COLUMBUS, OH -- A bronze marker, recognizing the important role Lake Erie played in the development of Ohio, was dedicated today at Marblehead Lighthouse State Park in Ottawa County as part of the state's Bicentennial celebration, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
The marker is one of 10 that ODNR, with the financial support of International Paper Company, is erecting around the state. Each designates an important aspect of Ohio's natural history. Additional marker sites are Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve in Greene County, Big and Little Darby Creeks in Franklin County, Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area in Ottawa County, Killdeer Plains State Wildlife Area in Wyandot County, Salt Fork State Wildlife Area in Guernsey County, Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve in Erie County, Clear Fork Gorge State Nature Preserve in Ashland County, Spring Valley State Wildlife Area in Greene and Warren counties, and Old Man's Cave in Hocking Hills State Park.
More than 200 similar markers, each associated with an important aspect of Ohio's 200-year history, are going up in this Bicentennial year as part of the Ohio Heritage Marker Program.
Lake Erie is the twelfth largest freshwater lake in the world and is an important economic and recreational resource for the people of Ohio. It served early settlers as a passage for exploration, and remains the basis for Ohio's commercial shipping industry. It is one of the great freshwater fisheries in the world with abundant perch, bass and walleye drawing anglers by the thousands each year.
Marblehead Lighthouse, located at the mouth of Sandusky Bay, is the oldest continuously working lighthouse on the Great Lakes. Its distinctive beacon has guided mariners since 1822.