Discover the
Signs and Signals
of People and Nature
Modern human influence
surrounds this park. Although the
Black River Valley seems to be
spared from development, this
valley has been used for Native
American settlements . . . — — Map (db m177053) HM
At the mouth of the Black River in April, 1787, Moravian missionary David Zeisberger attempted a settlement of Indians but was ordered further west by unfriendly Delaware Indians. On July 16, 1834, a plat of this site was filed by Conrad Reid, . . . — — Map (db m192163) HM
Quincy Adams Gillmore, considered one of the greatest
military engineers and artillerists of the Civil War,
was born to Quartus Gillmore and Elizabeth Reid
Gillmore at this location in l825. He attended Norwalk
Academy and taught high school in . . . — — Map (db m143353) HM
Helen Steiner Rice was born on May 19, 1900, in Lorain, the daughter of Anna and John Steiner. Demonstrating an early propensity for writing, Helen planned for college, but her father's death during the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic kept her . . . — — Map (db m67511) HM
Prior to the Civil War, Ohio was a leading state for enslaved Americans
of African descent traveling the Underground Railroad to freedom in
Canada. For these fugitives, their final stop in Ohio was a Lake
Erie port community in the north. One . . . — — Map (db m143281) HM
On October 22, 1913, Congress appropriated $35,000 to build a light-
and-fog station at Lorain harbor. Construction began after plans
were approved in 1916. The concrete structure was finished and light
placed in service in 1917, but the station . . . — — Map (db m143276) HM
Side One
Lorain's shipbuilding industry began when Augustus Jones and William Murdock began constructing wooden sailing vessels on the west side near the mouth of the Black River. The sloop General Huntington was the first boat launched . . . — — Map (db m67504) HM
Just after 5:00 P.M on June 28, 1924, a tornado swept off Lake Erie directly into downtown Lorain. Within five minutes, seventy-eight people lost their lives. Fifteen died in the old State Theatre that stood upon this site, as an audience of two . . . — — Map (db m67510) HM
In 1807 a Trading Post with the Indians was established near this site by Nathan Pery, Jr. that resulted in the settlement of Lorain which in pioneer days was known as the Mouth of the Black River. — — Map (db m5547) HM
Despite all the logging and development in this valley over the last few hundred years, some giant trees have survived. These modern giants give only a hint of the giants of the past.
A Giant's Tale
A giant tree grew near this spot over . . . — — Map (db m177055) HM
