Historical Markers

OLD SANDUSKY POST OFFICE
301 W Washington St, Sandusky OH
This U.S. Post Office building, Sandusky’s third, opened in 1927, replacing a 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 Historic 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 local 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 the Merry-Go-Round Museum in 1990.

CEDAR POINT – THE QUEEN OF AMERICAN WATERING PLACES
1 Cedar Point Dr.
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.

ELEUTHEROS COOKE – COOKE-DORN HOUSE
1415 Columbus Rd., Sandusky OH

Side B: The house is named for its first and last private owners. Built for Eleutheros and Martha Cooke in 1843-1844, this Greek Revival home was originally located on the corner of Columbus Avenue and West Washington Row. Rush Sloane dismantled and reassembled the house at 1415 Columbus Avenue in 1879-1880. Once moved, his son Thomas and daughter-in-law, Sarah Cooke Sloane, grand-daughter of Eleutheros and Martha, lived here. Judge Roy and Verna Williams became the third owners in 1922. Randolph and Estelle Dorn bought the hous

e in 1952. The Dorns made renovations that blended 1950’s decor with 19th century architecture. Notable elements include the fanlight doorway, crenelated roofs, and frieze board windows. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The Dorn estate bequeathed ownership to the Ohio History Connection in 1994.

THE CONCRETION
This plaque is located on a large spherical concretion, discovered in 1910. This unusual geological formation is located in downtown Sandusky in Washington Park between Columbus Ave. and Wayne St., near the Gazebo.

This concretion was formed in sedimentary deposits over the ages. An unusually large specimen, it was found in 1911 on Mills Street and brought to this site at the behest of Prof. E. L. Moseley, who was noted for his studies of Lake Erie and his natural history museum. It was on a pedestal in this park for about eighty years. In 1990 it was partially burned to halt deterioration.

INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE OHIO HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
This marker is inside Cedar Point and you may need to apply ahead for permission to enter without parking fee.

HOLY ANGELS CATHOLIC CHURCH
428 Tiffin Ave., Sandusky OH
Holy Angels Catholic Church is the mother church of Sandusky. Reverend Joseph P. Machebeuf, a French Missionary, began ministering to Catholics in the Sandusky area in late 1839. Soon after, William H. Mills offered five lots, $530, and the materials needed to build a church. Father Machebeuf laid the cornerstone on October 13, 1841, and services were held in 1842. By Christmas of 1845, the building was complete, the steeple added, and the bell installed. The congregation was mostly Irish emigrants. In 1855, as more Germans settled nearby, they built St. Mary’s Mother of Sorrows Church. The city’s expansion prompted the building of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in 1871. Holy Angels became a mission church of Sts. Peter and Paul until 1875 when Holy Angels was assigned its own pastor and reopened.

FORT SANDUSKY
Located at the intersection of Routes 2 and 6 with Route 99 in the community of Venice, which is now a part of Sandusky (near Margaritaville).
Erected by the British near this junction in 1761; destroyed during Pontiac’s Conspiracy of 1763. The fort was strategically located near Indian towns and trading posts on the Great Indian trail between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

VILLAGE OF VENICE 1816-1963
Side A – Located at the intersection of Routes 2 and 6 with Route 99 in the community of Venice, which is now a part of Sandusky (near Margaritaville).
The first Venice flour mill was built on this site in 1811. Russell Heywood from Buffalo bought the mill in 1831 and rebuilt it in 1833. Fed by water from underground springs, the mill was in almost constant operation. Farmers from throughout northern Ohio and southern Michigan brought their grain to Venice for processing. Venice flour was an important staple for pioneers settling the Midwest. A six hundred foot pier on Sandusky Bay allowed cargo vessels to load flour for transport. By 1875, demand led to day and night shifts at the mill. After 122 years, the mill closed in 1945. The building

was razed in 1962.
Side B – Venice was laid out in 1816 by Maj. Fred Falley. By 1818, it was the largest village west of Cleveland. Venice took part in the region’s wine industry. The Steuk family’s vineyards were planted in 1865, with the Dora family beginning grape production in 1869. The Mantey Winery opened in 1880, and operates today as Firelands Winery. Of several communities of faith established in Venice; one remains. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church began as a mission of Zion Lutheran, Sandusky. Zion finished the “Venice Chapel” in 1914. Trinity Church was organized in 1926. The Village of Venice was annexed into Sandusky in 1963.

FROHMAN BIRTHPLACE
Located on Poplar St, near the intersection of Lawrence and W Jefferson Sts. Sandusky OH
Charles, Daniel and Gustave Frohman. Born at this site in the 1850s. Moved to New York City in 1864. Became famous theatrical producers and managers.
The Frohman Birthplace marker is not in its original location.  The Frohman children mentioned on this marker actually were born in the house at 507 Lawrence Street, and this marker was originally placed in the front yard of the house in 1971.  When the home was sold sometime after this marker was installed, the new owners wanted it removed from their yard and it was moved to its current location.

KNUTE ROCKNE WEDDING
510 Columbus Ave., Sandusky OH
READ MORE about how he met and married his wife. The Knute Rockne Wedding Historical Marker is featured on the Washington Park Historic Walking Tour.  Learn more about this historic church.

SANDUSKY’S FIRST CONGREGATION – 1818
214 E Jefferson St., Sandusky OH
The Trinity United Methodist Church is featured on the Washington Park Historic Walking Tour.
Learn more about this historic site.
The Methodist Episcopal Church pioneered organized religion in Perkins Township in 1811, then in Sandusky when the Rev. Alfred Brunson preached the city’s first sermon in January, 1818. In 1829 the Methodists built Sandusky’s first church, on West Square, and had later churches on the present sites of the Court House and Post Office. This building was begun in 1922, the sanctuary completed in 1958. The Perkins and Sandusky congregations united in 1930.

(ORIGIN OF) THE FIRELANDS
1111 Hayes Ave., Sandusky OH – Located in front of Firelands Hospital
The Origin of the Firelands markers in front of both Firelands Hospital and BGSU Firelands were installed around the same time and the text on each is exactly the same.
Text: The history of the Firelands is linked to the American Revolutionary War. During the British raids of 1777 and 1779 the Connecticut towns of Danbury, East Haven, New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, Greenwich, Groton, Ridgefield and New London were destroyed by fire. In 1781 the last major British raid was commanded by Benedict Arnold, who had turned traitor. Lives were lost and many homes and shops were burned. For ten years the townspeople petitioned the General Assembly of Connecticut for relief. The Assembly was sympathetic with their plight but they were unable to make restitution. Finally on May 10, 1792 the Connecticut legislature set aside 500,000 acres of land for the sufferers. The tract was In the western most part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the state of Ohio, named the Fire Sufferers Land or Fire Land. The tract consists of all of the present-day counties of Huron and Erie as well as Danbury Township in Ottawa County and Ruggles Township in Ashland County. Many of the new Firelands communities were named for their Connecticut counterparts. After years of delay, only a few of the original “Sufferers” were able to move to the new land; most were too old to migrate. Their younger heirs either made the move or sold the land.

CABLE PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT
Located on Wayne St. near Finch on the center median.

Erie County Fairgrounds — 1865-1899.
Planned Residential Area developed 1905-1938 by Laurence Cable and sons, Fran and Edward. Erected 1989 by the Erie County Historical Society and Cable Park Neighbors.
Read about the Cable family and Cable Park in this Sandusky Library Blog post

ERIE COUNTY COURTHOUSE/JURY OF ERIE COUNTY WOMEN
323 Columbus Ave., Sandusky OH

Side A: Jury of Erie County Women, First to be Impaneled Under Federal Suffrage proclaimed the headline of the Sandusky Register on August 28, 1920. One of the first female Court of Commo