Ravenna Township in Portage County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Benjamin Tappan, Jr.
(1773-1857)
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 18, 2018
1. Benjamin Tappan, Jr. Marker
The founder of Ravenna Township in 1799, Benjamin Tappan Jr. led a distinguished life of public service. An aggressive force in local politics, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1803 to 1805, as judge of the fifth circuit court of common pleas from 1816 to 1823, and as federal district judge from 1826 to 1833. Tappan served as aide-de-camp to Major General Elijah Wadsworth following the surrender of Detroit in the War of 1812, provisioning and arming local militia units defending the northwestern frontier against a possible British invasion. (continued on other side)
A proponent of internal improvements, Tappan chaired the Ohio Canal Commission from 1822 to 1834 during its formative era. A Jacksonian Democrat "of ... intractable disposition," anti-slavery but not an abolitionist like brothers Arthur and Lewis, he was elected to the United States Senate in 1839. There he sponsored legislation in 1844 creating the Smithsonian Institution. He also served as the first president of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio in 1831. Tappan's first Ohio home stood 250 feet north.
Erected 2000 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, The Ravenna Community, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 2-67.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is
this page online
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 41° 8.334′ N, 81° 12.021′ W. Marker was near Ravenna, Ohio, in Portage County. It was in Ravenna Township. It was on Cleveland East Liverpool Road (Ohio Route 14) 0.2 miles north of Hayes Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 5488 Cleveland-East Liverpool Rd, Ravenna OH 44266, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was in Greater Cleveland and in the Western Reserve. It was also in the American Midwest. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: 1893 Ravenna Flagpole (approx. 2.6 miles away); Portage County Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.6 miles away); Etna House (approx. 2.6 miles away); Abraham Lincoln, Ravenna, Ohio (approx. 2.8 miles away); Ephraim Root (approx. 3.6 miles away); Ephraim Root / Rootstown (approx. 3.6 miles
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 18, 2018
2. Benjamin Tappan, Jr. Marker reverse
More about this marker. This marker is incorrectly numbered 2-67 on its face. Its number in the lists of The Ohio Historical Society is 3-67.
Also see . . . Benjamin Tappan a FindAGrave.com. (Submitted on August 18, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 18, 2018
3. Benjamin Tappan, Jr.
Photo on Side A of marker
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 18, 2018
4. Benjamin Tappan, Jr. Marker
Side B
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 18, 2018
5. Benjamin Tappan, Jr. Marker
Side A
Photographed by Craig Doda, May 10, 2026
6. Benjamin Tappan, Jr. Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,059 times since then and 134 times this year. Last updated on May 25, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 18, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 6. submitted on May 25, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
