Sandusky Things to Do

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The marker reads:
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 scientist. 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
18-22

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The Erie County Courthouse was built in 1874 and designed by architects Myer and Holmes. Located at 323 Columbus Ave. in the county seat of Sandusky, the courthouse remains in use and today and houses the Erie County Court of Common Pleas and its probate, juvenile, domestic relations divisions and family court.

Originally, the courthouse featured three statues of Lady Justice above the entrance and a mansard roof with corner towers capped with iron cresting. The courthouse under went major remodeling in the late 1930s when the mansard roof and ornamentation were replaced by a smooth limestone Art Deco style architecture exterior and Art Deco clock tower. The original stone exterior is still visible along with some arched windows on the lower floors.

Erie County is named after the Erie Indian Tribe.http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Courthouses/erie.asp

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This wonderful statue is located in Shoreline Park near the downtown area of Sandusky. It is by Artist Susan Schultz and the plaque reads:
This sculpture represents a black family crossing an invisible plane to freedom. By depicting a man who is not starving, is clean shaven, and has a hair cut of today, my hope is for people to ask themselves: "Has the black family truly crossed that plane today?" and if not.... "Am I helping or hindering the transition?"

They have other little plaques that circle this statue with information of the history of this area.

Plaque 1:
Sandusky and The Underground Railroad
(Has a map that shows the direct of how the underground would travel) The people of Sandusky, both black and white, made this city a major stop on the long journey to liberty known as the Underground Railroad.

Plaque 2:
Fugitives and Freedom Houses in Sandusky
The Underground Railroad was a secret network of safe houses, including the Sloane House (above). For many slaves, escaping meant traveling alone on foot at night, following the North Star.

Plaque 3:
After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, anyone found guilty of harboring or assisting runaways could be fined or imprisoned. Attorneys Francis Parish (L) and Rush Sloane (R) were both fined large sums.

Plaque 4:
Employers and Fugitive Workers
Christopher Columbus Keech (above), who owned a hat factory, and Henry Merry, a builder, employed fugitives while they were waiting for the opportunity to escape to Canada.

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The Marker Reads:

The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad, but a system of loosely connected safe havens where those escaping the brutal conditions of slavery were sheltered, fed, clothed, nursed, concealed, disguised, and instructed during their journey to freedom. Although this movement was one of American's greatest social, moral, and humanitarian endeavors, the details about it were often cloaked in secrecy to protect those involved from the retribution of civil law and slave-catchers. Ohio history has been permanently shaped by the thousands of runaway slaves passing through or finding permanent residence in this state.

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Sandusky has one of the oldest historical downtown areas. It has been loveling restored and maintained. The marker reads:

This building served as Cedar Point's winter offices from 1928 and after for Mr. Boeckling, the entrepreneur who first developed the resort into an amusement park. Because the Bay freezes in the winter, this site offered a convenient location to conduct the Park's business in the off season.

This structure is a fine example of amusement park architecture. The Spanish motif and the aquatic symbols carved in the window keystones are interesting embellishments to the exterior.

Sunduskians fondly remember the "G.A. Boeckling," which ferried thousands of park visitors who had arrived at the foot of Columbus Avenue by train or automobile.

Donated by the Sandusky Main Street Association.

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My mother in law wanted to visited this place so we accomodated her. It was a lovely experience because the folks here were so accomodating to her and with her special needs. TThey have single and groups tours too. We bought some wine and we really enjoyed it.

Winery Hours
June through September
Monday - Thursday 9 am to 5 pm - Friday and Saturday 9 am to 6pm - Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm

October through May
Monday - Friday 9 am to 5 pm - Saturday 9 am to 5 pm (October - December)
10 am to 4 pm (January - May)

Tasting Room & Gift Shop open year round. Firelands Winery is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years Day.

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The plaque reads: Johnson's Island, in the Bay opposite of Sandusky, was a prison for Confederate soldiers 1862-1865. Nothing remains of prison except for its cemetery and the earthwork of two old forts.

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The plaque reads: Many homes in Sandusky and other parts of Eric County were station 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-aways slaves in her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin".