Sandusky, Ohio

Sunday afternoon we decided to see how close we could get to Cedar Point amusement park and see some of the rides which we have been noticing from across Lake Erie.  We drove on the causeway which took us directly into the park, however we were immediately prevented from going any further because of the presence of a ticket booth.  What a difference from the late 1800s when a ferry transported people over to that island and there were only white sandy beaches, picnic tables and a dancing pavilion!  From Cedar Point we drove to the waterfront of Sandusky for a fish supper.  Perch and walleye are the common fish of Lake Erie, we have hardly missed a day since we have arrived here to partake of a fish meal.  After supper we walked across the street to a park with an interesting statue.  It is of an African American couple with a baby.  The sculpture was created with chains.

The park had interpretive signs regarding the Underground Railroad.  Sandusky was a major stop for run-away slaves on the Underground Railway.  Harriet Beecher Stowe used the city as the gate to freedom for the fugitives in her book Uncle Tom's Cabin.  In this park we also learned that the Union during the Civil War was financed partly by the local banker Jay Cooke.  From the waterfront we drove to downtown Sandusky and Washington Park which features tropical plants and gardens with ornate designs.

Here we found the Boy with a Boot sculpture.  It is a replica of the original one created in 1895, and is the city symbol for Sandusky.

  I tried searching the net for more information on that, found nothing except some fascinating about the street pattern of the city.  It is the only city in the world with the streets overlaid with the symbols of the Freemasons.  While walking around Washington park I also saw a few small lighthouses.

Some towns are decorated with a variety of cows and horses, in Sandusky it is lighthouses.  I found one near Zion Lutheran and then saw an  historical marker across the street from that church at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.  Notre Dame Head Football Coach Knute Rockne was married in the rectory of that church in 1914.  The priest and Knute's best man had both worked with him at Cedar Point.  We started out thinking that there was not much to see in Sandusky, but instead discovered it to be a fascinating town having beautiful sights as well as an interesting past.  To find out what the town had to offer we just needed to get out of the car and do a bit of walking.