While in Pymatuning you must stop at the spillway and see
the ducks and fish! The food is white bread, the fish are carp, and the venue
is the Spillway on the Pymatuning Reservoir. Linesville, a small town with
population of around 1,100, is affectionately known as the place “Where the
Ducks Walk on the Fish,” and is home to The Pymatuning Spillway, which is a
small part of the huge Pymatuning Dam.
Common carp were brought to the US in 1831. In
the late 19th century, they were distributed widely throughout the country by
the government as a food-fish, but they are now rarely eaten in the US. They
live large in man-made and natural reservoirs and pools, and in slow or fast
moving rivers. They prefer larger, slower-moving bodies of water with soft
sediments. Common carp can live up to 20 years. The average size of the common
carp is from 15 to 30 inches in length and weight from 4 to 30 pounds.
While we were out, we enjoyed a late lunch at the Crooked
Paddle Pub. It is located less than a mile from the spillway. Charlie enjoyed a
burger and I had a grilled chicken sandwich. Both were very good!
The next morning, we departed Pymatuning State Park after
two days of visiting friends and exploring the area.
We needed gas, so we deviated from our planned route and
headed into Ohio on Ohio Route 87. That route took us into the Gustavus
Historic District. It is located at the intersection of State Routes 87 and 193.
This national historic district area has 12 buildings listed on the National
Historic Registry. The prominent architecture styles include both Greek Revival
and Federal. Major buildings dating from 1832 to 1898 surround the village
green, the geographic center of Gustavus Township.
Built in 1832 on the northwest quadrant, the George Hezlep
House features Federal-Greek Revival architecture and has a closet reputedly
used on the Underground Railroad. Built in 1840, the Farmers' Exchange Store
was originally a double entrance Greek Revival structure. The Storekeeper's
House, also a Greek Revival structure, was built next to the exchange store in
1840. South of this house is the Fraternal Hall, built in 1870.
There were once four churches in Gustavus including the Methodist
Church, built in 1856 with a temple front and a belfry, and the Congregational
Church, built east of the center in 1854. The eclectic Town Hall was built in
1890 and fronts the southeast quadrant. The Gustavus Centralized School,
reported as the first centralized school in the United States, was built in
1898 and was replaced by the current building in 1928.
Across from the store and adjacent to the Commons sits the world’s
largest Amish horse and buggy which stands 14” high and 32’ long. Ken and Margaret Schaden and their 11 children run the End
of the Commons General Store. After many years in corporate sales planning, Ken
& Margaret found what the family was looking for in Mesopotamia; the
family, living in Mesopotamia, visited the very store they own today to buy
milk, groceries, and penny candy for their large family. When the store was for
sale the Schadens believed that it would be a great way for their family to
work together while serving the needs of their own neighborhood. Familiar with
shopping in bulk for their own large family, the Schadens decided they could
best serve the Amish community with bulk products at reasonable prices. The old
grocery store had to be cleared out of its back rooms to make room for the bulk
products. As the cleaning process began,
it soon became clear that what was thrown into back rooms and into the basement
and attic, was not junk, but store history! They found hundreds of items: old
store products, supplies, furniture, and fixtures. Cash registers, scales,
needle boxes, dry goods, and actual food products in cans, tins, and boxes
dating from the late 19th century! Penny candy still lines the shelves by the checkout
counter, where slots and boxes of the old post office remain. People actually
ask "How much is the penny candy?" but around here it still is a
penny!
We turned onto US 224, a generally east – west route. It is
a rural arterial highway, mostly two lanes, across Ohio. It runs roughly
parallel to the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from its westerly US 42
junction to Tiffin, a city around which it sweeps to the south with
intersections at various state highways that radiate out from downtown.
US 224 took us through Newton Falls. Newton Falls would be
“famous” for a waterfalls, right? No … home to the famous 44444 ZIP code, the
only US zip code in the contiguous US where all five numbers are the same. The
town's namesake falls feed into different branches of the Mahoning River.
We found an old time store, Field View Mercantile, a local
family run business specializing in selling old advertising, vintage toys,
antiques, primitives, specialty treats, artisanal products, and seasonal decor. They would love to buy your old advertising signs!
We passed between Lake Milton and Lake Berlin and wondered
why two lakes that were connected had different names? Lake Milton was built as
a water supply for Youngstown. Within 10 years, however, the city found other
water sources, and the lake largely became recreational. The downstream mills
of US Steel and Youngtown Sheet and Tube used the lake to cool the waters of
the Mahoning River, which they used to cool ingots. If the river water got too
warm in the summer, the steel was too brittle. The mills would then ask the
city to open the Lake Milton spillway and let some of the reservoir’s cooler water
flow into the river. A very interesting part of Lake Milton's history ....Meanwhile, a number of small cottages started to crop up
along the lake’s east bank. Although the city of Youngstown owned the lake and
most of the property around it, fishermen began to erect tents, then lean-tos
and finally cottages to spend weekends fishing. The city turned a blind eye at
first but eventually began to collect a small rent from the cottage owners.
They were squatters, essentially, living on city land. They had electric, none
of which would have passed standards today. There were a lot of outhouses, a
lot of which flowed right into the lake. By the mid-1980s, some of those
cottages began turning into houses. A few were nice houses, including one owned
by the Cafaro family, which made millions of dollars developing malls across
the country. But Youngstown was hurting. The mills had closed. Just before the
corps released its report on the Lake Milton dam, Youngstown had let its
liability insurance lapse and had closed all its parks and recreation
facilities. The residents rallied, getting the ear of their local politicians,
led by then-state Sen. Harry Meshel. A deal was struck in which the state
agreed to divert $4.3 million from another project to fix the dam. In exchange,
the state would take over Lake Milton as a state park. As part of the deal, the
cottage owners would get to buy their property. A lake cottage in 1995 was
valued at $44,500, according to the Mahoning Valley auditor. The next year, a
house was built on the site, valued at $228,500. Now, this 10-room,
4,700-square-foot home with a dock just outside the back door on the lake is
valued at nearly $600,000. Property along N. East River Road, where Gardner
lives, now easily commands more than $500,000, according to local Realtor Howard
Vayner.
We saw lots of barns repainted with the "chew mail pouch" advertising!
We also spotted a Wrestlemania trailer, while we were getting gas!
Established in 1854, Fostoria is best known for its famous
glass production years and for its abundant rail traffic and business that
continues today. Fostoria was also the home for over a dozen glass factories
during the end of the 19th century. The glass factories were established in
Fostoria because of the discovery of natural gas in the area. As the gas supply
became depleted, many of the factories closed or moved—including the Fostoria
Glass Company.
Hundreds of 100 trains pass through the city each day. The
city is often visited by rail fans, and a railroad viewing park, constructed to
facilitate the viewings. The Fostoria Rail Preservation Society is dedicated to
preserving railroad history and public education. They are the caretakers of
the former Lake Erie and Western Depot, as well as the Fostoria Iron Triangle
Visitor Center and Viewing Area. The viewing platform is open 24/7, 365 days a
year, the 5.6 acre rail park provides a unique 360 degree unobstructed view of
trains passing by on any of the surrounding rails. Three mainline double tracks
cross each other and form a triangle around the rail park, hence the name “Iron
Triangle.”
After Fosoria, we arrived in Van Buren at the State Park.
Our home for the next two nights. Stay tuned as we make our way westward!
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