Sep 05

Historic Murals in Coldwater, Ohio

Today, a look at historic murals in the village of Coldwater, Ohio, located in west central Mercer County. This village has a rich industrial history and has several murals around town.

Coldwater was originally named Buzzard’s Glory, named after David Buzzard, the owner of a general store. The village was incorporated as Coldwater in 1883.

Coldwater’s historic mural was completed in July 2013, for the town’s 175th Anniversary.

Coldwater, Ohio, historic mural. (photo by Karen)

It is mounted on the east side of the High School and is visible when driving through town on State Route 118.

Coldwater, Ohio, historic mural (2025 photo by Karen)

The artist was the late Dan Keyes of New Bremen, with Patrick Keyes and Barbara Tompary. Dan painted several historic murals in other local towns.

Coldwater, Ohio, historic mural, artist Dan Keyes. ( photo by Karen)

This mural shows individuals who played a part in Coldwater’s history, local landmarks, and past Coldwater industries. 

Left side of Coldwater’s mural. (2025 photo by Karen)

Right side of Coldwater’s mural. (2025 photo by Karen)

The plaque in front of the mural:

Plaque in front of Coldwater’s historic mural. (2025 photo by Karen)

In recognition of those who came before us; to those who first tread Coldwater Creek; who basked in Buzzard’s Glory and brought with them a village…to those who call themselves…
“THE CAVALIERS”
The First Settlers – The Shopkeepers – David Buzzard – Weamer Bros Butter Tub – Wooden Corn Silo
The Farmers – Buckeye Overalls – Hemmelgarn Eggs – Pet Milk – New Idea Manure Spreader
Holy Trinity Church – The Old Methodist Church – The Queen Fire Department – The Ministers
The United States Armed Forces; WWI – The Nickel Plate Railroad – The Veterans of American Legion
Coldwater High School – Championship Band and Sports – Ralph Weigel, Major Leaguer
The Gazebo in Memorial Park – Old Pet Smokestack – The Old Coldwater High School
Old City Hall – First Coldwater Hospital – The People’s Bank
The Sisters of Mercy – The Knights of Columbus – The Police – Marshall Spain James and “Von”
Donated by the Desch/Sowar Family Foundation
Artist: Dan Keyes

Details are cleverly tucked into the painting.

Close-up: Weamer Bros, Pet Milk, Hemmelgarn Eggs, Buckeye Overalls (2025 photo by Karen)

Close-up: New Idea manure spreader. (2025 photo by Karen)

Dan and Patrick Keyes painted another mural in Coldwater in 2014, on the side of a building in Memorial Park, as an “Arts in the Parks” project.

Mural by Dan Keyes in Coldwater’s Memorial Park. (2025 photo by Karen)

A patriotic mural adorns the shelter house at the Coldwater VFW Post 5135 Bailey-Shockman, painted by artist Caylah Cole. This was the first mural painted by Cole.  

Patriotic mural at VFW Post 5135 Bailey-Shockman, by artist Caylah Cole. (2025 photo by Karen)

Coldwater has another historic mural, but it is not an outdoor mural. This mural is located inside their Post Office. The Post Office was constructed in 1940 and is located at 101 East Main Street.

In an effort to make artwork accessible to all people, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture allocated monies for art and sculptures in newly constructed post offices, those constructed between 1934 and 1943. The idea was to showcase the best possible art in those federal buildings.  During those years, which was during FDR’s New Deal, 71 post office projects were completed in Ohio. Over 1300 murals and 300 sculptures were commissioned nationwide. 

Coldwater’s Post Office mural was painted in 1942 by Joep Nicolas and is entitled “Coldwater Activities.” The canvas mural is in three sections and was glued to the west wall of the Post Office lobby in 1942. It was taken down and professionally restored in 2010.

Mural “Coldwater Activities,” 1942, inside Coldwater Post Office. (2025 photo by Karen)

The main theme of Coldwater’s Post Office mural shows the working class, with people picking cabbage, plowing with horses, a woman with a sheaf of grain, people carrying sacks of grain, and a mason building a brick structure. Birds fly with letters in their beaks.

Close-up: Left side of “Coldwater Activities” mural, inside Coldwater Post Office. (2025 photo by Karen)

Close-up: Right side of “Coldwater Activities” mural, inside Coldwater Post Office. (2025 photo by Karen)

Still another town with murals that tell their history.

Sources: Country Living, “Celebrated Art May Be as Close as Your Post Office,” Vol. 52, No. 4, Jan 2010, p.16. and The Daily Standard, Our Old Bookcase, “Coldwater Post Office History Remembered,” Joyce Alig, undated. And The Daily Standard, “Historic Mural to Get Expert Care,” 5 May 2010.

Aug 28

St. Marys’ Historic Mural

Visiting another historic mural in the area, this week going to St. Marys, in neighboring Auglaize County. Auglaize County was established in 1848 and was originally part of Mercer County. Prior to 1839, St. Marys was the county seat of Mercer County.

The St. Marys’ mural is a triptych, divided into three panels. It is located in Heritage Park, on the corner of East Spring and North Chestnut Streets. The murals were painted by the late Dan Keyes of New Bremen and were completed in 2006.

St. Marys, Ohio, historic mural, Heritage Park

The three murals are titled “Traces of St. Marys” and tell the history of St. Marys from the Native American settlement through the 20th century.

Girty’s Town, St. Marys, mural, Heritage Park. (2025 photo by Karen)

The GIRTY’S TOWN panel, the left mural, represents the Native American and European settlement in the area. The St. Marys River, named by the French, was the principle means of travel by the Native Americans and the French. Revolutionary War veterans also settled in the area, then known as “Girty’s Town” and named after James Girty’s trading post. Girty was considered a renegade because of his alliance with the British and Native Americans during the Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian Wars. Girty is shown retrieving goods in the presence of General Wayne’s army. Fort St. Marys was built in 1794 to supply Wayne’s army and Fort Barbee was built there during the War of 1812 by Col. Joshua Barbee. The Treaty of 1817 was one of seven treaties signed in St. Marys.

Canal Town, St. Marys, mural, Heritage Park. (2025 photo by Karen)

The CANAL TOWN panel, the center mural, shows Charlie Murray and other pioneer settlers, as well as a Circuit Rider establishing the first churches. A man tends to a lock on the Miami & Erie Canal. Locks 12N and 13N are in St. Marys. Lock 13N has been restored and is visible along the canal between Spring and High Streets, north of Memorial Park. The mill industry flourished because of the canal and the canal boat captain is paying “cash-on-the-barrelhead” to a farmer. His goods include a blanket, symbolizing the blankets made for decades at the St. Marys Woolen Mill. The canal boat travels backward while the railroad is going forward.

Boom Town, St. Marys, mural, Heritage Park. (2025 photo by Karen)

The BOOM TOWN panel, the right mural, represents the years from 1880 to the 1920s. A couple ride in a carriage made locally. The distant oil derricks show the area oil boom. Grand Lake St. Marys was the site of the first off-shore oil well in 1891. A worker paints camouflage artillery wheels produced at the St. Marys Wheel & Spoke Company. Another worker pours molten metal at the St. Marys Machine/Foundry. A man reads the Evening Leader newspaper while sitting on an automobile seat with a tire and rim at his side, representing modern manufacturers and St. Marys’ tire factory. Figures in the interurban represent historic individuals from St. Marys, Brigadier General August Willich, Jim Tully, Galen Cisco, Charles Makley, and Neil Armstrong. The Ferris wheel was once in Gordon State Park and the nurse points toward the future and the hospital that opened in 1953.

These murals relay a lot of information and show the history of St. Marys very well. 

In addition to the murals, displays on the park’s ground show the city’s international relationship with Lienen, Germany, and Awaji City, Japan.

Display showing relationship with sister cities in Germany and Japan. (2025 photo by Karen)

Display showing relationship with sister cities in Germany and Japan. (2025 photo by Karen)

St. Mary’s Heritage Park is a beautiful area with benches, a fountain, and a little pond. 

Small pond in front of Girty’s Town panel. (2025 photo by Karen)

Fountain in front of Canal Town panel. (2025 photo by Karen)

International area in front of Boom Town panel. (2025 photo by Karen)

You can read more about St. Marys’ Heritage Park and the town’s murals here:

https://www.cityofstmarys.net/facilities/facility/details/heritage-park-3

Aug 26

Tombstone Tuesday-John Kable

John Kable (1843-1881), St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Liberty Twp, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of John Kable, located in row 5 of St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

John Kable
Gest.
12 Nov 1881
Alter
37 J.  11 M.  12 T.

John Kable died 12 November 1881, aged 37 years, 11 months, 12 days.

The marker is nearly unreadable now, but I am using the reading done by Mercer County Chapter OGS in 1990. The carved hand with a finger pointing toward heaven is still quite visible.

John Kable was born in Eschringen, Bavaria, on 1 December 1843, the son of Christian Kable (Sr) (1814-1885) and Dorothea (Maurer) Kable (1815-1904). John’s parents were natives of Germany who married there in 1840, where four of their children were born. The family immigrated to America in 1846, settled in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, and attended St. Paul Lutheran Church, Liberty Township, where John was baptized and confirmed. [1]

The Christian Kable family, enumerated in the 1850 census: Christian, 38; Theresia, 63 [sic]; Jacob, 10; Christian, 8; Louisa, 8; John, 7; Philip, 7 months. All were reportedly born in Germany except for John and Philip, [2] but St. Paul Liberty’s records indicate that John was born in Germany. Christian was a farmer.

The Christian Kable family in 1860: Christian, 47; Dorothea, 46; Jacob, 20; Christian, 19; Louisa, 19; John, 16; Philip W, 12; and Katharine, 5. [3]

John Kable married Margaret Martha Deitsch in Mercer County on 4 February 1869, married by St. Paul Liberty’s pastor Rev. George Heintz. [4] Margaret was the daughter of John Jacob Deitsch (1814-1859) and Catharine (Deitsch) Deitsch (1821-1900).  

The John Kable family in 1870: John, 26, Prussia; Margaret, 25, Ohio; John Kable, 2 mo, Ohio; Emma Gibson, 8, Illinois. John (Sr) was a farm renter. [5]

By 1880 John Kable, 36, and his wife Margaret, 35, had five children: John P, 10; Sophia, 8; Christian H, 6; Jacob, 4; and William, 9 months. John (Sr) was a farmer and son John P. worked on the farm. [6]

John Kable died from a sickness on 12 November 1881, at age 37 years, 11 months, and 12 days. He was buried on the 14th. His brother Philip Kable was the administrator of his estate in Mercer County, appointed 26 November 1881.

John is buried next to his parents in St. Paul Liberty Cemetery.

Christian & Dorothea (Maurer) Kable (parents), left, John Kable (son), right, St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Liberty Twp, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

John was survived by his widow Margaret, and 5 children under 15 years of age, John, Sophia, Christ, Jacob, and William/Willy.

Widow Margaret (Deitsch) Kable never remarried and died in Mercer County on 6 September 1925. She is also buried in row 5 of St. Paul Liberty’s cemetery, a few stones from her husband John.

John and Margaret (Deitsch) Kable had the following children:
John P Kable (1870-1961), married Anna D. Weitz
Sophia Kable (1872-1977), married William A Bock
Christian Henry Kable (1874-1941), married Luvella “Lula” Fredericka Schmidt
Jacob Kable (1876-1970), married Bertha Helen Linn
William Henry Kable (1879-1948), married Elizabeth Katharine Anselman

[1] Familienbuch, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, Christian Kable family, p. 24. And the marriage record of John Kable and Margaret Deitsch, St. Paul Liberty’s records, p.230, both indicate that John was the son of Christian and Dorothea Kable and Margaret was the daughter of John Jacob and Catharine Deitsch.

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, p.287A, dwelling 19, family 20, Christian Kablea [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, p.356, dwelling 971, family 976, Christ Kable; Ancestry.com.

[4] Ohio, U.S. County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer, Vol. 1861-1887, p. 212, John Kable & Martha [sic] Deitsch, 4 Feb 1869; Ancestry.com.  

[5] 1870 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, p.146A, dwelling 63, family 58, John Kable, Ancestry.com.

[6] 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 188, p.481A, dwelling 175, family 183, John Kable; Ancestry.com.

Aug 21

Fort Recovery’s Historic Murals

Continuing the virtual tour of historic murals in area towns, today we go to southern Mercer County, to the town of Fort Recovery.

Fort Recovery has a number of historic murals that show important events of the town’s past. And there is a lot of history in this town.

The first mural welcomes visitors coming from the north, at 220 Wayne Street, Welcome to Historic Fort Recovery.

Welcome to Historic Fort Recovery. (2025 photo by Karen)

Two historic murals face each other and flank Fort Recovery Historical Museum and Krenning Park, on the west side of Wayne Street. These two murals memorialize two well-known battles fought there, St. Clair’s Defeat, aka the Battle of the Wabash, in 1791, and the Victory of Anthony Wayne, aka the Battle of Fort Recovery, in 1794. Both murals were painted by the late Dan Keyes, of New Bremen.  

To the south is the mural of Arthur St. Clair’s Defeat:

St. Clair’s Defeat, Fort Recovery, Ohio, whole mural. (2025 photo by Karen)

Left side of St. Clair’s Defeat, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

Right side of St. Clair’s Defeat, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

On 4 November 1791, General Arthur St. Clair and his army were defeated by the Northwestern Confederacy of Native Americans, nine tribes lead by Little Turtle of the Miamis, Blue Jacket of the Shawnees, and Buckongahelas of the Delawares. Over 1400 Native Americans defeated St. Clair’s army. Over 650 American soldiers were killed as well as several hundred camp followers. It was the worst U.S. military defeat in the country’s history, and two thirds of the U.S. Army were killed or missing.

Plaque by St. Clair’s Defeat mural, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

To the north is the mural of Anthony Wayne’s Victory/The Battle of Fort Recovery:

Anthony Wayne’s Victory, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

After St. Clair’s defeat, General Anthony Wayne was appointed commander of the U.S. Army and in 1793 Fort Recovery was built at the site of St. Clair’s defeat. On 30 June 1794, the combined Native American forces attacked the fort but gave up their strike after a two-day battle. That victory and the victory at Fallen Timbers led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. The treaty opened the Ohio Country for peaceful settlement and Ohio became a state in 1803.

Anthony Wayne’s Victory/The Battle of Fort Recovery, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

The battlefield is a short walk away.

A block south, on the corner of Butler and Wayne Streets, a mural features the 1913 Fort Recovery Jubilee, also painted by Dan Keyes. At one time Fort Recovery held their jubilee on Wayne Street. As the mural depicts, there were trapeze artists, a balloon ascension, a Ferris wheel, and a cannon that fired to alert the crowd of a midway event.

Harvest Jubilee, Fort Recovery, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

A couple blocks north, on the corner of Wayne and East Boundary Streets, a mural covers the entire north side of the building. This painting looks like three large postage stamps featuring vintage local businesses, the Fort Recovery Stirrup Company, the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, and Ranly Brothers. A man in a bi-plane flies above them.

Vintage Fort Recovery businesses. (2025 photo by Karen)

Vintage Fort Recovery businesses. (2025 photo by Karen)

Man in a bi-plane, Fort Recovery. (2025 photo by Karen)

The goal of these murals was to “enhance the historic aura of our town and ultimately increase the visitors who come and learn more about our significant place in history.

They certainly do that.

Aug 15

Rockford’s Historic Bicentennial Mural

This part of west central Ohio has a rich history that goes back well over 250 years. To memorialize some of our local history, some area towns have beautiful hand painted historical murals on their buildings.

I will showcase some of these murals in upcoming blog posts, taking you on an historical tour of our area.

The first mural is Rockford’s Bicentennial Mural.

Rockford, Ohio’s Historic Bicentennial Mural

Rockford is the oldest village in Mercer County, established in 1820. Anthony Shane was awarded several hundred acres of land on both sides of the St. Marys River in 1815 and had a trading post at what was the second crossing of the St. Marys River, called Shane’s Crossing. Shane platted Shanesville in June 1820, the first platted town in Mercer County and the original county seat. Its name was changed to Shanes Crossing in 1866 and to Rockford in 1890. 

Rockford’s Historic Bicentennial Mural is located on the south side of Rockford’s Fire Station and is visible when driving north through Rockford on U.S. 33.

Rockford’s mural is actually a series of several panels painted by Dan Keyes. Keyes has also painted murals in Fort Recovery and St. Marys.

Rockford’s Bicentennial Mural, painted by artist Dan Keyes

The information for Rockford’s Bicentennial Mural was researched by Harrison Frech. Frech has extensively researched this area and its early pioneers and has an outstanding knowledge of the area. He is a popular speaker and I encourage you to attend one of his talks if you have the opportunity.

A placard near Rockford’s mural gives a brief history of each of the historical figures and events painted on the murals. The following is the information from the placard.

Placard explaining Rockford’s Historic Bicentennial Mural

1747-1828
People of Historical Significance Who Crossed the St. Marys River in Our Area, Research by Harrison Frech.

No. 1-3, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 1: Captain Celeron De Bienville. The earliest known record of Europeans in Rockford was in 1749, where Bienville led an expedition through the upper Ohio Valley.

No. 2: Mahican Village. 1782, a group of Moravian apostate Mahicans established a small village directly across the St. Marys from present day Rockford where they converted hundreds of Indians to their faith.

No. 3: Father Joseph Pierre De Bonnecamp. Was part of the group led by Captain Celeron De Bienville in 1749 and helped reinforce relations with the tribes of the area, drive out English settlers, and plant lead plates marking French claim to the Valley.

No. 4, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 4, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 4: Area Tribesmen. Along the St. Marys between Mendon and Rockford, archaeologists have located 2 pre-historic enclosures and two burial sites, showing presence of tribes people.

No. 5-6, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 5: Fort Adams. General Anthony Wayne built Fort Randolph on the south side of St. Mary River to protect their supply line, which was soon renamed to Fort Adams in honor of Vice President John Adams.

Fort Adams was abandoned in the summer of 1796 after General Wayne’s army defeated the Miami Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

No. 6: General Anthony Wayne. General “Mad” Anthony Wayne brought an army north to fight the Miami Confederacy in 1794. He was almost killed when a tree fell on his tent during construction of Fort Adams, which caused suspicion of a possible assassination attempt by the army’s second in command, General James Wilkinson.

No. 7-10, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 7: Anthony Shane, Founder of Rockford, OH. Antoine Chene, later known as Anthony Shane, was a French Canadian and Indian who led a very colorful life. His land grant, Indian reservation, and other dealings influenced the settling of the entire Northwest area of Ohio. Anthony Shane spoke five languages and was a hunter in Fort Defiance and an interpreter for the Fort Wayne Indian Agency. He later served as a messenger and advisor to General Henry Hull at Detroit during the War of 1812. Anthony Shane was influential and liked by both the whites and the local Indians.

No. 8: Auqualanaux Shane. Anthony Shane’s wife, Lamateshe, also known as Auqualanaux, was a Delaware Indian whose grandmother was a Moravian convert. Auqualanaux bore Anthony Shane two daughters and two sons, with one son dying early in his childhood.

No. 9: Reverend Isaac McCoy. A Baptist Missionary who visited Shane’s home at the Crossing in 1820. Mrs. Shane previously lost a child and received religious solace from McCoy, and would later be converted and baptized by him.

No. 10: General William Henry Harrison. On August 30th, 1812, Harrison led an army of 2200 men headed from Cincinnati to relieve Fort Wayne where the Indians were pursued by Harrison’s cavalry. On September 9th they reached what Harrison called “Shane’s crossing of the St. Marys,” where Colonel Adams was waiting for them.

Behind Harrison in the mural is Shane’s log cabin home which has been restored and re-built in Rockford’s Shanes Park.  

No. 11-14, Rockford Bicentennial Mural

No. 11: Major Stephen Long. In 1823, Major Stephen Long led an expedition to explore the Upper Mississippi Valley. They traveled along the St. Marys River and across 12 miles of swampy land to a beautiful dry prairie, known as Shane’s Prairie. Six miles later, they reached Shanesville.

No. 12: Captain James Riley. In 1821, Riley’s family met Anthony Shane and his wife during their journey at Shane’s Crossing. Sacatcha, Shane’s nephew, guided the family to their cabin at Devil’s Run on the St. Marys River.

No. 13: Benjamin Drake. Benjamin Drake visited the Shanes at the end of 1821 and interviewed them about Tecumseh and his brother, the Shawnee Prophet. This later served as a major source of the Native American leaders.

No. 14: John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed). On April 29, 1828, Johnny Appleseed was in Shanesville for a business deal where he met with William B. Hedges to sign a 10 year lease on local land for an apple orchard. He continued visiting the community even after his lease was up. John Chapman died in Fort Wayne in March 1845.

Rockford’s mural was created to honor Rockford’s Bicentennial in 2020 and the Rockford Bicentennial Committee held a dedication ceremony for the mural on October 11, 2020.

You can read more about Rockford’s Bicentennial Historic Mural at: https://rockfordalive.com/rockford-bicentennial/historic-mural/