MIFFLIN – More than 200 years ago, the outdoorsman known as Johnny Appleseed called North Central Ohio home. Now, portions of two state highways that pass by his land holdings and sites related to Appleseed in Richland and Ashland counties are being designated as Ohio’s newest scenic byway.
The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway is a 31-mile route made up of Ohio 39 from Loudonville, northwest through Perrysville and Lucas and ending in Mansfield; and Ohio 603 from Mifflin to Malabar Farm.
A group of proponents for the byway gathered Monday afternoon at the Cabin in Mifflin to unveil the logo for the byway and to discuss future plans.
The byway was created in large part due to the efforts of Appleseed historian William Jones, who spearheaded the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center amphitheatre project where performances about Appleseed’s life were put on in the summers of 2004 and 2005.
“We feel that folks who might be on their way to work or to the grocery store or to visit friends will have an enhanced experience as they learn more about their own region and neck of the woods,” Jones said. “And likewise for visitors to our area, they may come here for canoeing or some other reason but if they have a telephone app or a brochure about these other things, it could open up varied interests.”
The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway – the state’s 27th byway — will connect or pass very close to previously established scenic byways, including the Wally Road Byway, the Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, Amish Country Byway and the Gateway to Amish Country Byway.
“I’ve been a Johnny Appleseed nut all my life, so I basically had the history and the stories in my head anyway. I thought it was a logical thing to do to create the story through a venue that everybody could enjoy at their leisure,” Jones said.
Jones had started the process of having the roads designated as byways nearly two decades ago, but other things kept it from being a top priority for him.
“So this has been a long time coming,” Jones said.
Ohio Department of Transportation Scenic Byways Program Manger Thomas P. Barrett said that his office discovered several byways who had previously applied for Scenic Byway status and decided to take another look at those roads.
“Some of them seemed to rise to the top and Granville was one of them and Johnny Appleseed was another,” Barrett said.
It will likely be a few months before the signs created by ODOT will be placed along the route, Barrett said. However, the byway committee and ODOT are already hard at work on marketing the byway with plans more efforts in the near future.
Barrett said a clickable “story map” will be posted online allowing travelers along the route to click on specific locations, and learn more about local history or unique sites.
“We think that it’s a successful tool in going out and planning your daytrips, or even on the fly if you’re in the region, you can click on a story map and see what’s out there,” Barrett said. “We’re seeing more of a trend with retirees traveling, doing day trips and more regional stay-cation type trips, and also toggling into younger folks picking up the data they find in story maps and going out and wanting to find that unique experience on the off-the-beaten-path roadways. So that’s what we’re hoping to establish here in this region.”
Jones said one piece of the puzzle in the works for 2018 would be a tour guide covering a larger portion of Ohio featuring sites related to Appleseed.
The Ohio Scenic Byway Program is a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the state’s historical and intrinsic resources — cultural, historical, archaeological, recreational, natural and scenic – which collectively enhance the overall traveling experience. The program was started in 1998 and covers more than 2,380 miles of state roads.
The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway Committee is made up of Jones; Dave and Dee Dee Culler of the Malabar Farm Foundation and the Old Summer House Bed and Breakfast; Amy Daubenspeck, director of the Ashland Area Convention and Visitors Bureau; Joe Eggerton, president of Perrysville Economic Development; Georgia Kauffman, director of the Mohican-Loudonville Visitors Bureau; Lee Tasseff, director of Destination Mansfield; and Denise Vales of the Mohican Watershed Conservancy District.
