Bowling Green OH 2006

Bowling Green OH

A stop for service to the diesel engine in nearby Maumee allowed us 
to visit old friends, the McCauslands in Waterville and to learn a 
bit of the area's history.

We stayed at Fire Lake Campground just south of Bowling Green OH so we could keep an appointment to have regular service done on the engine and chassis of the motor home at an authorized Cummins shop in Maumee, about 20 miles north.  High School classmates and  friends, Tom and Hazel McCausland, live in nearby Waterville, so we got a chance to visit them while there.  Here we all are at their home.

Tom is very interested in the local history and was eager to share his knowledge with us.  Roche de Boeuf Standing in the Maumee River is a massive limestone rock that has been a landmark and site of many historical events in the region.  Native tribes considered it a sacred place and gathered their forces there prior to the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794 just a few miles away.  It takes its name from a French settlement of the 1700s that was nearby and from the shape of the outcrop which may resemble a bison if you look with one eye squinting!

The river is shallow in many places as it flows over bedrock.  Here a blue heron fishes watchfully for a meal.

William Henry Harrison built Fort Meigs on the Maumee River in 1813 to protect northwest Ohio and Indiana from British invasion. Today's reconstruction is one of the largest log forts in America. British and Canadian troops, assisted by Indians under Tecumseh, besieged the fort twice. The 10-acre log enclosure with 7 blockhouses and 5 emplacements presented a formidable defense. The first assault was in May of 1813 and the second was in July. Both failed and the British retreated after the second. In the spring of 2003, the fort underwent a major renovation and the construction of a Museum and Education Center.

Who knows what this tree is?  It has unusual large spikes growing from bud points along the trunk.  In the next photo is a closeup of the leaves.  If you know it, please let me know.

Closeup of the thorns and my hand.

Fort Miamis.  British soldiers constructed Fort Miamis in 1794. British authorities feared that Anthony Wayne and his army planned on marching against Fort Detroit, a major English stronghold. Located fifty-five miles to the south of Detroit, Fort Miamis provided an additional obstacle to Wayne. Fort Miamis also afforded the British additional means to solidify Native American support against the white Americans moving into the Ohio Territory. Following England\'s defeat during the American Revolution, the British promised in the Treaty of Paris (1783) to remove all of their soldiers from American soil. Although they agreed to do this in the treaty, the British subsequently refused until the Americans honored their pledges-namely repayment of debts Americans owed to England-in the treaty as well.

Fort Miamis, in present day Maumee, OH,  consisted of four bastions (diamond shape projections of the wall). The British dug a twenty-five foot deep trench around the fort and lined it with rows of stakes to impede an enemy\'s assault of the fort. The British also placed fourteen cannon in the fort to thwart any attackers.   The remains of the trenches can be seen in these two photos and are all that is left today of Fort  Miamis.

William Henry Harrison built Fort Meigs on the Maumee River in 1813 to protect northwest Ohio and Indiana from British invasion. Today's reconstruction is one of the largest log forts in America. British and Canadian troops, assisted by Indians under Tecumseh, besieged the fort twice. The 10-acre log enclosure with 7 blockhouses and 5 emplacements presented a formidable defense. The first assault was in May of 1813 and the second was in July. Both failed and the British retreated after the second. In the spring of 2003, the fort underwent a major renovation and the construction of a Museum and Education Center.

 

Cannons sit high over the Maumee River inside Fort Meigs. 

 

The museum at Fort Meigs records the Sixty Year War for Ohio, and building Fort Meigs. Original artifacts from the War of 1812, including swords, uniforms, and maps highlight the events of the war and the impact it had on soldiers and their families.

The Museum and Education Center has 3,000 square feet of exhibits and artifacts - including soldiers' letters and diaries, weapons, maps, and uniforms - that describe Fort Meigs role during the War of 1812.

This was our "front yard" at Fire Lake Campground near Bowling Green OH.

Sunset at Fire Lake Campground, Bowling Green OH.