AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY
Logan County has a long history of people living in it. Artifacts dating from the Archaic Indians (8000 B.C.-1000 B.C.) have been found in the county. Artifacts have also been found of the prehistoric Indians who followed the Archaic. These people included the Adena (800 B.C.-300 A.D.), the Hopewell (100 B.C.-600 A.D.) and the Fort Ancient (800 A.D.-1300 A.D.). These artifacts, such as spear points, arrow points, scrapers, knives and other tools show that people have lived, or at least hunted, in Logan County for 3000 years. They may have been here even earlier. Paleo-Indians (13,000 B.C.-1000 B.C.) may have also hunted on these lands. A tooth from a mastodon, an important animal to the Paleo Indians, was found near West Liberty.
RAILROAD AND INDUSTRY
The summer of 1837 forever changed Logan County, especially Bellefontaine. In July of that year the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company completed the first railroad in Bellefontaine. This marked the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between the railroad and Logan County. Over the next hundred plus years Bellefontaine and several other county villages became more and more dependent on the railroad, while the railroad companies increasingly used Bellefontaine and these villages as integral points on their lines.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Logan County played a very important role in the Underground Railroad in the years leading up to the Civil War, with over 100 stations or stops in the county. Numerous Logan Countians hid runaway slaves in their homes or on their property, while others helped lead the refugees on their escape. The exhibit in this room details some of these people and their efforts in this secret and illegal system.
