Tontogany in Wood County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Custer Homestead
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, June 26, 2009
1. Custer Homestead Marker
Inscription.
Custer Homestead. . Near this site stood the former Custer Homestead of Emanuel and Maria Custer from 1856-1865. For two years it was the boyhood home of Captain Tom Custer, younger brother of famed General George Armstrong Custer. At age 16, Tom misled a recruiter in neighboring Gilead, Ohio about his age and enlisted in the Civil War. He later earned two Congressional Medals of Honor, the first person in history to do so, for capturing enemy flags at Namozine Church on April 3, 1865 and at Sailor's Creek on April 6, 1865. His parents relocated to Monroe, Michigan during the Civil War. Tom continued serving in the Army during the Indian Wars in the West and often visited his brother Nevin in Tontogany. He, along with his brothers George and Boston, brother-in-law James Calhoun, and nephew Harry Reed, were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876.
Near this site stood the former Custer Homestead of Emanuel and Maria Custer from 1856-1865. For two years it was the boyhood home of Captain Tom Custer, younger brother of famed General George Armstrong Custer. At age 16, Tom misled a recruiter in neighboring Gilead, Ohio about his age and enlisted in the Civil War. He later earned two Congressional Medals of Honor, the first person in history to do so, for capturing enemy flags at Namozine Church on April 3, 1865 and at Sailor's Creek on April 6, 1865. His parents relocated to Monroe, Michigan during the Civil War. Tom continued serving in the Army during the Indian Wars in the West and often visited his brother Nevin in Tontogany. He, along with his brothers George and Boston, brother-in-law James Calhoun, and nephew Harry Reed, were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876.
Erected 2008 by Custer Homestead Marker Fund and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 19-87.)
41° 25.355′ N, 83° 44.309′ W. Marker is in Tontogany, Ohio, in Wood County. Marker is on North Street, on the left when traveling west. This historical marker is located along the south side of North Street, right in the Centennial Park of the Village of Tontogany. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1865 North Street, Tontogany OH 43565, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Thomas Custer. Discussion of Thomas Custer's life and career. (Submitted on July 2, 2009, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.)
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, June 26, 2009
2. Custer Homestead Marker
View of historical marker on the grounds of the Village of Tontogany's, Centennial Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2009, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,457 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on July 2, 2009, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
