Looking for something unique the whole family can do this summer? Look no further than The Wolcott Heritage Center.
This summer at the Wolcott Heritage Center, located at 1035 River Rd. in Maumee, they are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a new exhibit and events curated for all ages.
The Wolcott Heritage Center is a location on Ohio’s Trails and Tales Transportation Trail and the Lake Erie to Ohio River Trail, both started for the 250th anniversary.
Clover Leaf Depot and Caboose
“We’re on the Transportation Trail because of our Clover Leaf Depot,” Mendelsohn said.
The depot was moved onto the grounds in 1977, but was originally built in the 1880s. The depot’s original location was on Conan St. by the Maumee Indoor Theater.
“Maumee was pretty big within the railroad industry,” Mendelsohn said. “Some of the first lines in Northwest Ohio came through Maumee. The railroad bridge connecting Perrysburg to Maumee was one of the only ways to get the railroads across the river.”
Along with the depot, there is a working caboose on the property which used to be a part of the Nickel Plate Railroad which ran through Maumee.
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“On the railroads, if you had trouble and you had to stop your train and you wanted to notify another train coming because they needed to stop, they had little pieces of dynamite and you would put little pieces of dynamite a couple miles down the tracks. The next train would run over it and then they would know, ‘Hey, I have to stop,’” Mendelsohn said. “What was funny is that they moved it [the caboose] here and for years, we had a little bag [of dynamite] and we were telling people, ‘It’s fake dynamite.’ It just turned out to be real dynamite. They actually had to have the bomb squad come out and they took it to the Toledo Express Airport and had to detonate it.”
Although there is no dynamite on site anymore, kids still have fun learning about how the historical caboose worked.
“All the little kids especially like this because it’s our toilet,” Mendelsohn said.” “We tell them, ‘Where do you think that goes?’ ‘In the sewer.’ ‘No, this is a moving train. Where do you think it goes?’ ‘On the tracks? That’s disgusting.’”
Along with being on the Transportation Trail, The Wolcott Heritage Center is on the Lake Erie to Ohio River Trail due to James Wolcott’s, original owner of the Wolcott house, past in steamships.
“He [James Wolcott] actually had a steamship warehouse right by the [Maumee] River. He owned two steamships, The Robert Fulton and the General Harrison. They ran from Maumee to Lake Erie, out into New York. The canal was actually where the [Anthony Waye] Trail is. He had a canal lock and a canal boat turnaround,” Mendelsohn said.
Being on these two state-wide trails is something Mendelsohn says brings “recognition” to the work the Maumee Valley Historical Society does.
“It’s recognition of the work, not just that we’re currently doing, but the work that has been done previously to save part of Maumee’s heritage,” Mendelsohn said. “Also just recognition of the [Wolcott] family and the work they did, especially with when it came to transportation, the canals and with the railroads and things like that. Just shining a little bit of light back on the family.”
America’s 250th Anniversary Exhibit
Along with being on the trails, The Wolcott Heritage Center has a new exhibit of their own with a focus on America’s history, which has more to do with the Wolcott family than you may think.
“James Walcott’s uncle actually signed the Declaration of Independence. His name was Oliver Walcott and in our archives we have a picture of a pay receipt from the Revolutionary War. He was a commander in the Revolutionary War and that’s his signature,” Mendelsohn said.
Along with this document they have a centennial quilt from 1876, a military jacket from the Civil War and more to check out.
The Wolcott Heritage Center is open for guided tours every Saturday starting at 11:30 am.
