Sylvania held its first Plein Air Festival in August of 2023. I was pleased to take part in this event, my first foray into the world of plein air competitions. Below is information about my paintings done on location in my hometown.
The Harroun Family Barn
The David and Clarissa Harroun family migrated to Sylvania in 1835 and built their home, and in 1858 the barn, on this site. Four generations of this Harroun family called this property home, from 1835-1938. While here, David, Clarissa, and their son Edwin became involved in aiding fugitive slaves across the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada.
Station to Freedom (The Lathrop House)
The Lathrop family moved to Sylvania in 1848, and the house was built in 1850. A proud descendant of generations of abolitionists, Lucian Lathrop was an ordained minister of the Universalist Church, a denomination which maintained a strong anti-slavery stance. Lucian and his family also engaged in the outlawed activities of the Underground Railroad. The Lathrops along with neighbor David Harroun and his wife Clarissa Dodge Harroun, worked together as part of the Underground Railroad. Journeying northward to Canada and freedom, the escapees were sheltered in the Harroun farmhouse or barn or in a hidden area of the fireplace in the Lathrop kitchen, accessed through a brick oven. It was during a 1939 remodel that the owners uncovered the secret space.
Ravine Cemetery
Ravine Park Cemetery in Sylvania is the final resting place of eighty-one Civil War Veterans. There is a legend of a wandering bride who is said to be unhappy with where she was buried and also a gravestone with the name Freddy Krueger. A YouTube video about this cemetery and some of its legends can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyheYW1xS1M
Portiuncula Chapel
The Portiuncula is the Chapel that St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt. The Sylvania Franciscans have a beautiful replica of the Portiuncula on their grounds at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio.