“USA 🇺🇸 Leaf-Peeking Road Trip Part 4 of 5 ~Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio, then The Historic Sulphur Lick Motel, Also in Ohio” October 2024

• November 8, 2024
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

LEAF-PEEKING ROAD TRIP

~Mid October

Part 4 of 5

Day 5

We slept well, then checked out of our motel in Cleveland, Ohio and drove, just minutes, to the gates of Cuyahoga National Park.

Note: Yes, the smart money would have been to get to Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio, after being at Shenandoah National Park, as far as driving and time, but the idea to add Cuyahoga to our adventure, didn’t happen, until after we had driven, south, to visit Harper’s Ferry, in West Virginia. It worked out fine though, and we like to stay flexible. We didn’t mind the driving, as we had great weather and it was such a pretty time of year!

We were very surprised at what this particular Park of Cuyahoga was all about. It’s a gigantic Living National Park! We drove and drove and drove, through many towns.

Another National Park that is also a historic town, is Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, which is a single town, so very small. These locations typically do not have scenic loop or a rim drive, but the drive-through is very good, too.

Here, at Cuyahoga, there was a series of Towns, that had Historical significance in the area. It was quite interesting, but it took us several hours to go through, from the North entrance, all the way to the South entrance; stopping at all the great spots along the way. Thank goodness we had a map, because it’s a big area, and defiantly worth the time to explore!

Photo of actual map we used… it got a little wrinkly…

We were up for sunrise, again, and to visit the Brandywine Falls, first. It was just a beautiful way to start the day!

Then, we continued on the “Ohio Eerie Canalway America’s Byway” in Cuyahoga National Park  and started putting destinations in the maps on the phone and moved from place to place.

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Actual Park development began in the 1910’s and 1920’s, with the establishment of Cleveland and Akron metropolitan park districts.

In 1929, the estate of Cleveland businessman Hayward Kendall donated 430 acres around the Ritchie Ledges and a trust fund to the state of Ohio.

Cuts hogs is within the National Park Sysyrm wth their services, but within its boundaries are areas independently managed as county parks or as public or private businesses.

Cuyahoga Valley was originally designated as a National Recreation area, in 1974, then re-designated as a National Park, 26 years later, on October 11, 2000, and remains the only National Park that originated as a national recreation area.

FROM 1820 TO NOW

The Ohio & Erie Canal, dug by hand between the 1820s and 1830s, completed an inland water route stretching from New Orleans to New York City. Over the next half century, this small strand of water would change the world. It took Ohio from a struggling frontier to one of the richest and third most populous states in the nation, and positioned New York City as a world port and America’s financial capital. Take a historical journey on the Ohio & Erie Canal. Watch in evolve into the National Heritage Area that it is today.

1820: Began

1825–1832:   

The Canal construction period. Primarily German and Irish immigrants built the canal by hand.

1827: Completed
The Akron-Cleveland route opened. The first Canal boat left Akron July 3rd, arriving in Cleveland to great fanfare July 4th.

1827–1913: The Canal Era:
This new mode of trade and transportation gave rise to a flourishing economy and transformed Ohio. Freight and passengers traveled by Canal. Towns and businesses sprang up along its banks. By 1960, Ohio led the nation in agricultural output and was third in population. According to Canals of Ohio, real-estate values rose 1400% in 37 canal counties.

1870: The Competition
Railroads started springing up and eroded the need for industrial transportation along the Canal.

1913: Flooding
The Great Flood, March 23–27, lasted four days. A foot of rain left most of the canal destroyed and eventually abandoned.

1964: New Plan
Ralph Regula, Navarre Village Solicitor, walked with Canton Repository reporter Al Simpson along the overgrown Towpath Trail. A series of articles painted a vision for its reuse as a recreational asset.

1974: Legislation
Legislation sponsored by Congressman John Seiberling established Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

1980s: Coalition
Founding organizations take root: Ohio Canal Corridor (1985); Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition (1989).

1996: 32 years later, New Designation
Congress passed a bill sponsored by Congressman Ralph Regula, designating the Ohio & Erie Canalway as a National Heritage Area to preserve and celebrate the railroad, trails, landscapes and towns that grew up along the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Today:
The Ohio & Erie Canalway invites residents and visitors to experience its legacy and enjoy cultural, historic, recreational and natural pursuits. There are endless possibilities for adventurers along the Towpath Trail, America’s Byways or Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

In the early 2000s, the National Park Service built the modern Rockside Station for passengers waiting for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Visions for a train line through the valley began in the 1850s. Competition and economic slumps delayed its completion until 1880.

Historic Bedford, located in downtown Bedford, Ohio, is a terrific example of the power of small-town preservation. Bedford, which has been around for more than 190 years, may be a small town, but it has connections to a big history. Indeed, much of the history of the United States unfolded in smaller towns such as Bedford. Historic Bedford’s preservation success owes much to the hard work of the Bedford Historical Society (BHS) in safeguarding the town’s historic buildings. The historical society’s work uses the town’s landmarks, including the Hezekiah Dunham House and Old Town Hall, to tell Bedford’s story. The survival of small-town history begins with small-town preservation.

Historic Bedford is just a small strip along Broadway Avenue, but that small strip is filled with much rich history. The first settlers arrived in 1813 in what became Bedford, which was given the temporary name of Township 6. It wasn’t until 1823 that Township 6 finally became a village, which was soon named Bedford. One of the most famous houses in Historic Bedford was the Hezekiah Dunham House, which was built in 1832. Four years later, Hezekiah Dunham and wife Clarissa signed a document that gave grant of the land in Lot No. 46 to the trustees of the Township of Bedford. With the land deeded by the Dunhams, residents of Bedford began to build houses, churches, businesses, the Old Town Hall, the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway depot. By the mid-19th century the village of Bedford quickly turned into a prosperous town where several illustrious historical events occurred.

Certainly, one of the most noteworthy moments in Bedford’s history was when President Abraham Lincoln stopped in the village on February 15, 1861, at the Wheeling & Lake Erie train depot. The newly elected president was on his way to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration and stopped in Bedford that day around 3:30 p.m. to greet the townspeople. According to an account by Bedford historian Dick Squire, “The train slowed as it neared the Bedford station. The tall figure of Mr. Lincoln emerged from the warmth of the coach and stood on the rear platform, acknowledging the cheering crowds.” Lincoln only spent a few minutes in town, but his presence turned those few minutes into a historic event.

In addition to Lincoln’s visit, the story of Julius Caesar Tibbs, the Strawberry Festival, and the Spirit of ’76 were other highlights in Bedford’s history. Julius Caesar Tibbs was born into slavery in Virginia in 1812. Tibbs escaped the plantation and was later found at the Burns Farm in Bedford. Bedford was known for its strong anti-slavery feelings, which is why the village became a stop along the Underground Railroad. There the Burns family gave Tibbs food and provided him with a place to stay on their farm.

1886 Civil War Monument on the Bedford Public Square (also known as the Bedford Commons). The Union soldier atop the stone and granite pedestal represents the 208 men from Bedford Township who served in the Union army.

Bedford offers a rich 200-plus-year history, a quaint town square/green with gazebo, a postcard-worthy “main street,” and historic buildings and homes

The 1832 Hezekiah Dunham House, restored to reflect three critical periods of occupancy.

The 1892 Old Baptist Church, a late Gothic Revival with a restored sanctuary.

The Bedford Historical Society Museum is located in the restored 1874 town hall of Bedford. Visitors can come and read the diaries of pioneer women or other correspondence, as well as speeches and manuscripts ranging from the 1850s through the 1950s. It also has a vast reference library documenting genealogical resources. Many of the area’s most notable women in history are also represented by a newspaper clipping file featuring Halle Berry, who is an actress, renowned criminologist, and community activist. Rotating exhibits have featured period furniture displays, military artifacts, old household tools, china collections, and more.

Cuyahoga Nation Park Train Station 

The history of trains in the Cuyahoga Valley, stretches back more than 100 years. In 1880, the Valley Railway began operations, transporting coal to Cleveland, Akron, and Canton from the Tuscarawas River Valley. It also provided passenger service.

In 1880 Valley Railway Company brought railroading to the Cuyahoga Valley, forever changing the area and those who called it home. Memories continue to be built everyday as passengers climb aboard Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to experience historic rail travel through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Everett Covered Bridge

The Everett Covered Bridge, which crosses Furnace Run, is the only remaining covered bridge in Summit County. When it was built in the 1800s, it was one of over 2,000 in the state. During that period, Ohio led the nation in covered bridge construction.

This bridge played an important role in the transportation system of its time. Local histories emphasize the role of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

With the canal, farmers could ship products to Cleveland and beyond. But to get to the canal and other local destinations, people needed functional roads.

Creek crossings posed a challenge for early roads. Their treacherous nature is illustrated by the story of the origins of Everett Covered Bridge. Whether this incident actually led to the bridge construction is uncertain. However, it certainly represents the real hazards of the time.

On a winter night in 1877, valley farmers John Gilson and his wife had to cross Furnace Run when returning home from visiting friends. A winter storm had caused the waters to rise and ice to obstruct the ford they would have used. In passing around the ford, Mrs. Gilson was thrown into the stream. Mr. Gilson lost his footing and was dragged by his horse into deeper water. Mrs. Gilson was rescued, but Mr. Gilson’s body was not recovered until four days later.

The story continues that the bridge was built in response to this tragedy. In truth, the date of construction is unknown and could have predated the drowning. However, clues suggest that it was built close to the time of the incident. Covered bridges are truss bridges with support coming from a framework of beams. The builders of Everett Covered Bridge used a truss pattern patented by Robert W. Smith of Tipp City, Ohio, in 1867. The bridge was also unlikely to have been built much after the 1870s. The popularity of covered bridges waned in the 1880s with the appearance of more durable iron bridges like the one seen at Station Road Bridge Trailhead.

Everett Covered Bridge was repaired at least twice after major damage, first caused by the 1913 flood and then by a truck in 1970. Then in 1975, rushing water from a spring storm lifted the bridge from its sandstone abutments and deposited the wreckage into the stream bed below. The community, rallied by the park friends’ group (then called Cuyahoga Valley Association; now called Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park), began raising funds to rebuild the bridge. School children, local citizens, private organizations, and governmental agencies all joined hands to secure money for the historically accurate reconstruction, completed by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1986.

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park contains over 1500 wetlands, which remain important sanctuaries of biodiversity and habitats for endangered species. Also important for the local environment, these wetlands store nutrients and reduce erosion and flooding in the valley. Threatened by pollution from the nearby human residents, as well as invasive plants and disturbances from development, these wetlands need scientists and park rangers to continuously monitor and protect their water quality and levels.

Just south of the Village of Everett, on the western side of the Cuyahoga River, the Beaver Marsh stands as a testament to the success of community efforts to protect the valley’s wetlands. Beginning in the nineteenth century, local land development drained water and resources from the original wetland. As industry, transportation, and valley populations increased, the wetland’s plants and animals struggled to survive. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Ohio & Erie Canal passed through the marsh. Later, a local family owned and operated a dairy farm on part of the original wetland property, adding to the devastation of the area’s resources. Further damaging the environment, an auto repair shop purchased the land in the twentieth century and began dumping old cars and broken parts on the former marsh.

Clean-up and restoration of the wetland began in the 1980s by the Portage Trail Group, Sierra Club, and National Park Service. These groups and local community members cleaned up trash, including car parts. Beavers, who had been absent from Ohio for over one hundred years due to fur trappers, slowly returned to the valley. The beavers’ dams flooded the former wetland, creating deep pools of water so that the beavers can enter their lodges from below the surface. The help of both humans and beavers removed pollution and restored water levels to create the wetland we see today.

The Hale Farm

The history of Hale Farm and Village in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is tied to the Hale family who worked the land for over a century.

Jonathan Hale
The original homesteader, Hale bought the land in 1810 from the Connecticut Land Company. He built the original brick house in the mid-1820s, one of only two brick houses in the valley at the time

C.O. Hale
Jonathan’s grandson, C.O. Hale, took over the farm in the early 1900s. He hired local families to work the land and also entertained friends and tourists.

Clara Belle Ritchie
Jonathan’s great granddaughter, Clara Belle Ritchie, bequeathed the farm to the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1956. Her will directed the society to establish the farm as a museum to teach visitors about the history and culture of the Western Reserve. The Hale Farm and Village is now a living history museum that features:

Artisan Workshops
Visitors can watch artisans demonstrate period crafts like glassblowing, pottery, blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, and candle-making.

Farm Animals
The farm has working oxen, sheep, and chickens.

Pioneer Farm
This early 19th-century farm site includes the Fritch Log Cabin, which was originally built in 1805. Visitors can participate in activities like hearth cooking, soap making, gardening, and maple sugaring.

Heritage Farm

Heritage Farm is the village’s oldest family-run farm. Lawson Waterman purchased the property between 1844 and 1878. Also known as the Bishop Farm, Heritage Farms illustrates many of the trends associated with Cuyahoga Valley farming, including a long history of self-sufficiency, diverse products, and appeal to local markets.

At one time, the farm included three homes and 19 other buildings. Today, only two original structures remain standing: the barn, in continual use since its construction in 1846, and the farmhouse on top of the hill.

Each generation made changes to the property to meet the needs of their growing business. They added and removed buildings, timbered woods, and cleared pasture lands.

Conrad Botzum Farmstead

On the gently sloping terrace of the Cuyahoga Valley’s southwestern wall sits the Conrad Botzum Farmstead. Its winding dirt driveway crosses the Towpath Trail and the railroad tracks before climbing 50 feet to the farmstead’s plateau. The Conrad Botzum Farmstead conveys a feeling of self-containment and separation from the world beyond the wooded hills above and the river valley below.

Photo of Conrad and Louise Botzum

John A. Botzum and his family took a frightening and dangerous journey, before finally purchasing the property in 1876.

The Botzum family originally owned woolen mills along the Rhine River in Germany. Fearful that his five sons would be drafted into the German Army during the Napoleonic Wars, John George Botzum decided to flee the country. During passage to America, pirates boarded their boat and robbed all of the passengers. As a result, the Botzums landed in New York City without any money, to begin their new life.

In New York, a dishonest agent attempted to persuade John to migrate to South America with a guarantee of quick fortune. Before agreeing to the trip, John discovered that the agent planned to sell the family into slavery. According to family history, the Botzums were soon rescued by new friends and headed to Ohio in 1836.

After departing the Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio, from the south entrance, we drove back down South, towards the Serpent Mound, in West Virginia. We drove and drove, but we did not have hotel reservation for this last-minute; add-on destination that Daryl really wanted to see. We were getting pretty remote and were still a ways from the mysterious Mounds and knew it was going to get dark, very soon.

We continued to fill our tank with fuel, just in case, though, and eventually I called dibs on the back seat for sleeping…🤣🤣 I kept trying to find a hotel, on maps, when all of a sudden, one popped up. It was surprisingly close by and we could get there before dark, but the name really threw us; Sulphur Lick Hotel?

Well, this place was a godsend, in Chillicothe, Ohio, and they did have a room for us, with a trundle bed, and a shared bathroom, and little kitchen area, if we didn’t mind waiting for a bit. No problem. Luckily we travel with our Yeti cooler, and had left-overs from the dinner, plus we didn’t have to sleep in the truck!

The Historical Sulphur Lick Hotel, Chillicothe, Ohio

Still, Day 5

Chillicothe, Ohio

One Night

3 hours

177 miles

This Hotel is really old, and continues to be lovingly restored, over the years, by various owners. 

We enjoyed visiting with the current owner. He and his wife have 11 children. Not all still live at home (in the hotel) They were fixing it up and hope to run it as a B n B retreat center, one day. Well, we had a great stay and I say they are well on their way!

The Sulphur Lick Hotel building has been standing since the late 1890s.   It has been through many changes over the years.  It is still a wonderful property to welcome guests as it has for over 140 years.

Purchased by Steve and Jeigh Truesdale

Further Renovation.

Put rooms on AirBnb.

Add Bed & Breakfast Services.

Add Retreat Servces.

***********

Good Night Y’all!

Here is a link to click on for the next blog: Part 5 of 5 in this Blog Series:

https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/northamerica/united-states/ohio/usa-leaf-peeking-road-trip-part-5-of-5-the-serpent-mound-an-amish-community-in-ohio-then-back-to-north-carolina-october-2024/