In the 1950s, places like the Gem, the Shamrock, the Town and Country, and the Vel-Mor served as early oases for weary travelers headed into Hancock County on US-40. Some still stand today! Among the survivors is the Howard Hughes Motor Lodge, now known as the Budget Motel.
I’ll never forget the first time I came across a flowing well and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since. After finding eleven in Delaware County, I started branching out to other nearby places. I stumbled across one in Hancock County a couple years ago and visited another nearby just the other day.
Continue reading “Two flowing wells in Hancock County’s Brown Township”
Yesterday, I provided some tips that can help identify an old schoolhouse while driving around out in the wild. At the end of the post, we looked at an old home in Hancock County that I suspected was a one-room schoolhouse. Based on applying my suggestions, I was 90% certain that it was! Read the whole thing again here, but for me, the building’s awkward window heights made a compelling case towards its provenance as an old school. 90% isn’t good enough for me, though, so today we’ll talk about how I used resources that are readily available online to definitively make the call.
Continue reading “How to identify an old schoolhouse while you’re sitting at home: Part 1”
Ted Shideler 