Echoes Magazine | May & June 2024

Cover: President Calvin Coolidge meets Cherokee poet, educator and activist Ruth Muskrat on Dec. 12, 1923.

Library of Congress

Vol. 63, No. 3

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Jerry Dannemiller

EDITORS

Bill Eichenberger

Tom Wolf

CONTRIBUTORS

David Dry

Judith Kitchen

Nancy Nall Derringer

Linda Pansing

Opal Shipley

Mike Williams

DESIGN

Lydia Stutzman | Lydiary Design

ADVISORY BOARD

Donna DeBlasio

Youngstown State University

Nishani Frazier

Miami University

Robert Genheimer

Cincinnati Museum Center

Stephen George Ohio History Connection

Alex Hastie Ohio v. the World

George Ironstrack

Miami University

Chester Pach

Ohio University

Roger Pickenpaugh

Historian and Author

Daniel Rivers

The Ohio State University

Truda Shinker

Ohio History Connection

Echoes Magazine (ISSN 0012-933X ) is published bimonthly and distributed by the Ohio History Connection as a benefit of Ohio History Connection membership.

Editorial Offices: Ohio History Connection, Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2474

Phone 844.836.0012 Email echoes@ohiohistory. org

Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Echoes Magazine, Ohio History Connection, Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2474

Entire contents © 2024 by the Ohio History Connection. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted or electronically reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. The Ohio History Connection accepts no responsibility for facts and opinions expressed by the authors. 26 32 36 40 2 4 4 6 7 15 16 18 19 46 48 50 Moving? Contact us at membership@ohiohistory.org or 800.686.1545 to share your new address.

The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act— A Century of Citizenship, Millennia of Sovereignty Beyond the Byline— The Erma Bombeck Story

Women Need Not Apply— Lancaster’s Pioneering Journalist Cora Rigby It Takes a Village— Building a Home for Living History

Contents

From Our Editors What’s Your Story? In the News

From Our Director Historic Sites & Museums

At the Ohio History Center & Ohio Village Online Events

Featured Events & Exhibits I Wish I’d Been There Young Eyes on the Past Reviews

THANKS TO OUR OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION STRATEGIC PARTNERS:

26

The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act

A CENTURY OF CITIZENSHIP, MILLENNIA OF SOVEREIGNTY

One hundred years ago, in June 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act. It conferred U.S. citizenship on all Native people within the territorial limits of the United States. Although widely hailed as a pivotal milestone in the history of civil rights, the act has a complex legacy for Native people. For many, U.S. citizenship is their ticket to the American dream. But what if the promises of citizenship came at a cost—your land, your community and your very identity?

Beyond the Byline

THE

ERMA BOMBECK STORY

The peak year for births during the baby boom was 1957. By the mid-1960s, millions of moms were raising teens, tweens and toddlers—some all at the same time—in houses where lines for the only bathroom were regular occurrences. Laundry and dishes could reach Himalayan heights. So, no one could fault a mother for taking just a few minutes to herself, once the kids were off to school, to pour a cup of coffee, open the newspaper and find—to her amazement—someone who understood.

Women Need Not Apply

LANCASTER’S PIONEERING JOURNALIST CORA RIGBY

In 1919, during the battle for women’s suffrage, the all-male National Press Club announced a luncheon for the Prince of Wales. Women were barred from attending. Days later, five women journalists invited their female colleagues to organize a Women’s National Press Club. Lancaster native Cora Rigby, elected president, soon became Washington bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor —the first woman to lead a major news organization in our nation’s capital.

It Takes a Village

BUILDING A HOME FOR LIVING HISTORY

Ohio Village opened 50 years ago this summer. A setting for living history programs, it was carefully planned to look as though it had been built over decades, from the settlement of Ohio through the Civil War. In truth, the original 14 buildings all were built at the same time. Ohio History Connection retiree Judith Kitchen has shared vintage slides of Ohio Village under construction from 1971 to 1974. We found them fascinating and thought that you might, too.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In the prologue to his book Ohio: The History of a People, Andrew R.L. Cayton contemplates the definition and meaning of Ohio.

“‘I … now consider myself a Citizen of Ohio,’ Gideon Granger, postmaster-general of the United States, informed his friend Samuel Huntington in 1804. This simple declaration was an extraordinary statement,” Cayton wrote.

“Granger had never been to Ohio, nor would he ever set foot within the borders of the new state. He called himself a ‘citizen’ solely because he had decided to ‘fix (his) residence in the County of Trumbull.’

“Granger’s assertion reminds us that Ohio was a state before it was a place, a government before it was a community, an idea before it was a reality. Created primarily for political reasons, it was an awkward construction with arbitrary borders.”

If Ohio was—and remains—something of an abstraction, Cayton argues “there would be as many stories of Ohio as there were people living within its borders. What made Ohio dynamic were the voices of the diverse peoples pouring into the state in the early nineteenth century.”

We here at Echoes Magazine are the daily beneficiaries of those countless stories. At first glance, one might think sharing the story of Ohio would be limiting, something less than, say, the story of America, or of North America. But in every issue of the magazine, we’re sustained by our state’s people and their manifold experiences and stories.

Take Cora Rigby, for example. (See page 36.) She wasn’t what many in the 1890s and early 1900s would have called “ladylike.” For starters, she refused to take no for an answer. Her father was a prominent central Ohio judge. And she wanted to write about politics in the newspapers.

But everyone knew—and told her so, again and again—that a newsroom was no place for a woman, that a newsroom was the exclusive domain of men, that politics was a strictly male endeavor.

Rigby faced that sort of resistance in her hometown of Lancaster and in Columbus. She faced it at the Ohio State Journal, where she was reluctantly hired, but pushed away from politics and into covering the “society” beat.

She faced it again when she moved to Boston in the mid-1890s and a few years later when she moved to New York City.

But she persisted, and eventually became the first woman to serve as Washington bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor.

Erma Bombeck was another trail-blazing female journalist from Ohio. (See page 32.) Beloved for her sense of humor, she was also a feminist—subtle, but a feminist nevertheless.

And we’re honored to have historian David Dry, a citizen of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, writing in this issue about the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. (See page 26.)

What ’s “

In every issue of Echoes Magazine, we feature the stories of Ohio History Connection members and other Ohioans to stoke memories and shed light on our shared past.

For this issue, we asked, What’s your favorite museum in Ohio?”

Here are some of your responses:

NATIONAL ROAD & ZANE GREY MUSEUM

Ohio has so many wonderful museums, and we’ve been to a lot of them. Right here in Fremont, we have the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. But one of our surprise favorites is the National Road & Zane Grey Museum in Norwich. We loved seeing a real Conestoga wagon in the museum. I loved the exhibit about how the National Road was built and the timeline of all the various stages because I believe that my family from Connecticut traveled on the part that was completed when coming to Ohio around the 1820s.

—Becky White, Fremont

OLD TIMERS BUILDING

My favorite Ohio museum is the Old Timers Building at the Brown County Fairgrounds in Georgetown. I visit it during the Brown County Fair, held the last week in September. The small frame house with an inviting front porch is maintained by the Brown County Historical Society. It’s literally packed with artifacts and memorabilia relating to each community in the county. Photos cover the walls and standing panels

Your Story?

show schools, churches, people and events from over 100 years of county history. My favorite thing is the section on fair history, which includes photos, posters, commemorative glass bells and fair books going back to the early 1900s. Next to the museum is the Dixon-Washburn Log Cabin, an authentic cabin containing artifacts depicting pioneer life in the county. I’d argue the Old Timers Building is the best museum you’ve never heard of, unless you’ve visited the Brown County Fair.

—Chris Hunt, Batavia CAMPUS MARTIUS MUSEUM

David McCullough wrote The Pioneers, a story about the settlement of the Northwest Territory. The Campus Martius Museum in Marietta features the history of the Northwest Territory and Marietta. History came to life for my husband, Ron, and I at the museum. The Rufus Putnam House is actually in the museum. Exhibits show some personal items owned by the pioneers. Near the museum is the Ohio Company Land Office. We also enjoyed a ride on the sternwheeler Valley Gem. We had a leisurely ride on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers. Other sites to see in Marietta are the Ohio River Museum and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption. Nearby in Parkersburg, West Virginia, are Blennerhassett Island and the Blennerhassett Museum.

—Kandi Snodgrass, Dublin

FAVORITE MUSEUMS

M c KINLEY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM

The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum is one of Ohio’s most unique museums because of the variety of exhibits on display. Combining the William McKinley Presidential Library, the Stark County Historical Society and Discover World (a hands-on science center), the museum appeals to all ages. Animatronic William and Ida McKinley greet visitors who enter the presidential galleries. Guests can experience a walk through the historic Street of Shops, enjoy a working model railroad that depicts the industrial development of Stark County and then slide down a fire pole to view a horse-drawn fire pumper. Last summer, our young grandson loved the model railroad as well as the traveling Lego exhibit. Alice, the animatronic Allosaurus, welcomes visitors to Discover World, where live animals, a fossilized mastodon and a wide variety of science lab stations encourage experimentation. In addition, daily planetarium shows feature the latest night skies and up-to-date space images. Adjacent to the museum is the McKinley National Memorial completed in 1907 and holding the remains of the assassinated president, first lady and their two daughters. Former National Park Service Director Roger Kennedy described the McKinley Memorial as the most beautiful U.S. presidential monument outside of Washington, DC.

—Bill Wyss,

Canton

Editor's note: Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission to the following museums mentioned by these readers: the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont; the National Road & Zane Grey Museum, Norwich; the Campus Martius Museum including the Rufus Putnam House and the Ohio Company Land Office, Marietta; and the Ohio River Museum (currently closed for construction), Marietta.

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

We want to know your stories, so in every issue of Echoes Magazine we ask you a question, then run selected answers in the following issue. Here’s the question for July & August:

Ohio Village, our recreated 19th-century community, has welcomed thousands upon thousands of guests since opening 50 years ago this summer. Are you one of them? What are your favorite Ohio Village memories?

Email your story responses (50 to 150 words) by May 15 to echoes@ohiohistory.org or, if you follow us on Facebook, send us a Facebook message.

In the News

THE NEXT FIVE YEARS Board Approves Updated Strategic Plan

The board of trustees has passed an update to the Ohio History Connection’s 10-year strategic plan, setting the organization’s vision and priorities for the next five years.

The document reflects not only a refreshed mission, vision and values for the Ohio History Connection, but also, for the first time, outlines the organization’s approach to defining its work culture. Beyond those defining markers, the priorities of the organization have been similarly brought into focus.

“In the past, like many organizations, I think we’ve been guilty of assembling a list of ‘things’— projects or issues—and calling that a strategic plan,” says Board

President Charley Moses. “This update is all about focusing our priorities as an organization so we can effectively sustain the work of preserving and promoting the great history of our state for decades to come.”

TWO CORE PRIORITIES

Two priorities are at the core of the updated plan.

The first is prioritizing the growth of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to capitalize on World Heritage Inscription by creating a world-class visitor experience and promoting broader economic development for the region. Since the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in September 2023, the Ohio History

Connection has been developing planning processes across multiple fronts, from operations to fundraising to marketing.

The second priority is the need to enhance the main campus of the Ohio History Connection to better serve all audiences and to showcase a broad range of Ohio’s stories and highlight our site network.

Managing parallel priorities will take aligned efforts from staff, board and supporters, according to Ohio History Connection Executive Director and CEO Megan Wood.

“We have a real opportunity with this updated strategic plan to focus on what can really sustain the organization for decades to come,” Wood says. “It’s going to take some elbow grease and some creativity, but when everyone, including our donors, is informed and aligned, we can continue to drive the organization forward.”

SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS

The updated strategic plan also calls out significant projects in various states of readiness, ensuring a commitment to bringing those new (or, in some cases, renovated) spaces and experiences online for all Ohioans to enjoy. Included are the new Collections Care Center opening this year on the Ohio History Center campus, the revitalization of Ohio Village (construction beginning late this summer), an Ohio Showcase building at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair, as well as projects at Fort Laurens, the Poindexter Village Historic Site, the Ohio River Museum and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and exhibits at Great Council State Park.

Operational objectives guiding the daily efforts of the Ohio History Connection team and partners include maintaining a positive work culture in which every person in the organization is engaged in serving our audiences through rewarding work that is strategic and results-driven.

“Far from the conventional volumes-thick strategic plan that sits on a shelf collecting dust for the decade after it’s approved, this update feels fresh and relevant—a working document to keep staff and all involved pointed in the right direction for years to come,” Moses says. “It’s reflective of Megan’s leadership and a promising future for our organization.”

LEARN MORE

To read or download the updated strategic plan, visit ohiohistory.org/ strategicplan.

Members can now opt out of receiving a print Echoes Magazine and read it online from our website instead. Call 800.686.1545 or email membership@ohiohistory.org if you’d like to make the change.

FROM OUR DIRECTOR

Being a fourth-grader just got a whole lot more awesome! Why? In February we announced the launch of the FourthGrade History Pass that will lead up to and be available during 2026 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. This pass is available through the America 250-Ohio Commission and is in collaboration with many history organizations and museums across the state. In addition to the Ohio History Connection, Western Reserve Historical Society and the Cincinnati Museum Center came together to create this program so that for the next few years, Ohio’s fourth-graders can visit participating history museums for free!

If you have a fourth-grader in your life, you may be aware that social studies is focused on American history through an Ohio lens. It makes it the perfect year to connect classroom learning to reallife places and things. We work with a lot of fourth-grade teachers for field trips and programs, and we also have an online textbook, Ohio as America, that’s a complete fourth-grade curriculum. Ohio as America uses videos and other media to connect students to the places of Ohio. This pass makes it easier to make the content come to life at sites around the state.

Another reason I’m excited to offer this program is the opportunity to build early “aha” moments for students who are ages 9–10. That’s the age when the human brain starts to understand the passage of time and the nuance of life. Most people have stories from field trips, moments with teachers, moments in libraries, moments with family that really stick with them from that age. It’s a great time in a person’s life to build love and understanding of our Ohio home.

While I write this, more than 20 museums and historic sites have signed up to participate in the Fourth Grade History Pass. If you’re a fourth-grader or know a fourth-grader who’d like to sign up for free, go to america250-ohio.org/fourth-grade-pass. I challenge all fourth-graders in Ohio to get to as many of these sites as you can! During the 2025–2026 school year, I will have a fourth-grader in my house, and we’ll be using this pass to plan our adventures.

The pass provides the opportunity to come face-to-face with the stories of a few presidents; a Revolutionary War-era fort; a farm; an astronaut; a canal; several authors, activists and abolitionists; and much more.

If you’re not in the fourth grade, I hope you consider this a little extra motivation to plan some Ohio history field trips and explore sites and museums you’ve never visited before. I guarantee that you’ll encounter moments of delight and discovery.

Megan Wood | Executive Director & CEO, Ohio History Connection

Ohio History Connection executive director and CEO Megan Wood, right, presents an Ohio History Fund matching grant to aid Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame in conserving Joe Namath’s knee brace, on the cart in the foreground.

OHIO HISTORY FUND

$187,600 in Grants Awarded

The Ohio History Connection has awarded Ohio History Fund grants totaling $187,600 to 14 community history and preservation organizations across the Buckeye State.

“The Ohio History Fund allows us to preserve and share Ohio stories by supporting projects all over the state,” says Megan Wood, Ohio History Connection executive director and CEO. “Local history helps us understand where we came from and gives us a sense of identity and place, inspiring pride in our communities.”

This year’s recipients are:

AKRON • KENMORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$6,677 for exhibits at the Better Kenmore Community Development Corporation. Kenmore Historical Society, which has no home of its

own, will supply artifacts and the corporation will provide space for a series of changing exhibits about Akron’s largest National Registerlisted historic district. The grant will help build and install exhibit cases and create placards to place in district storefronts.

ALLIANCE • ALLIANCE AREA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

$12,700 to restore the floor and joists in the 1827 portion of the Haines House Underground Railroad Museum. While visitors probably won’t notice the repairs after the work has been done, the work is vital to keeping the house safe and accessible. Built in stages from 1827 to 1842, the house is in the National Register of Historic Places and the work was recommended in a 2021 preservation needs assessment.

ATHENS • DAIRY BARN ARTS CENTER

$19,000 to restore three rooftop cupolas. Built in 1914 for the Athens State Hospital, the barn has been an arts center since 1978. (See January & February 2024 Echoes Magazine, page 34.) Leaks from the cupolas have damaged the building, restricting access to its upper floors. The project will make repairs guided by preservation professionals and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

CALDWELL • NOBLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$3,919 to replace the furnace and airconditioning system of the Historic Jail Museum & Information Center. The new unit will help stabilize temperature and humidity levels, providing a better environment for artifacts exhibited there. A landmark on the square in Caldwell, the 1882 jail is in the National Register of Historic Places. Work will follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

CANTON • PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

$3,552 to conserve a piece of sports and medical history: the first functional orthopedic knee brace, developed in 1969 for Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. Namath played pro football from 1965 to 1977 and is best known for leading the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in 1969. The brace is a prototype for knee braces prescribed in orthopedic therapies today.

CHAGRIN FALLS • CHAGRIN FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$12,631 to digitize volumes of a local newspaper, The Exponent, from 1904 to 1964. Continuing a prior effort to digitize earlier volumes, this project will aid researchers and make The Exponent available through Ohio Memory (ohiomemory.org). The paper’s copyright has been conveyed to the Chagrin Falls Historical Society, enabling the project, which will follow National Digital Newspaper Program standards.

CINCINNATI • AMERICAN SIGN MUSEUM

$7,804 to restore and upgrade nine vintage 20th-century signs that either advertised Ohio businesses or were made by Ohio companies. Neon signs for Basinger’s Jewelers of Lima and Dayton’s Plaza Motel will be restored and relit. Seven other signs will be made more energy-efficient by converting them from incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lights to comparable LEDs.

CINCINNATI • ANDERSON TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$19,000 to restore the distinctive chimney of the 1796 Miller-Leuser Log House and make it usable again. Professional preservationists will use period-appropriate materials. The Miller-Leuser Log House is in the National Register of Historic Places, and the Secretary of the Interior’s

Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties will guide the work.

DELAWARE

• DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$18,611 to stabilize the staircase in the National Register-listed Meeker Homestead Museum, built in 1823. Guided by a professional architect with preservation experience, the society will complete the project according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The project will allow more guests to visit the secondfloor exhibits at one time.

GREENVILLE • DARKE COUNTY PARK DISTRICT

$17,046 for Fourth-Grade Pioneer Days, a program that teaches local fourth-graders about Darke County’s early years. Using a hands-on approach to make history interesting to students, Pioneer Days is held in the setting of Bear’s Mill, a working 175-year-old waterpowered grist mill. A Shawnee tribal citizen will present the Native American station.

MEDINA • MEDINA COUNTY DISTRICT LIBRARY

$18,723 to digitize 2,000 negatives of aerial photographs of Medina County taken from 1952 to 1965, when the county was much more rural. As the first big initiative of a planned Medina County Memory website, the library staff will collaborate with community partners to identify the content of each negative, a benefit to researchers that will illustrate how the county has changed over time.

NILES • CITY OF NILES

$18,981 to help make the 1862 Ward-Thomas House (now the Ward-Thomas Museum and Niles Historical Society) ADA-accessible while preserving its 19th-century

appearance. Owned by the city, the house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Inspired by a recent needs assessment, the city and society will take steps to remediate barriers to access so the museum may be enjoyed by all.

OBERLIN • OBERLIN HERITAGE CENTER

$9,956 for climate control at the 1866 Monroe House, an Oberlin landmark and museum. The current system is at the end of its useful life and breaks down often, causing an unstable environment for collections and making the second floor an uncomfortable workplace for staff and volunteers. A new, more environmentally sustainable unit will improve conditions for the collection and staff.

YOUNGSTOWN • MAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

$19,000 toward the cost of moving more than 6,800 artifacts stored in the society’s house museum to a new, climate-controlled and secure facility better-suited to preserving them and making the collection accessible. Experienced movers will transport items under the supervision of curators, who will have carefully packed them.

ABOUT THE OHIO HISTORY FUND

The Ohio History Fund is a competitive matching grants program funded by Ohio taxpayers’ voluntary contributions through the “check-off” on state income tax forms. In 2006, creation of a tax check-off to fund a statewide grants program for history- and preservation-related projects was identified as a priority by participants in the annual Statehood Day legislative advocacy event sponsored by the Ohio History Connection and nine partner organizations: Heritage Ohio, the Ohio Academy of History, Ohio Archaeological Council, Ohio Council for Social

Studies, Ohio Genealogical Society, Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board, Ohio Local History Alliance, Preservation Ohio and the Society of Ohio Archivists.

It became a reality in 2011 when Gov. John R. Kasich signed Ohio’s two-year state budget into law. The tax check-off first appeared on state income tax forms in 2012 for tax year 2011, and the first grants were awarded to 11 recipients across the state in 2012. Since 2013, the Ohio History Fund has made 136 grants totaling more than $1.4 million in 41 counties.

YOUR HELP MAKES GRANTS POSSIBLE

When you make a voluntary gift to the Ohio History Fund through the check-off on your Ohio personal income tax form, you help make grants like these possible. The History Fund is also aided by sales of “mastodon” license plates and direct contributions to the Ohio History Connection for the Ohio History Fund.

Know of a worthy history- or preservation-related project that could benefit from an Ohio History Fund grant? Applications for 2025 Ohio History Fund grants are due Sept. 10, 2024. Find application forms and more information at ohiohistory.org/historyfund starting June 21 or call 800.686.6124 or 614.298.2000

Questions? Contact Ohio History Fund Manager Andy Verhoff at 614.562.4490 or averhoff@ ohiohistory.org

Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

Join me as I visit the sites in the Ohio History Connection network! This month’s road trip took me to the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites in Oregonia (near Lebanon), Chillicothe and Heath. I definitely bit off more than I could chew. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the recent addition of the eight Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks locations to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Ohio History Connection staff as well as many community, tribal and National Park Service partners have worked for decades to make this dream a reality.

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are in three noncontiguous counties. I’ve been

to the Ohio History Connection’s Great Circle Earthworks, Octagon Earthworks and Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve several times. And I’d visited one of the five sites that make up the National Park Service’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park a few years ago with my family. But I thought it would be fun to visit all the sites in one day. I should have known from the weird looks I got from my co-workers and the fact that no one wanted to go with me that this wasn’t the best idea.

I’d mapped out a route, and it looked very doable to me. So I packed some snacks, got my road trip playlist ready and set off to experience Ohio’s World Heritage sites. Here’s what I found out.

Can you see all the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites in one day? Sort of. Should you see all the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites in one day? Absolutely not. All of these sites are complex and deserve more than a cursory visit. If you truly want to understand their history and significance, you should visit them one at a time on days when you have plenty of time to explore. You’ll also want to make time to pop over to the communities where they’re located. Lebanon (near Oregonia), Chillicothe and Newark are all very walkable, with a lot of small-town charm. Each has a downtown historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Addresses: Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve is at 6123 State Route 350 in Oregonia. The Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Visitor Center is at 16062 State Route 104 in Chillicothe. (Remember: This is not an Ohio History Connection site, but it’s free to visit.) The Great Circle Earthworks (the only part of the Newark Earthworks open to visitors on a regular basis right now) is at 455 Hebron Road in Heath.

Truda’s Tips: My biggest tip is to not visit all these sites in one day (see the rest of this article).

Mound City, Chillicothe

JOHN HANCOCK

JOHN HANCOCK

My second tip is to make Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve your first stop. The excellent museum there will give you a great overview of American Indian history in Ohio and will inform your visits to the other sites. My third tip is to schedule your visit to these sites when they’re offering a guided tour. The knowledgeable staff members at each of these sites really bring the history to life and can answer your questions.

And my final tip is to talk to the staff at each of these sites. They’re so knowledgeable about their sites and can make recommendations that will make your visit truly special. Seriously—talk to them. They love it and you will, too.

How much time: If you want to fully experience Fort Ancient, I would budget three to four hours. That’ll give you time to explore the museum, take one of their excellent tours, visit the North Overlook, hike a trail or two and make a purchase in the gift shop. Because I was on a very tight schedule, I did a quick perusal of the museum, drove to the North Overlook for the gorgeous view, saw a deer (!) and then headed to Chillicothe. Don’t

do what I did—you’re missing out on too much.

Chillicothe’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is made up of five noncontiguous groupings of earthworks, four of which are publicly accessible. You’ll need to drive between each of them, so it can take some time. I would devote the entire day to fully exploring all four of the groups. Be sure to start at the Mound City Group Visitor Center. You can pick up maps, get some recommendations from the rangers and visit the restrooms. For my quick visit, I walked through the Mound City Group earthworks, which are spectacular and very photo-friendly. I also drove over to the Hopeton Earthworks and hiked out to see the earthwork remnants. The path, which was easy, but not paved, led me to an overlook where I had an amazing view of the earthworks. Because of my time crunch, I wasn’t able to see the Hopewell Mound Group or the Seip Earthworks. I definitely plan to go back and spend the day. I would recommend about an hour to see the Great Circle Earthworks. The small museum provides context for the earthworks and houses the restrooms and the wonderful gift shop. The earthworks are magnificent. I’ve visited several times and still feel a thrill when I walk through the gateway to the interior of the circle. I got to the site after the museum had closed, but I was still able to walk around the earthworks. When you visit, make sure you’re there when the museum is open and preferably when there’s a tour.

Lunch: Because I was on a schedule, I didn’t even stop for a fun lunch. This alone is an important reason not to see all the sites in one day. I only had time for a quick fast-food lunch in Chillicothe because I was running

behind. However, you should take the time to eat at one of the many locally owned restaurants in Lebanon, Chillicothe and Newark when you visit these sites. In Lebanon, I would highly recommend The Village Parlor or The Breakfast Club. In Chillicothe, I love Paper City Coffee and Sumburger. When in Newark, I really like Elliot’s Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap and River Road Coffee House. But there are so many great restaurants, coffee shops and stores to visit in these towns. Don’t miss out by overloading your day! And if you like to picnic, all have outdoor tables available.

For more information: You can learn about all of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites at hopewellearthworks.org. You can also visit our web pages for Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, ohiohistory.org/fortancient, and the Newark Earthworks, ohiohistory. org/newark, as well as the National Park Service’s website for Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, nps. gov/hocu/index.htm. You can find dates and times of operation, as well as phone numbers to call to check tour times.

As I mentioned, all these sites are in wonderful communities that are well worth a visit. You can find out more about Warren County, where Fort Ancient is located, by visiting ohioslargestplayground.com (and check out their new geocaching tour!). Discover more about Ross County, where Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is located, at visitchillicotheohio.com. And you can get more information about Licking County, home of the Newark Earthworks, at explorelc.org

—Truda Shinker is the Ohio History Connection’s department manager for membership.

Great Circle Gateway, Newark

MAY IS HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH

Recent Ohio Additions to the National Register of Historic Places

CLEVELAND • CUYAHOGA COUNTY

 EUCLID AVENUE TEMPLE–LIBERTY

HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

8206 Euclid Ave.

Built in 1912 and 1924, this Cleveland landmark first served Anshe Chesed, the city’s oldest Jewish congregation, which traces its roots to 1841. Under the leadership of Rabbi Barnett R. Brickner from 1925 to 1958, Anshe Chesed became nationally known for its influence in Reform Judaism and for its religious education system. Liberty Hill Baptist Church since 1956, the building is also significant for its history of association with the civil rights movement and Black artists and entertainers. Noted for its architecture, the complex includes the 1912 sanctuary designed by the Cleveland firm of Lehman & Schmitt, the 1912 classroom and office wing and the 1924 Temple House addition by Cleveland architects Morris & Weinberg, which has a 1200-seat auditorium, banquet hall for 500 guests and classrooms. The Moorish Revival-style building is artfully faced in multi-colored tapestry brick and terra cotta. The enormous dome over the sanctuary is clad in clay tiles made in New Lexington, Ohio, by Ludowici and the building’s original features include stained-glass windows by Tiffany Studios.

COLUMBUS • FRANKLIN COUNTY

 BELLOWS AVENUE SCHOOL

725 Bellows Ave.

This 1906 elementary school in the Franklinton neighborhood on the near west side of Columbus was built at a time when Ohio’s capital city was experiencing major economic and population growth, together with major expansion of the public education system. Imposing neighborhood school buildings like this one were intended to inspire high educational ideals and offer a modern and safe environment for instruction and community activities. David Riebel designed the neoclassical Bellows building while serving as the first staff architect for Columbus City Schools. In that position, he oversaw construction or renovation of nearly 40 schools, producing well-executed designs in styles popular during his tenure. Freeways sliced through Franklinton after World War II, passing within 50 feet of Bellows Avenue School, making it highly visible, yet isolated. It closed in 1977.

COLUMBUS • FRANKLIN COUNTY

 EASTGATE APARTMENTS

HISTORIC DISTRICT

455–461 (odd) N. Nelson Rd., 492–508 (even) Sunbury Rd., 1864–2112 (even) Maryland Ave.

Comprising 45 garden-apartment buildings and a rental office in the minimalist style of the post-World War II era, the Eastgate Apartments complex is locally significant in the history of community planning, development, politics and government. The work of

Columbus architect, developer and builder Todd Tibbals (1910–1988), it employed Federal Housing Act (FHA) Section 221. Distinguished from public housing, Section 221 offered insured mortgages to private developers and builders to construct affordable “decent housing” for people displaced by expressway and slum clearance as part of urban renewal programs. One of the first two such complexes approved under FHA Section 221, it appeared in the 1961 United States Commission on Civil Rights Report as an urban renewal success story.

DAYTON • MONTGOMERY COUNTY

 STEELE’S HILL–GRAFTON HILL

HISTORIC DISTRICT

(Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation) • Roughly bounded by Grand, Plymouth, Forest and Salem avenues

Added to the National Register in 1986, the Steele’s Hill–Grafton Hill Historic District represents Dayton’s earliest residential expansion across the Great Miami River, opposite the downtown. It includes some of the city’s most significant 19th- and early 20th-century houses, among them homes of business and industrial leaders of the 1880s to 1920s. The recent amendment extends the period of significance to 1976, reflecting the history and development of the neighborhood from the late 1920s, when Dayton’s first comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance were adopted, through the mid-1970s, when the neighborhood felt the impact of major population and social changes. The amendment also extends the district’s

1986 boundaries to reflect the neighborhood’s 20th-century evolution. Within the recently added area are more late-19th- and early20th-century houses similar to those in the 1986 district, duplexes built in the early 1900s along streetcar lines, early luxury apartment buildings, plus low-scale apartment houses and high-rise apartment towers of the 1950s to 1970s that reflect a neighborhood adjusting to changing social and economic forces.

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP • TRUMBULL COUNTY

 YOUNGSTOWN COUNTRY CLUB

1402 Country Club Dr. Youngstown Country Club has been added to the National Register for its association with the area’s early20th-century industrial prosperity and the history of recreation, architecture and landscape architecture in the Mahoning Valley. The National Register listing includes the 18-hole golf course, Tudor-style clubhouse and other historic features of the site. Reminiscent of an English manor house, the clubhouse was built in 1929 incorporating elements of a firedamaged 1912 clubhouse. The course was designed by English professional golfer and golf course architect Herbert Haydn Barker in 1911–1912. The spirit of Barker’s original design remains present, with enhancements by Scottish golf course designer Donald J. Ross about 1920 and Canadian golf architect Geoffrey Cornish in 1970.

MANTUA CENTER • PORTAGE COUNTY

 MANTUA CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT

(Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation) • 3991–4103 State Route 82, 11670–11755 Mantua Center Rd., 11653–11677 Diagonal Rd. and 11701–11715 School Lane

Mantua Center is at the geographic center of Portage County’s Mantua Township. Originally listed in the National Register in 1974, the Mantua Center Historic District reflects the settlement of this crossroads community in northeast Ohio’s Connecticut Western Reserve by first- and secondgeneration pioneers, as well as its physical development, with a core of community buildings that serve surrounding rural homesteads. The 1974 district includes the public common, town hall, two churches and two houses, all in the Greek Revival style of architecture popular from the 1830s to 1850s. The recent boundary increase expands the district to take in additional examples of Greek Revival, Classic I-House and Neoclassical architecture. Its original period of significance, 1835–1895, has been extended to 1822–1914, reflecting the addition to the district of the earlier Drs. Ezekiel and Andrew J. Squire House (1822–1823) and the 1914 Mantua Center School.

McCUTCHENVILLE VICINITY • SENECA COUNTY

 CAMP PITTENGER

8877 S. Township Rd. 131

A campsite since 1925, this property became Camp Pittenger when it was purchased by the Tiffin YMCA

in 1938. It has been added to the National Register for its place in local social history. YMCAs from Fremont, Fostoria, Tiffin, Findlay and Wyandot County held various camps there over the years until 1978. Notably, the Ohio Society for Crippled Children (Easter Seals) operated an annual camping program for children and teens with disabilities at Camp Pittenger from 1940 to 1978. Each August for nearly four decades, campers with physical and intellectual disabilities lived there, participating in adaptive recreation and building connections with other peers with disabilities from across the state. Many of Camp Pittenger’s original structures—including its cabins, lodge, pool and bridges—remain in use today by the present owner, Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp, which sought the designation. The heavily wooded 30-acre site is along a half-mile of the Sandusky River 10 miles south of Tiffin. A ravine running through it feeds the Sandusky River.

OAKWOOD • MONTGOMERY COUNTY

 DAYTON COUNTRY CLUB

555 Kramer Rd.

Added to the National Register for its locally significant architecture and landscape architecture and its association with the history of outdoor recreation and culture in the area, the Dayton Country Club came into existence in 1907. Dayton architect William Earl Russ designed the first clubhouse and Frank Hill Smith, a Dayton construction engineer, contractor and architect, signed the drawings for a nine-hole

golf course on the property, both opened in 1909. In 1912, Dayton Riding Club built a stable there. It burned in 1927, and the club built a new one in 1928 that still stands. After the clubhouse caught fire in 1929, club member and architect Louis Lott designed a renovated and expanded clubhouse that opened in 1930. In 1935, the club hired professional golfer and golf course designer Donald J. Ross to redesign and expand its course to 18 holes. The Ross course remains with few alterations.

YOUNGSTOWN • MAHONING COUNTY

 LEGAL ARTS CENTRE

101 Market St.

Built in 1965, the Legal Arts Centre is one of the most distinctive mid-century modern buildings in downtown Youngstown. The fourstory office building with parking garage has been added to the National Register for its design, which reflects the use of new materials in construction after World War II. Local developer Stephen C. Baytos designed the Legal Arts Centre and worked with Valley Steel Erectors to build it. The building features Bethlehem Steel’s

then-new hollow structural steel sections, curtain-wall construction, aluminum storefronts and windows, concrete and enameled-steel piers and spandrels, and three-story mosaic tile murals with an abstract modernist theme.

YOUNGSTOWN • MAHONING COUNTY

 SCHULTE-UNITED BUILDING–

G.C. MURPHY’S BUILDING

27 W. Federal St.

Added to the National Register for its association with the history of commerce in downtown Youngstown, the SchulteUnited–G.C. Murphy’s Building was completed in 1929. The twostory building is faced in glazed terra cotta, a popular choice for downtown buildings at the time. A national chain of “five-anddime” stores selling a variety of merchandise, Schulte-United was formed in 1928 and grew quickly to 59 stores, then filed for bankruptcy in 1931, a victim of the Great Depression. The Youngstown store was acquired by the similar-butlarger G.C. Murphy Co. chain, which operated there from 1933 to 1959, offering affordable and convenient

shopping during downtown Youngstown’s heyday.

ZANESVILLE • MUSKINGUM COUNTY

 DOWNTOWN ZANESVILLE

HISTORIC DISTRICT

Roughly bounded by Third, Market, Seventh and South streets

Muskingum County’s largest community, Zanesville was founded in 1800 and has been a center of commercial and industrial trade ever since. By the 1970s, its trade area encompassed 225,000–250,000 people and was the 12th largest in Ohio. The Downtown Zanesville Historic District reflects the city’s commercial heyday from 1830 to 1976. The historic National Road (Main Street) forms the east-west spine of the historic district, terminating at the famous Y Bridge over the Muskingum River. The district includes 82 historic commercial, governmental, residential and religious properties, among them 10 previously listed in the National Register.

OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION

Historic Sites & Museums

NORTHWEST OHIO

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve

Cooke-Dorn House

Fallen Timbers Battlefield Memorial Park

Fort Amanda Memorial Park

Fort Jefferson Memorial Park

Fort Meigs

Fort Recovery Museum & Monument

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Indian Mill

Inscription Rock Petroglyphs

Johnston Farm & Indian Agency

Lockington Locks

NORTHEAST OHIO

Custer Monument

Fort Laurens

McCook House

Museum of Ceramics

Quaker Yearly Meeting House (Open by Appointment) & Free Labor Store/Benjamin Lundy House (Preservation in Progress • Not Open)

Schoenbrunn Village

Shaker Historical Museum

Tallmadge Church

Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor

Zoar Village

CENTRAL OHIO

Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve

Hanby House

Logan Elm

Newark Earthworks

Ohio History Center & Ohio Village

Poindexter Village Historic Site

(Preservation in Progress • Not Open)

Shrum Mound

Wahkeena Nature Preserve

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites

SOUTHWEST OHIO

Adena Mansion & Gardens

Davis Memorial Nature Preserve

Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve

Fort Hill Earthworks & Nature Preserve

Harriet Beecher Stowe House

John Rankin House

Miamisburg Mound

National Afro-American

Museum & Cultural Center

Paul Laurence Dunbar House

Serpent Mound

Story Mound

U.S. Grant Birthplace

U.S. Grant Boyhood Home & Schoolhouse

William Henry Harrison Tomb

SOUTHEAST OHIO

Big Bottom Memorial Park

Buckeye Furnace

Buffington Island Battlefield Memorial Park

Campus Martius Museum (Closed for Construction)

John & Annie Glenn Museum

Leo Petroglyphs & Nature Preserve

National Road & Zane Grey Museum

Ohio River Museum

Our House Tavern

PROGRAMS & EXHIBITS AT THE & Ohio Village

SUMMER IN THE CENTER Museum Tours

Ohio History Center

COSI SCIENCE FESTIVAL

Architecture of the Ohio History Center

WEDS., MAY 1 • 3 P.M.

Ohio History Center, Columbus 4

Learn about our one-of-a-kind building newly added to the National Register of Historic Places in this program with architectural historian Barb Powers of the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. Included with Ohio History Center museum admission. 800.686.6124

COSI SCIENCE FESTIVAL

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

THURS., MAY 2 • 3 P.M.

Ohio History Center, Columbus 4

Learn about Ohio’s Hopewell people, ancient American Indians who used a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy and geology to build the 2,000-yearold Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, with Ohio History Connection Senior Archaeologist Brad Lepper. Included with Ohio History Center museum admission. 800.686.6124

COSI’S BIG SCIENCE CELEBRATION

The Toys Are Back in Town— Ohio’s Playful Past

SAT., MAY 4 • 11 A.M.–5 P.M.

COSI, 333 W. Broad St., Columbus

Hosted by Ohio History Center, Columbus 4 Our booth at COSI’s Big Science Celebration will highlight Ohio’s interesting toy history and feature Ohio-made toys and brands. Try to identify the simple machines that make up each toy and create your own version of an Etch A Sketch card. 800.686.6124

PLEASURES OF THE CUP

Drinks of the Speakeasy

SAT., MAY 11 • 7–9 P.M.

Ohio Village, Columbus 4 Travel back to a world of bathtub gin, flappers and speakeasies. Learn how Prohibition sent alcohol from bars and taverns to secret watering holes. Sample drinks of the 1920s and 1930s as you discover what’s really going on behind the staid facades of Ohio Village. 21+. Alcohol included with admission. Advance registration required. $45, $40/Ohio History Connection member; $30/designated driver, $25/Ohio History Connection member designated driver. 800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/ speakeasy

Ohio Village Opening Day Exposition

SAT., MAY 25 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Ohio Village, Columbus 4 Enjoy live music, an artisan market, vaudeville performers, a visiting flea circus and more during this special day opening the 2024 Ohio Village season. Included with Ohio History Center & Ohio Village admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission. 800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/village

SUMMER IN THE CENTER

Storytime at the Museum

THURS., JUNE 6, 13, 20, 27, JULY 11 & 18 • 10:30–11 A.M.

Stop by with the little ones on Thursday mornings in June and July for a special picture book storytime followed by an activity for kids age 3–6. Included with Ohio History Center museum admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission. 800.686.6124.

FRI. JUNE 7, 14, 21, 28, JULY 5, 12 & 19 11–11:30 A.M. & 1–1:30 P.M.

Join a museum staff member for a tour that could cover a variety of different historical subjects ranging from natural history to textiles. Included with Ohio History Center museum admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission. 800.686.6124

SUMMER IN THE CENTER 1950s Road Trip

SAT., JUNE 1, 15, 22, JULY 6, 13 & 20 11–11:30 A.M.

In this special 1950s-themed activity for kids age 6–12, participants help create the perfect ’50s getaway! Included with Ohio History Center museum admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission. 800.686.6124

Storybook Village

SAT., JUNE 8 • 10 A.M.–3 P.M.

Ohio Village, Columbus 4 Welcome to Storybook Village, where storybook characters magically come to life! Bring your little ones to meet characters from popular fairy tales, TV shows and children’s stories. Ask Rapunzel to let down her hair, help Cinderella with her chores and fend off the dastardly Captain Hook. Included with Ohio History Center & Ohio Village admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission plus early admission at 9 or 9:30 a.m. with required advance timed tickets. Everyone, including members, must have advance timed tickets: 800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/ storybook

Thank you to Storybook Village sponsor Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage.

Juneteenth Jubilee Festival

SUN., JUNE 16 • NOON–4 P.M.

Ohio Village, Columbus 4 Step back in time for an 1890s-style Juneteenth Jubilee Day Festival in Ohio Village commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans through historical interpretations, storytelling and dance. Free with advance registration recommended. 800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/Juneteenth

Supported by Honda.

4–12.

History Connection members and ages 3 & under enjoy free admission.

Ohio Village Summer Season Opening

MAY 25, OHIO VILLAGE

ANNUAL MEETING & FÊTE

Midsummer on the Terrace

THURS., JUNE 20 • 5–9:30 P.M.

Ohio History Center, Columbus 4 5–6:30: Hear four presenters share their “brief but spectacular” takes on the recent addition of Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. 6:30–9:30: Party on the Terrace—bites, beverages, cash bar and DJ Mazeppa spinning Ohio jams. Free to Ohio History Connection members with required advance registration. $25 non-member with required advance registration.800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/annualmeeting

Independence Day in Ohio Village

SAT., JULY 6 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Ohio Village, Columbus 4 Celebrate American independence 1890s style in our recreated 19th-century community! Vote in the village election, explore the homes and businesses, and play old-fashioned games on the village green. Included with Ohio History Center admission. Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission. Advance tickets recommended: 800.686.6124 or ohiohistory.org/village

FEATURED EXHIBITS

Indigenous Wonders of Our World—The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

ONGOING

Learn about eight 2,000-year-old Hopewell earthworks in Ohio: Fort Ancient, near Oregonia and Lebanon; Newark’s Great Circle and Octagon; and Hopewell Mound Group, Mound City, Hopeton Earthworks, Seip Earthworks and High Bank Works, all near Chillicothe. Unique in the world, they’ve recently been named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The exhibit examines mathematical similarities among them, their enormous scale and their alignments to the solstices and the 18.6-year lunar cycle. An immersive component allows you to experience the astronomical alignments.

Making Ohio Home—Early Ohio Immigrant Experiences

ONGOING

Immigrants from within and beyond the borders of the United States flocked to Ohio in the 1800s. They came in search of good farmland, better working conditions, political freedom and economic opportunities. Explore stories of seven representative immigrants who helped grow Ohio’s population from 45,365 in 1800 to more than 4.1 million in 1900.

1950s—Building the American Dream

ONGOING

Peek in the closets and snoop in the drawers of a real, fully furnished Lustron steel house made right here in Ohio. From the contents of the cupboards to the news on TV and the toys in the yard, this hands-on exhibit is a fascinating journey back in time.

World War I Display

ONGOING

See equipment, weapons, uniforms and memorabilia.

Ohio History Center & Ohio Village Hours

Museum WEDS.–SUN. 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

CLOSED MON.–TUES.

Ohio Village

REOPENS SAT., MAY 25

WEDS.–SUN. 10 A.M.–5 P.M. CLOSED MON.–TUES.

Archives & Library

OPEN WITHOUT APPOINTMENT

WEDS. 12:30–3 P.M.

THURS.–FRI. 10 A.M.–3 P.M. CLOSED SAT.–TUES.

SCHEDULE YOUR PERSONALIZED RESEARCH APPOINTMENT: ohiohistory.libcal.com

Plaza Cafe

MON.–FRI. 9 A.M.–2 P.M.

SAT. 10 A.M.–3 P.M. CLOSED SUN.

ATTEND FROM ANYWHERE!

Online Events

VOICES FOR TRUTH LITERATURE DISCUSSION SERIES

How Can We Rise?

WEDS., MAY 1 • 7 P.M.

Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati and Online— Attend From Anywhere! 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 This series highlights moments in American history when eloquent voices arose, often from the margins, to address important issues, usually related to social justice. May is Mental Health Month. Listen to voices expressing challenges to mental health and ways of affirming it. We’ll read and discuss writings by Maya Angelou, Wendell Berry, Gloria Steinem and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Free with required advance registration: 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy.org/ upcoming-events

MEMBER VIP

Get to Know Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve

TUES., MAY 21 • 3–4 P.M.

Online—Attend From Anywhere! 4 Meet site manager and archaeologist Bill Kennedy for an introduction to the Ohio History Connection’s Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve. Learn about the history and significance of Fort Ancient and how it relates to the seven other sites that make up the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, recently named to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Free to Ohio History Connection members with required advance registration: ohiohistory.org/ knowfortancient

Memberships make terrific retirement gifts, since many people have “travel more” on their wish lists!

Presidential History Book Club

WEDS., MAY 29 • NOON–1 P.M. WEDS., JUNE 26 • NOON–1 P.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont and Online—Attend From Anywhere! 4 You’re invited to read and discuss books about the American presidency with this free book club. In May and June, the club is reading A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik. This event will take place in person and online. For online login information, email jdubbert@rbhayes.org. Bring your lunch if you’d like. Sponsored by Richard and Kathy Smith. 800.998.7737

MEMBER VIP

Get to Know the State Historic Preservation Office

TUES., JUNE 25 • 3–4 P.M.

Online—Attend From Anywhere! 4 Join Diana Welling, Mariangela Pfister and Barb Powers of the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office to learn about the National Register of Historic Places, tax incentives for historic preservation and how the office and its work benefit Ohio. Free to Ohio History Connection members with required advance registration: ohiohistory.org/ preservation

SEMI-COLON CLUB DISCUSSION

Poetry of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

SAT., JUNE 22 • 10:30 A.M.

Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati and Online— Attend From Anywhere! 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 Find selected readings at stowehousecincy.org 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy.org/upcomingevents

Events & Exhibits

Many programs and events at Ohio History Connection museums and attractions require advance registration. To register, call the number or visit the website listed with each program.

Our online calendar offers more up-to-date information about programs and events at Ohio History Connection museums and attractions. Find it at ohiohistory.org/calendar

Questions? Call 800.840.6127

STATEWIDE

Preservation Awards Deadline

SAT., JUNE 1

Each year, the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office presents awards in two categories: Public Education and Awareness, and Preservation Merit. Nominations are due June 1. For nomination forms and more information, visit ohiohistory.org/hpawards or call 614.298.200 0.

2025 History Fund Grant

Applications Available

FRI., JUNE 21

The History Fund (see page 8) is a competitive matching grants program for nonprofits and local government entities in Ohio, like local historical societies, public libraries, genealogical societies, university archives and special collections, historic preservation groups, archaeological societies, county records management offices and incorporated “friends” groups of the above.

Applications for History Fund grants to be awarded in 2025 are due Sept. 10, 2024. For details and application forms, visit ohiohistory.org/historyfund or call 614.298.2000

OHIO

CENTRAL OHIO

Wildflowers and Ferns

SUN., MAY 19 • 1–3 P.M.

Wahkeena Nature Preserve, Sugar Grove near Lancaster 4 On this guided spring walk, learn about the many species of wildflowers and ferns native to Wahkeena. We’ll explore identification, folklore and other natural history topics along the trails. Free. 800.297.1883, ohiohistory.org/ wahkeena or fairfieldcountyparks.org

The Hanby-Wright Family Connection

SAT., MAY 25 • 1–4 P.M.

Hanby House, Westerville 4 Tour the Hanby House and hear about the marriage that joined the Hanby and Wright families along with Orville Wright’s 1947 visit to the Hanby House museum and the items he donated from his flight at Kitty Hawk. Free. 614.891.6289, ohiohistory.org/hanby or westervillehistory.org

Gardening

SAT., JUNE 8 • 1–4 P.M.

Hanby House, Westerville 4 Hanby House will be hosting presentations on gardening with an emphasis on native plants. Tour the house and kitchen garden to learn about the use of plants in the 19th-century household. 614.891.6289

Focus on Ferns

SUN., JUNE 9 • 1–3 P.M.

SUN., JULY 7 • 1–3 P.M.

Wahkeena Nature Preserve, Sugar Grove

Join the naturalist on a two-hour walk to view more than 30 different species of native ferns and learn easy tips for identification. Free. 800.297.1883, ohiohistory.org/wahkeena or fairfieldcountyparks.org

Silent Movie Comedy Night

THURS., JUNE 13 • 7:30–9 P.M.

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites, Marion 4 Grab some popcorn and settle in for some laughs with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin—the same films that were shown in the White House for President Warren G. Harding. Bring your own outdoor chair. Freewill donation. In case of rain, the event will move inside. 800.600.6894

TEATIME WITH FLORENCE HARDING Flower Arranging 101

THURS., JUNE 20 • NOON–2 P.M.

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites, Marion 4 Florence Harding often invited people to the White House to join her for tea, scrumptious treats and good conversation. We’re inviting you to do the same, and we’re featuring floral designer Kelly Taylor from Marion Flower Shop to give you some ideas for showing off your backyard flowers in stunning arrangements. Advance registration required by June 13. 800.600.6894

The Westerville Underground Railroad and Beyond

SAT., JUNE 22 • 1–4 P.M. Hanby House, Westerville 4 Tour the Hanby House and learn about people and places in Westerville that were part of the effort to aid freedom seekers—the Hanbys and Hanby House among them. Free. 614.891.6289

Silent Movie Drama Night

THURS., JUNE 27 • 7:30–9 P.M.

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites, Marion 4 Get serious with some 1920s drama during our second silent movie night. We promise lots of popcorn and good times in the south courtyard of the Warren G. Harding Presidential Library & Museum. Bring your own outdoor chair. Freewill donation. In case of rain, the event will move inside. 800.600.6894

CENTRAL

Juneteenth Jubilee Celebration Independence Day

NORTHEAST OHIO

Tour Historic Tallmadge Church ONGOING

Tallmadge Church, Tallmadge 4 Tour this 1825 Federal-style church by master builder Lemuel Porter. A landmark on Tallmadge Circle, it’s a reminder of northeast Ohio’s New England heritage. Tallmadge Historical Society is pleased to welcome visitors by appointment. Call 330.630.5760 to make a reservation.

SPEAKER SERIES

Not Since Tecumseh: Darkness at Midday Over the Ohio Country— Total Eclipse of the Sun

SAT., MAY 4 • 11 A.M.–1 P.M. Fort Laurens, Bolivar 4 Hear Dr. Tom O’ Grady, who teaches physics and astronomy at Ohio University, present Not Since Tecumseh: Darkness at Midday Over the Ohio Country—Total Eclipse of the Sun. 800.283.8914, 330.874.2059 or fortlaurensmuseum.org

Maifest

SAT., MAY 11 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M. Zoar Village, Zoar 4 Celebrate spring with a traditional German festival. Enjoy Cleveland Kraut, brats and German potato salad from Canal Tavern of Zoar; craft beers; German music; guest speakers; free museum tours; games and make-and-take projects for kids; and (of course) a maypole! Attend a German car show featuring antique German-

made vehicles. Car owners can register ($10) day-of or in advance: 330.874.3011 or zoarinfo@historiczoarvillage. com . Maifest is free. Guided village tours during Maifest: $5, Free/ age 11 & under. 800.262.6195 or historiczoarvillage.com

Rockin’ the Revolution

SAT., JUNE 15 • 2–8 P.M.

Fort Laurens, Bolivar 4 Enjoy an outdoor concert with food trucks, beer and live music benefiting the Fort Laurens historic site and museum. Featured are locally made Lockport Brewery beer and multiple bands playing various styles and eras of rock every two hours. Bring a chair or blanket and spend the day. $7/ person includes museum admission. 800.283.8914, 330.874.2059 or fortlaurensmuseum.org

NORTHWEST OHIO

NORTHWEST OHIO

Mystic Giants Tree Tour

SAT., MAY 11 • ONE-HOUR TOUR LEAVES FROM THE MUSEUM AT 10 A.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 See some of the larger trees on the 25-acre Rutherford B. Hayes estate, Spiegel Grove, and learn how to figure out the age of trees and how trees affect their environment. Required advance tickets are available at rbhayes.org. $10, $7/ages 6–18, Free/age 5 & under. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

Sedges of Ohio

SAT., MAY 18 • 10 A.M.–NOON

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, Urbana Cedar Bog has 30+ native sedges! Join Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves botanist Andrew Gibson to explore the different types of sedges Ohio has to offer. $5, Free/Ohio History Connection member. 800.860.0147, 937.484.3744, ohiohistory.org/ cedarbog or cedarbognp.org

Large Odonata at Cedar Bog

SAT., MAY 25 • 10 A.M.–NOON Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, Urbana Join volunteer Jim Lemon, an odonata enthusiast and researcher, to learn about the dragonflies and damselflies that inhabit Cedar Bog. Did you know that the elfin skimmer, the smallest dragonfly in North America and second smallest in the world, lives there by the hundreds? $5, Free/Ohio History Connection member. 800.860.0147, 937.484.3744, ohiohistory.org/ cedarbog or cedarbognp.org

First Siege 1813

SAT., MAY 25 • 9:30 A.M.–5 P.M.

Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Be in the thick of it when War of 1812 reenactors from all over North America come together to commemorate the 1813 siege of Fort Meigs with military parades, drills, concerts, weapons demonstrations, lectures, tours and battle reenactments—a festival of living history! $12, $10/senior, $7/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/fortmeig s or fortmeigs.org

OHIO VILLAGE, JUNE 16

OHIO VILLAGE, JULY 6

NORTHEAST OHIO

Celtic Heritage Festival

SAT., MAY 25 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

SUN., MAY 26 • NOON–5 P.M.

Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Piqua

Explore the Johnston family’s UlsterScots roots through Celtic music Saturday and Highland Games Sunday. Both days, tour a frontier encampment, their 1829 home, the nearby American Indian museum and the restored Miami and Erie Canal. (Canal boat requires tickets due to limited seating.) Craft and food vendors will be on hand, too. $10, $9/senior, $5/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 2 & under. 800.752.2619, ohiohistory.org/ johnston or johnstonfarmohio.com

Presidential History Book Club

WEDS., MAY 29 • NOON–1 P.M.

WEDS., JUNE 26 • NOON–1 P.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont and Online—Attend From Anywhere! 4 See page 18.

Orchid Walk

SAT., JUNE 8 • NOON–2 P.M.

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, Urbana Stroll the boardwalk to admire showy lady’s slipper orchids by the hundreds. Cedar Bog Association naturalists will be on hand to answer questions. $5, Free/Ohio History Connection member. 800.860.0147, 937.484.3744, ohiohistory.org/cedarbog or cedarbognp.org

Whaur Aur Ye Frae

SAT., JUNE 8 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Piqua Immerse yourself in the Johnstons’ Ulster-Scots heritage through tales and music. Enjoy storytelling, guided house tours focusing on the family’s roots, Scottish dancing exhibitions and music by the Drab Irish Band. $10, $9/ senior, $5/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 2 & under. 800.752.2619, ohiohistory.org/ johnston or johnstonfarmohio.com

Verandah Concerts

WEDS., JUNE 12 & 26, JULY 10 & 24, AUG. 7 & 21 • FREE ICE CREAM SOCIAL AT 6:30 P.M. • CONCERT BEGINS AT 7 P.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy these free concerts on the lawn of the President Rutherford B. Hayes home. JUNE 12: Lake Plains Barbershop Chorus. JUNE 26: Common Chords—Robert Jones &

Matt Watroba. JULY 10: Grand Royale Ükulelists of the Black Swamp (GRÜBS). JULY 24: Bridge County Bluegrass Band. AUG. 7: Matthew Ball, the Boogie Woogie Kid. AUG. 21: North Coast Big Band. Verandah Concerts are sponsored by Fremont Federal Credit Union. If there are thunderstorms on concert night, the event will be canceled. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

Tree Tour of Spiegel Grove

SAT., JUNE 15 • ONE-HOUR TOUR LEAVES FROM THE MUSEUM AT 10 A.M. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 Walk the arboretum and learn about various trees. Required advance tickets are at rbhayes.org.

Tickets $10, $7/ages 6–18, Free/age 5 & under. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

Brigade Napoleon

SAT., JUNE 15 • 9:30 A.M.–5 P.M. Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Many consider the War of 1812 to be the North American chapter of the larger and global Napoleonic Wars. Visit Fort Meigs for a look at the rest of the world’s armies during our own frontier conflict. See British, French and Eastern European troops encamped and on the battlefield at this living history event. $12, $10/senior, $7/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/ fortmeigs or fortmeigs.org

Out From the Hearth— Unveiling the Lives of 18th-Century Women

SAT., JUNE 15 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Piqua 4 Journey back in time to meet Elizabeth Cameron, portrayed by historian Laura Supinger. Learn about the jobs women had in the 1700s, their degrees of education and what laws affected their lives. $10, $9/ senior, $5/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 2 & under. 800.752.2619, ohiohistory.org/ johnston or johnstonfarmohio.com

Napoleonic Gaming Convention

FRI., JUNE 14–SUN., JUNE 16

9 A.M.–4 P.M.

Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Take part in a three-day convention of tabletop military-strategy games, replaying battles of the early 19th century, with morning and afternoon sessions each day. Check fortmeigs.org for the full schedule. Rules and figures by

Thurs., June 20 5–9:30 p.m.

OHIO HISTORY CENTER, COLUMBUS

Ohio History Connection members free with RSVP:

ohiohistory.org/annualmeeting 800.686.6124

GET 20% OFF with discount code GIFT24 through June 17 and get get Dad something he’ll use all year long. Call 800.686.1545 or visit ohiohistory.org/join. Give him the gift of road trips & weekend adventures with an Ohio History Connection gift membership! YOUR DAD DOESN’T NEED ANOTHER TIE FOR FATHER’S DAY.

Bacchus, buildings by Total Battle Miniatures. A book sale accompanies the convention. $12, $10/senior, $7/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/ fortmeigs or fortmeigs.org

Gardening for Moths

SAT., JUNE 22 • 8–9:30 P.M.

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, Urbana Learn how to help the ecosystem around you by moth-gardening in your yard. Speaker Chelsea Gottfried, co-author of the new book Gardening for Moths: A Regional Guide, will lead a pictorial journey into an intriguing and little-known world all around us. $5, Free/Ohio History Connection member. 800.860.0147, 937.484.3744, ohiohistory.org/cedarbog or cedarbognp.org

Moth Night

SAT., JUNE 22 • 9:30–10:30 P.M.

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, Urbana After Chelsea Gottfried’s presentation Gardening for Moths, Jim Lemon and Jim McCormac will host Moth Night at the bog. Learn about the many different species of moths that inhabit Cedar Bog Nature Preserve. Bring a flashlight and a camera and hope the moths say cheese! Free. 800.860.0147, 937.484.3744, ohiohistory.org/ cedarbog or cedarbognp.org

GroveFest

SAT., JUNE 22 • 10 A.M.–2 P.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 Enjoy free nature activities on the grounds of Spiegel Grove, the President Rutherford B. Hayes estate. Visit displays by regional nature organizations, with hands-on crafts celebrating the president and first lady’s love of the outdoors. (Her favorite pastime was fishing, and she loved nature so much that the Hayes White House china features flora and fauna of the United States, from deer and raccoons to fish and lobsters.)

Ice cream, hot dogs and popcorn will be available. Except for visitors with handicapped tags, who may park on-site, parking is on the street and in ProMedica Memorial Hospital’s parking lots at Buildings A and B, 605 Third Ave. Spiegel Grove is a short walk east. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

First Siege 1813

Fort Meigs After Dark Lantern Tour

SAT., JUNE 22 • 8:45–10:45 P.M.

Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Experience Fort Meigs, a War of 1812 fort, after dark by lantern light. This two-hour military history walking tour looks at activities of the U.S. Army after sundown during the war. Led by your guide, see the evening parade, the locking of the gates, sleeping conditions and guard postings. Hear the musical performance of the tattoo plus readings from real diaries of Fort Meigs soldiers and from the orders of their commanders. $17, $15/ senior. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/ fortmeigs or fortmeigs.org

What’s in the Johnstons’ Backyard?

SAT., JUNE 22 • 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Piqua 4 On this guided walk through the Johnstons’ beloved backyard and around the farm pond, learn how American Indians and early Ohio settlers made use of native flora and fauna for food, medicine and other purposes. Ongoing throughout the day, the tours are included with Johnston Farm admission: $10, $9/ senior, $5/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 2 & under. 800.752.2619, ohiohistory.org/ johnston or johnstonfarmohio.com Trees Named in Honor of People Tour

WEDS., JUNE 26 • ONE-HOUR TOUR LEAVES FROM THE MUSEUM AT 5:30 P.M.

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 Learn the stories of people

who visited Spiegel Grove and had trees named in their honor, and about the trees themselves. Get required advance tickets at rbhayes.org. $10, $7/ ages 6–18, Free age 5 & under. After, stay for the free Verandah Concert on the lawn of the Hayes home. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

Crossbow to Cartridge SAT., JUNE 29 • 9:30 A.M.–5 P.M. Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Behold the adoption of gunpowder, the great revolution in military technology. At this living history event, explore 15thto 17th-century military camps, see weapons demonstrations and meet warriors and camp followers of distant Europe and early America. $12, $10/ senior, $7/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/ fortmeigs or fortmeigs.org

Explore the Artistic Tapestry of the Johnston House

SAT., JUNE 29, JULY 27 & AUG. 24: 10 A.M.–5 P.M. • SUN., JUNE 30, JULY 28 & AUG. 25: NOON–5 P.M. Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Piqua Learn about early Ohio decorative arts in the Johnston House and gain insights into the 1967 and 2018 restorations. Advance registration required. $10, $9/senior, $5/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 2 & under. 800.752.2619, ohiohistory.org/ johnston or johnstonfarmohio.com

Independence Day Concert

THURS., JULY 4 • 2–3:30 P.M. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont 4 Hear the Toledo Concert Band perform patriotic favorites at this

FORT MEIGS, PERRYSBURG, MAY 25

OHIO HISTORY CENTER, COLUMBUS, JUNE 20

Midsummer on the Terrace free concert on the lawn, culminating with Civil War soldiers firing cannons to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Food trucks will sell lunch and snacks. Tour the Hayes Home and Museum, open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Ohio History Connection members enjoy free admission.) The Presidential Library will be closed. Park on the grounds, weather permitting, on the street or in ProMedica Memorial Hospital’s parking lots at Buildings A and B, 605 Third Ave. Sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council. 800.998.7737 or rbhayes.org

Independence Day 1813

THURS., JULY 4 • NOON–5 P.M.

Fort Meigs, Perrysburg 4 Visit the reconstructed War of 1812 fort on July 4 for a special guided tour of the grounds. See musket demonstrations, hear military field music and be on hand when soldiers reenact the 18-shot National Salute (for 18 states) as fired at Fort Meigs on Independence Day in 1813. $12, $10/ senior, $7/student, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8916, ohiohistory.org/ fortmeigs or fortmeigs.org

SOUTHEAST OHIO

SOUTHEAST OHIO

Buckeye Furnace Presents Raccoon Creek Market

SAT., JUNE 8 • 10 A.M.–4 P.M.

Buckeye Furnace, Wellston 4 Raccoon Creek Market is an outdoor vintage and makers’ market featuring vintage, repurposed and handcrafted items on the grounds of Buckeye Furnace,

a 19th-century rural iron-making furnace of the kind once scattered throughout southern Ohio that helped the Union win the Civil War. Free. 800.860.0144, ohiohistory.org/ buckeyefurnace, buckeyefurnace.org or raccooncreekmarket.com

SOUTHWEST OHIO

SOUTHWEST OHIO

VOICES FOR TRUTH LITERATURE DISCUSSION SERIES

How Can We Rise?

WEDS., MAY 1 • 7 P.M.

Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati and Online— Attend From Anywhere! 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 See page 18.

Skip Into Art with Steve Patrick SAT., MAY 4 • NOON–1 P.M. Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe This free art class is for children ages 5 and up, who must have a parent or chaperone with them. Admission is free, and art supplies are provided. 740.772.1500, 800.319.7248 or info@ adenamansion.com

WALKING TOUR

Abolitionists and African Americans in Walnut Hills

SAT., MAY 11 • 10 A.M.–NOON Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 Underground Railroad conductors, Olympic gold medalists, internationally famous authors and myriad small businesses have all thrived in Walnut Hills throughout its history. Learn about the women and men who

built and invested in this Queen City neighborhood over the past 200 years. This walk will cover about 1.3 miles. $12. Advance registration required. 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy. org/upcoming-events

Getting to the Root of the Matter

SAT., MAY 11 • NOON–4 P.M.

Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, near Oregonia and Lebanon Explore what American Indians knew about how plants help humans in this program that examines plants from Fort Ancient’s medicinal garden and the surrounding woods. $7, $6/ ages 6–17 or 60+, Free/age 5 & under. 800.283.8904, 513.932.4421 or ohiohistory.org/fortancient

Heirloom Plant Sale

SAT., MAY 4–SUN., MAY 19 • WEDNESDAY–SATURDAY 9 A.M.–5 P.M. • SUNDAY NOON–5 P.M. • CLOSED MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe

Adena’s annual Heirloom Plant Sale offers varieties raised and passed on before the advent of industrial farming. Many go back at least as far as Thomas Worthington’s time (1773–1827), with flowers, tomatoes, vegetables and herbs on sale. Shop early in the sale for the best selection. 740.772.1500, 800.319.7248 or adenamansion.com

JOHNSTON FARM & INDIAN AGENCY, PIQUA, MAY 25 & 26

Celtic Heritage Festival

800.686.6124 ohiohistory.org/wonders

WALKING TOUR

African American History Along the Cincinnati Riverfront

SAT., MAY 18 • 10 A.M.–NOON Covington and Cincinnati 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 Explore the deep significance of the Ohio River for Cincinnati African Americans’ history of resistance, achievement and leadership from the 1800s through the 20th century. This walking tour starts at the John Augustus Roebling Statue on the Covington, Kentucky, side of the Roebling Bridge and ends in Smale Park on the Cincinnati side of the bridge. $12. Advance registration required: 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy.org/ upcoming-events

A Servant’s View

SUN., MAY 19 • 2–3 P.M.

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe Join local historian Beverly Gray for a discussion about the servants who worked at Adena, the home of early governor and “Father of Ohio Statehood” Thomas Worthington. Free. 800.319.7248, 740.772.1500 or adenamansion.com

EXHIBIT OPENING

Cincinnati’s Lost Founders— The Clark and Fossett Families

MON., MAY 20 • 6 P.M.

Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy.org/upcoming-events

VINTAGE BASE BALL

Adena Worthingtons vs. Ohio Village Muffins

SAT., JUNE 1 • 11 A.M.–4 P.M.

Take a road trip to our 50+ sites & create an original drawing for a chance to win great prizes!

Get all the details at ohiohistory.org/artcontest

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe Play ball! The Adena Worthingtons challenge the Ohio Village Muffins in a doubleheader of base ball (yes, two words) played by 19th-century rules. The first game begins at 11 a.m. Free. 740.772.1500, 800.319.7248 or adenamansion.com

Children’s Nature

Scavenger Hunt

SUN., JUNE 2 • 2–3 P.M.

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe

Explore the Worthington estate on a hunt for various items in nature. Children

ages 5 and up are welcome and must have a parent or chaperone accompany them. Free. 800.319.7248, 740.772.1500 or adenamansion.com

Fingerweaving

SAT., JUNE 8 • NOON–4 P.M.

Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, near Oregonia and Lebanon Try your hand at fingerweaving with instructor Marilyn Isaacs, a Haudenosaunee weaver and member of the Tuscarora Bear Clan who lives on New York’s Tuscarora Reservation. She is self-taught in the old-style loomless weaving technique popular in the 18th century. $7, $6/ages 6–17 or 60+, Free/ Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.283.8904, 513.932.4421 or ohiohistory.org/ fortancient

Happy Birthday, Harriet!

SUN., JUNE 9 • 1–4 P.M.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 Enjoy a free community event celebrating Harriet Beecher Stowe’s birthday, with kids’ activity stations, historical performances, refreshments, live music and more. 800.847.6507 or stowehousecincy.org/ upcoming-events

The Impact of World Heritage in Our Community

SUN., JUNE 9 • 2–3 P.M.

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe Join Melody Young, executive director of the Ross-Chillicothe Convention and Visitors Bureau, to learn what impact the recent UNESCO World Heritage Site designation of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks—including five ancient sites in Ross County—is expected to have on Chillicothe and the surrounding area. Free. 800.319.7248, 740.772.1500 or adenamansion.com

Mask Making with Nature SAT., JUNE 15 • 10:30 A.M.–NOON Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, near Oregonia and Lebanon Using bark and natural objects plus glue, paint and other mixed media, make a three-dimensional creation of realistic or fantasy animals, birds or insects. $10 supply fee plus Fort Ancient admission: $7, $6/ages 6–17 or 60+, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. Advance registration required: 800.283.8904, 513.932.4421 or ohiohistory.org/fortancient.

Summer Solstice Sunrise at Fort Ancient THURS., JUNE 20 • 5:30–10 A.M.

Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature

Preserve, near Oregonia and Lebanon Experience Fort Ancient’s amazing astronomical alignments for yourself. Watch the sun rise between two walls of earth to mark the first day of summer, as the American Indians who built Fort Ancient did 2,000 years ago. Free admission until 10 a.m. 800.283.8904, 513.932.4421 or ohiohistory.org/ fortancient

SEMI-COLON CLUB DISCUSSION

Poetry of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper SAT., JUNE 22 • 10:30 A.M.

Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati and Online— Attend From Anywhere! 4 Hosted by Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati 4 See page 18.

19th-Century Independence Day Celebration

SUN., JULY 7 • 2 P.M.

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe Experience Independence Day as celebrated in the early 19th century, with a reading of part of the Declaration of Independence, a reading of patriotic poems, a presentation of the flag and a toast to George Washington. This free event will take place in the picnic pavilion behind the Visitor Center. 800.319.7248, 740.772.1500 or adenamansion.com

Children’s Mosaic Flag Craft

SUN., JULY 7 • 3–4 P.M.

Adena Mansion & Gardens, Chillicothe

Have your child celebrate Independence Day with a patriotic craft! Join us to craft a mosaic flag. Free. Children ages 5 and up are welcome and must have a parent or chaperone with them. 800.319.7248, 740.772.1500 or adenamansion.com

2024 Art of Soul! Juried Art Show Call for Artists DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: JULY 24 AT 4 P.M.

Hosted by National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center, Wilberforce 4 The Ohio History Connection’s National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center will present the 10th annual Art of Soul! Juried Art

Show Oct. 19, 2024, through March 1, 2025. Artists from across the United States are invited to submit work to the juried exhibit in response to the themes of Social Justice and Black Joy. Only completed submissions with paid entry fee(s) will be accepted: $25 for one entry and $50 for up to three entries. Access the Call for Artists form and instructions at 2024artofsoulnaamcc. artcall.org. Exhibit opening, awards ceremony and reception are planned for Oct. 19. 800.752.2603 or infoNAAMCC@ohiohistory.org

FEATURED EXHIBITS • • •

African Art—Form, Function and Fraught Histories ONGOING • WEDS.–SAT.

9 A.M.–4 P.M.

National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center, Wilberforce 4 Explore African art and its impact on the world. African aesthetics challenged and shaped Western perceptions and are often misunderstood. This exhibit examines forms and functions of African art objects, their global influence and modern questions of cultural appropriation, representation and repatriation. Wright State University graduate students in public history assisted in creating it, using the museum’s extensive African art collection. Three more exhibits, African Americans Fighting for a Double Victory, Rhythm of Revolution and Queens of the Heartland, are all included with museum admission: $6, $5/senior, $3/ages 6–17, Free/Ohio History Connection member or age 5 & under. 800.752.2603 or ohiohistory. org/naamcc

See Base Ball (Yes, Two Words) Played by 19th-Century Rules!

HOME & AWAY SCHEDULE

ohiohistory.org/muffins 800.686.6124

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The Indian Citizenship Act at 100

A CENTURY OF CITIZENSHIP, MILLENNIA OF SOVEREIGNTY BY DAVID DRY

For many, U.S. citizenship is their ticket to the American dream. It bestows legal rights, grants freedoms and provides belonging in American society—in short, who wouldn’t want to be a U.S. citizen? But what if the promises of citizenship came at a cost—your land, your community and your very identity? This predicament plagued Native Americans in evaluating U.S. citizenship.

One hundred years ago, in June 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act. It conferred U.S. citizenship on all Native people within the territorial limits of the United States. Although widely hailed as a pivotal milestone in the history of civil rights, the act has a complex legacy for Native people.

Native people hold tribal sovereignty—the rights tribes enjoy as distinct nations—as a fundamental and fiercely protected principle. Throughout American history, U.S. policymakers have used U.S. citizenship as a weapon to strip Natives of their identities and their land and destroy that sovereignty.

In this 1871 Thomas Nast editorial cartoon, a police officer orders a Native American to “move on” away from the voting polls around which are clustered stereotyped ‘naturalized’ Americans.

Ottawa Chief John Wilson (Pah-Tee) in a formal three-piece suit and a beaded bandolier bag featuring a floral design.

The history of Native engagements with U.S. citizenship is deeply intertwined with Native struggles for sovereignty. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 conferred citizenship on all Natives but did not end Native activism for the rights of their tribal nations. In this way, the act ultimately ushered in a period of Native advocacy for dual citizenship—both U.S. and tribal—that represents the act’s greatest legacy and continues to define much of Native activism today.

THE HIGH PRICE OF CITIZENSHIP

The history of my own tribal community, the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, highlights the threat U.S. citizenship has posed for Native people. The Ottawa bands that later became the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma lived along the Maumee River in Ohio in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the 1830s, these Ottawa were rounded up and transported to a new reservation west of the Mississippi. Removed from their traditional homelands and lifeways, half of the Ottawa died within a few years.

Less than two decades later, the federal government threatened to remove the Ottawa again. To protect their community, the Ottawa adopted a new strategy— they resolved to become U.S. citizens. For the Ottawa, naturalization represented a desperate attempt to

avoid another deadly removal; for the federal government, it was a means to destroy the Ottawa nation and take its land.

An 1862 treaty granted the Ottawa U.S. citizenship and the right to remain in Kansas, but this was not a gift freely given. The treaty also dissolved the Ottawa Tribe and opened Ottawa lands to taxation and purchase. Ultimately, only a few years after the treaty, many Ottawa found themselves landless and penniless. As a result, under Ottawa chief John Wilson (Pah-tee), the Ottawa made their way to Indian Territory on their own. As before, the Ottawa suffered great loss of life with this removal.

CULTURE AND COMMUNITY FOR CITIZENSHIP

Dispossession and erasure tainted the extension of U.S. citizenship to Native people throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the time of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, a majority of Native people were already U.S. citizens, and most of those were naturalized through the Dawes Act of 1887.

The Dawes Act promised Natives U.S. citizenship, but it also aimed to destroy tribal communities. To secure citizenship through the Dawes Act, Native people were forced to abandon tribal control over land and divide it among individuals, and they had to live in ways the government considered “civilized.” By opening former reservation land to settlement and altering how Native people lived, policymakers hoped to compel Native assimilation. Often very explicitly, U.S. citizenship meant giving up markers of tribal identity. Some naturalization ceremonies even involved symbolic acts like shooting an arrow for the last time, abandoning their Indian name, taking a new name and pledging loyalty only to the United States. Along with Indian residential schools, extending U.S. citizenship through the Dawes Act aimed to turn Natives into Americans, and as with those schools, often Natives had little choice on whether to participate.

TOWARD THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 1924

By the early 1900s, U.S. citizenship represented a contentious topic of debate among Native people. Many feared citizenship would facilitate integration and tribal dissolution. A growing chorus of Native voices, however, saw it as a path toward legal equality.

The federal government regarded Native people as wards, meaning the government asserted near total control over them, their money and their land. To the Society of American Indians, a pan-tribal organization

of Native intellectuals, U.S. citizenship promised to free Natives from this federal paternalism.

Society of American Indians leaders pushed the issue of Native citizenship into national prominence in the early 20th century. The participation of thousands of Native Americans in the First World War gave weight to Society of American Indians demands for citizenship and helped secure passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

THE LEGACY OF THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 1924

In unilaterally conferring citizenship on Natives, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 overlooked a key component of most naturalization experiences— consent. Unsurprisingly, some Natives repudiated their U.S. citizenship. Tuscarora Chief Clinton Rickard, for example, rejected the Indian Citizenship Act, calling it “just another way of absorbing us and destroying our customs and our government.” He forcefully countered that, for Natives, “our citizenship was in our own nations.”

Other Natives celebrated their new status but rejected the assimilatory intentions of policymakers. Instead, for these Natives, U.S. citizenship represented an additional layer of identity and affiliation on top of their tribal identities.

Above: Even as late as the 1940s, American Indian citizens were routinely denied the right to vote. This document in Trujillo v. Garley is a declaratory judgment issued Aug. 11, 1948, formally prohibiting the State of New Mexico from enforcing the “non-taxed” suffrage exclusion.

Below: President Calvin Coolidge meets with Sioux Indians from the Rosebud Reservation on the White House lawn, 1925

An undated photo of President Calvin Coolidge with American Indians in Washington, D.C.

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 carries a complex legacy for Native people. Citizenship granted Natives rights and belonging in the United States, but it did so to undermine their rights and belonging in their own tribal nations.

The story of Native citizenship cannot be separated from Native struggles for sovereignty. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 profoundly influenced the trajectory of civil rights in America, but not by the mere act of granting Native Americans U.S. citizenship. Instead, its greatest legacy is the ensuing Native struggle for dual citizenship—both U.S. and tribal—that endures today.

David Dry is a citizen of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His dissertation examined Ottawa political traditions of using U.S. citizenship to oppose federal authority over tribal affairs. Dry works as an instructor of American studies and humanities at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Morganton, North Carolina.

LEARN MORE

Check out the book Citizens of a Stolen Land by Stephen Kantrowitz to learn more about how 19th-century Native people tried to bend U.S. citizenship from being a tool of tribal elimination toward serving as a means to achieve tribal priorities.

Discover more on the ramifications of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and read the text of the act on the Library of Congress blog Today in History for the date June 2 at ohiohistory.org/ Indian citizenship

Find out more about the history of Native people in Ohio by reading Brad Lepper’s article “Ohio’s Indigenous History is Part of Everyone’s History” at ohiohistory.org/Citizenship2.

WATCH

Scan the QR code to learn more about the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 from author David Dry and others in our newest episode of Echoes Extras.

LEARN MORE

IMAGE USED WITH PERMISSION OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Erma Bombeck holds a copy of her latest collection of columns, I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression, which was published in 1974.

Beyond the Byline

THE ERMA BOMBECK STORY BY NANCY NALL DERRINGER

When we talk or write about the baby boom that took place after World War II, baby boomers themselves are often the focus of attention. But for just a minute, let’s think about the parents of the baby boom, particularly their mothers.

The peak year for births during the boom was 1957, and by the mid’60s, there were millions of moms who were raising teens, tweens and toddlers, some all at the same time, and in houses where lines for the only bathroom were regular occurrences. Laundry and dishes could reach Himalayan heights, so no one could fault a mother for taking just a few minutes to herself, after the kids were off to school, to pour a cup of coffee, open the newspaper and find, to her amazement, someone who understood.

Erma Bombeck’s columns began appearing in American newspapers during this time, and it was there that a woman—or everybody, really—could turn to find her humorous musings on the lives many women were living. She began writing “Zone 59,” a local-news column about Centerville, for the Kettering-Oakwood Times in 1964, and it gradually morphed into what we think of as her classic humor column. In 1965, the Dayton Journal-Herald picked her up, paying $50 for two columns a week, and she was syndicated a year after that.

Here was the doctor who said, “If you were scheduled to fight Muhammad Ali this fall, you would have to drop fifteen pounds to make the heavyweight division.” Here was the droll observation that “There is one thing I have never taught my body how to do, and that is to figure out at 6 a.m. what it wants to eat at 6 p.m.” Or why you can never get rid of some leftovers, because “Split-pea soup has a reproduction cycle. So does beef stew.”

If you were married, raising children, trying to keep a household running and your sanity intact, Bombeck was your reality check. The Dayton native, typing away at a makeshift desk in a bedroom, was the leading—and, for many years the only—nationally syndicated humorist who, in her words, covered the utility-room beat. Art Buchwald handled Washington; Bombeck handled the homefront. And millions of readers loved her for it.

BEYOND BOMBECK’S BYLINE

Her alma mater, the University of Dayton, has benefited from that success. Behind the public image of the amusing homemaker was a savvy feminist and businesswoman with an eye toward a legacy. An exhibit now at the university library, Beyond the Byline: Erma Bombeck’s Story, is drawn from her personal papers, donated in 2021, and focuses on the career of its generous alumna.

Before she died in 1996 of complications from a kidney transplant, Bombeck and her husband, Bill, also a Dayton alum, donated $1 million to the foundation of the campus child-care center. It was a boon to other working mothers, as well as to students studying early-childhood topics, who can work and study there.

At its peak , At Wit’s End, her thrice-weekly column, was syndicated to 900 newspapers, where it mostly ran in what was then called the women’s section, a repository for food, fashion and other news thought to be of interest to female readers. And what Bombeck was telling them was exactly what they wanted, and needed, to hear.

“She was admitting the truth,” says Gina Barreca, the keynote speaker at the opening of the library exhibit. “That nobody could get this right. You can’t do a brilliant dinner party for 12 with four cans of Campbell’s soup. Bombeck could point out the ridiculousness of those expectations in people’s lives. My mother would laugh over this, and she was severely depressed.”

Barreca, an English professor at the University of Connecticut, has written or edited more than a dozen books on women, feminism and humor. That message—“that you’re not alone, and not nuts”—is one women never stop needing to hear, she says.

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN

Bombeck was 20 years into her career before she got a serious competitor in the domestic-humorist space. Dave Barry burst into pop-culture consciousness in the mid-’80s as though launched from a cannon. He achieved the same success, writing about many of the same topics as Bombeck, but within five years he’d won a Pulitzer Prize.

“She wrote three times a week, her columns were only 500 words, she sold too many books,” Barreca speculates about why Barry received journalism’s highest honor while Bombeck remained pigeonholed as a “housewife humorist.”

To be sure, she was a wildly successful one. Besides her columns, 4,500 of which now reside with the University of Dayton collection, she left behind 11 years of Good Morning America appearance scripts, 15 or 16 books, speeches, framed memorabilia, plaques and more accolades. She was grand marshal of the 1986 Rose Parade, an honor not offered to every inkstained wretch.

“She was a humble person, but she used her celebrity for good things,” says Kristina Schulz, University of Dayton archivist and coordinator of the exhibit. “She did fundraising for cancer and kidney disease. She advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment. She wrote about the suburban housewife, but she was also a working woman.”

LIFTING OTHERS

The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, also at the University of Dayton, is held over three days every other year. It brings in well-known writers and humorists to pay forward the encouragement and inspiration Bombeck found there.

The workshop’s crown jewel is the Erma Bombeck/ Anna Leffler Humorist-in-Residence Program, a twoweek stay at the University of Dayton Marriott, which starts immediately after the workshop. Two emerging humorists are given the great luxury of time in an ordinary hotel to work on their own projects, “and on the ‘Dayton Riviera,’ no less.” (The Marriott overlooks the Great Miami River.)

SELF-REVELATION

One wonders what Bombeck might have had to say about today’s target-rich environment for humorists, or what she might have thought of smartphones, social-media influencers or contemporary American politics. In such an angry country, could a little grace be extended to someone poking fun at them, and in a general-interest publication, not late-night TV?

“God, I hope so!” Barreca says. “It’s sacred when we (all) laugh at the same time. Erma understood that it’s harder to get people to laugh than cry. You can cry at a toilet paper ad, because we all know where those buttons are. But laughter leads both out of and toward real self-revelation.”

Nancy Nall Derringer is a Columbus native, now a writer and editor in Detroit.

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MORE

See the free exhibit Beyond the Byline: Erma Bombeck’s Story at the University of Dayton’s Roesch Library through July 26. Find hours, directions and details at ohiohistory.org/Erma or call 937.229.4221

Visit the University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Collection website at ermabombeckcollection. com. The site features biographical information about Bombeck as well as information about the university’s Bombeck Collection and Writers’ Workshop.

Forever, Erma is an anthology of Bombeck’s columns, subtitled Best-Loved Writing from America’s Favorite Humorist. According to Publishers Weekly, “The housewife columnist

whose gently subversive humor has won her a prominent niche in American culture is commemorated in this collection of over 120 of her most popular and memorable essays. Bombeck, whose bestsellers include All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned in Loehmann’s Dressing Room, died in 1996.”

An Ohio Historical Marker at the University of Dayton honors humorist Erma Bombeck. See the marker in person on Zehler Drive or online at ohiohistory.org/ Erma2

The suburban Centerville ranch house where the Bombeck family lived from 1959 to 1968 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

The gravesite of American humorist Erma Bombeck at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio, one of the oldest “garden” cemeteries in the United States.

It is surprising to me how slow newspaper editors are to learn that women can do newspaper work that is not ‘women’s work.’

When pioneering journalist Cora Rigby died on June 11, 1930, it was frontpage news in the Washington Star.

Women Need Not Apply

LANCASTER’S PIONEERING JOURNALIST CORA RIGBY

BY MIKE WILLIAMS

In September 1919, during the battle to ratify the 19th Amendment for women’s suffrage, the all-male National Press Club in Washington, DC, announced that it would host a luncheon for the Prince of Wales, but that women, as always, were barred from attending any activities or interviews during his visit.

Days after that snub, five women journalists sent a letter to their colleagues inviting them to organize a Women’s National Press Club. Twenty-eight women decided to join, and at their first meeting, they elected Cora Rigby as president. Rigby would soon become Washington bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor, the first woman to lead a major news organization in the capital.

Rigby wanted the new press club to fight “the discrimination of men to keep women off the newspapers—or at least to reduce their number, wages and importance to a minimum.” She led the Women’s National Press Club for its first seven years.

Cora Rigby at her desk.

Rigby had grown up in Lancaster, Ohio, where her father was a prominent farmer who also served as a justice of the peace. Her maternal grandfather was State Representative Daniel Keller, who played a role in choosing the site for The Ohio State University.

LITERARY EDITOR

Rigby attended the Western Female Seminary in Oxford but transferred to Boston University, where she joined one of the nation’s first chapters of the Kappa Kappa Gamma women’s fraternity and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Attending graduate school at The Ohio State University, she entered the world of journalism by serving as literary editor of The Lantern, the student newspaper.

She caught the politics and newspapering bug, according to Maurine Beasley, the author of the 2012 book, Women of the Washington Press. She soon began submitting articles to a Columbus daily that drew readers for its knowledge and analysis of politics in the state capital. When Rigby had first appeared at the newspaper’s office and proposed writing a daily column on state politics, the editor was scandalized and escorted her home, admonishing Rigby and her mother that a newsroom was no place for a young lady.

But Rigby persisted, and eventually the editor read one of her articles and decided to publish it. Despite the editor’s attempts to discourage her, he published more of her columns—but without a byline.

Eventually, he began paying her for her work. There were rumors, encouraged by Rigby, that the column was being written by the governor’s own secretary. Boldly, Rigby asked the editor for a desk in the newsroom. “Of course not!” he replied. “Besides, we haven’t one to spare.” Rigby strode into the newsroom and found a dusty desk in the corner, sat down and began pulling open drawers. All empty. She settled in and began writing her next column.

ON THE STAFF

As a regular staff member at the Ohio State Journal, Rigby often found herself relegated to covering “women’s interest” stories. Seeking greater challenges, she obtained a position with The Boston Globe. Rigby had to do a bit of everything, from overseeing the paper’s games and puzzles to chasing fire trucks to become a “front-page girl,”

a woman who had earned the right to cover hard news that appeared on the front page.

As she later wrote, “It is surprising to me how slow newspaper editors are to learn that women can do newspaper work that is not ‘women’s work.’” Rigby moved on to New York City, the nation’s financial and cultural capital, joining the staff of the New York Mail. In 1903, the New York Herald hired her. Over time, Rigby earned the respect of the Herald ’s notorious owner-editor, James Gordon Bennett Jr., and began editing the paper’s Sunday magazine.

By 1910, Rigby was living on a farm outside Somerset, New Jersey, with Linden, her younger brother, a bachelor, and two hired-hand German immigrants. Rigby was a tiny wisp of a woman who worked in the sharp-elbowed, mostly male world of New York journalists, but she remained a farm girl who rambled in the countryside in her off hours, a lover of birds, flowers and old houses.

She mentored younger journalists, especially those who were women, warning that if she wanted to keep her job, “a woman must, even yet, be better than a man.” Colleagues regarded her writing style as compact and forceful, commended because readers could not tell her articles had been written by a woman.

COVERING WORLD WAR I

Rigby was serving as a correspondent in London when war broke out in 1914. Upon her return, Bennett gave her a Pomeranian puppy as a sign of regard for her work. Small dogs, yacht racing, women and a bitter rivalry with fellow publisher William Randolph Hearst were among Bennett’s diverse obsessions.

He visited America just once during the Great War, lavishing attention upon his Paris Herald, while trumpeting the Allied cause and beating the drum for American intervention. When Bennett died at his French estate in May 1918, the New York Herald was floundering. Rigby jumped that sinking ship and hired on at a very different publication, The Christian Science Monitor.

Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, created the Monitor in 1908, partly in response to personal attacks from Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, but also to reform journalism itself. Eddy committed the Monitor to covering the nation and the world in a manner “to injure no man, but to

bless all mankind.” London-born editor Frederick Dixon hired Rigby for the Monitor and assigned her to Washington, DC. Dixon’s successor, Willis Abbot, elevated Rigby to head the paper’s Washington bureau in 1922.

Rigby’s straight reporting earned her the respect of both colleagues and politicians. She was a particular favorite of first lady Grace Coolidge and had gotten to know the Hoovers in London when Herbert managed food relief during the war.

On at least one occasion, a time-pressed cabinet secretary asked Rigby to write his press release and approved her effort without changing a word. That is not to say Rigby lacked a critical eye. Apart from her work on the Monitor, she was a frequent contributor to The Woman Citizen, a weekly magazine dedicated to the political education of women.

In May 1926, she published a column on the 34 senators seeking re-election that year that minced no words. “In searching their records, it must be admitted that many are drab and uninspiring.” Rigby profiled each of the senators in a manner both perceptive and succinct thanks to her seasoned political judgment.

A RELIGIOUS CONVERSION

Little is known about Rigby’s personal life. In Washington she lived in one of the district’s newest apartment buildings, the eight-story Tudor Hall (now the Henley Park Hotel) on Massachusetts Avenue. Her elderly mother, Martha, lived with her until she passed away in 1924 at the age of 81. According to Ishbel Ross in Ladies of the Press, Rigby’s closest friend was Margaret Williamson, “who knew her intimately for twenty years and lived with her in New York and Washington.”

Williamson wrote features and book reviews for the Monitor and eventually edited its Home Forum. Williamson may have encouraged Rigby to become a Christian Scientist, which she did in 1926.

At one point, Rigby contracted tuberculosis. A specialist told Rigby as she lay in a hospital bed that she needed to move to New Mexico at once if she wanted to save her life. Once he left, she dressed herself and left the hospital but passed out on her way home. The next morning, she was back at work and never set foot in New Mexico.

Neither Cora nor her brother Linden ever married. Linden’s death in November 1929 led to a decline in her own health. Rigby died at her Washington home on June 11, 1930, at the age of 64.

The Monitor ’s Washington bureau passed into the able hands of Robert S. Allen, soon to gain notoriety as co-author of a pair of exposés titled The Washington Merry-Go-Round. Allen and Drew Pearson would collaborate on a column by the same name that became one of the most widely syndicated in the nation. Another Rigby protégé, Mary K. Hornaday, enjoyed a long career at the Monitor, served a term as president of the Women’s National Press Club and published articles in Life and Look magazines.

Cora Rigby’s funeral services were held in Lancaster, where she is buried at Forest Rose Cemetery alongside her parents and brother. The National Press Club finally voted to admit women in 1971. In response, the Women’s National Press Club changed its name to the Washington Press Club and admitted men. The rival organizations merged in 1985.

Mike Williams is a freelance writer and the author of several articles on 20thcentury American history for Timeline, the History News Network, Echoes Magazine and World War II History. He co-authored The Industrial Hobarts with Peter C. Hobart and wrote a non-fiction reader for middle-school students titled 10 Great People, Places and Inventions.

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Williams recommends Women of the Washington Press: Politics, Prejudice, and Persistence by Maurine H. Beasley; Commitment to Freedom: The Story of The Christian Science Monitor by Erwin D. Canham; and The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People by Keith S. Collins.

It Takes a Village

BUILDING A HOME FOR LIVING HISTORY

Opened on July 27, 1974, as a setting for living history, Ohio Village celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

Carefully planned to look as though it had been built over decades from the settlement of Ohio through the Civil War, in truth Ohio Village was almost all built at once. (The inn, school, church and welcome center followed later). All of the buildings are inspired by real buildings of early Ohio, though none are known to be replicas of specific buildings.

An “early Ohio village” was part of the concept for the 58-acre Ohio History Center site from the time it was unveiled in 1965, with a site reserved for the village and the specifics worked out later. Through several iterations over the years, its purpose has always been the same: to connect children and adults with living experiences of Ohio’s past.

In 2023, Ohio Village became historic in its own right when the 58-acre Ohio History Center & Ohio Village complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

On the four pages that follow, we share a series of slides (remember those?) that capture the construction of Ohio Village from an open field in April 1971 to a nearly completed town of 14 buildings on 10 acres in March 1974—ready to spring to life that summer with the addition of villagers and visitors. (Note that in the March 1974 photo, the village appears to be largely complete, though the streets are not in place yet.)

Ohio History Connection retiree Judith Kitchen, the first employee of our State Historic Preservation Office, took these photos on six or more occasions. Appearing in several of them are various combinations of Bill Keener, Don Hutslar and Joe Thatcher of the then-Ohio Historical Society’s history department, all of whom were involved in the creation of Ohio Village.

Ohio Village was designed by Cleveland architect Robert C. Gaede FAIA of the firm of Visnapuu and Gaede, who was an early and longtime proponent for the preservation of Ohio's architectural heritage. Payt Construction Co. of Columbus was the general contractor.

We found these images fascinating and thought that you might, too.

Happy 50th, Ohio Village!

(Note: The slides are not captioned. We've tried our best to identify each view for you. Some building names have changed over time. For your convenience in relating the photos to the map on page 40, the captions on pages 42–45 use current building names. Dates are the processing dates stamped on the slide mounts, not necessarily dates when the photos were taken.)

AUGUST 1971 AUGUST 1971

1971

Looking northwest from the center of the green to the sites of the Pavilion and Bank of Ohio

View north from the Ohio History Center to the Ohio Village site

Looking across the green from the site of the Pharmacy to the Town Hall

Looking southwest across the green to the Town Hall

East wall of the Town Hall

Foundation of the Emporium (left), and Telegraphic Advertiser from the rear

Telegraphic Advertiser (left), Ohio History Center and foundation of the Emporium from the village green

Looking northeast toward I-71 from behind the Telegraphic Advertiser (left) and Town Hall

Looking northeast across the site of the village green

Looking southeast from the site of the village green

Foundation for the Bank of Ohio, looking toward the Town Hall

Site of Murphy's Lodging House and Barrington Bicycles

AUGUST 1971 AUGUST 1971

Site of the Schmidt House, looking south

Site work underway

Foundation of the American House Hotel

Foundation of the American House Hotel

Site of Funeral Parlor, Village Mercantile and Toy Shop

Town Hall (left) and Telegraphic Advertiser

Fronts of the Town Hall (left) and Telegraphic Advertiser

View from the Ohio History Center

View from the Ohio History Center

View from the south

Bill Keener (left) and Don Hutslar on site

Front of the Telegraphic Advertiser

Toy Shop (left), Lodging House and Barrington Bicycles (center) and Burton House

American House Hotel

Hotel and Pavilion

Bank (left) and Pharmacy

Funeral Parlor, Village Mercantile and Toy Shop

East side of the green

View southeast across the village green Pharmacy Northeast corner of the green

Hotel (left), Emporium and Telegraphic Advertiser from the south

From left are Joe Thatcher, Bill Keener and Don Hutslar on the porch of the Toy Shop

Pavilion

North side of the green

View east from behind the Emporium

Burton House with Joe Thatcher (left) and Don Hutslar

Ohio Village from a helicopter four months before opening

Blacksmith Shop (left) and Livery Stable

Taylor House

Funeral Parlor, Village Mercantile and Toy Shop

Schmidt House

H. & P. Women's Study Club and Bank of Ohio

Town Hall, Telegraphic Advertiser and Emporium

Telegraphic Advertiser

Town Hall, Telegraphic Advertiser, Emporium and Masonic Lodge

I Wish I’d Been There

TERROR ON LAKE ERIE: THE MYSTERIOUS SINKING OF THE SS MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO. 2

BY LINDA PANSING

Whenever I give presentations about shipwrecks, the one that inevitably makes the list is the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2. In December 1909, during a storm that would last nearly a week, it vanished beneath the waves of Lake Erie. There were no witnesses to the sinking and no survivors. I wish I could travel into the past and transform into the proverbial fly on the wall so I could come back and tell its story.

The SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 was built for the Marquette and Bessemer Dock and Navigation Company in 1905 to serve as a railroad car carrier. This open-stern steamer, measuring 338 feet long, 54 feet wide and 19 feet deep, could carry up to 32 cars of product weighing up to 1,484 net tons. Its normal day consisted of taking on loads of coal railcars at Conneaut, Ohio, and traveling five hours across Lake Erie to its sister port, Port Stanley, in Ontario,

Canada. Here it offloaded the full coal cars and then returned to Conneaut with cars filled with various goods. Work on the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 was steady and desirable, which allowed crew members to be home with their families each evening.

Its captain, Robert McLeod, was born into a family of sailors. His maritime career started when he was just 12 years old, as a cook on the schooner Maple Leaf. From there he moved his way from deckhand, second mate, first mate and, finally, captain of his own ship, the Osceola in 1894.

VULNERABLE TO FLOODING

McLeod’s years of experience navigating Lake Erie’s unpredictable, shallow waters helped the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 survive a ferocious storm in November 1909, just a month before its fateful last voyage. After arriving safely back to shore, Captain McLeod complained

to the Marquette and Bessemer Dock and Navigation Company that the absence of a stern gate left the ship vulnerable to flooding and the extinguishing of engine boiler fires, either of which could have caused it to sink.

The work was approved and slated to begin when the lake froze over in the next month or two.

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1909, the 30- to 36-member crew of the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 took on 26 cars of coal, three cars of steel beams and one car of metal castings. Its departure was delayed by a ship that had to be fixed back to the dock after breaking loose from its mooring. Then, after picking up its lone passenger, Mr. Albert Weiss, who was on his way to Canada for business, the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 left Conneaut at 10:43 a.m.

The weather system coming from the southwest on the ship’s final trip to Port Stanley would prove hazardous. Over the next several hours, the temperature dropped from 40 to 10 degrees. Winds increased from around 20 mph to an estimated 80 mph, bringing them to hurricane strength. Wave height calculations, based on wind speed, would range between 6 and 52 feet.

FOUR INCHES OF ICE

Lake Erie, being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, kicks up the quickest and becomes very choppy. Vessels in the area that night were exposed to sleet, ice and snow. Some accounts of four inches of ice on ships were recorded. The deck was stacked against the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2.

So, what else do we know about its final hours?

• It was reported as being seen near Port Stanley harbor around 5 p.m. that afternoon but could not make it in, so it turned and headed toward Rondeau, Ontario.

• Sometime later that evening, a woman east of Conneaut reported hearing the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 ’s whistle and seeing its lights offshore.

• About midnight, its silhouette was seen heading east of Conneaut.

• On Dec. 8, at about 1:30 a.m., people in Conneaut heard the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 ’s distress whistles.

• People in Port Stanley heard whistles at the harbor at 3 a.m.

• At 5 a.m., people at Port Bruce, Ontario, heard its whistles.

The first evidence of the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 sinking was spotted a few days after the storm lifted and shipping resumed on Lake Erie. The vessel William B. Davock sailed through debris of green- and white-painted wood in the water off Long Point, Ontario. These were the colors of the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2. A partially submerged lifeboat was also present, but no one was on board.

On Dec. 12, Lifeboat #4 was found 15 miles off Erie, Pennsylvania. It contained the frozen bodies of crew members Charles Allen, John Hart, Roy Hinds, William Ray, Joe Shenk, George Smith, Manuel Souars, Tom Steele and Harry Thomas. Folded clothing of a 10th person was also present. It is presumed he jumped into the lake.

Another lifeboat and other debris were found eight miles east of Port Burwell, Ontario, on Dec. 14, 1909.

MORE BODIES FOUND

It wasn’t until Lake Erie’s ice started breaking apart in the spring of 1910 that the bodies of other crew members were found scattered

throughout the lake: one at the Niagara electric generating plant water intake; three off Long Point, Ontario; two off Port Colborne, Ontario; one north of Erie, Pennsylvania; and one nearest to Port Burwell, Ontario.

The last of three lifeboats found was smashed to pieces at the Buffalo, New York, breakwall. On Oct. 6, 1910, the body of Captain Robert McLeod was recovered on Long Point, Ontario.

Shortly after losing the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2, the Marquette and Bessemer Dock and Navigation Company commissioned the building of its replacement. It was delivered to Conneaut to begin its daily runs to Port Stanley, Ontario, on Oct. 6, 1910, the same day Captain McLeod’s body was found. Its name? The SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 (II).

What happened to the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2? The only thing we know for certain is that it sank in Lake Erie. The exact location is still unknown, and many people are actively searching for it. It is truly Lake Erie’s Holy Grail.

Linda Pansing is curator of archaeology for the Ohio History Connection.

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Linda Pansing says:

While the final chapter of the SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 story has yet to unfold, there are several more stories I didn’t have room to include in this synopsis. If you’re looking to learn more, I recommend

Long Gone: The Mystery of the Marquette & Bessemer No. 2, by David R. Frew. It’s entertaining, well-researched historical fiction that’s worth a read. I’d also recommend Michael and Georgann Wachter’s three books, Erie Wrecks West, Erie Wrecks East and Erie Wrecks & Lights.

THE MANSFIELD NEWS, DEC. 13, 1909

Young Eyes on the Past

THE CAPITOL CRAWL—LEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND THE PASSAGE OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT BY OPAL SHIPLEY

Disabled.

A word that describes 45.2 million Americans. A word that describes me.

I have a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a group of inherited disorders that affect your connective tissues—primarily your skin, joints, and blood vessel walls. Disability is a complex subject that must be understood through many different lenses, one being history. Disabled history, while rarely taught in the classroom, is a key part of American history, given that nearly half of all Americans over the age of 75 have a disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The history of disability in America is not a pretty one, and is not one that our country should be proud of. Mistreatment and discrimination against Americans with disabilities are ongoing and have been an issue since our country was founded. However, there have been improvements in the lives of Americans with disabilities, especially when it comes to the societal treatment we have received from those in our communities.

Over time, the way that society views disability and individuals with disabilities has changed greatly and continues to this day. In the 1700s and 1800s, the moral view of disability was largely based on a religious belief, whereas in the late 1800s and early 1900s, many people’s views went from moral to medical. Disability was seen as a genetic deficit. During this time, many people with disabilities found community in freak shows and circuses. These shows, however, took advantage of and exploited these individuals.

Disability continued to be seen as a medical issue throughout the 1900s, with many able-bodied people wholly ignoring it. This ignorance of disability led to the creation of “ugly laws,” laws that could get any visibly disabled person thrown in jail for simply being seen in public. These “ugly laws” were not removed until 1974 in many states. Even after “ugly laws” were abolished, Americans with disabilities still lacked basic rights in many if not all aspects of life.

LEGAL DISCRIMINATION

Legal discrimination impacted the life of every single American with a disability. Wheelchair users interested in riding a bus or the train would have to abandon their wheelchairs and other mobility aids; these forms of transportation also lacked any accessible restrooms, causing many Americans with disabilities to begin wearing diapers when they traveled. Any workplace could turn down an applicant strictly because of a disability and Americans with disabilities could be legally paid less by their employer, even if they were doing the job just as well as their able-bodied peers. Over time, this legal discrimination led to lots of protest from activists with disabilities who were sick and tired of being discriminated against for something they had no control over, and their allies.

THE ‘CAPITOL CRAWL’

One protest changed the lives of Americans with disabilities forever. On March 13, 1990, more than 1,000 disabled Americans and activists participated in a protest in Washington, D.C., known as the Capitol Crawl. More than 1,000 people abandoned their mobility aids and climbed up the steps of

the U.S. Capitol Building to pressure Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.

The youngest person to participate in this protest was 8-year-old Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, who was born with cerebral palsy, a neuromuscular genetic disease. Chaffins is still a disability advocate and activist to this day. This demonstration expanded the frontier that was the disability rights movement and aided in the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act later that year.

LIFE-CHANGING LEGISLATION

The Americans with Disabilities Act forever changed the lives of Americans with disabilities for the better. People with disabilities were finally given the chance to live in a world that had to legally accommodate them. Before the Americans with Disabilities Act, many disabled Americans struggled to find jobs, get an education and participate in society with their able-bodied peers due to discrimination and lack of accessibility.

After the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, it became illegal for businesses to discriminate against individuals based strictly on a disability. This increased the percentage of people with disabilities able to join the workforce.

The Americans with Disabilities Act also protects accessibility and legally requires accommodations to be met. Public transportation agencies became legally required to provide accessibility to individuals with disabilities. Workplaces could no longer discriminate against people with disabilities or turn them away from jobs because of their disability.

The law required buildings and other gathering places to be created and built with accessibility in mind. For the first time in history, the Americans with Disabilities Act promised people with disabilities equal opportunity and a level playing field.

Opal Shipley is a sophomore at Whetstone High School in Columbus. She gave TEDx youth talks in 2018 (“Why Blend in When You Were Born to Stand Out?”) and 2019 (“I Am Female and I Am America”) and was both an Outstanding Witness and an Outstanding Lawyer at the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education’s 2024 Ohio Mock Trial. She is the founder and owner of Opal’s Yarn Barn and has sold more than 250 handmade plushies on Etsy.

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In 2013, Beacon Press published A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen, “the first book to place the experiences of disabled people at the center of the American narrative.” The book “pulls from primary-source documents and social histories to retell U.S. history through the eyes, words, and impressions of the people who lived it.”

The documentary Lives Worth Living first aired on the Public Broadcasting Service in 2011. The film, directed by Eric Neudel, “is an oral history told by the movement’s mythical heroes themselves, and illustrated through the use of rare archival footage.” It includes interviews with Fred Fay, who suffered a spinal cord injury when he was 17, and Ed Roberts, who founded the independent living movement in Berkeley, California. The documentary is available at PBS with a PBS membership.

Young Eyes on the Past highlights work by Ohio students in grades 4–12 participating in regional, state and national History Day competitions organized annually by the Ohio History Connection and local sponsoring organizations statewide.

The 'Capitol Crawl,' 1990.

Reviews

I’d been working at the Ohio History Connection as the new editor of Timeline for no more than a day or two when the magazine’s former editor, David Simmons, introduced me to our little but mighty library. He reached immediately for two books on the top shelf and pulled down Ohio: The History of a People by Andrew R.L. Cayton and Ohio and Its People by George W. Knepper. “You’ll be using these quite a lot,” David told me back then. Flash forward 11 years—now with Timeline replaced by Echoes Magazine—and I’ll say David was prophetic.

Knepper’s history of Ohio was first published in 1989, followed by a second edition in 1997. It quickly became the go-to book for scholars and students studying our state’s history. Cayton’s history came more than a decade later, in 2002, on the eve of Ohio’s 200th anniversary.

In the preface to Ohio and Its People, Knepper writes, “States love to boast of their unique aspects, but Ohio’s claim to fame is the antithesis of uniqueness. Indeed,

Shop our Ohio History Store in person at the Ohio History Center or online at ohiohistorystore.com for this title and more.

Ohio’s most important quality has been its representative character, and probably no other state contained so broad a sampling of American types in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”

In a review published in 1990, historian Patrick D. Reagan concluded that, upon its publication, Ohio and Its People was “now the best general history of Ohio in print.” According to Reagan, Knepper “provides particularly good coverage of antebellum life, the rise of big business, Gilded Age politics, Progressive municipal reform, and the impact of mobilization for World War II.”

Additionally, Knepper “clearly explains the importance of Indian tribal life in the early French-British imperial struggle for control of the Ohio Valley … (and) celebrates the work of Ohio Blacks in the antislavery movement, the Civil War, and twentieth-century urban life without overlooking racial tensions in a predominantly white, ethnically mixed population.”

In the preface to Ohio: The History of a People, Cayton explains, “This

book is a history of the state of Ohio from its creation in 1803 through the beginning of the twenty-first century. It recounts important political events as well as major economic and social developments.” But “Ohio: The History of a People is above all a narrative driven by the stories people have told about life in an American state.”

He has, he continues, “drawn on the fiction, art, music, architecture, jokes, petitions, letters, diaries, parades, speeches, organizations, sports, and strikes of a variety of Ohioans in an effort to weave together a larger tale of grand expectations, intense conflicts, and serious disappointments.”

Historian and reviewer Laura Tuennerman praised Cayton’s book in the American Historical Review for not being “simply a chronicle of great men from a state that has produced many, including eight presidents of the United States; it is also an interesting and wellconceived local history.”

Cayton in his epilogue suggests that Ohio’s boundaries are arbitrary. He looks out his office window at Miami University in Oxford as snow falls and four students laugh as they slip on the ice.

“It is snowing all over Ohio, I suppose. Snow is covering the landscape from the southern shores of Lake Erie to the hills of the Muskingum Valley. Snow is covering people living in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. The bells chime the hour. And snow covers the graves of the countless people who have lived and died in Ohio, people who imagined it as nothing more and nothing less than home.”

—Bill Eichenberger, Echoes Magazine

Ohio: The History of a People by Andrew R.L. Cayton and Ohio and Its People by George W. Knepper

An early map of Ohio, drawn by John Melish in 1818.

Villagers bring 19th-century

Opened

See

Ohio to life at Ohio Village, a living history museum on the campus of the Ohio History Center in Columbus.

in 1974, Ohio Village celebrates its 50th birthday this summer.

"It Takes a Village," page 40.

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