Now it's Sunday, August 3rd and our day to visit the Columbus Zoo. We have looked forward to visiting once again after all of the years of Jack Hanna and his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Add that to childhood visits for Mary Anne, we had great anticipation which then turned into great new memories.
We always have to find a tortoise to honor Eric and Shirley and their having a pet tortoise all of their married life. Also, our next door neighbor, Tippie, had a desert tortoise, Pokey, who now resides with daughter Gloria in Oxnard. He's at least 65 years old based on how long they have had him in the Tippie Family!
We wandered through this magnificent zoo taking in all of the displays and viewing the magnificent animals. We didn't take very many pictures, but we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the Columbus Zoo. We started the day by watching the seal and sea lion show that they put on, and then strolled the zoo grounds. Great time!
Our final destination for our last two days was to visit the Amish Country. On the morning of the 4th, we took off to visit the small towns in the Amish countryside. We leisurely drove to The Historic Village in Coshocton, to Gnadanhuttan, to Dennison, to New Philadelphia, to Zoar, to Sugarcreek, to Walnut Creek, to Millersburg, and then to Berlin, Ohio. No rush for us, stopping when we saw something that looked interesting to us.
On our way to the Historic Village of Roscoe, we passed through Newark on the freeway. Right there on the side, almost within touching distance, is the previously active Longaberger Basket Office Headquarters. It has been out of business for years now, but the building is still spectacular to see in person.
Soon we came to The Historic Roscoe Village. We drove through the short four or five blocks of town to the visitor center. We stopped in the center, then went out to the Francis B. Montgomery garden next door. The gardening was lovely!
We decided to walk into town and back. Roscoe Village is a restored Ohio and Erie Canal town in Coshocton, Ohio. Roscoe Village was laid out in 1816. After going bankrupt, the Coshocton merchant moved across the Muskingum River to some land he had managed to retain. Setting up a store and naming the place after himself, Calder reasoned that the rural farmers would much rather do business in Caldersburgh than pay the twenty-five cents for the ferry over to Coshocton. In 1830, two prominent citizens petitioned the state legislature to rename the village Roscoe in honor of William Roscoe, the famous English author and abolitionist of the time.
The transformation of Roscoe from a small, sleepy community into a thriving port along the Ohio and Erie Canal came with the arrival of the canal and the landing of the first canal boat, the Monticello, on August 21, 1830. The Ohio and Erie Canal, which provided cheap transportation for people and goods, granted great economic development for communities along the waterway. With its status as the fourth largest wheat port on the canal, Roscoe's prosperity ignited a chain of businesses in the area, including a blacksmith, a cooperage, a hotel, a mill, and several stores. State Route 16, which runs parallel to Roscoe today, is the location of the original Ohio and Erie Canal bed.
We had a lovely time strolling through town, seeing the historic buildings and learning a little history along the way. The next stop was up the road about a half hour to the village of the weird name, Gnadanhutten!
Gnadenhutten: Ohio’s Oldest Existing Settlement: We quickly came to learn that Gnadenhutten had quite a great deal of history behind it. Gnadenhutten was founded in October of 1772. It was the second settlement of German Americans and Lenape Native Americans affiliated with the Moravian Church. The Roth family welcomed a baby boy on July 4, 1773. This baby boy – John Lewis Roth – was the first white child known to be born in the Ohio territory. He was born at the mission house in Gnadenhutten.
A monument was erected in 1872 dedicated to the martyrs of the March 8, 1782 massacre. In 1963, a museum was established. The museum interprets the massacre, along with sharing other Gnadenhutten history such as the results of 1970 excavations, having rebuilt the Mission House and Cooper shop, and how they erected a mound containing the martyrs’ graves. In 1988, many Native American and First Nations people gathered at the site to dedicate a peace tree. The State of Ohio later erected a memorial marker in 2003, calling the event a “day of shame.”
Not too far up the road is the village of Dennison. Coal and railroads drove the development of Dennison. It is located at the midpoint between Pittsburgh and Columbus -- 100 miles from each. At the time, locomotives needed water every 100 miles, so Dennison was a natural refilling location. The Dennison Coal Company had mines south of town.
In 1864, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway decided to locate the country's largest railroad shops and yards in Dennison. Dennison Land Company laid out the town of Dennison in 1865 and purchased land expressly for the town. The railyards spanned 40 acres (160,000 m2). Demand for passenger service led to the construction of a station in 1873. Thousands moved to the area for jobs in the roundhouses, turntables and foundries. At its peak, 3,000 people worked in the railyards. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company eventually subsumed the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway.
New Philadelphia was our next stop.
The courthouse has a clock tower that rises to a height of 150 feet which makes it a prominent feature in the city’s skyline. The Tuscarawas County Courthouse is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places which recognizes its architectural significance and historical importance to the community. The courthouse has a grand facade and a rich history. It also stands as a symbol of justice and civic pride in New Philadelphia.
Throughout all of these areas of Ohio, we saw these Amish signs on most of the roads. There were times when we saw actual buggies being driven by the locals.
Driving through Zoar, Ohio, we stopped at the Zoar Meeting House to look around.
Our next stop was in Sugarcreek. This is the home of the World's Largest Cuckoo Clock. This giant clock is a wonder to see ... simply spectacular! There is unique architecture and a charming atmosphere in this unique town. It prides itself in its German and Swiss heritage. In the 1960s, an Ohio restaurant commissioned a clockmaker to construct the world's largest cuckoo clock. It took 12 years and $50,000 but eventually the clock was completed in the 1970s. The clock stretches 24 feet tall and proudly sits right in the center of Sugarcreek.
Swiss settlers were quick to make cheese here in Sugarcreek
Wall brick murals across from the giant cuckoo clock
Millersburg is a village in Holmes County, Ohio, and its county seat. It is in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country and is part of a large regional tourism industry.
We had a lovely stay at The Berlin Resort. When we entered our room, the housekeeper had made us a rabbit figure from a towel and placed him on our bed. Reminders of cruises that we have been on. We had a great Amish buffet dinner to finish our great Ohio vacation!
The drive from Columbus to Berlin and back to Columbus was full of great scenery and rural landscape. We enjoyed every minute of it!
With some time to spare before checking into our airport hotel, we took one last excursion to the Columbus Topiary Park. Most of the topiaries are around the lake in the park. We enjoyed seeing all that was offered in this venue.
A beautiful Victorian Home across from the park
And all of the beauty of the park
Good-Bye Ohio - Good-Bye Columbus - Good-Bye Ohio State! And back to California!
Full photo album at this link
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