Famous Faces / Important Places
Lake Erie Shores & Islands people and places played important roles in the growth and development of the United States.
• Milan’s most famous son - Thomas Alva Edison - revolutionized the world with his inventions.
• The first railroad in Ohio had its origin here.
• Local residents developed dustless chalk for classroom blackboards and corrugated boxes.
• Johnny Appleseed is said to have stopped in the Lake Erie Shores & Islands along his journey across the nation.
• During the Civil War, this area in Ohio was the final stop before freedom for many runaway slaves.
• Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is set, in part, in Sandusky.
• Johnson’s Island Confederate Officers Prison, in Marblehead, was home to nearly 9,000 Confederate prisoners during the Civil War.
• Ten U.S. presidents have visited the area for both business and pleasure.
• Maxwell Geis, better known as Buck Owens, lived in Sandusky till the age of 13.
• The Himmelein House, erected in 1849, was home to John Himmelein. Known as the King of Repertoire, Himmelein brought theatrical friends to his family’s summer home to rehearse shows during the summer. He eventually owned several theatrical companies and theaters.
• Johnny Kilbane, one-time featherweight champion, opened Johnny Kilbane’s Recreation and Health Camp a few miles east of Vermilion on Lake Erie in 1924.
• The Great Western Band Orchestra entertained folks in the Milan Town Hall on Feb. 9, 1877. This gala event charged 25 cents per person.
• Sandusky native Jay Cooke was a major financier for Union troops during the Civil War.
• The Marblehead Lighthouse, first lit in 1822, is the longest continuosly operating and the most visited lighthouse on the Great Lakes.
• The Lakeside Daisy is the rarest flower on the endangered species list and can only be found in Lakeside, Ohio.
• Cedar Point Amusement Park’s tallest roller coaster at 420 feet, the Top Thrill Dragster, is taller than the depth of Lake Erie.
• Vermilion’s Woolly Bear Festival is Ohio’s largest one day festival, bringing nearly 10,000 visitors to Vermilion for one-day in early October.
• The National Postmark Museum at Bellevue’s Historic Lyme Village holds the world’s largest collection of postmarks --- 600 volumes, mounted on special acid-free pages and covered in plastic.
• Erie and Ottawa Counties are part of the region know as “The Firelands,” because the State of Connecticut gave these lands to her citizens who were burned out by the British Army during the Revolutionary War.
• Kelleys Island is the only island in the United States to be designated as a National Historic District.
• Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay is the third tallest national monument in the United States.
• More fishing licenses are sold annually in the Lake Erie Shores & Islands area than in any other part of Ohio.
