Connie L. Rutter Books

Lancaster, Ohio, with a population of around 35,000, sits snuggled among the rolling hills at the base of a sandstone bluff that the Wyandot Indians called "Standing Stone." Just east of the Hock-Hocking River in Fairfield County and a few miles southeast of Columbus, Lancaster was founded on November 10, 1800, by Col. Ebenezer Zane (1747-1811). The city's rich history is celebrated today in one of the most significant historic districts in the Midwest, known as Square 13. The city offers a walking tour of the area, originally designed in 1800. In a 24-block area, 89 buildings have been designated on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Sherman House Museum is listed as a National Historical Landmark.

Unimaginable changes have come to Newark over the last two hundred years. Buildings have been raised and razed sometimes three or four times. Businesses have opened, closed, burned down, and relocated. Churches have been built, dissolved, moved, rebuilt and split into different congregations. The downtown area is now on the brink of revitalization. New buildings are being built and old ones renovated. The public square is undergoing a complete transformation.