We have had what seems like weeks of weather with temperature and humidity both in the 90s and that made forty percent humidity and temperatures no higher that the mid-eighties just too much to resist. I decided to scrap plans for a museum visit and put the day to use visiting some outdoor sites that I'd been putting off. The first target was the site of the Logan Elm near Circleville and this involved heading east on the familiar part of OH-3/US-22. Just before Morrow, I snapped a picture of Valley Vineyards. I haven't been there in awhile and should try to work in a visit. Maybe during the annual September wine festival. In the town of Morrow, both the place where the trains used to stop and the path that they traveled on have been recycled. This is the same bike trail that appeared in the Little Miami day trip and Morrow, like any respectable Little Miami River town, offers canoeing.

A bit up the road and up the hill is the town of Roachester. Not much there anymore except Papa's Diner where I enjoyed a good breakfast and listened to the morning regulars give the waitress the typical hard time. Of course she gave as good as she got. That concrete slab is all that's left of the Rolling Hills bar. Before it burned, it hosted a lot of volley-ball league action on the courts out back. The observation deck that sat between the dual courts is still there but the sand is pretty much hidden by weeds.

This is Wilmington, the seat of Clinton County. One of the town's historic buildings, the 1918 Murphy Theater is still filled on occasion but the General Denver, in spite of being ten years younger, sits empty and for sale. The third picture is of the unusual domed courthouse a block beyond the Murphy.

Here is the Washington Court House courthouse. Actually it's the Fayette County courthouse but it is in the town of Washington Court House and there is a smidgen of fun in saying Washington Court House Court House. On the upper floor of the 1885 building are three 10 by 14 foot murals by Archibald M. Willard. The Fayette County murals are titled Spirit of the Telegraph, Spirit of Electricity, and Spirit of the U.S. Mail. Although Willard's name is not all that well known, another "spirit" he painted, the Spirit of '76, is instantly recognizable to most Americans. The court house also contains displays of military memorabilia and photographs. The large carved frame shown here contains photographs of the damage caused by a 1895 cyclone. Some uncommon and interesting photos.

Washington Court House is where US 22 and OH 3 part ways. They have been one since their beginning in Cincinnati but here OH 3 takes off for Cleveland while US 22 heads for New York. The building that splits the two routes is the Fayette County Museum.


Pickaway County provides the last of today's trio of courthouses. It is certainly impressive but was not the real reason for going into Circleville rather than just heading south on US 23. When I mentioned my idea of some day traveling the length of US 22, my friend John (an Rt66in99 cast member) reminded me that we had surely done most of it on a 1975 road trip. As we headed home from Long Island, we planned to stay on two lanes as much as possible and we planned to have one beer at every bar we passed. Since all of New York City stood between us and home, we wisely decided to delay the bar hopping and then showed surprising restraint in revising the plan, even with Manhattan behind us, to one bar in each town. But the routing guide lines did not change. We may not have been entirely faithful to 22 but it definitely formed the bulk of our route west.

In Circleville, we found ourselves heading out of town without selecting a tavern. We quickly turned around to stop at a place on the edge of town. That place has ever since been known as "The Last Honky Tonk in Circleville" and, with better focus and a lot more talent, we could no doubt be living on the royalties from a country western hit by that name. When I stopped today, a trick of memory made me think that the place now called Pat's was the storied LHTiC and I entered it first. It now seems likely that Mary's is the true location but I enjoyed visits to two of the friendliest bars I've been in. In Pat's, Janey served my beer and told me that the bar had been in operation since 1937 and that the owner, Butch, had sold it several times on land contract but always managed to get it back. When Pat and her husband bought the place, they shied away from Butch's land contract offer and the bar has been theirs for 12 years. Before Mary bought and renamed it in 1978, the LHTiC was known as Frank's. Linda, the bartender, and a couple of friendly patrons filled me in on some of the history. Mary sold a bar in Columbus when she moved to Circleville and freed herself from tavern keeping headaches about 13 years back. She is now in her 80s and her son, Tom, is the current owner. If you are ever bar hopping home from Long Island or simply find yourself a bit thirsty in Circleville, stop in to see Linda or Janey at the Last & Next to Last Honky Tonks in Circleville.


Who is there to mourn Logan's elm? Apparently not many more than were there to mourn Logan in 1774. The gates to where the famous tree once stood are locked and there is room for only a couple of cars to pull off the road in front of them. But the park is mowed and otherwise maintained and entry by foot is unhindered. The parking area was at capacity after I pulled in but the other visitor was just leaving. We chatted a bit and he told me he remembered picnicking there with his family as a child and recalled visiting with his grandmother about forty years ago when the last of the elm was clinging to life. The elm died in 1964. The eloquent speech supposedly delivered here marked the end of the vengeance triggered by the slaughter of Logan's entire family. In the speech, Logan (Talgayeeta) erroneously blames Michael Cresap for the massacre although that misunderstanding was later cleared up. In "That Dark and Bloody River", Allan Eckert attributes the deed to a party headed by Jacob and Daniel Greathouse.

The Leo Petroglyphs predate Logan's speech by at least several hundred years. The current thinking is that these rock carvings were done by the Fort Ancient culture (1000-1650 AD). In addition to viewing the petroglyphs, a visitor can follow a marked trail into the neighboring sandstone gorge.

Serpent Mound contains no artifacts so identifying its creators is not particularly easy. A burial mound near this giant effigy has been connected to the Adenas (800 BC-100 AD) and the Fort Ancient culture also had a presence here. Because of the burial mound, an Adena origin for the serpent was accepted for many years but the Fort Ancient group seems to have the most support at present.

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