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    Explore Ohio: Travel to All 88 Counties

    If you are looking for places to go, you may consider traveling around the state of Ohio. Zach Henkel, AKA The Captain, realized in the fall of 2013 he had visited 78 of Ohio’s 88 counties and then made it a priority to get to all of them.

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    “I made it a goal for over the winter of 2014 to have weekend activities to fight the winter blues and clench the remaining 10 counties,” says Henkel.

    Traveling to all corners of Ohio has been a culmination of trips over his 32 years, some alone, some with friends, and some with family. For the final trips, he put a call out to friends to find travel partners.

    “I put out a Facebook post saying I have these 10 counties to go to reach the total of 88,” he says. “People started responding what counties they’d like to join me for and when they were available. The first of these trips was to Monroe County and its county seat of Woodsfield with my friend Chris Hemmig in December 2013. I had then reached 79 of 88.”

    The gravestone of  Italian immigrant Ettore "Hector" Boiardi in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., in 1928.
    The headstone of Italian immigrant Ettore “Hector” Boiardi located in All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio. Chef Boyardee was founded by Boiardi in Cleveland in 1928.

    In southwestern Ohio, Henkel visited Brown and Clermont counties.

    “While there, I also visited the birthplace and childhood home of Ulysses S. Grant right along the the Ohio River,” he says. “That trip put me at 81 down, seven to go.”

    Several weeks later, a trip to Defiance County, close to the northwestern corner of the state, with his friend Kyle Schriner got him to Number 82. The trip to Defiance included an exciting find along the way, a huge round barn, built over 100 years ago.

    “On the way to Defiance, I happened to be able to visit one of the most magnificent barns called the J.H. Manchester Round Barn located in New Hampshire, Ohio,” he remembers. “It is one of the largest round barns in existence and an absolute architectural gem in fantastic condition. This was on a cold, snow-covered February morning.”

    The barn was built in 1908 by Horace Duncan. It’s part of the Maple Avenue Farm property which also includes a stately and well-kept home built in the Italianate style. In 1980 it earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

    The J.H. Manchester Round Barn located in New Hampshire, Ohio.
    The J.H. Manchester Round Barn located in New Hampshire, Ohio.

    That trip left six counties to go. Henkel teamed up with his longtime friend Chris Sherman to do a two-day, 500-mile round-trip adventure and catch them all in one go.

    He didn’t always make it a point to visit the county seat, but for this final go-round, he made sure to do that to make the visits official.

    “My final six counties included Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, and Geauga,” says Henkel. “By walking up the county courthouse steps in Carrollton, Lisbon, Youngstown, Warren, Ravena, and Chardon, respectively, on a blustery March 22, 2014, I had made it to all 88 Ohio counties.”

    All along the way, Henkel most often avoided interstates and multi-lane highways, preferring state routes and county or township roads to really see the hillsides and the landscapes, and take in the beauty the state of Ohio has to offer.

    “I prefer roads that take you through towns,” he says. “Roads that force you to pay attention.”

    Sometimes those roads had not been maintained and you had to pay attention to keep your car from falling into a pothole.

    “That was surprising to me,” he says. “The condition of the roadways in northeastern Ohio, Youngstown, for example, is atrocious… massive potholes that will eat your car. You have to really pay attention to the road.”

    He did find the roads throughout Ohio easy to follow.

    “Ohio’s roadway network is very well signed,” he says. “It would be hard to miss a turn because even the tiniest remote dirt road will still be signed and when you cross a county line, that will be noted by a sign as well. There was one road once in Meigs County that I couldn’t drive on because it had fallen into the Ohio River. So that’s one state route I’ll never get down. State Route 338, R.I.P.”

    Henkel-5a   Henkel-5b

    State Route 666 in Muskingum County made him think about the darker side of Ohio’s history.

    “I’ve been to the site in Gnadenhutten, Tuscarawas County, where more than 90 Moravian Indians were massacred by a Colonel Crawford in 1782,” he says. “Later, I stumbled across a historical plaque in Crawford County telling the story of how the Indians caught back up with Crawford and burned him at the stake in the same year.”

    More history awaited along the industrial cities dotted along the Ohio River.

    “I always find the Ohio River industrial cities to be interesting in their positioning between the hills and the river, places like East Liverpool, Marietta, Pomeroy, Ironton and Ripley,” he says. “The cities create a sort of ribbon pattern with their infrastructure. A lot of these towns, with the exception of Marietta, seem to have fallen on hard times. Maybe they’ve always been on hard times.”

    The Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool, Ohio.
    The Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool, Ohio.

    In East Liverpool, Henkel found The Museum of Ceramics, a museum housed in the old post office, a Beaux-Arts structure built in 1909 and designed by architect James Knox Taylor. This building also found a place on the National Register of Historic Places, being designated in 1976. The museum is celebrating 35 years of showcasing the area’s history.

    “It’s an outstanding and well-curated collection of the area’s ceramics industry legacy,” he says. “The town was once considered the pottery capital of the world. It is still the place that makes the most pottery in the United States.”

    Now that his trek has been completed, Henkel feels Ohio offers a great assortment of day trips from Columbus.

    “I think this state has a lot of awesome day trip possibilities for adventurers and romantics, young and old,” he says. “The landscape has more diversity than you might think.”

    He goes on to say, “Find out-of-the-way methods to get to destinations; don’t be lazy about traveling. You might come back empty handed or you might come back with a diamond. As travel author Rick Steves once said, ‘If something is not to your liking, change your liking.'”

    Photos provided by Zach Henkel.

    Explore Ohio is presented by Headies Hideout and The Jubach Company.

    HeadiesHideout85Headies Hideout is a full service smoke shop, glass gallery and so much more. We feature the highest quality glass around from our featured artists. Our brick and mortar location is near downtown Columbus, Ohio in our favorite neighborhood – Olde Town East. Come on over and check us out at 114 Parsons Ave, 43215. Learn more at HeadiesHideout.com.

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    Anne Evans
    Anne Evanshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-evans/
    Anne Evans is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations for The Metropreneur and Columbus Underground. She regularly contributes feature stories on both sites, as well as Mega Weekend each week. She has started and grown businesses, created experiences, forged community partnerships, and worked to create opportunities for others. She loves meeting new neighbors and those making an impact in our community. Want to connect?
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