|
|
Fantastic Tours and Demonstrations |
|
| All Attractions | Free Magazines | Regional Guide | Festivals & Events | Free Videos | Advertising |
|
Free Ohio Tours and Demonstrations |
|||||
|
|
|
|
More Tours Worth the Price of Admission |
||
|
|
|
|
Search All Categories by
Region:
Central Ohio /
Northeast Ohio /
Southwest Ohio /
Northwest Ohio /
Southeast Ohio
Your Guide to Ohio
Tours and Demonstrations|
|
|
When: Open Thursday – Saturday 10 a.m. -5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. year-round (and Wednesdays November 1 through January 15). Tours of A Christmas Story House are conducted every half hour beginning at 10:30 AM. The last tour of the day begins at 4:30 PM. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, New Years Day and Easter.
Where: 3159
Phone: 216-298-4919
The house used
in the popular holiday classic “A Christmas Story” has been restored to its
original 1983 movie appearance. Purchased and renovated by Brian Jones, a true
fan of the movie who sells leg lamps for a living, the house takes visitors on a
nostalgic journey to the sights and scenes where Ralphie Parker dreams of
nothing but receiving a genuine Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle for
Christmas. In addition to A Christmas Story House, visitors can explore the
museum where items from the movie are on display, more than 100
behind-the-scenes photos are featured and movie-related memorabilia can be
purchased. A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown
Printout: A Christmas Story House
Have you ever wondered how the ball gets inside a whistle? Take a personally guided tour of the only whistle factory in the United States where metal whistles are made. For approximately 45 minutes, you will see a thriving, small, American manufacturing plant and be entertained with interesting information about whistles and fascinating machinery – some state of the art, some dating back to the beginning of the company. Best of all – everyone leaves with a shiny new “American Classic” whistle!
Printout: ARTICLE about American Whistle Corporation
Have you wondered why the Amish still live a life apart from society as we know it? Let expert tour guides explain the culture as it is in Holmes County. The tours could include stops at buggy makers, blind broom makers, quilters, meals in Amish homes, basket makers and candle makers. Buggy rides are available April - October. Tours are taken in a comfortable 25-passenger mini tour bus or a 12-passenger Sprinter High Top Sightseeing van.
Tour highlights:
“Blazin” The Trail” ~ Ohio’s First State Road Tour ~ Offered Tuesday & Wednesday May through October
Includes a tour of the Historic Victorian House and Dinner at a Former Stagecoach Inn
“Fun on the Farm” ~ Offered Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday ~ April 17 – October
Includes a self guided tour of an Amish home, horse drawn wagon ride through an exotic animal park, dinner in an Amish home. Offered Monday, Wednesday, Friday ~ April - October
“Amish Homes, Buggies, Dinner and Back road Tour” ~ Includes guided tour of 2 former lived in Amish homes, buggy rides, school house tour, back road tour and meal in an Amish home. April through October
“History and Heritage” Includes a guided tour of the historical mural, Behalt”, and a 2 hour back road tour. Offered year around, Monday – Saturday.
“Grape Escapes” ~ Featuring the wines and cheeses of Amish country and a dinner in an Amish home. Offered once a month, March – Nov.
“Progressive Meal Tour” Features 3 meals in Amish homes, back road touring, buggy rides, “Behalt”. Offered once a month April – October.
Ask about opportunities to make candles and baskets with an Amish lady, meals in an Amish home, help with chores at a private Amish home and more!
Printout: Amish Heartland Tours
Welcome
to Southern Ohio’s driving trail featuring wildlife in flight and historical
sites across the rural countryside at the foothills of Appalachia. The forested
landscape stretches some 200 miles.
The trail is intended to be a weekend excursion for visitors to see the region’s most productive birding hotspots, nestle up at quality lodges or cabins, and eat at a number of great dining facilities, and do some sightseeing at the unique historical attractions dotting the countryside. This year-round tour features the springtime migration, breeding season, autumn’s rich palette of colors and winter’s white ground coat making it a snap to see eagles, hawks and ducks. During summertime, Adams County has its specialties for birding such as blue grosbeak, chuck-will’s-widow, and prairie, yellow-throated and worm-eating warblers. The trip is perfect for those looking to spend a couple of days in the slow-lane of life and take in the natural splendor that is increasingly hard to find.
Printout: Appalachian Discovery Birding & Heritage Trail
Have you ever fantasized about visiting Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Well, in about an hour’s time, you can almost taste it. Visitors can walk along a glass-enclosed suspended catwalk to see candy made at this 152,000 square-foot state-of-the-art candy factory. In one shift, 25,000 pounds of chocolate are produced. Even Augustus Loof would be left satisfied (sorry, no chocolate river here).
Printout: Anthony Thomas Candy Company
The Arcade provides shopping but is simply a picturesque architectural gem. It was built in 1890, financed by John D. Rockefeller (among others) and was the first building in Cleveland to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is flanked by two 9-story towers and features a 5-story glass sky lighted atrium with extremely ornate brass-filled interior and gargoyles peering down from the uppermost level.
Printout: The Arcade
In Adams County, 20th Century ‘Mail Pouch’ ads adorning Ohio barns are being snuffed out by a 21st Century phenomenon – Barn Quilt Squares.
The painted Barn Quilt Squares began when Donna Sue Groves wanted to create something to honor her mother’s passion, quilting, and did so with a large painting on the side of their barn. This sparked a movement that has swept Adams County. Adding to the serenity and charm of a lazy rural drive amidst the foothills of Appalachia, the “clothesline” of quilts highlights the adventure with its colorful display of unique artistry dotting the countryside.
For details about Barn Quilt Squares and how to find them, contact Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau at 937-544-5454.
Printout: Barn Quilt Squares
BAMBOO SEMINAR AND TOUR
($10 per person)
When: Saturdays, April thru September -1 pm
Location: Morrow, Ohio
Phone: 513-899-3446 (reservations requested)
Learn how to grow and contain bamboo! See many items such as flooring, clothing, flutes and the latest craze..bamboo "bricks"! The only bamboo museum in the Mid West. Learn how the indians used bamboo for many purposes. Walk through large bamboo groves with peacocks and phoenix roosters strutting. See large granite Foo Dogs and a Temple Bell from China. A Peaceful and tranquill setting next to a large lake. Ideal for groups!
BARN QUILT TOUR
Sponsored by the Miami County Visitors Bureau
(Admission is
Free)
Location:
Begin at 405 SW Public Square, Suite 272 ● Troy, OH 45373The Miami County Visitors Bureau offers an exciting new trend for the heritage traveler… the Miami County Barn Quilt Tour! True folk art renditions of traditional quilt squares, hand painted on numerous barns, decorate the scenic landscape. This colorful array of Barn Quilts connects the scenic countryside with our lovely historic downtown communities while promoting and celebrating the unique rural and agricultural experience in the area. Visitors will enjoy the beauty and simple elegance of the landscapes as they make their way from town to town to view over 56 barn quilts!
After your first day of touring the barn quilts, relax in comfort at one of the area hotels offering special discounts valid for Thursday, Friday, or Saturday stays and subject to availability. Be sure to ask for the Miami County Barn Quilt rate. Contact the Miami County Visitors Bureau or visit www.visitmiamicounty.org for participating hotels.
Printout: Barn Quilt Tour
Open:
January, February, March - Thursday 11-5, Friday 11-5, Saturday 9-5, Sunday
11-5. April through November - Tuesday through Friday 11-5, Saturday
9-5, Sunday 11-5. December - Monday through Friday 11-5, Saturday 9-5,
Sunday 11-5. Closed Christmas Day.
Location: 6450 Arcanum-Bear's Mill Road ● Greenville, Ohio 45331
Phone:937-548-5112
Web: www.bearsmill.com
Built in 1849, Bear's Mill is an authentic example of a stonegrinding flourmill of its time. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, it is still in use today to grind cornmeal, whole wheat flour, rye flour, and pancake mixes. The mill and the buhr stones are powered by water. Visitors are welcome to take a free self-guided tour of the 4 story structure and to take a walk in the scenic woods surrounding the mill. On the first floor is the Mill Store where the mill flours as well as other gourmet sundries and giftware are available for purchase. The mill offers a line of gift boxes and custom baskets. A special feature of the store is handmade stoneware and raku pottery by the Bear's Mill potters.
Printout: Bear's Mill
Open: Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: 500 Tingley Ave. ● Mansfield, Ohio 44905
Phone: 1-800-222-0139
Ohio's only life-size wax
museum features four tours that become treasured memories of the heart
highlighting 70 scenes and over 300 wax figures. Experience the Holy Bible come
to life with the Miracles of the Old Testament and Life of Christ, two sixty
minute tours that feature life-sized dioramas of beloved Biblical stories. Two
additional thirty-
minute tours, Museum of Christian Martyrs and Heart of the Reformation, provide
an insight into the hearts of men and women as they willingly gave their lives
for the Word of God. Each scene is underscored by original music and narration.
BIBLEWALK also features a collection of rare and Braille Bibles, American votive
folk-art, Religious wood carvings, a snack bar and gift shop. The Christian
Dinner Theater will open Summer of 2006.
Printout: BIBLEWALK
The people at Boyd’s offer an open invitation for anyone to stop by and see glassmaking up close. Boyd’s is a family operated business that produce several hundred glass pieces daily, including many collectible figurines and ornamental pieces.
Printout: Boyd's Crystal Art Glass
CARROUSEL DISTRICT
(PLAY
VIDEO)
(Excerpt from Sept 07 edition of
OhioTraveler)
Ahh, the
carousel ride – a magical experience that always seems to curl up the corners of
the mouth.
Who can’t remember the excitement watching, picking and anticipating the animal you want to ride? There is always a moment of happiness and relief when you finally climb onto “the one” you want. And sometimes, disappointment when someone else beats you to it. But sorrow is short-lived because you ride, get back in line and try again – all to the instantly recognizable toe-tapping music lifting spirits all around.
The joy of the merry-go-round (an Americanized term for carousel or carrousel) has resurrected Mansfield, Ohio in many ways. Sixteen years after building the first new, hand-carved indoor wooden carrousel in the US in more than 60 years, the town's spirit soared and business boomed in what has since been dubbed the Historic Carrousel District. A legendary carousel maker even relocated from the East Coast to be a part of the transformed downtown Mansfield.
The Carrousel District is an old part of town that still features Victorian-age buildings, beautifully restored. Many of which exude charm with oak floors, brass lighting and ornate iron fencing. Walk along the brick paved pathways and feel the nostalgia. Quaint little ma and pop shops sell antiques, baked goods, art, floral, coffee and gifts. Some favorite stops reflect the theme. These include Coney Island Diner, Sweet Memories Ice Cream Parlour, Wooden Pony Brewing, and City News – an old-fashioned news stand.
But two fall into the category of “must-see” – Richland Carrousel Park and Carousel Magic.
Richland Carrousel Park is the centerpiece of the district. Located at the crossroads of Main and Fourth Streets, this merry-go-round is rich with history. No expense was spared. The 52 carrousel figures were carved and painted in the Philadelphia-style of Gustav A. Densel, an 1860 German immigrant and carrousel builder. In fact, the two bronze horses standing guard over the main entry walk were cast from old carrousel horses from the Philadelphia area. The carrousel is comprised of hand-carved wooden horses, menagerie figures and mythological Hippocampus. And Antique rounding boards, mirrors and murals make it one-of-a-kind.
Visitors to this carrousel can gaze at the woodwork above as it is housed in a beautifully constructed wood building allowing the sides to be open-air on nice days, and enclosed during in climate weather. It is even handicap accessible. Guests can get some popcorn, warm pecans and soft drinks at an old-fashioned vending stand. Relaxing wooden rockers surround the carrousel and the air is filled with the sounds of the Stinson Band Organ. There’s even a gift shop with many carrousel mementos to remember the experience.
Richland Carrousel Park is open daily year round except major holidays. It is located at 75 North Main Street in Mansfield, Ohio 44902. For more information, including special September events, call 419-522-4223 or log onto www.richlandcarrousel.com.
Less than a block down the road, see firsthand the nearly lost art of carousel carving as they are built and restored before your very eyes. The skilled craftsmen at Carousel Magic will share their time-honored techniques of carving, finishing and painting wood carousel figures for customers around the world. They even restore carousel relics from eras long ago.
Carousel Magic offers tours of their productions and can even build you a custom new carousel. In addition, they are even willing to teach you how to carve your own carousel if you have a week to spend in their resident carving classes. A tour of the large shop is a journey through time. When you head back into the world, it is with an entertaining and educational experience of the history of carousel making.
Carousels have been producing smiles and laughter for more than 1,500 years. The earliest evidence of carousels date to the Byzantine Empire, which is now the Italy, Greece, and Turkey region. Carousel-like activities have also been discovered in ancient Mexico and India. Its early form consisted of people tossing back and forth little clay balls filled with perfume. If you missed, you smelled for days. The French called the game carousel and it became an extravagant event of pageantry and horsemanship. In 1680, someone in France came up with the idea of hanging wood horses from arms connecting to a center pole. Riders attempted to spear small rings dangling on the outer edge. It was powered around by a mule or servants.
The Armitage-Herschell Company out of North Tonawanda, New York is credited with designing what is known as the modern-day carousel. In the 1880s, Alan Herschell and partner James Armitage added a platform that rode on a circular track and was one of the earliest to include the catchy organ music that defines the carousel experience today.
Two main styles emerged in the late 1800s – the Philadelphia style and the Coney Island style.
The Philadelphia style was largely identified with a cabinet maker that emigrated from Germany in 1860 – Gustav A. Dentzel. His shop in Philadelphia created elegant, expressive carvings that were more realistic and regal figures often with militaristic trappings.
The Coney Island style was largely influenced by Charles I.D. Loof, a Danish immigrant who moved to New York in 1876. His shop was known for carving more fanciful and animated figures that featured highly visible adornments using a lot of jewels.
Other styles emerged over the years such as Country Fair style, which kept figures more simple and portable.
Demand for carousels boomed in the early 1900s in much of Europe and America. It was the focal point of special events and people would ride while wearing their Sunday cloths and enjoy the breeze rushing through their hair.
Many of these early carousels are now artifacts. Many of which have taken a toll from use and neglect. And these ornate wooden pieces of art and culture are being restored at Carousel Magic in Mansfield, Ohio. Experienced craftsman perform meticulous repairs, painting and carving daily. Their work includes restoration projects and new construction. Their carousel horses and menagerie figures are custom designed and hand-carved one-of-a-kind items. They strive to preserve the endangered art of wooden carousel carving and love to share what they do with visitors.
Carousel Magic offers guided tours of their entire operation Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm from early May through late December (except Thanksgiving Day). Tours cost $5 per adult and only $1.50 per child 5-12 years old. Carousel Magic also has a gift shop and is located at 44 West 4th Street in downtown Mansfield’s Carrousel District. For more information about tours, carving classes, etc., call 419-526-4009 or log onto www.carouselmagic.com.
So even though the back-to-school activities may have your head spinning round and round, carve a little time into one more weekend as summer fades to fall and pick out that special horse to climb onto and bob your head to the jaunty music. Afterward, grab a bite to eat, shop and take a tour of carousels past and present. To plan your end of summer merry-go-round ride and adventure, visit www.carrouseldistrict.com.
Printout: Carrousel District
THE CANAL EXPERIENCE
At Providence Metropark
Ride an authentic, mule-drawn canal boat (tickets: $6 adults, $5 seniors 60 and over, $3 children 3 to 12). Free tours of historic Isaac Ludwig Mill. General Store.
Open Wednesday-Sunday, May-October
Location: Grand Rapids, Ohio
Phone: 419-407-9700
Travel back in time to the days when the smoothest way to go long distances was aboard boats towed by mules along manmade waterways. Board an authentic, mule-drawn canal boat named The Volunteer to experience what life was like during the canal era. Historical reenactors operate the boat, staying in character on the first half of the 45-minute cruise to spin tales of life in mid-1800s Ohio. Then tour an authentic, 1800s saw and gristmill where interpreters demonstrate how water power was used to saw wood and grind flour.
Printout: The Canal Experience
Built two hundred years ago in 1802, this is still one of the largest water-powered gristmills still around in the U.S. Visitors can tour all five floors of the mill and learn how it operated and what took place on each floor. In addition, a scenic hike is accessible nearby and provides panoramic views of the Little Miami River and overlooks to the gorge.
Printout: Clifton Mill and Gorge
Hop over to Cooper’s Cider Mill and see apples and berries go from the vine to spread. Cooper’s apple butter and jellies are sold far and wide. But David Cooper isn’t lying when he says, “it’s just like grandma used to make,” because it is. David learned to make apple butter at his grandma’s farm. Later, he bought a stirring pot and began making his own. Demand grew and a business was formed to handle the requests. For years the mixing was done by hand – David’s father-in-law’s hands – out in the yard. Today, the Cooper’s offer a complete behind-the-scenes tour of the entire production process and visitors get to witness the freshness, quality and care that go into every jar. Afterward, David’s wife Miriam has plenty of tasting stations set up for sampling throughout the country store next to the production plant. Inside, a new generation of Cooper’s is introducing another treat – fudge. The Cooper’s son started experimenting with making fudge for the fair and now has his own fudge station inside the family store.
Printout: Cooper's Cider Mill
Printout: Creegan Company
It’s fascinating to see the art of glass blowing as a molten blob is transformed into fine art before your very eyes. This tour demonstrates glass blowing and hand cutting crystal into a beautiful piece to display. During the time there, visitors will hear tales of glass making from its ancient roots through to the modern age. Enjoy!
Printout: Crystal Traditions
The D. Picking & Company is the last of the old copper shops in America that still makes its original products by hand. The tour of the craftsmen at work is fascinating, but the building is a visual treat from nook to cranny as it is more than 130 years old and has character unique unto itself. The walls, furniture, floors, furnaces and workbenches all show more than a century of service. The place can easily double as a copper kettle museum of historic proportions. Many relics are on display including an antique rocking horse Mr. Picking got before his son was born. Venture into this old-world of American manufacturing and hear the harmony of tapping, pounding and other clamoring noises ringing from room to room. The tour begins the same place as the copper – by the double doors. The copper is worked into kettles, ladles, skillets and other custom forms as it progresses through the shops five rooms. Each craftsman takes his time to hammer out perfection, often striking up conversation as they work. D. Picking & Company, to no surprise, gets orders from around the world resulting in some cases, up to 1,874 patterns. Tours and catalogs are available by calling 419-562-6891.
Printout: D. Picking & Company
EARTHSHIP
(Admission:
$4.50 per adult and $3 for children age 14 and under)
Open: Thursday from 1 to 3pm and Saturday from 10 AM to 3pm or by reservation from June 1 through September 30
Location 1190 Virginia Ridge · Philo OH 43771
Phone: 740-674-4300
Blue Rock Station Sustainable Living Center is home to Ohio's first Earthship - a cozy home made of tires, cans, bottles, straw bales, plus loads of other recycled materials. The tour includes other buildings made of sustainable materials, feeding rare breed chickens and working with the llamas or speaking French with the recycled French-speaking dog Rosie. Take a workshop on cottage gardening, constructing a plastic bottle greenhouse or how to make garden walls out of tires. There’s fun for everyone.
Printout: Blue Rock Station Earthship
The Olde Mill Restaurant/Brewpub is located inside Garretts Mill. Guests can tour of the grist mill anytime.
This historic building was built in 1804 and still operates as a gristmill, restaurant and micro-brewery. See grain ground to flour by 3,000-pound millstones, move to different floors via conveyer belt and finally sifted and bagged.
Printout: Garretts Mill
Open: Memorial Day Weekend - Labor Day, with limited Public Schedule in May & September, Tues.-Sat.; Noon and 3pm, Sunday; 1:00pm and 3:30pm
East Ninth Street Pier, North Coast Harbor · Cleveland, OH 44114
216-861-5110 or 888-916-SHIP
"For courtesy, comfort and just plain fun, you cannot match the experience of a
cruise on the
Printout: GoodTime III
Welcome to the very first free school in Ohio for black (African-American) children. The town was a once renowned stop along the Underground Railroad. The one-room schoolhouse was founded in the 1830’s by the Quakers and was recently restored to reflect its former self as a nineteenth-century classroom. In addition to providing education to young freed slaves, the school also taught to Native-American children in the area.
Printout: Harveysburg Free Black School
Six acres of food under one roof! It's not a supermarket, it's a zoo-permarket! An international mecca, Jungle Jim's offers thousands of imported and national brand groceries: 12,000 wines, 1,200 beers, 1,600 cheeses, 1,000 kinds of hot sauce, one full acre of produce (including organic and international). If it's edible, you'll find it here! Jungle Jim's is truly a Food Lover's Paradise!
Featuring:
The Jungle Scene complete with waterfall and wildlife
The General Mills Big G Cereal Bowl Band perched on the S.S. Minnow
Singing Creatures
The Brain (a pesky know-it-all employee)
European gourmet village
The Cake Canopy, International Elephant Gates and more.
There are five restaurants on the premises, including Chipotle, Rib City Grille and our one-of-a-kind Jungle Subs and Salads. Each year they host three major festivals; Jungle Jim’s International BeerFest, Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire Hot Sauce Show, and Jungle Jim’s International Wine Festival. There is a full service event center, The Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim’s International Market capable of holding up to 1,000 people for any type of event. In addition, there are three boutique gift shops on site, monthly cigar/wine/beer tastings, a Starbucks coffee, food demonstrations/samples throughout every weekend, and a 3,000 square foot department of just culinary and cookware items. This madcap grocer has even won the “Best Bathrooms in America” award.
Printout: Jungle Jim's Farmers Market
Daily demonstrations of glass engraving are made available to visitors. Engraved glass includes fluted champagne glasses, crystal bells and more.
Printout: King's Glass Engraving
Open: Call 1-888-886-8318 for store hours and factory tour schedule
Location: 423 South Broadway in Greenville, Ohio 45331
Phone: 1-888-886-8318
Factory Outlet shopping is available downstairs where the heritage exhibits are displayed. These authentic KitchenAid™ artifacts are used to tell the history of an ever-evolving iconic American company. It explains how products were improved and refined over the years since 1919 when the first stand mixer was introduced. An original Model H KitchenAid™ stand mixer is also exhibited.
Tour the nearby mixing factory and see firsthand how the entire manufacturing process works. The tour enables visitors to see a stand mixer move to the final stage of assembly by peeking over the shoulder of an assembly line worker.
Printout: KitchenAid Experience & Tours
Open: The collection is open Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or by appointment
Location: 207 S. Cherry St. · West Union, Ohio 45693
Phone: 937-544-5454
See antique hearses and other funeral service vehicles spanning the horse-drawn era from 1848 to motorization. The Lafferty family funeral business preserved their own carriages and vehicles through the years and acquired more to build onto this one-of-a-kind collection.
Printout: Lafferty Funeral Collection
NO LONGER OPEN FOR TOURS
Printout: Lee Middleton Original Dolls
Longaberger headquarters is inside the world’s largest basket as the entire building’s architecture is shaped like a giant basket including the handles. A visit to the Homestead will treat everyone to a comprehensive gallery, plant tours and basket-making demonstrations. And there is also a theatre where visitors can view the history of the Longaberger company. One of the more interesting aspects of the museum and tour is the Mezzanine where guests can gaze down at the 250,000 square-foot weaving floor where all the activity is.
Printout: Longaberger Museum and Factory
Open: Call for hours and days of daytime tours. Open for ghost hunts and walks by appointment.
Location: 100 Reformatory Rd. ● Mansfield, OH 44905
Phone: 419-522-2644 or 800-642-8282
This museum offers a variety of tours in the intermediate state prison that was known as the Ohio State Reformatory. This is also the site of the movie “Shawshank Redemption” and the museum offers a Hollywood tour involving many of the most famous sites from the movie including the tunnel Andy Dufresne escaped out of. The old prison is also said to be haunted, and the museum offers ghosts hunts with the help of professional ghost hunters.
Printout: Mansfield Reformatory Historical and Ghost Tours
Who stole my cheese? Located in the fourth largest Amish community in the country, the Middlefield Cheese House has been serving award winning Swiss cheese for several generations. Visitors will learn what’s involved in the cheese-making process and see cheese carvings, antique cheese production equipment and more. Don’t forget to sample the cheese before you leave.
Printout: Middlefield Cheese House
This is the oldest and largest winery in the state dating back more than 100 years. Award winning table wines, dessert wines, vermouth, sparkling wines, and sparkling non-alcoholic grape juice.
Printout: Meier's Wine Cellars
Showroom is open Monday through Friday from 8am – 4pm. Factory tours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 10:15 am and 11:15 am - 2:30 pm. The factory is closed the first 2 weeks of July and 2 weeks between Christmas and New Years. Call before coming if you are planning to tour the factory in July and January. (there may be other days that factory is down during these two months)
Location: 9279 Cadiz Road · Cambridge, OH 43725
Phone: 740-439-1827
Learn about the glass-making business while visiting and touring the facilities at Mosser Glass. The tour begins where glass-making does – with sand. And then goes on to include other steps in the process such as heating the ingredients at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The finished products include just about anything from water pitchers to ashtrays.
Printout: Mosser Glass
What a beautiful place to relax and take in the surroundings – at the 85-acre Secrest Arboretum. Continue onto the greenhouse conservatory and complete a very fulfilling guided-tour with a visit to the historical museum on site. The purpose of the OARDC is to research food, agriculture, family and environment and help produce safe and healthy food and agricultural products.
Printout: Ohio Agricultural Research and Development
OHIO CAVERNS
"America's Most Colorful
Caverns"
Named one of the six best over all caves in America by Parade Magazine
Open for tours daily April 1 –
October 31 from 9am - 5pm; November 1 – March 31 from 9am - 4pm (Closed
Thanksgiving and Christmas Day)
Location: 2210 East State Route 245 ● West Liberty, Ohio 43357
Phone: 937-465-4017
Web: www.ohiocaverns.com
Visitors are conducted through the Caverns on guided tours at frequent intervals. There is an admission fee for the forty-five minute, mile long tour. Ohio Caverns was recently listed in Parade Magazine as one of the top six caves in America! Ohio Caverns is the largest and one of the most beautiful of all Ohio caves. Its exquisite crystal-white stalactite and stalagmite formations are nowhere to be found in greater profusion or artistic settings. The diversity of formations and unexcelled coloring are all the more interesting because the formations are still in the process of development. Still photography is welcome to capture your memories. No matter how far you travel, you will find your visit to Ohio Caverns provides you with rich memories of its great beauty and educational value.
Read Full Article about Ohio Caverns
If walls could talk, the sandstone of this Romanesque style church would have about 150 years of history to share. If you like beautiful architecture, take a self-guided tour of this house of worship. It is peculiarly set in a corner of Cleveland’s public square neighboring skyscrapers all around.
Printout: Old Stone Church
This is a thoroughly educational opportunity to learn about the precious ecosystems that surround us. Old Woman Creek is the smallest reserve in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and is the only Great Lakes freshwater estuary in the national system. It provides multimedia presentations, hands-on field education, guided-tours and a visitor center featuring exhibits on estuary ecology, wetland research, and watershed stewardship. The Reserve also offers trail access to view a variety of habitats including freshwater marsh, swamp forest, barrier beach, upland forest, estuarine waters, stream, and near shore Lake Erie.
Printout: Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve
Perkins Observatory is owned and operated by the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. It offers astronomy programs for the public most Friday and Saturday nights (with some exceptions) throughout the year. The programs are held rain or shine and have limited ticket availability. The programs usually consist of an astronomy talk and a tour of the observatory. Observing through the 32-inch telescope occurs only if it is clear enough and dark enough to do so. Advance tickets prices are $6 adults, $4 for children seventeen and under. Seniors price is also $4. On the day of the program or at-the-door, tickets (if available) are $1 more for each ticket. Groups of ten or more must pre-arrange their tickets at least two weeks in advance. Special weekday, evening, and daytime programs are also offered.
Printout: Perkins Observatory
Did you ever think you could actually go to the theater and get backstage passes in casual clothes for free? Well, you can if you tour the historic Allen, Ohio, State and Palace theaters. The Playhouse Square theater district is the largest performing arts complex in the United States except for New York City. And it attracts more than 1 million people annually. After nearly being forgotten and destroyed, the theaters were reclaimed in the largest theater restoration project in the world. Today, they are radiant and provide for a very worthwhile visit. The tour is about an hour and a half and includes the lobbies, lavish auditoriums and backstage areas.
Printout: Playhouse Square Center
What was once the original Quaker Oats Company is now home to a unique-looking retail complex providing shopping, restaurants, hotel and entertainment center. The buildings, known as silos, are unique and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The company’s rich history is told with historic advertising memorabilia and includes accounts of how Ferdinand Schumacher originally attempted to sell his breakfast oats as well as how a fire nearly destroyed everything.
Printout: Quaker Square
Call for times of tours
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the schedule for free public tours of
Severance Hall, the Orchestra’s home in University Circle. Each one-hour
tour is led by a volunteer tour guide who shares Severance Hall’s history and
legends as patrons visit the Concert Hall, Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer,
Smith Lobby, Organ Loft, Green Room, Ong & Lerner Galleries, and Reinberger
Chamber Hall. Patrons will have the opportunity to see the Christoph von
Dohnányi stage and the 6,025-pipe Norton Memorial Organ, sit in Box Number One,
and, in the Grand Foyer, see the Elsa Vick Shaw murals and the famous brass
screw that is embedded in the terrazzo floor.
Printout: Severance Hall
Store Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Sundays
Address: 333 Wadsworth Road (Rt. 57, ¼-mile north of Rt. 30) ● Orrville, Ohio 44667
Phone: 330-684-1500
Web: www.smuckers.com
With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good. ® And nowhere is this more true than at The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café. Located in Orrville, Ohio, The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café originally opened in 1999 and was recently expanded and renovated. Now twice its original size, the store retains its classic timber frame barn structure and is the premier showcase for The J.M. Smucker Company’s entire family of brands, including Smucker’s®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Hungry Jack® and more.
The fabulous new café serves up fresh, tasty treats made with the company’s own branded ingredients, delicious pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven and mouthwatering sundaes topped with heavenly Smucker’s toppings. The store is packed with exclusive branded merchandise and one-of-a-kind gifts, including the Gift Basket Design Center, where you can create your own custom gift basket – the perfect gift for any occasion.
You’ll also want to take a journey from 1897 to the present day at The J.M. Smucker Company museum, where you’ll experience how the company started and how it continues to evolve today.
Finally, be sure to visit smuckers.com for a schedule of special events at the store, including classes, concerts and celebrity guests.
Printout: The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café
 |
|
Open May
- October (call for hours)
Location: (Map
It) 11324 Mt. Vernon Rd. in Utica, OH 43080
Phone:
800-589-5000
A DAY OF FUN AT YE OLDE MILL
Each year, Ye Olde Mill attracts 150,000 nature and ice cream enthusiasts from all over the country. Ye Olde Mill, on 25 picturesque acres nestled in the gently rolling hills and forests of lovely Licking County, is the perfect spot for family fun, reunions, weddings, and more.
The restaurant can accommodate large groups for any occasion. For group reservations, contact Guest Relations at 740-892-3921 or 800-589-5000.
VELVET ADVENTURE BEGINS AT VISITORS CENTER
Ye
Olde Mill features Ohio’s only ice cream museum, an 1817 Ice Cream Parlor, The
Mill Room Restaurant, and gift shop. The Velvet adventure begins with the
Visitors Center, built to resemble Grandpa Dager’s old milking parlor, which
offers hourly tours of the Mill and museum, along with observation of the Velvet
Ice Cream factory at work. Outside, the adventure continues with the Visitors
Center’s livestock barnyard, children’s farm animal petting zoo, and scenic
natural trails and picnic grounds.
Open May 1 to October 31
Mill Room Restaurant, Ye Olde Mill, Ice Cream Museum, and 1817 Ice Cream Parlor
May, September, October: 11 am to 7 pm daily
June, July, August: 11 am to 8 pm daily
Tours of Ye Olde Mill and Factory
Weekdays: 11 am to 3 pm on the hour
Printout: Ye Old Mill and Velvet Ice Cream Company
This world class facility is a fitting tribute to Ernest “Mooney” Warther, World’s Master Carver. Warther created a collection of steam locomotives carved of ebony and ivory which have been appraised as priceless by the Smithsonian Institution. The carvings are displayed in a beautiful Swiss chalet which includes a new theater handcrafted of solid curly maple. You will also experience new displays, and the expanded knife making & wood shop. Freida Warther’s Button House is still a sight to see and in the summer the Swiss gardens are magnificent.
The original Warther Carving Museum opened three generations ago and has blossomed into an attraction which draws visitors from all over the world. The amazing Warther story is presented by knowledgeable guides and enhanced by films that include family photos and movies of Mooney carving in his shop. Some of the new displays show his traveling years, his love of reading, and commando knives made during World War II.
Dave Warther, Mooney’s son, or grandson Mark are usually in the lobby greeting visitors and carving souvenir wooden pliers for children. Mooney made the pliers famous by placing 10 interconnecting cuts into a block of wood. Another grandson, Dale, makes the handcrafted kitchen knives. From the knife shop viewing area, you can observe the cutlery and knife blocks being created. The Warther gift shop is operated by Dave’s wife, Joanne, and his daughter Carol. It is the exclusive home of Warther Cutlery.
Excerpt from January 2008 edition of OhioTraveler
When a guy
is named Mooney you expect something out of the ordinary. Mooney Warther
would not have been a disappointment. He was witty, funny, gifted,
eccentric, ambitious, and entrepreneurial—genius would not adequately
describe his stature.
Ernest “Mooney” Warther was a wood carver extraordinaire. Terms such as “world’s greatest” or “world’s best” are often used as fictitious hype, but when applied to Mooney’s aptitude with a knife, they are not an exaggeration.
It’s a quirk of human nature when hearing such exalted claims to believe that such talent is found only in some strange faraway venue. In truth, one of the most skilled artists in history was born, grew up, and plied his trade—largely unnoticed—in our own back yard: Dover, Ohio.
His father died when Mooney was three, and he acquired only a second grade education that took him four years to complete. Mooney didn’t have much time for school—he was working. His cattle herding for a penny a day was the source of his name—an adulterated version of “moonay” from his Swiss heritage that means bull of the herd.
It was on one of his herding excursions in 1890 at the age of five that he found a pocketknife and began carving. Mooney said it was a hobo who taught him to cut a pair of pliers from a solid block of wood. It was a procedure he perfected and claimed as his signature. It is estimated that in his career Mooney made and gave away 750,000 of the little wooden devises.
By age fourteen he was working in a steel mill but continually carved models of steam locomotives that had enthralled him since early childhood. At one point however, he found time to carve a working model of the mill including an animated figure of his old friend who liked to hide behind a furnace and steal a nip from his flask.
Mooney carved hard woods like walnut and ebony, and was dissatisfied with store-bought knives that wouldn’t hold an edge. No doubt aided by his experience at the mill, Mooney researched different types of steel and techniques of tempering and sharpening. He first made a kitchen knife for his mother. It was so good that word spread rapidly, and by 1923 Mooney left the mill and began making knives as a business.
It
was the same year that the New York Central Railroad discovered his
locomotive carvings. He was offered fifty thousand dollars, plus five
thousand per year to stay with the display. Henry Ford made an even more
generous offer, but Mooney declined both. “My roof doesn’t leak, I’m not
hungry, and my wife has all her buttons,” he said. (His wife was a
collector of buttons, which are displayed along with Mooney’s carvings.)
While Mooney designed his own carving knives, he decided to see how far he could go with his pliers-making expertise. He started with a large block and hewed one pair after another—all connected, until he had a “tree” of pliers—511 in all that could be folded back recreating the block from which they were fashioned. It was an exercise in mental dexterity as well as carving skill. Engineering professors from what was then Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland studied the sculpture and proclaimed it was impossible to have been produced in one piece. Yet undeniably, there it was.
As a young boy I was the recipient of one of Mooney’s pliers. His bushy snow-white curls bounced, as he talked non-stop in his high-pitched gravelly voice. He held a four-inch rectangular piece of wood in one hand, and with the other made a series of quick strokes with a short bladed knife. In the matter of about five seconds he opened it, revealing handles hinged to jaws just like a real pair of pliers. My eyes bulged in wonder as he handed it to me, the youngest in the family of viewers.
But the pliers rate only as a parlor trick compared with his train carvings. They’re done in exact scale and authentic in minute detail. Some of them have as many as 7,500 parts: pipes, rivets, screws, connecting rods, perfectly round wheels—each created on a simple bench with a vise, and Mooney’s carving knives. Many are equipped with electric motors that turn all the moving parts, held by bearings he made from a Brazilian “oily” wood that never needs lubrication. As well as wood, he used ivory for some pieces that are almost microscopic. Because of his love for elephants his ivory carvings were mostly from old billiard balls. Engineers have poured over his models with precision instruments and measuring devises, drawing the same conclusions as most nonprofessional observers: The replicas are so exact that it was not possible for them to have been carved by hand. But they were.
By the time railroads began phasing out steam engines; Mooney had carved 54 exact-scale counterparts of his favorite iron horses, but swore as long as he lived, he’d never carve a diesel locomotive.
Instead he began a series of “Great Events in American Railroad History.” He created a solid ivory rendition of the driving of the golden spike connecting the transcontinental railroad, the great locomotive chase, and the Lincoln funeral train to name a few. He was working on the Lady Baltimore locomotive when he died at eighty-seven, leaving it unfinished.
All his work can be seen at the museum in Dover, displayed in style worthy of the Smithsonian.
Mooney’s carvings are so notable as to make the cutlery business seem secondary, although since its inception it has been a foundation of the family business. Mooney taught his sons and grandsons the art of making knives and they continue to this day—every one annealed and hand ground to Mooney’s specifications.
During the Big War, starting with a single request, Mooney made 1,100 personalized commando knives carried by every rank including Generals. The Warther’s have made special knives and kitchen cutlery for several presidents and numerous dignitaries. Yet the most important contribution of the commercial success was allowing Mooney to pursue his true passion.
Like one bull in a herd—Mooney Warther had no peer.
Warther Carvings Museum and Button Collection is located at 331 Karl Avenue in Dover. Call 330-343-7513 or go to www.warthers.com for more information.
By Robert Carpenter
Robert Carpenter was born and raised in the New Philadelphia, Ohio
area. He's a freelance writer presently living in Florida.
Printout: Warther Carvings and Gardens
Take a self-guided tour of this 1912 multi-cultural historical landmark. It is produce shopping old-world style and features more than 100 ethnic vendors selling first-rate vegetables, meats, fresh-fish, pastries and a lot more. There is a viewing area high above the main-market floor, which provides tourists with a panoramic view of the hustle and bustle going on below.
Printout: The West Side Market
Marblehead Lighthouse
Contact via East Harbor State Park at 419-734-4424 or www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/marblehead.htm
Location: 110 Lighthouse Drive, Marblehead OH 43440
Days and hours: Grounds open daily; tower and adjacent museum open 1 pm - 4:45 pm Monday through Friday, Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, as well as the second Saturday of the month, June 1 through October.
Fee: No
The Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822. Today, the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park invites visitors to explore the fascination history of maritime commerce, daring rescues at sea, and the unique lifestyle of the lighthouse keeper as technology changed the profession over time.
South Bass Island Lighthouse
Contact via The OSU/Ohio Sea Grant office at 419-285-2341 or www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu
Location: the southern tip of South Bass Island.
Days and hours: Thursdays to Sundays from 1-4 during the summer.
Fee
Directions: To get to the island, take either the Jet Express from Port Clinton (Route 163) or downtown Sandusky (Jackson St. off Route 6) or take the Miller Boat Line from Catawba (Route 53). To see the lighthouse from shore, take Langram Road past the Miller Boat Line dock until it dead ends.
The Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse
Contact via the Fairport Harbor Historical Society at 440-354-4825 or www.fairportlighthouse.com
Days and hours: Open from the end of May through the third weekend of September on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, from 1 to 6 pm; special tours are available by appointment.
Fee: Yes
Directions: Take Route 2 to the Painesville Exit. Head north on Richmond St. (which becomes High St.) Museum is on corner of Second and High Streets [129 Second St.]
Toledo Harbor Lighthouse
Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Society
1750 Park Rd. #2, Oregon OH 43618
419-691-3788
Vermilion Lighthouse and Inland Seas Maritime Museum
480 Main St., P.O. Box 435, Vermilion OH 44089
800-893-1485 or 440-967-3467
Although
lighthouses can be found in many countries, they have reached an almost cultic
status here in the US. American lighthouses have been pictured on postcards,
travel brochures, T-shirts, family room wallpaper, and even US postage stamps,
and their iconic shape has made its way into many graphic designs. Lighthouses
are usually thought of as a New England attraction, but there are lighthouses in
other states, too, including the ones that border the Great Lakes. In fact,
there are more inland lighthouses along the shores of the Great Lakes than most
countries have along their entire ocean coast line.
Ohio, which contains part of Lake Erie, is the home of a number of interesting lighthouses, keeper’s homes, and maritime museums, which you can find by following the 293-mile Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail that stretches from Conneaut in the northeast to Toledo in the northwest. This is not too surprising when you consider that Erie is the oldest, the shallowest, the most treacherous, and the most unpredictable of the Great Lakes.
The best-known (or at least the most photographed) of the Ohio lighthouses is Marblehead Lighthouse, formerly known as the Sandusky Bay Light. Located in Marblehead Lighthouse State Park (one of Ohio’s newest state parks) at the mouth of the Sandusky Bay entrance to Lake Erie, it was named after the village of Marblehead, which provided the 65-foot-high tower’s limestone building blocks. The tower, which opened in 1822, is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes. During the summer, the tower is a popular tourist attraction, with hundreds of visitors browsing through the exhibits of lighthouse history in the Keeper’s House, taking guided tours, climbing up the tower’s spiral staircase, taking pictures from the tower balcony, and picnicking on the grounds.
It’s a lovely area and it has served as an attractive backdrop for weddings, vow renewals, proposals, and other special events over the years, although no reservations can be made for such use and the grounds are always open to the public. Visitors who want to make a day of it can also enjoy nearby East Harbor State Park, which offers a number of activities and amenities including camping, swimming, boating, disk golfing, and fishing.
In addition, lighthouse fans can also hop a boat over to South Bass Island (home of NW Ohio’s party town, Put-In-Bay) to visit the South Bass Island Lighthouse, which includes two-and-a-half stories of living space and an attached 60-foot tower. This lighthouse is owned by The Ohio State University, which conducts summer tours of the tower Thursdays through Sundays, from 1 pm to 4 pm. The living space is sometimes used to house visiting OSU speakers and dignitaries and is not open to the public. There is a small air-conditioned space upstairs that can be rented for meetings and various events, with light refreshments or catered meals.
An interesting side note: OSU also owns Gibraltar Island, the 6.5 acre island off the north side of South Bass Island. Located on Gibraltar is OSU’s Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, the nation's oldest freshwater biological field station. Two-hour tours of the island and facilities are offered in the summer on Wednesdays from 10 am to noon, on a first-come-first served basis. There are box lunches available for order and the $10 tour fee supports student scholarships.
OSU also runs an annual open house in September which offers tours of the island, workshop learning sessions, and microscope activities in the lab; visitors are ferried from the South Bass Island Research Building to Gibraltar and back on one of the university’s research vessels. This year’s open house is on September 6th, from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, and it coincides with Put-in-Bay's annual Historic Weekend, commemorating Commander Perry's victory over the British in the War of 1812.
The northeastern shore of Ohio has its share of lighthouses, too, but most are not open to the public and can only be seen from a distance. However, the Fairport Harbor Village Lighthouse and Marine Museum, in Fairport Harbor, is worth a visit. The 60-foot-high sandstone and brick tower was built in 1871 at the mouth of the Grand River and has a spiral staircase that takes visitors right to the top. Visitors can also visit the adjacent museum (once the light keeper’s house) to learn more about lighthouses and Ohio history from the museum’s collection of navigational instruments, lighthouse lenses, ship models, Native American relics, and salt-mining and iron ore displays. Efforts are currently underway to restore the 61-year-old Fairport Harbor Breakwall Lighthouse, also located near the village.
I’ve only
hit the highlights of the Ohio lighthouses and museums here. There‘s lots more
to see; from the Moorish charm of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse as seen from
Maumee Bay State Park’s shoreline, to the Vermilion Lighthouse replica that
stands on the front lawn of the Inland Seas Maritime Museum, the shores of Lake
Erie are full of maritime history and adventure. Visitors with an insatiable
appetite can find out more by contacting the locations listed below. Lighthouse
and museum hours, days of operation, and entrance fees are subject to change;
make sure you call ahead to confirm details before planning a trip.
Jet Express
3 N. Monroe St., Port Clinton OH 43452
800-245-1538
Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail
P.O. Box 1639, Sandusky OH 44870
No phone number found
Coastal Ohio
www.coastalohio.com
[Offers information on over 300 historical sites and natural areas, including a calendar of events for each site, as well as dates of lighthouse festivals and special events.]
Lake Erie Shores and Islands Welcome Center
770 S.E. Catawba Rd. (St. Rte. 53), Port Clinton OH 43452
800-441-1271
Lake Erie Shores and Islands Welcome Center
4424 Milan Rd. (US Rte. 250), Sandusky OH 44870
800-255-3743
Marblehead Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
5681 East Harbor Rd. Ste. C, Marblehead, OH 43440
419-734-9777
Miller Boat Line
P.O. Box 239,
535 Bayview Avenue, Put-in-Bay OH 43456
800-500-2421 or 419-285-2421
Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory Field Station
P.O. Box 119, Put-in-Bay OH 43456
419-285-2341
Bayview Office
419-285-1800
This is an excerpt from the September 2008 edition of
OhioTraveler eMagazine.
Written by Betty Winslow.
Printout: Lake Erie Lighthouses in Ohio
Disclosure: As a precaution, please call ahead to the venues you plan to visit to ensure that the hours, admittance and other data in this Web site have not changed. We assume no responsibility for omissions, inaccuracies or errors within the contents of this Web site. However, we will take into consideration, any comments that would better represent the venues within, and add them to our Web site.
Ohio Traveler Site Map:
Free Ohio Fun
(By Category):
Ohio Planes, Trains & Autos;
Ohio Oddball Museums & Hall of Fame Museums;
Ohio Art Museums and Botanical Gardens;
Ohio
Historical Society Sites and Museums;
Ohio
Festivals and Special Events;
Historic Ohio Homes and Villages;
Famous
Ohio Birthplaces and Memorials;
Treasure Chest of Great Outdoor Ohio Fun;
Ohio Tours and Demonstrations;
More things to do in Ohio for
Ohio family fun in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Dayton and
elsewhere.
(By Region):
Northeast Ohio,
Northwest Ohio,
Central Ohio,
Southwest Ohio,
Southeast Ohio;
More Ohio Bargains;
Getaways,
Wineries,
Restaurants,
Bookstore;
Fun and Contests; Ohio Explorers Challenge,
Hidden Ohio,
Best Small Town in Ohio,
Best Ohio
Community Web Sites;
Urban Legends,
Ghost Stories,
Sing-A-Longs,
Games Kids Play;
About Us;
Ohio Marketing and Public Relations Services for the Ohio
Publishing and Travel and Tourism Industries;
Free Ohio Magazine;
Ohio Writers Market
