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Mount Pleasant Historical Society’s ‘Modern Living with Historic Homes’ tour is set

Photos Provided WES SUTTON as a drover. Drovers moved livestock by foot from one location to another, often over long expanses

MOUNT PLEASANT — Mount Pleasant has long been known for its involvement in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.

The significant role the village played secured its designation as a National Historic Landmark District. There are more than 40 buildings in the district built prior to 1865 and another forty built between 1865 and 1900, the majority of them serve as private residences.

Once a year the Mount Pleasant Historical Society organizes an event which allows visitors to visit the 1814 Quaker Yearly Meeting House and the Friends Church’s Samuel Gill House along with the Historical Society’s five historical properties.

This year’s tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 3 and from 1-5 p.m. Aug. 4. Final ticket sales are sold at 3:30 p.m. each day. There are different costs for adults and children ages 6-12.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to visit three private homes which exemplify the theme of this year’s tour, “Modern Living with Historic Homes.”

There are many activities planned as a part of the tour as well. A tour of the Seceder Cemetery will be presented by Don Feenerty on Saturday. The Seceder cemetery dates to the founding of the village in 1803. Robert and Mary Caruthers are among the original pioneers buried here along with many other significant citizens of the village including the Burriss family who owned, and later donated, the Burriss Store to the Historical Society.

This year Carl and Marcia Giordano, a husband-wife team dedicated to keeping the centuries-old art of tinsmithing alive will be in the Society’s Tin Shop. Each piece they produce is made using tools and techniques in the tradition of 18th and 19th century tinsmiths.

“They have made pieces for movie sets including Pirates of the Caribbean, John Adams and many others. We are so lucky to have them adopt our Tin Shop for the weekend!” said Feenerty.

The Giordanos will have items on display and for sale.

Also new to the tour, but not new to many horse owners in the area is Dave Burchett. Burchett is a farrier and will be at the meeting house on Saturday to demonstrate horse shoeing.

Burchett commented that, “Nearly everyone has seen a horseshoe, but how many have actually seen a horse being shod? Over the years Mount Pleasant has been home to many farriers and blacksmiths, they and horses were an integral part of the village’s history.”

Master Gardener Linda Krinke Dalton will make a presentation on culinary and medicinal herbs Saturday afternoon.

“Linda is a native of Mount Pleasant having grown up on a farm just outside of the village. When her elementary school sold seed packets as a fundraiser, she started growing flowers from seed outside the kitchen door of her family home and has been gardening ever since,” said Feenerty.

On Sunday afternoon Greg Park will be available to talk about and show examples of pioneer games and toys.

Two exhibits will be presented, one on the village’s history of temperance.

“It’s the 100-year anniversary of the ratification of Prohibition, so we thought an exhibit on temperance, which in the village dates back into the early 1800s, would be timely,” said Feenerty.

There will be samples of historic non-alcoholic beverages on hand Sunday afternoon at the Elizabeth House. The second exhibit will be showcasing Thomas Rotch, a Quaker who settled in what is now Massillon in 1812. He was active in the Underground Railroad and served as a correspondent for the Committee on Indian Concerns.

Rotch died of a bilious fever in 1823 during the Ohio Yearly Meeting held in Mount Pleasant. In his will Thomas Rotch left $5,000 toward building the Friends Boarding School. This school, originally built in Mount Pleasant, continues on today in Barnesville as the Olney Friends School. Items from The Rotch-Wales Collection, held by the Massillon Public Library, will be on exhibit in the Historical Center.

Barbara Wittman of the Massillon Library said, “We are so pleased to be able to share some of the Rotch papers with the Historical Society of Mount Pleasant. They help to form the story of early Quaker life on the frontier.”

Returning will be the perennial favorites, blacksmithing by Joe Rodak and Wes Sutton’s drover’s camp and back for a second year is the Cruise In. On Saturday from 1-5 p.m. there will be a car, truck and motorcycle Cruise In, with a cruise out at 5 p.m., sponsored by the People’s National Bank of Mount Pleasant.

“We are so excited about this year’s tour, we have lots of new things to offer.” said Angela Feenerty, president of the Historical Society.

The Friends’ Women’s Missionary Fellowship will have lunch available both days at the Samuel Gill House. Proceeds will go toward local missions and ministries.

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