History/Mystery Trail

In Allen Township beginning in 1817 a number of Ottawa lived on the Indian Reserves on the Miami of Lake Erie and its vicinity. Following the Treaty with the Ottawa, March 22, 1833, most moved to Canada. Victoria Cadaract was born in 1828 on the Reservation and lived her whole life in the Curtice area, where she eked out a living as a basket maker. In 1915, following a fall that broke her leg, she died at the County Infirmary in Oak Harbor of pneumonia.

Founded by William “Billy” Clark, Clay Center, like nearby Genoa, was home to its own quarry, providing lime to distant markets as well as crushed stone to meet demand for the local construction industry.  The town was fortunate to find itself on what geologists called the Findlay Arch, a band running from near Findlay, Ohio north into southeastern Michigan and on into southwestern Ontario.  Products from this arch were found to be of particularly high quality.  The Old Village Grade School is the last wooden school built in the county in 1926.

The largest and most elegant in the country, if not region, to survive to the present, serving as the first brick school built in 1870.  Although small comfort stations were once erected at major crossroads throughout the Northwest Territory, few were ever as significant as this one in Genoa.

Genoa Town Hall is the oldest free-standing municipal building in Ottawa County and is the only public building of note in Genoa.  When the town was chosen for the Township Hall, the northern section of the Township seceded and became part of Allen Township.  The second floor was opened as an Opera House in 1885 with a opening play the following year, “The Three Wise Owls” by A.O. Miller.  The Hall was the scene for many plays, yearly election caucuses, high school graduations and other similar events.  A nearby Firefighters Memorial pays tribute to those who lost their lives while on duty.

A legacy from the estate of Joseph and Marie Schedel, the arboretum and gardens display plants in designed outdoor landscapes.  Its mission is to preserve rare and endangered waterfowl.  The Blair Museum of Lithophanes, housed in the 1800s manor house, is the largest collection of lithophanes in the world.  What is a lithophane?  It is three-dimensional translucent porcelain plaques when back-lit reveal detailed images, first created in Europe in the 1820s.

The railroad played a major role in the growth of Elmore. The Toledo, Norwalk, & Cleveland Railroad Co. Line (C & T) started running in September of 1852 traveling from Toledo to Norwalk via Elmore, Fremont, Bellevue, and Monroeville. Carrying at first only freight, by year’s end the first train of passenger cars ran from Toledo to Monroeville. Merging with Lake Shore Railroad in January 1869, in the Spring it merged with the Michigan Southern & Indiana Railway and traveled from Toledo to Cleveland.  In December 1869, the Elmore Train Depot was completed and freight was shipped here from all over the country, adding to the town’s prosperity. In the 1870s this Depot often saw trains crowded with passengers emigrating to the West. Passenger service was discontinued December 16, 1949, but a special excursion train stopped in Elmore as part of the town’s Centennial Celebration on August 24, 1951. Freight trains continued to travel through Elmore until the early 1970s.  The Elmore Historical Society purchased the Train Depot and surrounding property in 1981. Repainted and repaired, in 2001 the Depot was opened as a historical museum.

A historical cemetery, it has been closed for burials since the early 1920s.  One notable resident, Israel Harringon (1779-1841) established a tavern at Lower Sandusky (now Fremont) shortly after the War of 1812.  As a judge and land speculator, Harrington influenced the organization of much of northwestern Ohio.  In 1824, he traded the tavern for land, where an Indian trail crossed the Portage River.  Elmore grew from this settlement.  Harrington and his father (also Israel Harrington, a veteran of the American Revolution) are interred at the cemetery, along with many of the pioneers who transformed this section of the Black Swamp into productive farmland.

The active cemetery in Elmore, many veterans are buried in this cemetery from the American Revolution (John Green) to World War II (Harold Hasselkus).

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, purchased by the Ohio Division of Wildlife in August 1951, lies in some of Ohio’s finest remaining wetlands. The marsh complex has historically been inhabited by large numbers of waterfowl, waterbirds, shorebirds, and songbirds. The primary responsibility at Magee Marsh is the development and maintenance of high-quality wetland habitat for a diverse array of wetland wildlife species. During the 1960s, a small flock of Canada geese was released and goose nesting tubs were erected at Magee Marsh as part of Ohio’s Canada goose reintroduction program. Other goose management areas included Killdeer Plains, Mercer, and Mosquito wildlife areas. Between 9,000-11,000 goslings were produced in these areas annually, making Ohio’s goose production program the most successful in the nation.

Oak Harbor pioneer, Adolphus Kraemer, was born, raised, and educated in Germany.  After immigrating to the United States, he purchased the heavily forested land that is now Oak Harbor from Joseph Wardlow and moved here in 1838.  He founded a saw mill and lumber company and operated a general store.  Serving the fledgling Village of Hartford (pre-Oak Harbor name change) as a probate judge, county surveyor, lawyer, and prosecuting attorney, Kraemer also practiced medicine, farmed, and was a member of the State of Ohio Constitutional Convention in 1873-74.  He donated land for many of the area churches and parsonages.  Seeing the need for a local newspaper, he founded the Ottawa County Exponent.  Kraemer saw his dream of founding a city come true and gave it further importance by assisting in changing its name to Oak Harbor.  After a long life of service to his community, Adolphus Kraemer died August 15, 1885 and is interred in Union Cemetery, Oak Harbor.

If not the last in Ottawa County, certainly the most historically restored, Union Center operated from 1899 to 1934.  After being closed, the property was purchased by Theodore Witt and grandson, Norm, restored the building.  The interior furnishings will take you back to those early rural one-room school days.

In Erie Township, the early 1900s brought big changes as a result of the nation’s participation in the Spanish American War. In response to complaints from military leaders concerning poor marksmanship among troops called up from state militias, Congress passed the Efficiency in Militia Act of 1903. The act established the circumstances under which the state militias could be federalized. It provided federal funding for state militias in exchange for a requirement that each state meet federally mandated training and readiness standards. It essentially brought about what we know today as the National Guard. The State of Ohio began looking for a place to carry out the required training and in 1905, at the urging of General Amond Critchfield, who as an avid duck hunter and a frequent visitor to this area, the state purchased 1,500 acres of woods, farmland and marshes along the lake. By installing pump-equipped sumps much of the boggy land was reclaimed, and Camp Perry was established. Eventually, the National Rifle Association moved their world-renowned National Matches here.

The Ottawa County Museum is owned and operated by the Port Clinton Area Heritage Foundation.  Established in 1979 as a non-profit corporation, the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and protect records pertinent to the development of the County, to provide education and information, and to create a lasting memory for future generations to study.  The collection includes items from the original Port Clinton 1930s museum.  George Washington’s 1782 “Badge of Military Merit” was revived in 1932 as the modern-day Purple Heart. The museum is a Purple Heart Trail venue and has created a publicly available database of local Purple Heart recipients.  Please contact the museum if you wish to be part of the registry.

Port Clinton is the only city in the county and is the county seat. The Ottawa County Courthouse has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The exterior of the Courthouse is sandstone from Amherst, Ohio. Each side of the front entranceway has a carving of an Ottawa Indian. The tall bell tower sounds the time of the clock that is visible from all sides of the building. The inside features mosaic floors, marble wainscoting, and a pink marble staircase. The Courthouse is adorned with murals. One is of Perry’s victory during the War of 1812. This may be seen from the first and second floors. The others are in the dome, four of which represent means of making a living in the county in the 1900s. Names of men in the county who fought in early wars are engraved in marble on the north wall of the assembly room and in the main hallway. The cornerstone gives the date of 1899 with the courthouse being completed May 20, 1901.

In 1912, two monuments were dedicated by the Ohio Society & Daughters of the American Revolution and the Ohio State Archaeological & History Society to mark a two-mile course of what today is Fulton Street in Port Clinton.  The course was used by General William Henry Harrison’s American soldiers to drag boats overland for crossing Lake Erie. These two pyramidal monuments stand at either end of what is known as the “DeLery Portage of 1754”, today’s Fulton Street.

At the North end of Fulton Street is the Harrison-Perry Embarkation monument and overlooks Lake Erie near the old mouth of the Portage River.  It is located at the terminus of the portage where Indians and French explorers landed.  General Harrison and his soldiers embarked from this area in 1813 for the conquest of Canada’s Fort Detroit.

At the South end of Fulton is the site of Old Fort Sandoski.  Facing Sandusky Bay, opposite the mouth of the Sandusky River, Old Fort Sandoski is the first fort built by white men within the present limits of Ohio.  The fort’s location was confirmed by the discovery in 1906 of journals written by French Army engineer Lt. Chevalier Chaussegros de Lery.  In 1754 de Lery led a large military contingent from Quebec to Fort Detroit.  His route took him along the southern shore of Lake Erie into Sandusky Bay.  He and his 258 men arrived at the site of the fort to discover that it had been abandoned.  His journal included a sketch of the site.  The Old Fort Sandoski tablets detail the Indian-British Expedition of 1760, French Expedition of 1754, and American Expedition of 1813.

Located at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport (PCW – Carl Keller Field) in Port Clinton, Ohio, the Liberty Aviation Museum is a distinguished ‘working’ museum that opened its doors in July 2012. Its mission is to preserve history for future generations by providing an interactive and immersive experience, featuring operational aviation, military, and local history exhibits, as well as vintage aircraft rides throughout the year. The Museum pays tribute to one of the most important and influential men in the military and education, Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown. As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, Harold H. Brown made history as a combat pilot during World War II. He was not only an airman, but also an educator and one of the founders of the two-year college option, giving young students new confidence toward stellar careers. Harold passed away in 2023 at the age of 98 and is interred in Catawa Island Cemetery.

Catawba is rich in legends. The story of an Ottawa Indian named Nabagon is one of the most famous. Following his death, Nabagon’s profile allegedly appeared on a rugged cliff to continue watching over his people. It is said that his spirit maintains the vigil, inspiring and protecting all who live here. Much has changed since the Ottawa Indians left here in 1831. We have been famous for our abundance of fruit orchards, our vineyards, and our brief effort to produce cement. Today Catawba Island is principally a fun and relaxing vacation mecca where the stress of daily life is traded for gorgeous sunsets and the tranquil rhythm of waves lapping at its shores.  The Catawba Island Historical Society’s goal is to preserve and protect the story of where we have been and illustrate the connection between past and present. We offer both as a platform which visitors can stand upon to get a better look at what the future has in store. Perhaps Sir Winston Churchill, past British Prime Minister, put it best when he observed that, “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” Our mission is to enhance that view!

From 1897 until 1963, the South Bass Island Light marked Parker’s Point, the southwest tip of South Bass Island, the largest of the three Bass islands (North, Middle, and South).  The Queen Anne style red brick light tower with attached keeper’s dwelling was built at the height of the island’s popularity as a summer resort.  A fixed red light (in 1926, its characteristic was changed to alternately flashing white and red) guided vessels through the South Passage around the Lake Erie Islands.  In 1963, the South Bass Island Light was removed from service.  It was superseded by an automated light mounted on a steel skeleton tower erected southeast of the old lighthouse.  In 1967, the Federal Government transferred the two-acre lighthouse reservation to the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University.

Situated right next to the historic Put-In-Bay Town Hall, is the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society Museum.

The Put-In-Bay Centennial Celebration Committee, formed in 1975 to celebrate the founding of the village, dreamed of a museum to showcase the island’s history.  The first full museum board was elected September 27, 1986, with a museum opening in the old Put-in-Bay Bottling Works building in 1987. The mission of the Historical Society is to educate the local community and visitors of the island’s rich history and to protect the museum’s artifacts.  The museum includes four buildings—the original Bottling Works building, a 6,000 square foot museum building that opened in 1998, a large barn that houses the Heritage Resale Shop, and a smaller building that is part of the Heritage Resale Shop. The museum building houses a research library and a history archives.

The Aquatic Visitors Center on Put-In-Bay displays the wonders of Lake Erie and her islands for all to enjoy. This freshwater field laboratory is made possible by the Ohio Sea Grant, part of a national network under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton. With educational exhibitions, hands on activities, and its own fishing pier, the Aquatics Visitor Center is both fun as well as educational for the whole family.  In partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, the Aquatic Visitors Center served as the State Fish Hatchery at Put-in-Bay from 1907 to 1988. For over 80 years, this hatchery raised a variety of fish species that helped preserve the rich ecology of Lake Erie. This species include all the fish species we enjoy catching from Lake Erie today—walleye, sauger, whitefish, herring, yellow perch, coho salmon, chinook salmon, and also steelhead. On display are hatching jars, raceways, and other artifacts used to raise the fish.  In conjunction with Stone Laboratory, the Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife spearhead Lake Erie research.  Visitors to the Aquatic Center can learn all about the current research projects conducted by a dedicated team of scientists and students, including investigations into walleye tracking, aquatic invasive species, the dead zone, and fish biology.

Originally conceived as a memorial chapel in a surrounding park skirting the Put-In-Bay harbor containing eight memorial windows, one each to represent the seven other Lake States and one by Ohio, the final design for Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial was much different.  It took three years to build with various cost estimates between $600,000 and $1 million.  Intended to commemorate the September 1813 victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie over the British, a key point in the War of 1812, the Memorial has come to represent the aspirations of all nations for the peace of the world.  It is the only international peace memorial in the U.S. National Park System and stands 47 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.  The upper deck platform is 12 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty’s torch.  The cornerstone dedication ceremonies were held July 4, 1913 with over 5,000 masons attending.  The “peace idea” as part of the memorial was intended in the original planned centennial celebration and was followed through to the finished design.  But the solemnity of the centennial celebration was the transfer of the remains of three American and three British officers killed in the Battle of Lake Erie to beneath the rotunda of the mighty column.  Although some said the British would not attend the centennial celebration, come they did to help celebrate a century of peace and assist in the dedication of the memorial as an expression for world peace.  It stands five miles from the longest undefended border in the world.

The Bass Islands earned the nickname “Wine Islands,” and Middle Bass Island State Park is home to the historic site of Lonz Winery.

In 1807, Middle Bass and South Bass Islands, Green, Sugar, Ballast, Gibraltar, and Starve Islands were purchased for $26,087 by Pierpont Edwards, a Revolutionary War veteran and member of the U.S. Continental Congress. In August 1854, the Edwards family sold the islands for $44,000 to José de Rivera Saint Jurgo, who cultivated the land for grape production and winemaking. Jurgo sold Middle Bass Island in 1864, and in 1866 one of the new owners, Andrew Wehrle, established the Golden Eagle Wine Cellars, which soon became one of the largest wineries in the country. The Golden Eagle winery expanded to include a dance pavilion over the wine cellar, and a subsequent owner built a 60-room hotel, the Hillcrest, in 1905. Both the hotel and the dance pavilion were destroyed by fire in 1923.  Peter Lonz and his son, George, in 1926 merged their own winemaking business, established in 1884, with the Golden Eagle Winery’s remains. Despite the nationwide prohibition of alcohol, the Lonz business survived by selling bottles of grape juice with instructions for fermenting the juice at home.  Following the repeal of prohibition in 1933, George Lonz began rebuilding the winery complex. After a fire destroyed the structure in 1942, work began on the Gothic-style stone castle that became a familiar landmark for tourists and wine enthusiasts for nearly 60 years. In 1962, the winery complex added a marina to accommodate pleasure boaters. The Lonz Winery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. 

After the tragic collapse of the terrace in July 2000, the State of Ohio purchased 124 acres on Middle Bass Island, including the shell of the Lonz Winery complex. The building’s façade with the iconic Lonz tower, built in the 1930s, was restored. In contrast, much of the winery’s upper levels could not be salvaged, but the building’s footprint is preserved as an open-air plaza. Historical wine exhibits are inside the preserved cellars of Lonz Winery and includes winemaking equipment found on the property, some equipment a century old.  Overnight accommodations are available at the Lonz Mansion.

A perpetual care facility owned and maintained by the Township, it is the final resting place for residents and includes notable veterans Isaac Ambler, American Revolution, and Marshall Duroy, Civil War.

The Lakeside Heritage Society was founded in 1968 as the Lakeside Heritage Club.  The Club was created by a dedicated group of history buffs who wanted to create a museum for Lakeside, Ohio which has a deep history of over 150 years. The group obtained use of the original Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1875 at the corner of Maple Avenue and Third Street.  Funds were raised and after refurbishing the building, the building was renamed Heritage Hall and opened to the public as a museum.

Home to the first three keepers of the Marblehead Lighthouse (Benajah Wolcott, Rachel Wolcott, and Jeremiah Van Benschoten), it was once known as the “Old Stone Fort”.  We now know that The Keeper’s House never served as a fortress. The 4” x 4” openings at the four corners of the house were not musket portals as legend would have it, but rather demonstrate a building technique first brought to Europe from the Middle East by the Crusaders in the 11th century. These indentations serve as a convenient starting place for wooden scaffolding used in early times to make repairs to the exterior of the structure and to the roof. The house itself is an example of early vernacular architecture at its best and is a rare intact example of colonial hall and parlor design. The limestone building material was quarried on site, the heavy timber support beams both in the foundation and above are hand-hewn chestnut, oak and walnut and were no doubt harvested on site or nearby. The principal support beam under the house measures 13” x 9” x 43’ and is one solid piece of white oak of over 38 cubic feet mass. The “ridge pole” above the ceiling is 12” x 12” x 43’ of solid black walnut. The subsidiary supports in the roof and below are local cedar with the bark still on them. The new cedar shingled roof was installed over original existing wooden plates of immense width which are clearly visible today from the loft area. Original interior woodwork, window seats, six over six window configuration and fireplace and mantle all evidence Federal design. The generations that lived in the house after Benajah Wolcott’s death in 1832 apparently had an appreciation for the significance of the structure for few changes have been made. The home and surrounding land was purchased by the Ottawa County Historical Society in 1989 with restorations beginning shortly thereafter. The House is believed to be the oldest residence in Ottawa County and perhaps Northwestern Ohio and, according to the Ohio Historical Society, “few buildings remain from Northwest Ohio’s early 19th Century settlement period. Even fewer provide us with the degree of historic and architectural significance present in the Benajah Wolcott house, located in Danbury Township, Ottawa County.”  The Wolcott Keeper’s House has been placed on the National Register of Historical Places by the United States Department of Interior and has received an Ohio Historical Society roadside marker in conjunction with Ohio’s Bicentennial Celebration. It is now owned by Danbury Township with summer tours and events by the Ottawa County Historical Society.

Thought to be Ottawa County’s first Christian burial ground, interred are Benajah Wolcott, several family members and descendants.

The most immediate impact of the Civil War on our region was the transformation of Johnson Island, just off the Danbury Peninsula in the Sandusky Bay. One of the original Firelands tracts of land owned by Epaproditus Bull, was owned by Leonard B. Johnson.  Six months into the war, Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman went looking for a place to locate a Federal prison on the islands in Lake Erie. Discounting the islands of Put-In-Bay Township because of their proximity to Canada, which had recognized and maintained diplomatic relations with the Confederacy, and not willing to destroy extensive vineyards on Kelleys Island, he settled on Johnson’s Island, mostly wooded and remote. It could offer plenty of wood for fuel, controlled access, and proximity to Sandusky for supplies. He leased half the island from Johnson for $500 per year. 

The Johnson Island Prison opened in April 1862, designated for Confederate officers. By 1864, it held 3,224. Although a few escapes were successful, the most elaborate plan, involving outside help, ended in failure. Although no court martial was ever held at the prison, it did serve as a place where executions were carried out as a result of sentences from several other locations.  Following Robert E. Lee’s surrender, the prisoners were required to take an oath under orders from President Andrew Johnson in May 1865.  In September of 1865, the camp was closed. In 1894, an enterprise called the Johnsons Island Pleasure Resort Company leased 20 acres of land from Leonard B. Johnson. Fire destroyed its large pavilion in 1897, and the resort closed. A subsequent attempt to open a resort a few years later also failed.

Only the prison’s cemetery remains today. The first soldier buried was in May, 1862, and the last in May, 1865. It has 206 marked graves, but the exact number of graves is not certain due to the deterioration of original wooden grave markers as well as inaccurate records and incomplete lists.  There are three monuments in the cemetery. The first was dedicated June 8, 1910 with several hundred people attending from north and south.  General George Washington Gordon, imprisoned on the Island, gave the main address. On June 21, 2003 two more monuments were dedicated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Lt. General James Longstreet Camp 1658, Sons of Confederate Veterans and record an additional 267 burials detected by the use of ground penetrating radar.  The camp itself, now surrounded by development, is being preserved by the Friends & Descendants of Johnson’s Island and the Johnson’s Island Preservation Society.

In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, diversity among early settlers within Ottawa County had expanded to include a host of nationalities, each with its own language, customs and culture. Individual groups constructed their own churches, clinging to and re-establishing what was familiar. Early on, coastal settlers established Methodist and Episcopal churches. People of French-Canadian origin established one of the first Catholic churches in Carroll Township. With the influx of Germans, additional Catholic and many Lutheran churches rose up throughout the county.  Uniquely characteristic of this phenomenon was a group recruited to Marblehead from an eastern corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were Slavic Orthodox Christians who, like others, were eager to worship within their own tradition. In 1898, the head of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Alaska, Bishop Tikhon, hearing of their needs, purchased land for them. He journeyed to Ohio to lay the cornerstone, bringing with him icons, all of which are treasured to the present day, gifts from none other than the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II.  Holy Assumption Orthodox Church remains an active parish in the Marblehead community. It is situated a half-mile from Marblehead Lighthouse State Park, one of the most visited public sites in Ohio. The Church humble edifice of local limestone on Marblehead’s Main Street is a reminder to visitors and residents alike of the uniqueness with which individual immigrant groups contributed to a rich cultural diversity that defines our region, making it a true microcosm, not only of the state of Ohio, but of the United States at large.

Established in the 1830s and overlooking Lake Erie, Clemons Cemetery is one of Marblehead’s most historic places. Named for early settler John Clemons, the cemetery holds generations of his descendants, along with Revolutionary War veterans, lighthouse keepers, Medal of Honor recipients, and even relatives of Mark Twain. The grounds reflect changing funeral traditions, with obelisks, symbolic carvings, and diverse local stonework shaded by mature trees that add both beauty and meaning to the site.  Occasional tours are provided.

William Kelly, builder of the Marblehead Lighthouse and the Wolcott Keeper’s House, was born in County Down, Ireland, in the year 1779. He left Ireland and settled in Rensselear County, New York, across the Hudson River from Albany.  In 1818 Kelly and his family moved to the Erie County, Sandusky area when it was still known as Ogontz Place or Portland. Kelly was Sandusky’s first stone mason and ran a general store.  He is responsible for constructing a number of the exquisite old stone dwellings of Sandusky, most notably the residence of Attorney Eleutheros Cooke, father of the future financier of the Civil War, Jay Cooke.  In 1819 when Congress authorized the building of what would then become known as The Sandusky Light, the contract was let to Stephen Wolverton of Erie, Pennsylvania. He in turn sub-contracted with Kelly for the actual work. Kelly had two helpers for the job. Alford Hartshorn, his brother-in-law, and another workman named Miller. He was also assisted by his 12-year old son John Kelly. The entire construction took place between September 14 and November 10, 1821. Kelly then built the Wolcott Keeper’s House on South Bayshore Road, 2.6 miles from the Lighthouse. After these two works on the Peninsula, Kelly returned to Sandusky where he continued to build until his death December 7, 1867. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, one of the first persons interred there. The Lighthouse, the Wolcott Keeper’s House and the Cooke House all appear on the National Register of Historic Places.