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Published: August 26th 2018
Remnants of the Central Section of the Ohio & Erie Canal
Hartman #2-Lockville Park 48' Covered Bridge (1888) - Carroll OHI had a relatively short drive from the Fox Den Acres Campground in New Stanton PA to Alton RV Park in Galloway OH. The trip went without a hitch, and I found Alton RV Park conveniently located on US 40 just outside the Columbus corporate limits. My space was at the rear of the park so road noise was no problem, and a grocery store was on my way back from anything I had scheduled for Columbus.
Undeterred by the events near Rogersville PA a couple of weeks previous,
Covered Bridges, Scenic Drives, Waterfalls, George Washington and a Big Oops in Morgantown WV, I had scheduled a covered bridge day for Thursday, June 21, 2018. My first stop was the 1888 Hartman #2-Lockville Park 48' Covered Bridge in Lockville Canal Park in Carroll OH. The bridge seemed to serve no purpose other than as the park centerpiece and as a footpath across a storm drainage ditch – now, what other utility need a covered bridge than that? Near the bridge, I found some interesting concrete block structures that appeared to be remnants from a lock and dam or levee system. Research revealed that they were once a part of the central section of the Ohio & Erie Canal, a 308-mile highway of water
that connected Lake Erie at Cleveland OH to the Ohio River at Portsmouth OH. My next stop turned out to be a 2-for-1 bonus – the 1901 Rock Mill 37' Covered Bridge and the Rock Mill grist mill near Lancaster OH. When I arrived, a herd, swarm or flock of bicyclists was taking a break, and the mill was open for inspection. As I wandered the grounds and the structures, I learned the mill would be grinding grain on the last Sunday of the month – three days hence. Timing is everything, and I planned to return for a sampling of the fun.
My next stops were three covered bridges near Amanda OH – the 1887 Mink Hollow 51' Covered Bridge in Arney Run Park, the 1901 Hanaway/Clearport 86' Covered Bridge in Two Glaciers Park and the 1887 Johnston 98' Covered Bridge in Johnston Park. All three are in nice settings and have ample parking nearby. My next quest was the 1904 George Hutchins 62' Covered Bridge located in Ally Park near Lancaster OH. This covered bridge is located in a large park where the road in the crosshairs of my GPS was barricaded with a “Survivor Camp Only”
sign explaining the barrier. I parked in a nearby parking lot and walked about ¼ mile to the bridge. Along the way I passed what appeared to be a replica log cabin and a small lake. Ally Park is a very nice facility and looks like a good walking opportunity. Thimmes Fish Shack in Lancaster was highly recommended on Trip Advisor so I made a stop and ordered the fish dinner plate. Just as reported, the fish was cooked to perfection, the onion rings were wonderful (not grease-soaked) and the slaw was tasty. This is a real restaurant but the service was exceptionally quick – as prompt as in some “fast food” (not) restaurants.
On Saturday, June 23, 2018, I headed for the
Ohio Statehouse and the adjacent underground parking lot. According to the “
Parking at the Statehouse” page on the website, “"Ohio Statehouse visitors are invited to park in the facility's underground parking garage. This convenient and affordable parking solution offers direct sheltered access to the Ohio Statehouse and … the Statehouse Underground Parking Garage is open to the public 24 hours a day." Indeed, there is no mention of seven days a week; however, I found the garage secured on a
weekend day with no obvious way to gain entry and no available alternate surface lot or on-street choices. With plans already made for Sunday and no desire to fight downtown traffic and weather on Monday or Tuesday, I decided to defer the Capitol visit to my next pass through Ohio.
I set out for the Anti-Saloon League Museum in Westerville OH, housed in the public library of all places! In the 1930s, the first Westerville Public Library was located in the former home of an Anti-Saloon League member. After outgrowing its second home, the library was given a portion of the land housing the Anti-Saloon League headquarters and printing center for construction of a new library building. By 1973, the League’s headquarters building was deteriorating and the last member of the league donated the property to the library. Now, it makes sense. The museum wing has a nice section about World War I, waged during the time frame when prohibition was gaining momentum; a nice look at the history of the Anti-Saloon League; an overview of the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1920 and its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933; and the eventual demise of the
dry movement following the repeal of prohibition. I happened upon the First Responders Park, also in Westerville – a very nice tribute that includes a beam from the World Trade Center debris field.
Sunday, June 24, 2018 found me heading for the Ohio History Center & Ohio Village in Columbus. The Ohio History Center is, essentially, the Ohio State Museum while Ohio Village offers visitors a living history portrayal of life in Ohio in times past. The museum (Ohio History Center) opens, as do many, with Ohio’s natural history, progresses to Native American history and then chronicles recorded history. One exhibit addresses animal extinction, in particular, that of the passenger pigeon, and explains that extinction is a natural process that has occurred since life on earth began; however, it is noted that the rate of extinction has increased from five known extinctions between 1600 and 1850 (or one animal every 50 years) to a post-1850 extinction rate of one animal every 2.15 years. Several animal mounts are on display as are numerous rocks and minerals. An extensive portrayal of Ohio’s role in the Civil War is presented, and a timeline places events in perspective for the visitor. Outside, Ohio
Village showcases a dozen or so late-nineteenth Century buildings of various types – a telegraph office, a hotel, a photographer’s studio, a pharmacy, a funeral home, a bicycle shop, a print shop, a church and a city hall. On the day of my visit, almost all buildings were staffed by at least one docent, and there was a baseball game underway between two “vintage” baseball teams using authentic-looking (I’m sure, replica) equipment and wearing period uniforms. Pretty cool. Ohio History Center & Ohio Village is not the crème de la crème of this type of museum I have seen in my travels, but it is well done and merits a few hours of your time.
My next stop was the milling demonstration at Rock Mill which I had learned of on Thursday, June 21, 2018. I hung out for a while, watched the miller and the other processes and learned, unfortunately, that one of the cyclists from the Thursday group had been killed on Friday in a motor vehicle accident when he, for some unknown reason, failed to yield at a stop sign. Next, I headed to the Sherman House Museum in Lancaster OH – the birthplace of General
William Tecumseh Sherman and his younger brother U.S. Senator John Sherman whose claim to fame is the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The original frame home built, in 1811, consists of a parlor/dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and children's bedroom. The Sherman family added onto the house in 1816, including a parlor and study for (father) Judge Charles Sherman. All the rooms have been restored to look as they would have when the Sherman's occupied the dwelling. A brick front was added to the house in 1870 and the Victorian parlor is furnished almost completely with furniture owned by General and Ellen Sherman when they lived in New York City after his retirement. It includes a parlor set originally owned by General/President Ulysses S. and Julia Grant. One upstairs bedroom houses family memorabilia, while another is a re-creation of General Sherman's Civil War field tent which contains several items that he used during the war. The last room houses an exhibit of Civil War artifacts, guns and Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) memorabilia. The Sherman House has been a memorial to the family since 1951, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is included on the
Civil War Preservation Trail. My final stop of the day was the 1864 McCleery 52' Covered Bridge near Lancaster.
I had a nice time in the Columbus area, unsuccessfully tried to scratch one more state capital off my list, saw some interesting covered bridges, discovered what makes a teetotaler tick, saw some corn milled into grist, learned a little bit about a Union General’s family and happened upon an awesome first responders memorial. Indeed, there was a little bit of something for everybody. Is that Americana or what? I had no problems navigating the urban nor the rural areas, traffic was never a problem and I found the zip code to be clean and free of danger flags.
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SUE SAYERS
non-member comment
loving it.
Larry , thanks for the great blogs. We've travelled in the States a couple of times, but unless we move there, there is absolutely no way I could visit all these wonderful places. So thanks for taking the time to share.