Up the road just south of Canton Ohio lies a small town Bolivar, Ohio.
It is a nice place, perfect in the summertime. A great place to stop, enjoy the beautiful outdoors, stop for a bite and or some ice cream.
There is a special historic place there which is Fort Laurens. This is the site of Ohio’s only Revolutionary War fort. There was a physical fort built here which for a short time provided protection to colonist patriots. Their foes were the British and the Native American’s who sided with the British.
One winter day as the colonist soldiers were scavenging outside the fort, they were attacked and a number of soldiers killed. A number of these soldiers were not identifiable.
These soldiers were hastily buried just outside the walls of the fort.
For those departed soldiers not identified, there was a tomb created for those unknown. Each year, the SAR has a special “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” memorial event which mimics the tactics executed by Arlington National Cemetery Unknown Soldier landmark.
Unknown Soldier Tomb at Ft Laurens
Within the next year, the fort was abandoned and became part of history.
Today, there is a history museum on site which is very well done. I encourage you to visit this museum as it give you a perspective on the area during the time of the fort. The museum also provides a cool retreat from the summer heat.
Also, the outline of the fort’s walls are marked by corner stones to give visitors a sense of scale of the fort. Unfortunately part of the fort’s footprint was absorbed by the adjacent interstate highway which abuts the fort location.
For the past 100 years, there have been ongoing, yet not very fruitful efforts to restore all or part of the fort. Questions such as “do we build on the same footprint?” or “do we move the fort to an adjoining parcel of park property and preserve the architectural footprint?”.
The SAR have been involved in the ongoing efforts to preserve and resurrect the fort. We are hoping that the State of Ohio officials can come to agreement on the best course. SAR is in hot pursuit of a solution and outcome which honors the fort legacy.
At Cincinnati SAR, we encourage members or other historically supportive folks to donate to the Ft. Laurens Foundation. You can donate as a SAR member (go to our http://www.cincinnatisar.org website) and “earn” a rank suitable to your donation.
There is also a link to a “Donation Form” if you would like to make a general donation to this effort. The link to this is:
https://cincinnatisar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/flr_flyer3.pdf
If you are in the area, please stop by and visit the fort and the charming town of Bolivar.
The link to the Ft Laurens website with address and hours / dates of operation are below:
https://www.friendsoffortlaurens.org/
I encourage you to call in advance to confirm that the exhibit / museum will be open.
Maybe you can combine the trip with a visit to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton just 15 minutes up the road.
