Tourism
Listen to the Rick and Mary morning show on WYBZ 107.3 FM the first Thursday of each month at 9:15 a.m. and hear about all the upcoming events in Perry County. Also, listen to WHIZ-TV on 2nd Friday of each month and hear about all the upcoming events in Perry County.
Attractions
Civil War/National Road District (North)
General Phil Sheridan – General Sheridan’s statue is seen in Somerset’s Village Square at the intersection of St. Rt. 13 and U.S. Rt. 22. His parent’s home, located at 417 S. Columbus St., was built in 1859 by General Sheridan for his parents and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The General’s boyhood home is located at 114 W. Sheridan St. His famous ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek during the Civil War changed defeat into victory for the North and gave him national prominence.
Somerset Courthouse – Completed in 1829, this was Perry County’s first Courthouse. The building is the oldest continuously, in service public building in the Old Northwest Territory (1787). The Federal style was common throughout the Old Northwest and the upper Midwest during the first generations of public building erection. The County Seat was moved from Somerset to New Lexington in 1857.
Perry County Historical Society – Circa 1840 House Museum, 105 S. Columbus St., Somerset, Ohio. Open the second Saturday of every month from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Other times by appointment, call Francie Baughman at 740-743-1913.
The People’s Bank of Glenford – Built in 1920 and served the community until 1932 when the bank failed. Restoration of this beautiful Classical Revival building began in 1987. This privately owned historic site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Located at the corner of Main and Broad Streets, Glenford, Ohio.
Clouse Lake State Wildlife Area – public hunting and fishing. Located on St. Rt. 668 approximately 3 miles south of Somerset.
Pottery & Clay District (East)
National Ceramic Museum and Heritage Center – Located south of Zanesville on St. Rt. 93. This center consists of five beautifully designed buildings devoted to the history of pottery. The Center includes a gift shop, artist studio, and buildings devoted to art pottery, utilitarian ware, and ware currently in production. Open mid May to mid October from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m. Tours available. Call 740-697-7021.
Little Cities of Black Diamonds (South)
New Straitsville History Center – 200 West Main Street, New Straitsville, Ohio. Multiple exhibits to tell of the town’s rich history which includes mining, oil, and moon shining booms that are world renowned. Call Connie Dunkle for current hours at 740-394-2535.
Rendville Folk Art Collective and Gallery – Located on Main Street in a beautifully renovated church on St. Rt. 13 halfway between Zanesville and Athens, and 40 minutes from Logan, Ohio. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Southern Perry County Museum and Model Rail Exhibit – Located in one of Historic Shawnee’s original storefronts is an exhibit in progress being constructed to show how the trains ran through the boom coal mining communities of southern Perry County. Call 740-394-2852 for current hours.
Tecumseh Theater – Located at Rt. 93 and St. Rt. 155 in Historic Shawnee. The theater is Perry County’s tallest building. Call 740-394-2278 for more information.
Tecumseh Lake – Located on St. Rt. 93 just half a mile west of Shawnee.
MacGahan County Seat District (Central)
Januarius MacGahan Statue – Massive statue located in the park directly across the street from the Perry County Courthouse, St. Rt. 13, Main Street, New Lexington, Ohio. Januarius is known as the Liberator of Bulgaria and a native of Perry County. Each year in June the members of the MacGahan American Bulgarian Foundation hold a festival in New Lexington honoring the local native.
Mural of famous Perry Countians – Located in the New Lexington Post Office, 200 W. Brown St. This beautiful mural portrays: William Dusenberry, Jeremiah M. Rusk, Stephen Benton Elkins, Rev. Dr. Father Zahm, Januarius Aloysius McGahan, Ephriam S. Colborn, William Alexander Taylor, Captain John W. Fowler, Gen. James M Comley, James H. Taylor, Major J. W. Free, Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, John H. Kelly. Painted by Isabel Bishop.
Perry County Courthouse – Corner of St. Rt. 13 and Brown St., New Lexington, Ohio. Built in 1887 for $145,000, this beautiful Romanesque building is constructed of pink and tan brownstone and patterned after European castles. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Roadside Attractions
Perry County’s Covered Bridges
South Covered Bridge on Gower Road – Type: Multiple Kingpost, length: 58′. Built in 1883. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Hopewell Church Covered Bridge on Cooperrider Road - Type: Multiple Kingpost, length: 55′. Built in 1874.
Jacks Hollow Bridge on Madison Twp. Rd. 108 – Type: Multiple Kingpost, length: 60′. Built in 1879.
Ruffner-Moore Bridge – Type: Multiple Kingpost, length 78′. Built in 1875 on Gun Barrel Rd. in Fairfield County. Moved to it’s present location in 1986. Located on the Moore Farm 10374 St. Rt. 13. Located on private property; please request permission prior to visiting the bridge.
Bowman Mill-Readington Bridge - Type: Multiple Kingpost, length 82′. Built in 1859. Moved to it’s current location in 1987. Located on the Perry County Fairgrounds, St. Rt. 37, E. New Lexington. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Round Barns
The Old Gilmore Barn - Owned by Mr. Robert Meutzel, built in 1917 and rebuilt after a fire in 1932. Located near New Reading on Reading Twp. Rd. 136.
The Old Mott Thomas Barn – Owned by the John McGaughey family, built in 1908. Located on Jackson Twp. Rd. 94-A. Viewable from St. Rt. 37, 1 mile east of Junction City.
The Old E. G. Melick Barn – Built in 1927. Located on Madison Twp. Rd 95, 1/2 mile north of U.S. Rt. 22 and six miles east of Somerset, near Sego.
The Old August Dornbirer Barn - Still owned by the Dornbirer family and is located off St. Rt. 204 west of Glenford. Not visible from the road.
Ohio Bicentennial Markers
Perry County-Ohio Bicentennial Barn – Located 1 mile west of Somerset on U.S. Rt. 22 and is owned by Ralph and Mary C. (Reichley) Holland.
Perry County Bicentennial Bell - Cast during the 2003 Crooksville/Roseville Pottery Festival. The bell weighs approximately 250 lbs and is 2′ tall. The bell is mounted on a trailer and travels to various events throughout the county.
1829 Courthouse – Located on the Village Square in Somerset, Ohio.
The Sheridan Monument – Located on the Village Square in Somerset, Ohio.
A Seed of Catholic Education in Ohio – Located in front of Holy Trinity Catholic School, 225 S. Columbus St. (St. Rt. 13) in Somerset, Ohio.
The Cradle of Catholicity in Ohio – Located in front of Holy Trinity Catholic School, 225 S. Columbus St. (St. Rt. 13) in Somerset, Ohio.
Milligan Ohio’s Ice Box – Located at Milligan’s Bend, St. Rt. 93 and Bearfield Twp. Rd 1194. Approximately 1 mile South of Crooksville High School.
Mariah Storts Allen – Located on the Perry County Fairgrounds, 5445 St. Rt. 37 E, New Lexington, Ohio.
First Catholic Church in Ohio – Located in front of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 5757 St. Rt. 383 NE, Somerset, Ohio.
First Lutheran Synod – Located at the Old Lutheran Cemetery, West Gay Street, Somerset, Ohio.
General Philip Henry Sheridan – Located at 201 S. Columbus St. (St. Rt. 13) in Somerset, Ohio. Just a stones throw from his boyhood home located at 114 W. Sheridan St.