Cost: Free for the Museum, the ferry to the island costs $6 for kids, $7 for seniors, and $9 for Adults. Cars are $15
Hours: Sunday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Parking: on site, free for the museum. $8 for the ferry.
Shh! Don't tell Tonee, but I had a trip without her! I went to a JAG conference for my unit. Saturday was a staff ride (aka tour). This is my review of where we went.
Our first stop was the Ohio Veterans Home. On the campus of the home is the Ohio Veterans Home Museum.
This is the imposing entrance to the museum. This is the last of the turn of the century buildings that you can see in the second line that is still occupied. It has been renovated to have some easier access, but you can still see many of the original features. Also, for a veterans home, it is rather imposing.
Since there was a rather large group, I decided to split off from them and hit the second floor. My first stop was the library. Greeting me as I entered was this sight
That's right. M*A*S*H . I'd presume that that's the whole series on VHS. (Tonee, don't steal it when you visit). Also, there was a collection of planes that had rough landings
Before becoming a residential area, Johnson's Island was a POW camp during the Civil War. Now, the only major reminder of this is a large cemetery on the island. During the war, a 15ft wall surrounded a two story barracks for the prisoners. At the peak in Jan, 1864 there were 3,224 men in the prison. During this time the island looked like this:
Nothing much happened to the island after the war. Different plans were floated including a USCG training center. But, in 1956 it was decided that the island would be used for vacation homes. Sometime during this process a causeway was built connecting island to the mainland. There will be more on the island later. Side note, the island had a acting troupe of prisoners that called themselves the "Rebel Thespians"
The rest of the museum was full of uniforms, and artifacts from every major war from the Civil War to Afghanistan and Iraq.
From there we made our way to Johnson's Island.
Sorry, no dogs in the cemetery.
The cemetery had no real monuments until 1910 when the United Daughters of the Confederacy put up this monument:
After our stay on Johnson's Island, we made our way to the ferries to Kelleys Island. Right by the pier where we boarded the ferry, there was a huge lake steamer being loaded with gravel. It was a sight to see.
Quarries are big in this area in Ohio. Glaciers deposited gravel and sandstone all in this area. When the glaciers retreated, the left grooves in the ground. There is one in the state park on the island and most got taken out during mining operations. Here is a picture of the one in the park:
The islands are a fun trip in state. The lakes and trips on the ferries makes you think that you might be somewhere not in state, but you sill are. However, you do get rather close to Canada.
