Eaton in Preble County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Fort St. Clair
Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail
Image courtesy of the Historical Marker Database
1. Fort St. Clair Marker
Site of one of St. Clair's
line of fortifications.
1791-1792
Now an Ohio State Park.
Erected 1890 by Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission. (Marker Number C.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Native Americans • Wars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission series list.
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 39° 44.382′ N, 84° 39.049′ W. Marker was in Eaton, Ohio, in Preble County. Marker was on Camden Road (Ohio Route 355) south of Main Street (Ohio Route 122), on the right when traveling south. I am speculating that the most probable location for this marker was along the east side of the roadway, directly opposite the entrance to the park. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 135 Camden Road, Eaton OH 45320, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Ortt's Preble County Civil War Memorial (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Preble County Vietnam Veterans Memorial (about 800 feet away); Site of Fort St. Clair
this page online
More about this marker. This historical marker is part of the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail series (type C) which was put in place in 1930 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Ohio's Revolutionary War era Battle of Piqua, by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission.
In order to accomplish this, in 1929 the state of Ohio created the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission, and then in 1930 this commission created 22 military trails, throughout western Ohio, between Cincinnati, Ohio on the state's southern border and Toledo, Ohio on the state's northern border. Each of these military trails represented the routes, or trails, used by military leaders during either the Revolutionary War, the Indian Wars of 1790 to 1795, or the War of 1812. Each
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
2. Fort St. Clair Marker
View, looking south along Camden Road, at the entrance to the Fort St. Clair Park on the right hand side of the street. On the left hand side of the roadway is the park's mailbox, which is very near where I am guessing that this marker was once situated.
The routes of these military trails were in turn marked by type A and type B Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission markers that served as directional (type B) and distance (type A) markers.
Originally, back in 1930, there were erected 70 some of these Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission, type C, markers. To date, there are only 20 some of them that have been located and posted on the Historical Marker database. A number of them are presently missing, including this particular marker, which is listed on page 75 of the ORMC 1931 Planning Report.
More thoughts regarding the location of this particular marker. As a rule, the majority of the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission markers, seemed to have been placed along the trailway routes that the Commission created, even though the actual sites might be several miles away. The other "Fort St. Clair," type C marker, which is situated along the route, which today follows US 127, and was placed on the grounds of the Preble County Courthouse, is much more in keeping with the pattern of locating marker sites, than this particular marker.
I suspect that this "exception to the rule" is one of the few examples of where,
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
3. Fort St. Clair Marker
View, looking west across Camden Road, at the entrance to the Fort St. Clair Park. On the near side of the roadway is the park's mailbox, which is very near where I am guessing that this marker was once situated.
Because of this breaking of the normal marker location pattern, other than being somewhere at the actual site of Fort St. Clair, this marker could have potentially been situated just about anywhere on the grounds of what had become a state park. However, I am going to speculate that the marker was located along, what was then, not part of the published Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trails route roadway, at the entrance to this particular park.
Also see . . . Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail System. A description of the Revolutionary Memorial Trail System developed by the state of Ohio in 1929 - 1930. (Submitted on September 3, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.)
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
4. Fort St. Clair Marker
View looking north along Camden Road. In the foreground is the Fort St. Clair Park mailbox, and I am guessing that the missing marker was once situated very near to the location of this mailbox, opposite the entrance to the park.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
5. Fort St. Clair Marker Site
View of the entrance to the Fort St. Clair Park.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
6. Fort St. Clair Marker
View of the park's Ohio Historical Marker, that mark's the site of Fort St. Clair. In the distant background, at the tree line, are several other related markers and plaques.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, August 12, 2019
7. Fort St. Clair Marker
View of several other related markers and plaques, that are nearby to the missing marker, and in the Fort St. Clair Park.
Image provided by Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission publication, dated 1931., April 2, 2016
8. Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission Marker Types
Image courtesy of the MidPointe Library System (www.MidPointeLibrary.org)
9. Tablet Related Newspaper Article
A view of an original Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail Map, from 1930. For a better view double click on this picture.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 4, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 260 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 3, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on September 4, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 8, 9. submitted on September 3, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.
