Blue Fly – Townsend and Norwalk Township
Location: 41.233584, -82.540910
on SR 18 at the 4-way intersection of SR 601 and N Greenwich Milan Town Line Rd
Remnants: former tavern in the southeast corner of the intersection
Description: William Thompson (born c. 1817) from New York built a tavern in the southeast corner of the intersection in the late 1850s and painted it blue. Local residents called it the Blue Fly and the town took on the same name. A school was 1 mile southeast of the intersection on the north side of SR 18 on a 123-acre farm owned by the Bowen family. The tavern was in operation for 5 or 6 years before William sold it to Theodore Williams Sr. (1820 – 1907) who turned it into a private residence. Theodore was buried with relatives 3 miles west of the GPS coordinates in Woodlawn Cemetery on Woodlawn Ave in Norwalk. His father, James Williams (1787 – 1869) from Essex County, New Jersey, was the first mayor of Norwalk and was also laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery. The conclusion of the current house in the southeast corner of the intersection being the former tavern was reached with its construction year listed on the county auditor’s website as 1860. The 1879 History of the Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio stated the house was 22 or 23 years old at the time of its publication. Although the recorded dates don’t exactly match up, it would still have to be the same place.
Bronson – Bronson Township
Post Office: 1830 – 1867
Location: 41.176447, -82.589378
on Old State Rd N at the intersection of Dublin Rd (Township Hwy 17)
Remnants: none known
Description: It was the first village in the township and had a school in the southwest corner of the intersection. A Congregational church was about a mile north of the intersection on the west side of Old State Rd N on a 101-acre farm owned by the Cole family. The known postmasters over the years were John Lyon, Christian Conger, Ezekiel Morse, John A. Nicolls, J. Sanford, Isaac Sanford, and Amos Deming.
Carson – Ripley Township
Post Office: 1856 – 1883
Location: 41.002772, -82.558842
on Edwards Rd at the railroad crossing between Plymouth East Rd E (Township Hwy 107) and Base Line Rd W
Remnants: none known
Description: Carson was on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad (later the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, & Indianapolis Railroad). It had a steam-powered grist mill and saw mill in the northeast corner of the GPS coordinates owned by Crawford & Rodgers. A general store, grocery store, school, and a blacksmith shop lined the west side of Edwards Rd between the railroad tracks and Base Line Rd W. There were also several residences on both sides of the road. The known postmasters were David Crawford, John Eminson, John Weiden, and Charles Hopkins.
Fiddlers Green – New London Township, Huron County and Ruggles Township, Ashland County
Location: 41.065616, -82.396692
on SR 60 at the intersection of Town Line Rd 187 on the Ashland County border
Remnants: none known
Description: Fiddlers Green was a small farming and merchant town. Its businesses were physically moved 1 1/2 miles north to the town of New London when the Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincinnati Railroad was built through there in 1852. A few residents stayed behind in Fiddlers’s Green, but it never recovered from missing out on the state’s railroad boom.
Ives – Richmond Township
Post Office: 1840 – 1846
Location: unknown
Description: W. H. Pond was the only known postmaster. He served as justice of the peace from 1840 – 1843 and fought for squatters rights as the township benefited from their production. W. H. Pond lost a heated battle in the 1843 election to Amos Roop. The vote was tied twice and Amos won the third ballot casting. There was an investigation and a lawsuit was filed, but the court system upheld the third ballot’s results.
Lyme Station – Lyme Township
Location: 41.255630, -82.764020
on Sand Hill Rd at the railroad crossing between US 20 and Opperman Rd
Remnants: Trinity Episcopal Church and Cemetery 1 mile northwest of the GPS coordinates at the intersection of US 20 and Young Rd
Description: Richard L. McCurdy (1802 – 1869) from Lyme, Connecticut and Julia Ann (Woodward) McCurdy (1806 – 1889) from New York got married in 1826, owned a large farm, and donated the land for the church and cemetery. They were both born into prominent New England families. Julia was mentioned in the preface of the 1879 History of the Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio as being frequently consulted by the author. The church congregation formed in 1837. Its first wood frame structure was built in 1846 at a cost of $1,200. Unfortunately, that one was lost to a fire just 2 months later in February of 1847. It was replaced with another wood frame church that same year at a cost of $1,600. Richard and Julia were laid to rest with other residents in the cemetery. A mid-1800s one-room schoolhouse was in the same spot as the town’s later schools, also on land donated by the McCurdy family. A train station was on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. Its former track bed running through the area is now the North Coast Inland Trail, which will soon be a 105-mile paved recreational path. So far, 71 miles of it have been completed. In the later 1800s, the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad also rolled through town. Its tracks are still intact and in use. The last school was built in 1937 and is still standing about 1/2 of a mile northwest of the GPS coordinates on the south side of US 20.
Trail Info – https://www.ohiobikeways.net/ncit.htm
Miner – Clarksfield Township
Location: 41.180349, -82.360353
on SR 18 between Chenango Rd (Township Hwy 183) and Butler Rd
Remnants: none known
Description: The town was founded by Daniel Miner Jr. (1804 – 1878) from Courtland County, New York and Lydia (Bennett) Miner (1802 – 1878) from Seneca County. They got married in 1823, owned a farm at the GPS coordinates, had one daughter, and ran a tavern for several years in the mid-1800s. Although it wasn’t stated in the old county history books, the tavern surely would have been a popular stopping point for travelers between Medina and Norwalk. A blacksmith shop was about 1/3 of a mile southeast of the GPS coordinates on a farm owned by Joseph Nickerson (1793 – 1881) from Franklin County, New York and Nancy (Grist) Nickerson (1792 – 1866) from Connecticut. They got married in Connecticut in 1812, moved to Ohio around 1826, and were buried with relatives in Clarksfield Methodist Cemetery about 3 1/3 miles northwest of the GPS coordinates on the south side of Zenobia Rd. A saw mill was about 1/2 of a mile northwest of the GPS coordinates on a 100-acre farm owned by Jesse H. Mead (1800 – 1883) and Laura (Dutton) Mead (1813 – 1873). They moved to Ohio from Massachusetts and were also interred in Clarksfield Methodist Cemetery. Daniel and Lydia moved to Hartland township and later to Norwalk where they were laid to rest with relatives in Woodlawn Cemetery on Woodlawn Ave.
North Norwich – Norwich Township
Post Office: 1828 – 1856
Location: 41.124627, -82.773719
on N Greenfield Rd (Co Hwy 7) at the intersection of Old Military Rd (Boughton Rd)
Remnants: Boughton (North Norwich) Cemetery 1 mile northwest of the GPS coordinates just north of Old Military Rd, Gilson house on the south side of the intersection
Descripton: This farming and postal town was founded by Naum Gilson (1793 – 1864) from Saratoga County, New York and Sarah “Sally” (Ormes) Gilson (1792 – 1876) from Massachusetts who were pioneers of the county and the first permanent settlers in Norwich Township. Naum arrived in 1817 and began construction of a log cabin. He went back to New York in 1818 and married Sarah in 1819 before returning to Ohio. They had a few children and Naum was the first postmaster for around 15 years. The other known postmasters were Abraham Groff (surname formerly De Groff), G. H. Woodruff, and W. H. Vanhorn. Naum and Sarah’s last farmhouse was constructed in 1851 and is still standing on the south side of the GPS coordinates. They were buried with relatives and other early settlers in Boughton Cemetery. North Norwich also had a church at the cemetery and a school on the north side of Old Military Rd just southeast of the cemetery. They were both on a farm owned by the Boughton family.
Ramey – Greenwich Township, Huron County and Ruggles Township, Ashland County
Post Office: 1892 – 1893
Location: 41.050622, -82.439032
on US 250 at the intersection of Greenwich East Town Line Rd S
Remnants: none known
Description: Ramey had a train station on the B&O Railroad and can be found in the 1891 county atlas, the 1897 Ashland County map, and on the Ohio map in the 1901 George Cram atlas. Jane Ramey (1825 – 1907) was the town founder and proprietor. She was a widow and owned adjoining lots totaling 73 acres in Huron and Ashland County on the east side of the GPS coordinates. In the 1900 census, Irish immigrant Patrick Donegon was listed as a servant in Jane’s household. He was 63 years old at the time. Jane and Patrick’s burial locations are unknown.
Relief – Norwich Township
Location: 41.072912, -82.799453
on Daniels Rd (Township Hwy 70) at the railroad crossing between Egypt Rd (Township Hwy 102) and Town Line Rd 12
Remnants: none known
Description: It was on the B&O Railroad in the late 1800s to early 1900s but didn’t have a train station. The biggest families in the area were the Vogels and Willoughbys. A school was 1 1/2 miles northwest of the GPS coordinates in the northwest corner of the intersection of Wurtz Rd (Township Hwy 69) and Egypt Rd on a 78-acre farm owned by Morgan W. Clark (1850 – 1941) and Caroline (Ritz) Clark (1854 – 1936). They got married in 1875, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary together, and were laid to rest with relatives in Attica (Attica Venice Township Joint) Cemetery about 5 miles southeast of the GPS Coordinates on the north side of Lemmon St in Venice Township, Seneca County.
Sherman – Sherman Township
Post Office: 1825 – 1865
Location: 41.179829, -82.806851
on Heyman Rd (Township Hwy 29) at the intersection of Pontiac Section Line Rd
Remnants: Jones (Heyman Road / Sherman Township) Cemetery on the east side of Heyman Rd 1/2 of a mile north of the GPS coordinates
Description: The town was founded by Daniel Sherman (1790 – 1864) from Norwalk, Connecticut who was one of the first settlers in the township in 1812 and an uncle of General William T. Sherman (1820 – 1891) of Civil War fame. Daniel married Abbie (Guthrie) Sherman (1798 – 1820) in 1813. They owned the farm where the cemetery is and Abbie was buried there. Daniel turned down an appointment to be the postmaster which then given to his neighbor across the road, Rufus S. Paine (1788 – 1858) from Vermont. It was the first post office in the township. A general store was on the Paine farm in the northwest corner of the intersection. The family surname was spelled as Payne in some historical records. Rufus was also laid to rest with relatives in Jones Cemetery. The post office moved to Weavers Corners 3 miles northwest of the GPS coordinates at the intersection of SR 547 and SR 4 but kept the name Sherman. The other known postmasters were Coles A. Bloomer, Henry Weaver, Abram S. Dayton, and James Shay. Daniel was buried with his second wife, Laura (Hubbell) Sherman (1791 – 1873), in Riverside Cemetery about 9 miles northeast of the GPS coordinates at the intersection of US 20 and Norwalk St just south of Monroeville in Ridgefield Township.
Huron County, Ohio Ghost Towns Research Resources
1859 – Huron County map
1873 – Huron County atlas
1891 – Huron County atlas
1879 – History of the Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio
1894 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio
1909 – History of Huron County, Ohio – Vol. 1
1909 – History of Huron County, Ohio – Vol. 2
Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co. 