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A Bit of History. Cincinnati, or Losanteville as the place was first named (l'os-ante-ville, the town opposite the mouth), was settled in the latter part of 1788 or beginning of 1789 by a party under Israel Ludlow. The ground on which the city stands was purchased by Matthias Denman, who associated with himself Robert Patterson and John Filson. The latter was killed by Indians on a visit to the site of the proposed settlement, and Ludlow took his place in the enterprise. The date of the settlement is involved in doubt; although Dec. 28, 1788, is generally celebrated as the birthday of the town.

The dead do not always rest in peace. Occasionally, they wind up in the backyard. As towns grew in Cuyahoga County during the late 1800s, many of its cemeteries were relocated to make room for urban sprawl.

But not all of these graves made the journey. Author William G. Krejci tracks down more than fifty displaced cemeteries throughout the Greater Cleveland area. Discover the Revolutionary War veterans, famous scientists and illustrious dignitaries found beneath gas stations and grocery stores in this eerie history of Cuyahoga County's forgotten dead.

Daytonians hold in profound reverence the memories of their forefathers, who risked their lives and their fortunes in subduing the unbroken forest and its savage denizens, and in laying strong, wide, and deep the foundations of a city which to-day contains as many elements of advancement, and is endowed with as many of the attributes of genuine happiness, as any city in the United States. There is a just cause for congratulation in the growth and development of Dayton. Its magnificence is a crowning monument to the enlightenment and progresssiveness of its citizens--a devout, law-abiding, and upright people, whose stalwart and robust Americanism constitutes their chief excellence. It is no such Americanism as turns up its pantaloons every time it rains in London, or affects a pronunciation of our glorious tongue unknown to lexicons, but presumed to be an echo of the British Isles. Far from it. Dayton proudly boasts of an exalted citizenship, imbued with the spirit of an undying loyalty to country, whose pride and inspiration are not in Frederick the Great, or Louis XIV, or William the Conqueror; not in a hero of England, or of Germany, or of France, or of Ireland, but in George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

The massive steel mills of Youngstown once fueled the economic boom of the Mahoning Valley. Movie patrons took in the latest flick at the ornate Paramount Theater, and mob bosses dressed to the nines for supper at the Colonial House. In 1977, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company announced the closure of its steelworks in a nearby city. The fallout of the ensuing mill shutdowns erased many of the city's beloved landmarks and neighborhoods. Students hurrying across a crowded campus tread on the foundations of the Elms Ballroom, where Duke Ellington once brought down the house. On the lower eastside, only broken buildings and the long-silent stacks of Republic Rubber remain. Urban explorer and historian Sean T. Posey navigates a disappearing cityscape to reveal a lost era of Youngstown.

Toledo's history as a frontier town turned manufacturing powerhouse is well known. However, few know that it was once home to a champion racehorse.

Many are unaware that East Toledo's verdant urban woodlands sprang from the work of just one man or that a local girl's meteoric rise in Golden Age Hollywood saw her play alongside Groucho Marx. Fewer still have heard of Officer Dell Hair, crime fighter and rhyme maker who walked the beat and walked into the history books as a celebrated cop-poet. These tales and more await as award-winning local broadcaster Lou Hebert shines a light into the forgotten corners of Glass City history.

The legendary tales of Central Ohio reach far beyond the region. Bigfoot-like creatures have been sighted in the state since the 1800s. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was the headquarters for the military's investigations into UFO sightings in the mid-twentieth century. Some of Johnny Appleseed's earliest orchards were planted near present-day Steubenville, Mansfield and Lima, and a farm in Nova boasts the last tree planted by Appleseed. Join James A. Willis as he travels across Central Ohio and delves into the Buckeye State's stories of murderous villains, courageous heroes and even a few ghosts and monsters.

Explore the stories behind Columbus' most stunning landmarks, both those sadly lost and others miraculously saved.

As the crossroads city of the Midwest, Columbus has always thrived. Over the years, many of the city's most important and most beautiful buildings--packed with marble, ornate metalwork, painted ceilings and glitz and glamour--have been reduced to dust or left in disrepair. Union Station and stately mansions of well-to-do industrialists are no longer there to tell the story of the city. The Alfred Kelley Mansion, the Chittenden Hotel, the Franklin County Courthouse, and the Walk of Wonders in the Great Western Shopping Center were lost, but the palatial Ohio Theatre and the modest Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker home, both designated National Historic Landmarks, were saved. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer, authors of Historic Hotels of Columbus and Historic Taverns of Columbus, recapture stories and memories of a forgotten Columbus.

Early pioneers braved countless dangers to start anew in what is now Lorain County. Some of their stories faded from memory along the way, waiting to be rediscovered. Uncover the origins of the Felons' Feast held by abolitionists in 1859. Celebrate the true story of Major League Baseball's first black player, Moses Fleetwood Walker, who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1883. Learn about the great scientific discovery made in Oberlin by Charles Martin Hall in 1886, as well as how one of Elyria's forefathers rose to become chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Discover how the Easter Seals, officially named in 1967, began with a sixty-year-old streetcar accident. Author Kelly Boyer Sagert shines a light on fascinating lives and the county they shaped.

During World War II, more than six thousand prisoners of war resided at Camp Perry near Port Clinton and its branch camps at Columbus, Rossford, Cambridge, Celina, Bowling Green, Defiance, Marion, Parma and Wilmington. From the start, the camps were a study in contradictions. The Italian prisoners who arrived first charmed locals with their affable, easygoing natures, while their German successors often put on a serious, intractable front. Some local residents fondly recall working alongside the prisoners and reuniting with them later in life. Others held the prisoners in disdain, feeling that they were coddled while natives struggled with day-to-day needs. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and residents, as well as archival research, Dr. Jim Van Keuren delves into the neglected history of Ohio's POW camps.

From the glacier-flattened northwest to the Appalachian hills and valleys to the east and south, barns dot the Ohio landscape. Built with wooden nails and mortise-and-tenon joints and assembled with beams hand-hewn from nearby trees, some of these magnificent structures have witnessed three centuries. Many display the unique carpentry of masterful barn builders, including "mystery'? wooden spikes and tongue-and-groove two-inch flooring. Sadly, a number of these barns, neglected for years, risk crumbling any day. Join artist and author Robert Kroeger on a trip to each of Ohio's eighty-eight counties to view some of the state's oldest and most historic barns before they're gone.

Organized in 1819, Meigs County rests in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio along the beautiful Ohio River.

The land's deep reservoirs of coal and salt provided early residents work in mines and in shipping the goods via steamboat and railroad. Local communities also nurtured talented scholars like James McHenry Jones and poets and writers such as James Edwin Campbell and Ambrose Bierce, as well as Dr. Brewster Higley VI, whose poetry inspired the American classic "Home on the Range." The county is home to Ohio's oldest standing courthouse in Chester and to Pomeroy, the only town in America with no cross streets. Join historians Jordan and Calee Pickens as they recount times of prosperity and hardship that have been engrained on the timeline of Meigs County.

Explore the history of the City of Murals through the eyes of those who lived it. Perfect for fans of Ohio and American frontier history.

Beginning as a military fort on the banks of the Ohio River, Steubenville powered into the twentieth century with steam and steel. Fierce battles, raging fires and tragedy on the river could not deter this indefatigable community, and it emerged as an industrial and cultural beacon for the Ohio Valley.

With warmth and humor, Dr. John R. Holmes chronicles the fascinating history and the colorful characters of Steubenville. Brimming with tales of lavish theatres, local brews, famous crooners, and personalities such as spunky Mother Beatty and legendary steamboat captain George O'Neil, this collection of vignettes offers a glimpse into a vibrant city and its proud people.

Cincinnati is an amazing place to live and visit for so many reasons. Local author Wendy Beckman and illustrator Allison Ranieri celebrate the city's eight wonders--architecture, art, commerce, food, customs, geography, history and people. With its Venetian Gothic lancet arches and crystal chandeliers, the Cincinnati Music Hall stands as an architectural masterpiece. The Cincinnati Red Stockings made history as the first professional baseball team. Remnants of marine fossils from the Ordovician Period remind residents that the city was once under water. Limitless local varieties of goetta range from family recipes to trendy café dishes. And the city birthed trailblazers like track and field star DeHart Hubbard, the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. These stories and more reveal the unique character of the Queen City.

Columbus grew from a one-horse town to a metropolis one day at a time. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation have selected the 365 most fascinating city history vignettes for each day of the year. Match your seasons up to the full range of Columbus history, from the marching band hired to test the strength of incomplete statehouse stairs in January 1857 to the prohibition of public dancing in city parks in December 1913, and enjoy delightful tidbits every day in between.