sandusky – Historical Markers of the World

Underground Railroad Historical Marker, Sandusky, Ohio

Posted on June 16, 2021March 19, 2021 by Misty

Sandusky, Ohio, was active in the Underground Railroad both before and during the Civil War. The Underground Railroad was a network of people who aiding in helping escaped enslaved people get to freedom. These people often provided food, shelter and transportation.

Ohio’s southern river boundary was over 450 miles long, creating an extremely long border between the anti-slavery State of Ohio and slave-holding areas of Virginia and Kentucky. If slaves were able to cross the Ohio River, then they could be funneled to cities like Sandusky or Cleveland, or even escape to Canada since slavery had been outlawed in Great Britain since 1833.

Many of the residents of Sandusky were anti-slavery since a good portion of the people who lived there had come from New England and often sympathized with the slaves. Ohio’s railway lines helped bring freedom-seekers to Sandusky, where they could escape aboard vessels.

Sandusky actually played a major role in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin since it was many times the final stop to freedom.

Historical Marker Inscription

Many homes in Sandusky and other parts of Erie County were stations on the Underground Railroad before and during the Civil War. Residents provided food, shelter, clothing and transportation to Canada. Harriet Beecher Stowe used Sandusky as the gate to freedom for the run-away slaves in her book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”.

Location

Jackson Street Pier, 233 West Shoreline Drive, Sandusky, Ohio 44879

41° 27′ 26.562″ N, 82° 42′ 49.020″ W

Old Sandusky Post Office

Posted on December 9, 2020November 29, 2020 by Misty

On a corner near the heart of Sandusky, Ohio, a town founded in 1817, sits the old post office. Located on Jackson Street, this imposing Neoclassical structure served as the third post office for the town. The first post office in the town was built in 1820 on Water Street.

While traveling to get mail from the post office was common during the early years, on December 1, 1882, Sandusky began offering free mail delivery. As the needs of the town grew so did the need of a larger post office, which was why the new one was built on the corner of West Washington and Jackson Street between 1925 and 1927. This one took the place of a smaller post office that had been located at Columbus Avenue and Market Street.

Located at the highest point above sea level in Sandusky, this building served as the main post office for 60 years. Besides the post office, the building also housed the National Weather Service, U.S. Customs, FBI and armed forces recruiting.

This location also became too small, and the post office was once again moved to a new space (2220 Caldwell Street) in 1986. Now, the old post office is home to the Merry-Go-Round Museum, which has occupied the space since 1990.

Historical Marker Inscription

The U.S. Post Office building, Sandusky’s third, opened in 1927, replacing the smaller building at Columbus Avenue and Market Street. It is notable for its fine Neoclassical-style architecture and its unusual curved portico. It was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1982. For sixty years it served as Sandusky’s business center, where merchants shipped and received goods and banks transferred money. During this time it also housed offices for several federal agencies, including U.S. Customs, the National Weather Service, armed forces recruiting, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Geological Survey disk embedded in the front steps serves as a benchmark for surveyors and scientists. Closed in 1987, the historic Sandusky Post Office building reopened as a museum in 1990.

The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company
Huron City Schools
The Merry Go Round Museum
The Ohio Historical Society
2001

Location:
301 Jackson St, Sandusky, OH 44870
41.4539° N, 82.7129° W

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Posted on November 29, 2020November 29, 2020 by Misty

Located on a peninsula in northern Ohio, Cedar Point sits right on the banks of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. Best-known for the amusement park that holds the same name, the location was originally a site for a lighthouse and a fisherman’s port. By 1867, the peninsula became part of a small railroad line, allowing developers to build attractions, including picnic areas and bath houses. The first official season of the amusement park was 1870 when different forms of entertainment was introduced.

But the reason why this amusement part is so famous actually came later in 1892 when the first roller coaster – the Switchback Railway – was built. The park went through many changes, including being purchased by the Cedar Point Pleasure Resort & Company, which opened new rides and offered overnight accommodations. In 1954, part of the area become a bird sanctuary. By 1965, the park had begun drawing more than two million visitors.

Since then, the park has steadily grown, and it has become known as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World” and has held numerous roller coaster world records.

Historical Marker Inscription

Cedar Point
“The Queen of American Watering Places”

Cedar Point became a popular beach resort in the late 1870s when visitors traveled to the peninsula by steamboat from Sandusky. The Grand Pavilion (1888), the oldest building in the park, dates from this era. Promoter George Boeckling formed the Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company in 1897 and vastly expanded the resort’s attractions. During the first decade of the 1900s, he built the lagoons, an amusement circle, and several hotels, including the landmark Breakers in 1905. The Coliseum, opened in 1906, became the centerpiece of the park and hosted many of the famous big bands through the Depression and World War II years. In the late 1950s, Cedar Point began its transformation into a modern amusement park.

The Ohio Bicentennial Commission
The Longaberger Company
Cedar Point Amusement Park/Resort
The Ohio Historical Society
2001

Location:
1 Cedar Point Dr, Sandusky, OH 44870
41.4822° N, 82.6835° W