Two Lane Adventure to Ohio – Monday, May 20th 2019

The first thing we did was take a tour around Pennsylvania side of Pymatuning State Park.

The Pennsylvania side of the state park covers just shy of 22,000 acres. It is the largest state park in Pennsylvania and contains the 17,088 acres of Pymatuning Lake, three-quarters of which is in Pennsylvania and one-quarter is in Ohio. A three-mile causeway extends between Pennsylvania and Ohio near the center of the lake. There are two natural areas, 161 acre Clark Island and Blackjack (725 acres) in the park. The park is also home to the University of Pittsburgh's Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. Like all Pennsylvania state parks, admission to the Pymatuning is free. There are 3 active campgrounds and a forth that is closed, but going to be renovated soon, with a grant. Almost everything about Pymatuning State Park is big. At 16,892 acres, it is one of the largest state parks in the commonwealth. The 17,088-acre Pymatuning Reservoir is the largest lake in the commonwealth. Pymatuning is one of the most visited state parks in Pennsylvania.

Lake Pymatuning Reservoir is a man-made lake in Crawford County, Pennsylvania and Ashtabula County, Ohio in the United States, on land that was once a very large swamp. The first known inhabitants were the Mound builders. Two of their mounds were flooded by the creation of Pymatuning Lake. The Lenape were living in the area when European settlers first came there. The lake is named for the chief who lived in the area at the time, Pihmtomink. The Lenape were pushed out of the area by the Seneca tribe, a member of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Seneca were defeated by General Anthony Wayne's forces during the Northwest Indian War and left the area under the terms of the Treaty of Greenville. This treaty marked the end of Native Americans inhabiting the area. The first settlers to the area were farmers, whose life was not easy, as the land was very swampy and very difficult to reclaim. Farm animals that wandered off were often lost in the quicksands of the swamp, or fell prey to predators like foxes, bears and mountain lions. The swamps were infested with mosquitoes that brought yellow fever to the settlers.

The lake holds 64.3 billion gallons of water, over a length of 17 miles with a width of 1.6 miles at the widest and 70 miles of shoreline, with a maximum depth of 35 feet. The lake has served to provide a water supply for the Shenango and Beaver valleys, it has lessened the damage caused by floods, and provided recreation for the people of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Two state parks, each named "Pymatuning State Park", are on the lake in Ohio and Pennsylvania. A scenic 2-mile-long causeway bridge spans the middle of the lake, connecting the towns of Espyville on the Pennsylvania side of the lake and Andover on the Ohio side. The bridge is crowned in the middle, with tall pillars and broad ducts underneath to allow lake water to flow freely across the reservoir, and to permit the passage of sailboats and other pleasure craft travelling from one half of the lake to the other. The Pennsylvania portion also has a spillway separating the (higher) upstream-most portion of the lake from the rest.

The gatehouse is a fixture on the lake in Pymatuning State Park, it is the largest man-made lake in the state. It is a favorite spot for outdoor enthusiasts and others who enjoy fishing, boating, swimming, camping, and spotting wildlife among the lake’s picturesque vistas. It isn't hard to understand why the reservoir at Pymatuning is a popular destination for both visitors and wildlife. Along the south end of the lake is the dam and gatehouse, which control flooding in the Shenango River basin.

Pennsylvania first approached the idea of constructing a dam in 1911. Two years later, a flood resulted in several deaths and approximately $3 million in damages. Funding issues pushed the dam’s construction until the early 1930s, but it finally opened in 1934. The stone-and-concrete gatehouse is almost medieval in appearance, with a main tower and a smaller entrance capped with pyramidal-shaped roofs separated by a footbridge.

We found the Bat Hotel in the park, but we did not see any bats. Why a bat house in the State Park? Bats are constantly on the prowl for suitable alternate roosts. If bats can be seen occasionally at dusk, then likely the area will support a bat house. The box should be placed at least ten feet above the ground in an open area orientated south-southeast where it receives at least seven hours of direct sun. The box will be more attractive to bats if it is within 1,500 feet of a permanent stream or pond. Bats need a drink on very hot summer days, and the fresh water guarantees a nearby feeding zone. Habitat diversity will also attract bats. A combination of forests, clearings, and wetlands will produce different types of insect activity at different times throughout the summer, assuring a constant supply of food. The box should be within 10-30 yards of a tree line to provide quick cover from predators, such as owls.

We traveled into Jamestown, but it is a pretty small town with a Dollar General and a few restaurants. The biggest draw to Jamestown is the tourist attraction Pymatuning Deer Park.

We drove to North Kingsville, Ohio to see where Brian & Janet camp for the summer. We found it and it is truly steps from Lake Erie. After we made our reservations for Wednesday night, we headed to Lake Erie.

We were driving on Route 531, which is also part of Lake Erie Circle Tour, Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail and the Great Lakes Circle Tour. Lake Erie Circle Tour circles the second-smallest Great Lake for 629-mile, spanning four US states and the Canadian province of Ontario in the process. The Lake Erie Circle Tour is the most recent of the four designated Great Lakes Circle Tours, being signed in 1990. The Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail is an America’s scenic byway which weaves along the southern shore of Lake Erie for 293 miles, connecting many of these destinations between Toledo and Conneaut. Lake Erie is Ohio’s greatest resource and Lake Erie Coastal Ohio supports providing travelers with access to its beaches, parks, preserves, lighthouses, islands, historical sites, adventure sites, quaint villages, and big cities.

The Great Lakes tour is a circle road trip route through the United States and Canada to scenic destinations along Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie.  The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a total of four routes circling each of the Great Lakes with the exception of Lake Ontario. These routes were conceived as an aid for travelers who wished to stick close to the shorelines of the lakes in their journeys. Since their creation, however, the Circle Tours have seen varying levels of success and waning support from the Great Lakes Commission has left their continued existence in the hands of the individual jurisdictions. Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio still sign and maintain their portions of the Circle Tour routes, while signage Minnesota, Ontario and Pennsylvania is now less than complete or even missing in some areas.

Ashtabula Lighthouse is located near the northern end of the west breakwater in Ashtabula Harbor. Though the current lighthouse is more than a century old, it is not the first to stand watch over the harbor. This honor belongs to the 1836 hexagonal tower, which sat atop a forty-foot-square wooden crib that was connected to Ashtabula River’s east pier by a ramp. The first light keeper on record was Samuel Miniger whose charge was to keep the beacon’s eight lamps burning using sperm whale oil.

Ashtabula Lighthouse remained manned by the Coast Guard until 1973. At that time, it was the last remaining manned light on Lake Erie. That same year, the keeper’s residence, which was serving as Coast Guard housing, was deeded over to the City of Ashtabula. The city’s original plan was to convert the dwelling into a “Western Reserve and Marine History Museum,” commemorating early Indian life. However, due to a lack of funds the property defaulted back to the federal government in 1976. In 1982, the Ashtabula Jaycees and the Ashtabula Marine Museum Committee were awarded the building from the General Services Administration (GSA). The Ashtabula Maritime Museum was officially dedicated on June 2, 1984, and was opened to the public later that year. The museum features a pictorial history of the city, as well as a collection of ship models and the pilothouse from the steamer Thomas Walters.

The town of Conneaut lies on an old Indian trail, subsequently used by settlers seeking their fortunes on the western frontier. Seneca Indians called the creek that empties into Lake Erie at this point Konyiat, meaning place of many fish, from which the town’s name was derived. As the town grew, the port became an important shipping point for grain, whiskey, and forest products in the nineteenth century. Later, the products shipped from the port included limestone and coal. In 1829, Congress appropriated $7,500 to construct piers at the mouth of the Conneaut River, and in 1835 a lighthouse was built atop the eastern pier. A keeper’s dwelling was finally built in 1872, but this was not until after a new pierhead lighthouse had been constructed in 1859. Edward Pfister was appointed head keeper of Conneaut Lighthouse in 1894 and would spend over forty years at the station, by far more than any other keeper. On January 10, 1922, the tug Oregon was towing the lighter T.F. Newman when the cable snapped, and the lighter wrecked on the breakwater near the lighthouse. Keeper Pfister lowered the station’s boat to the water, picked up the seven men from the lighter, and took them back to the lighthouse, where they were provided food and lodging. The Lighthouse Service awarded the efficiency flag to Pfister for having the station with the “highest general efficiency” in the district during 1925. As a result, Pfister was allowed to fly the flag for all of 1926.

This modern lighthouse was nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places by the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office in 1992. The petition was reviewed by Patrick Andrews and subsequently added to the list. Originally painted white, the tower was later given a horizontal black band as a daymark. The lantern room from the prior lighthouse was used atop the modern tower until 1972, when the light was automated and a modern beacon replaced the lantern room. Today, the tower produces alternating red and white flashes with a five second period. In May 2007, Conneaut West Breakwater Lighthouse, deemed excess by the Coast Guard, was offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit corporations, and educational organizations. When no qualified owner was found, an online auction for the lighthouse was initiated on September 9, 2008. No bids were received during September, but Gary Zaremba, president of Artisan Restoration Group of New York, eventually submitted a winning bid of $35,000. This wasn’t the first lighthouse purchased Zaremba, as he also won the auction for Maine’s Lubec Channel Lighthouse in 2007. When Zaremba did not pursue a lease from Ohio for the bottomlands on which the tower stands, the lighthouse reverted to the General Services Administration. A new auction was scheduled for October 2009, but it was called off at the last minute and rescheduled for “spring 2010 or later.”

On June 1, 2011, the second auction opened for Conneaut West Breakwater Lighthouse. Six bidders participated in the auction, which concluded on July 31 with a winning bid of $46,000. Jerry Killilea Jr., a businessman, UPS driver, and part-time farmer from Orient, Ohio was the winning bidder. Killilea had to purchase a $1 million general liability insurance policy to obtain an Army Corps of Engineers lease for the breakwater upon which the light is constructed. In 2018, Jerry and Karen Killileas decided to sell their lighthouse. After noting that they had made just one visit to Conneaut in 2017, Karen said the lighthouse deserves more visits than they are now able to give it. The asking price for the lighthouse is $72,000.

We saw a very patriotic display of American Flags in Conneaut, Ohio. We learned that a Conneaut man’s personal tribute to combat casualties in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan is what we see. It is there for the city’s Memorial Day observance. For the past several years, Milton Luce has erected miniature US flags, one for every American who died in the Middle East region while in military service since the 1990s.

Embankments on either side of the busy Broad Street underpass are brimming with red, white and blue for the holiday weekend, where it can be appreciated by more passersby. The collection of more than 3,000 flags will festoon the roadside through the holiday weekend. They were placed by Luce and many volunteers.

We saw our second Carnegie library in Ohio. The citizens of Conneaut desired a permanent library building, and, in 1905, a tax levy was passed to raise money for the endeavor. The library board of trustees purchased a lot at Buffalo and State streets and requested a library grant from Andrew Carnegie. In 1907, a $25,000 grant was received, and work began on the Conneaut library. The building was opened in May of 1909 with a large collection of 12,000 books. Over the years, the Conneaut Carnegie library underwent very little modification. Some interior shelving changes were made to increase storage area, and, in 1966, the oak front doors were replaced. No expansions were made to the building, and by the 1990s, the library collection had outgrown its building. A tax levy was passed in 1996 to fund a new library building, which was opened in 1998. The old building has since sat vacant. Plans were discussed for converting it to an office building, however, this has not happened yet. The building appears in good shape, but lack of maintenance is evident as the grounds are overgrown and the paint is peeling.

The Pymatuning Lake Flea Market continues strong after almost 40 years, thanks to a wide selection of merchandise and vendors that come in throughout the season. The flea market has only continued to thrive because it is well-supported as it continues to attract people from all over—including Canada, New York, West Virginia, as well as other locations. Since becoming owner ten years ago Griffo said he has been able to expand the flea market property from 13 acres to 37 acres to provide more space and options to the public. Aside from expanding the market, Griffo has also been in the process of getting the drive-in up and running. Anyone interested in checking out Pymatuning Lake Flea Market can stop in April through October every Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m., as well as a few special Mondays.

We enjoyed dinner at Covered Bridge Pizza in Andover, with friends from Florida. I couldn't think of a better way to end a day of touring and photographing Ashtabula County's covered bridges than having pizza in the Covered Bridge Pizza Parlor, which is inside half of a restored covered bridge in Andover OH. This cute little eatery is part of a three-restaurant chain in this northeast Ohio County where owners established two of the three pizza parlors in two halves of a restored covered bridge. The Forman Road Covered Bridge, a Town lattice bridge built in 1862, spanned Mill Creek in nearby Eagleville until county officials wanting to remove it put it up for auction to the highest bidder in 1972. Owners of the Covered Bridge Pizza Parlor successfully bid $5 for the old bridge, the oldest known existing bridge in Ohio at that time according to the history printed on the restaurant's menu. The new bridge owners carefully dismantled the 126-foot-long, 55-ton span. Workers numbered each piece of lumber and took photographs before removing them from the bridge as a guide for its eventual reconstruction. The pieces lay in storage for several years, waiting for finalized plans to reconstruct it as two pizza parlors and permit approvals to reassemble the bridge in two separate Ashtabula County locations.

Harry & Judi took us for Ice Cream at Yorkie’s. Since 1993, Yorkie’s Grill and Custard has become part of a summer tradition of relaxing over delicious treats both savory and sweet. Whether you’re in the mood for homemade frozen custard, or ice cream, you can count on having a treat that’ll satisfy your taste buds. They have an extensive selection of Perry’s Ice Cream flavors will satisfy any craving, and the homemade, creamy frozen custard will put a delicious spin on your go-to summer treats. They even offer daily special flavors, like Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry and Bubble Gum.

A lady at the Ohio Rally told me we had to “feed the fish.” I said no, she said “yes you will.” And we did! We feed the Carp at the Spillway. It is the best known locations in Pymatuning at the spillway. It is an area where the fish are so plentiful that the "ducks walk on the fishes' backs" to compete for the food fed by the visitors. I'll tell you more about this tomorrow!