Shawnee Historic Walking Tour

Shawnee Historic Walking Tour provides visitors with more in-depth knowledge and stories that bring alive Shawnee's past while looking toward the future.

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Shawnee Historic Walking Tour

Glouster, Ohio 45732, United States

Created By: Ohio's Winding Road

Tour Information

This walking tour of Historic Shawnee is designed to give you, the visitor, a closer look at Shawnee’s colorful past. Enjoy a building-by-building walking tour that gives you a glimpse into what life was like in a boomtown as America made her way into the 20th century. This tour is designed to showcase Shawnee’s historical past through the structures that exist. We hope that you come away from this tour with a greater understanding of Shawnee’s role in the early labor movement and how Shawnee’s geographical location made it an early destination for European immigrants. Inklings of the conservation movement can be seen through the vibrancy of the Wayne National Forest surrounding the village and through Tecumseh Lake. We hope you pay close attention to Shawnee’s iconic overhang porches and the numerous brick buildings that provide the town with a rich tapestry of history, culture, and architectural prominence. Experience a town like no other in the state of Ohio!


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What You'll See on the Tour

Knights of Labor Miners (KOL) Park- Located in the green space, between Tecumseh Theater and Black Diamond Tavern, along East Main St, KOL Park was created as a result of a Preserve America grant in 2003. The park pays homage to the Knight... Read more
Shawnee Bank Building (Black Diamond Tavern)- Prior to becoming the Shawnee Bank building, it was constructed in 1877 for Thomas Hughes. Mr. Hughes used the ground floor as a saloon and the upstairs was used for entertainment functions. Th... Read more
Knights of Labor Opera House- Located on the corner of Main and Second street you are now looking up at the Knights of Labor Opera House (KOL), directly to the east of the Black Diamond Tavern. Constructed in 1881, at a cost of $8,200 by ... Read more
Shawnee Jail(Second Village Hall)-  From the KOL Opera House, make a left at the corner of Main and Second and head up Second Street, known as Schoolhouse Hill. Continue to the corner of Second and Walnut Streets, you will come across a r... Read more
Shawnee Village Hall- Directly beside the village jail is the original Shawnee Village Hall. The two-story, white-framed, wooden structured building you see to your left was built in August of 1874 and was known as “The Tower.” The woo... Read more
Walnut Street Church of Christ- Next to the Original Village Hall is the Walnut Street Church of Christ. This is one of but three churches remaining in Shawnee. Once, the Baptists, Catholics, Church of God, Jehovah’s Witness, Primitive ... Read more
Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine- Continuing West along Walnut street through the intersection of 1st Street and the junction of Walnut and Perry Streets you will see the Lady of the Lourdes Shrine. Near the Shrine stood the St. Mary's Catholic ... Read more
Salt Lick Memorial Park- As you make your way back up to the corner of Walnut and 2nd streets, the site of Village Hall and the jail, continue to make your way back down Schoolhouse Hill, to the corner of Main and 2nd Streets. Here you wil... Read more
East Main Street- The American sits on E. Main St and marks the divide between East and West Main Streets. If you look down E. Main St, toward Salt Lick Park, you will notice Hannah Brothers furniture. Hannah’s has been a mainstay in down... Read more
The American Hotel and Bar- If you look directly across the street from the park, you will see a faded green building on the corner of Main and Second Street, constructed in 1872. This former 3 story building was once visited by William J... Read more
Blaire’s Drug store (Ohio’s Winding Road Marketplace)-As you make your way from the former American Hotel down East Main Street back toward Miners Memorial Park, you will come across the former Blaire’s Drugstore, located across the s... Read more
Overhang Porches- If you look up at the Blaire’s Drug Store, you will notice Shawnee’s most iconic architectural feature, the overhang porches. The overhang porches line the streets of downtown. As Shawnee bustled and grew into the 20th... Read more
Shawnee Post Office (now Shawnee Mercantile)- Located right next to the Blair Building, was the former Shawnee Post Office. The yellowish-glazed brick used to construct the building was made at Craycraft, a brick-making facility east of tow... Read more
Harrop Furniture (Little Cities of Black Diamonds office)- As you continue along W. Main Street and make your way further along the street, you will come to an orange wooden framed building. The building originally belonged to the Harrop fa... Read more
Harrop House (Buckeye Trail Office)- The blue house before you, directly to the right, beside the LCBD office, was the Walter Harrop House. The Harrop family is one of Shawnee's most noteworthy families. The Harrops lived upstairs and opera... Read more
Ellody Building- As you make your way down the street headed west from the BTA Office, you’ll arrive at the end of the street and come across the Ellody Building. Named for the Ellis and Baroody families, Ellody is a combination of the fa... Read more
Baltimore and Ohio Depot/Hoster Brewery (Basketball courts) As you look out to the southwest of the Ellody building, toward State Route 93, you will see the village basketball courts. Where the courts are now, the village railroad depot onc... Read more
Upson Company Store (Masonic Building)- As you cross the street, directly opposite from the Ellody Building, you will see a tan/gray-colored building with a stone facade. Built prior to 1875 as the Upson Company Store. While Shawnee was no... Read more
B and O Office- The white building, located to the left of the Masonic Building, was the office of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad after the depot was demolished on where the basketball court is now located. The track ran just below the hil... Read more
Bill’s Lunch- As you continue your tour of Main St, just to the right of the old B&O office and to the left of Harigle Garage, is an empty green space. Bill’s Lunch once stood before you. Shawnee resident Bill Ricketts served up Sha... Read more
Harigle Garage- To the right of where Bills Lunch once stood is the Harigle Garage building. The building dates back to 1912 and was originally owned by Shawnee resident Frank Grimes. Grimes sold the building to another Shawnee resident, Ot... Read more
Elaine’s Garden- To the left of Harigle Garage, you will notice a green space with the outline of a brick framed structure and overhang porch above. Originally part of Ottie Harigle’s garage, the structure was built soon after the Great... Read more
Shawnee Odd Fellows Hall- Located next to Elanie’s Garden, the Shawnee Odd Fellows building was constructed in 1908. Pay close attention to the I.O.O.F inscription centered at the top of the building. The inscription stands for the Indep... Read more
Shawnee Furniture Store- Directly to the right of the Shawnee Odd Fellows Hall, you may have noticed a Frigidaire sign hanging from the overhang balcony-style porch is the A.T. Sharshall building. After the Fire of 1907, the building was b... Read more
Tecumseh Theater-The Great Fire of 1907 would result in the Tecumseh Theater being built in 1907 and completed in 1908 by the Improved Order of Redmen. The Tecumseh Theater symbolizes the importance of the cultural arts and iconic architect... Read more
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Caboose- Traveling from the Tecumseh Theater to the intersection of 2nd and Main streets, make a right toward the intersection of highways 155 and 93. To the left, you will come across an old B&O railroad cab... Read more
Tecumseh Lake was created as a way to bring additional drinking water to the village while also bridging the religious divides between Shawnee’s Catholic and Methodist populations. In the early 1950s Father Michael Wellnitz of St. Mary’... Read more

 

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