Erie (see our "Shop" page for full description)

Put-In-Bay: The Construction of Perry's Monument

Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway

By Title, alphabetically

41st Ohio Veterans Volunteer Infantry, History of
By Robert Kimberly and Ephraim Holloway
Blue Acorn Press
Enhanced reprint of 1897 edition

From Shiloh in April 1862 to the decisive victory at Nashville in December 1864, few Union regiments in the Civil War's western theater forged better service records than the 41st Ohio. It's first colonel, William B. Hazen, was succeeded by Aquila Wiley who after losing a leg was succeeded by the authors of this history, Kimberly and Holloway. Recruited from nine northeast Ohio counties, the 41st saw action in most of the major western battles. 'Company I' was formed in Port Clinton with men from the area. Familiar names found in the book include Rymers, Miller, Brown, Wonnell, Silverwood, Gill, Bodie, Bell, Davenport, Minier and Valequette. Of 1,423 officers and men who belonged to the regiment throughout the war, 667 became casualties, including 176 killed or mortally wounded. Kimberly's and Holloway's history of the 41st Ohio, described by Ohio Civil War bibliographer Daniel J. Ryan as "an intelligent and accurate narrative," was first published in 1897. This enhanced Blue Acorn Press reprint features a new index and 30 wartime portraits not part of the original edition. Available from Blue&GrayMagazine.com.

 

The Brown House Stories: A Child's Garden of Eden
By Nyle Kardatzke
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
2015

While World War II raged elsewhere, a three-year old boy was awakening to the world in the Ohio farmhouse south of Graytown where he lived with his parents and two brothers. Most of the stories of that awakening time are based on the author’s detailed memories. Other stories are fictionalized accounts of events the author knows only through his parents’ accounts. The stories may be especially appealing to older adults who experienced the early 1940's. Available on Amazon.

 

The Clock of the Covenant
By Nyle Kardatzke
Xulon Press
2016

A passenger train collided with a family car in Fremont, Ohio in 1913, killing a mother and a firstborn son. Out of that tragedy, a small church of farmers, factory workers, carpenters, and teachers formed in a northwestern Ohio town called Elmore. One Sunday in 1945, a young boy thought he heard his minister say that God's people had carried the promises of God wherever they went in the "clock of the covenant" and assumed it was the very clock that hung in the boy's church, Elmore Church of God, in Elmore. That revelation and the boy's best memories about that small church, its people, and their ways of "doing church" in postwar America became the basis for this collection of stories. Available on Amazon.

 

Elmore and Genoa, Images of America Series
By Jen Fording on behalf of the Harris-Elmore Public Library
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
2011

The villages of Elmore and Genoa have held a friendly rivalry since the 1860s. Though each has made its own name in Ottawa County, Ohio, both share a rich heritage that instills small-town curiosities with a strong sense of community pride. Elmore is known as being the home of Schedel Arboretum and Gardens, the headless motorcyclist ghost, the Elmore car, and professional softball pitcher Carl "Sox" Wainwright. Not to be outdone, Genoa, one of the major producers of white lime in the country, showcases world-renown artist Jan Pugh and National Register of Historic Places sites such as the Genoa Town Hall and the Old School Privy. Both area histories have boasted pioneers that tamed the Black Swamp, prosperous businesses, major transportation centers, and stories of overcoming personal tragedies. Elmore and Genoa takes readers back to a time that was simpler to see two villages grow into places where the past can come alive through the actions and memories of its people. The book is available for purchase on arcadiapublishing.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, elmorehistoricalsociety.com and the Harris-Elmore Public Library.

 

Footprints in a Small Town
By David Michael Lee
Footprint Publications
2018

I grew up in Oak Harbor, Ohio in the 1960s and 1970s. I carry memories of innocence, happiness, joy, and at times, pain, hurt, and loss. They have made me who I am. I have re-traced the footprints that I could find, and I have put them into words. My greatest hope is that, in reading this book, you may be reminded of the special times in your life too, even if some of them were difficult. I know that all of us have stories from our youth. These footprints and stories are mine. Available on Amazon and the online stores of Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

 

 

 

Geology of Catawba Island
By Charles E. Herdendorf, Ph.D.
Catawba Island Historical Society, Catawba Island, OH
2020

Covers the geologic setting of Catawba Island and vicinity: its natural physical features, bedrock formations, and glacial aspects, as well as the contemporary geological processes that continue to shape the island. Additional topics include a regional description, historical geology, Portage River, fossil assemblage, glacial/holocene geology, geobotanical relationships, and geology in Catawba Island history and folklore. Copies only available at Catawba Museum located in Union Chapel, E. Porter Street, Catawba Island. See Historical Society website for contact information and directions at www.catawbaislandhistoricalsociety.com.

 

 

Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio
By Henry Howe
Krehbiel & Co., Printers and Binders, Cincinnati, OH
1888

Two volume seminal and much honored work on Ohio history.  Ottawa County is referenced in Volume II on pages 359 to 372.  Copies available in libraries and amazon.

 

Enchanting Isles of Erie
By Harry H. Ross
Self-published
1949

Historic sketches of romantic battle of Lake Erie, Oliver Hazard Perry, Put-in-Bay, Lakeside, Kelleys Island, Middle Bass, Johnson’s Island, Catawaba, North Bass, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Port Clinton, and other islands and resorts. Each summer for ten years, the author engaged in conducting daily tours from Lakeside, Ohio, to Put-in-Bay, Kelleys Island, and the other islands of Lake Erie. He spent most of his summers at Lakeside and the islands. 68 pages with maps. Available on Amazon and selected libraries.

 

Johnson's Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers
By Roger Pickenpaugh
The Kent State University Press, Kent, OH
2016

From Amazon: In 1861, Lt. Col. William Hoffman was appointed to the post of commissary general of prisoners and urged to find a suitable site for the construction of what was expected to be the Union’s sole military prison. After inspecting four islands in Lake Erie, Hoffman came upon one in Sandusky Bay known as Johnson’s Island. With a large amount of fallen timber, forty acres of cleared land, and its proximity to Sandusky, Ohio, Johnson’s Island seemed the ideal location for the Union’s purpose. By the following spring, Johnson’s Island prison was born. Johnson’s Island tells the story of the camp from its planning stages until the end of the war. Because the facility housed only officers, several literate diary keepers were on hand; author Roger Pickenpaugh draws on their accounts, along with prison records, to provide a fascinating depiction of day-to-day life. Hunger, boredom, harsh conditions, and few luxuries were all the prisoners knew until the end of the war, when at last parts of Johnson’s Island were auctioned off, the post was ordered abandoned, and the island was mustered out of service. There has not been a book dedicated to Johnson’s Island since 1965. Roger Pickenpaugh presents an eloquent and knowledgeable overview of a prison that played a tremendous role in the lives of countless soldiers. It is a book sure to interest Civil War buffs and scholars alike. The book is available from amazon.com.

Kelleys Island
By Leslie Korenko
The Wine Press
2009-2016

A 6-book series covering the history of Kelleys Island from 1810 to 1893:  The first is 1810 to 1861 (The Courageous, Poignant & Often Quirky Lives of Island Pioneers); 1862 to 1865 (The Civil War, the Island Soldiers and the Island Queen); 1866 to 1871 (The Lodge, Suffrage & Baseball); 1872 to 1876 (The Hotels, the Telegraph and the Lime Company); 1877 to 1884 (The Fire, the Great Grooves, and a Mysterious Disappearance); and the last, 1885 to 1893 (the Final Chapter).  Since they run in chronological order, each book is a comprehensive, richly detailed, and surprisingly entertaining history of life during that time period. Its history is told by the islanders, in their own words, gently blended with narrative text. The author has simply given them a voice. You can read correspondence and letters to newspapers, as well as articles found in an incredible handwritten newspaper-The Islander. The island is now a resort, but 175 years ago it was the wilderness. These are stories of the early squatters who occupied this wild, unsettled and remote part of Ohio and how the community grew and flourished. There are stories about Port Clinton, the Johnson’s Island Confederate Prison, and Put-in-Bay. For people doing genealogy – this is a remarkable source of stories about the various families who resided on the Island. Leslie is the winner of the Henry Howe Award for outstanding Ohio History. Leslie’s books are available at her website (www.kelleysislandstory.com)and Amazon.com.

Adolphus Kraemer, A Man of Vision for Oak Harbor and Salem Township
By Reed Oestreich
Creekside Publishing Company, OH
2017

Did you ever wonder why Oak Harbor had two first mayors? Why was Adolphus Kraemer called the 'Father of Oak Harbor'? Did you ever sing Oak Harbor's song entitled "Beautiful Oak Harbor"? Adolphus Kraemer was a very intelligent gentleman who emigrated to America from Germany and lived in Toledo just before coming to what is now the Village of Oak Harbor. Times were rough for the early Black Swamp pioneers but Adolphus could see the positive aspects of the area with a tremendous supply of many varieties of trees for lumber and wonderful loam soil which later with tiling and diking would make the area tremendous for agriculture. Soon the great Portage River that led to Lake Erie would become a great transportation system, with stores, stave factories, homes, churches, schools, hotels, etc. coming into being. The Village grew to become a great place to live, work, and raise a family. The author, Reed Oestreich, grew up in Graytown and currently resides in Oak Harbor. The book is available directly from the author or at the Community Market in Oak Harbor and Bassett's Market in Port Clinton.

 

 

 

Lake Erie's Shores and Islands, Images of America Series
By John Hildebrandt and Marie Hildebrandt
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
2015

From Arcadia Publishing: For 150 years, people have come to rest, relax, and recharge in the area from Vermilion to Port Clinton, south to Milan, Bellevue, and Fremont, and north to Sandusky, Cedar Point, the Marblehead Peninsula, and the Lake Erie Islands. Lake Erie is the constant in this fascinating story, the natural resource that gives the region its character and charm. Quaint wineries, world-class roller coasters, amusement parks, water toboggans, indoor and outdoor water parks, lake steamers and jet boats, cottage communities, sportfishing, swimming, sailing, boating, camping, historical sites, caverns, museums, beaches, Civil War history, resort hotels, religious retreats, and natural wonders―Lake Erie’s shores and islands have a rich tourism and recreation history. The book is available for purchase on arcadiapublishing.com.

 

 

 

The Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad
By Dean K. Fick
Montevallo Historical Press
2003

The Lakeside & Marblehead Railroad was a seven mile Ohio line located in eastern Ottawa County. While it began in 1886 as a sparsely traveled passenger hauler, it soon became one of the most profitable railroads in the country. Using standard gauge steam switch locomotives, the L&M consistently hauled more tonnage and earned more revenue per mile than many larger and more boastful roads. Investors built the line to serve the burgeoning lime industry of Marblehead and heavy seasonal passenger traffic to Lakeside, the Marblehead Peninsula’s summer resort. The railroad had nearly perished when the Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company, a prosperous basic materials company, merged it, along with area stone quarry operations, into the what was the world’s largest limestone production facility. Available as a hardbound volume and e-book at mhpress.com, amazon.com, and ebay.com.

 

 

Oak Harbor, Images of America Series
By Frank Gluth, John Liske, and Richard Martin
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
2013

The Images of America book on Oak Harbor was written by three Oak Harbor history buffs---Frank Gluth, John Liske, and Richard Martin. It was published in 2013 and is available (or can be ordered) at any Barnes and Noble bookstore, online at Amazon.com; or through the publisher at Arcadia.com. It can also sometimes be found at local Ottawa County retail outlets and gift shops. If all else fails, contact one of the authors at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will see that you get a copy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Port Clinton, The Peninsula, and the Bass Islands, Images of America Series
By Sally Sue Witten
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
2000

From Arcadia Publishing: Nestled between Toledo and Cleveland near the Sandusky Bay is a quiet lake region, a haven for vacationers and permanent residents alike. Claiming 107 miles of Lake Erie’s coastline, Eastern Ottawa County, Ohio, is home to several coastal communities, including the small city of Port Clinton, the placid land masses of the Bass Islands, and the Marblehead Peninsula, home to a popular lighthouse. The author's window into this area, however, never overlooks the labor required to create and sustain its resort attractions. We meet the train conductors, teachers, mail carriers, ice harvesters, and community leaders who helped put Ottawa County on the map. We are offered many glimpses of boats on local waterways, some delivering fish, others ferrying passengers to the island, and still others in advance of their service during war time. And we are delivered a rare view of the many buildings that sadly failed to survive the area’s catastrophic fires. This book is a living testimony to the rich and varied history of Ohio’s Lake Erie communities. Resort oasis to some, manufacturing center to others, Ottawa County’s texture and detail are brought vividly to life in this absorbing Images of America volume. The book is available for purchase at arcadiapublishing.com.

 

 

 

Put-In-Bay: The Construction of Perry's Monument, Images of America Series
By Jeff Kissell
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
2001

From Arcadia Publishing: "We have met the enemy and they are ours. . . ." So wrote Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry to General William Henry Harrison following his decisive victory over a British fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie. Perry's victory served as a catalyst both for this battle and for ending hostilities in the Old Northwest Theater of the War of 1812. Captured here in over 200 vintage images from the Monument archives, is a pictorial and technical record of how a monument befitting this naval victory and the resulting peace became a reality. During the remainder of his life, the country heralded Perry as a national hero whose bravery and fortitude enabled the U.S. to win, or gain an honorable peace from, its war with England. A deserving result of this victory was creation of a monument to honor Perry and his men. The story of the construction of the monument is as thrilling as the bravery that inspired it-seen here are the original photographs taken by prominent Put-in-Bay photographer G. Otto Herbster, capturing the builders, architects, mishaps, and triumphs that occurred during the construction of one of Ohio's most revered treasures. The book is available for purchase at arcadiapubishing.com.

 

 

 

 

Sandusky's Photographer: The Real Photo Postcards of Ernst Niebergall
By Jim Semon Sr., Roger Dickman and Jeff Brown
Adkins & Company
2018

A 128-page soft cover book consisting of 246 postcards with well-researched captions covering north central Ohio from Amherst to Fremont and south to Milan in 11 chapters. The Firelands Postcard Club gives Mr. Niebergall deserved recognition for the variety of subject matter and historical images he recorded with his camera. He was creative and tried new photographic techniques such as capturing images of speeding trains or seagulls in flight with his focal plane shutter equipped cameras. Book is available at the Sandusky Maritime Museum and the Kelleys Island Historical Society gift shop with other area retail outlets planned. May also be purchased by mailing a $25 check payable to the Firelands Postcard Club with mailing address to the Firelands Postcard Club, P.O.. Box, 351, Huron, OH, 44839.

 

 

 

 

 

A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign 1812-1813
By David Curtis Skaggs and Gerald T. Althoff
Naval Institute Press
2012

From Amazon: This book draws on British, Canadian, and American documents to offer a totally impartial analysis of all sides of the struggle to control the lake. New diagrams of the battle are included that reflect the authors' modification of traditional positions of various vessels. The book also evaluates the strategic background and tactical conduct of the British and the Americans and the command leadership exercised by Perry and his British opponent, Commander Robert H. Barclay. Not since James Fenimore Cooper's 1843 book on the subject has the battle been examined in such detail, and not since Alfred Thayer Mahan's 1905 study of the war has there been such a significant reinterpretation of the engagement. First published in hardcover in 1997, the book is the winner of the North American Society for Oceanic History's John Lyman Book Award. Available on Amazon

 

 

 

The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway
By George W. Hilton
Montevallo Historical Press
1997

At the dawn of the twentieth century, before good roads were common and everybody owned an automobile, Northwestern Ohio was the home of the Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway. The TPC&L began operating in 1905 and didn’t entirely close until 1958, decades after other railways like it had given up. This book, first published in 1964, contains the story of the line as told by noted transportation authority George W. Hilton, including its construction in the days of “interurban fever”, the boats that carried passengers from Marblehead to Cedar Point and Sandusky, its varied rolling stock, accidents, and more. Available as a softbound volume and e-book at mhpress.com, amazon.com, and ebay.com.

 

 

 

 

A Wampum Denied: Procter's War of 1812
By Sandy Antal
McGill-Queen's University Press, 2nd Edition, Montreal & Kingston, London, Ithica
2011

From Amazon: Reassesses the much-maligned career of Henry Procter, commander of the British forces. Traces the Canadian/British/Native side of the conflict and casts new light on an allied military strategy that very nearly succeeded, but when it failed, failed spectacularly. Ottawa County referenced. Available from Amazon.