Sandusky County Court House in Fremont

Fremont

Fremont has been a community long before the first settlers arrived in the area. It was home to multiple Native American clans from the Erie to the Wyandot. Most recently it was the Wyandot village of Junquindundeh. The Scioto-Sandusky trail that stretched from the Ohio River to Lake Erie ran through here.

Fremont has almost always been a strategic point in the development of the area. Long before Europeans arrived in Ohio, there was a great conflict between large groups of Native Americans that were roughly divided by a geographic line drawn along the Sandusky River.

At Fremont there were two 2 villages, one on each side of the river and these were both known as neutral locations, meaning that even warring tribes could come and go in peace without fear.

In conjunction with the Native Americans that lived here, it was also at one time a French fortification, a British fortification, and lastly an American fortification. When Native Americans captured Americans in Kentucky and southern Ohio, they were often brought through here on their way to Detroit where they would be sold or traded among the various tribes that visited the area. Such notables as Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton were among the 100s of white prisoners that were brought here.

Fremont is perhaps best known as being the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes, which now includes his presidential library, Fremont is the county seat of Sandusky County. After the War of 1812, most of the Native Americans inhabiting the area had been forced out and in 1816 a small settlement had been established on the east side of the Sandusky River called Croghansville in honor of George Crogan (left) who successfully defended Fort Stephenson against overwhelming odds. A year later on the western side the village of Lower Sandusky was established. A few years later the 2 communities merged and was known as just Lower Sandusky.

As the young Ohio state began to get organized, the bureaucrats realized there were a number of towns in Ohio associated with Sandusky. With the introduction of the canals and widespread mail delivery the similarity in names began to create problems. In 1849 it was decided an official name change was needed for Lower Sandusky, but what name that hadn't already been used, would work best here? The answer would be found in current events of the day and political influence.

Some citizens wanted the name Croghan to be re-established. Some objected because they claimed that Croghan was a difficult name to pronounce and spell. For those readers not familiar with the history of Fremont and the War of 1812, the name Croghan has particular significance to the area despite the fact that Crogan was a Kentuckian.

Fort Stephenson

At the beginning of the War of 1812, a fortification located along the Sandusky River was begun. It was first called Fort Sandusky but it wasn't completed and soon temporarily abandoned. Since General Hull surrendered a major American force to the British at Fort Detroit, it was assumed that the British and their Native American allies would soon be sweeping down across northwestern Ohio. And that tiny fortification would be no match against the experienced British military and the feared Seneca warrior Tecumseh.

However, when General William Henry Harrison was put in charge of the western front, he quickly began formalizing a plan that included building a massive defensive fortification just west of here on the eastern side of the Maumee River. Once that fort was completed, he sent another team over to where the uncompleted Fort Sandusky stood. This team completely rebuilt the fort so that it had become a somewhat more formidable defensive position, but nothing on the scale of Fort Meigs. In all likelihood it would only be a supply post along the Sandusky River and a fall back position if needed.

After the siege of Fort Meigs in the spring of 1813, the British pulled away from Fort Meigs, and came down the Sandusky River. By this time Harrison had sent a small force under command of Major George Croghan from Fort Meigs to man the newly rebuilt fort which had been renamed Fort Stephenson.

When Harrison learned the British were coming up the Sandusky River, he sent orders to Croghan to destroy the fort and fall back, so it wouldn't fall into British control. But before those orders could be carried out, Croghan and his 160 men engaged a superior enemy force of 700 British soldiers and Native Americans led by Tecumseh, and decisively defeated them.

So Croghan was a genuine war hero and much admired in the community for his grit and bravery. The problem was that there was a good bit of confusion on the pronunciation of the major's name. The last thing the community wanted was to add to the confusion they were already facing. It was then that Sardis Birchard and his nephew Rutherford Birchard Hayes floated the idea of re-naming the town Fremont. Fremont was a name that had been in the news of the day for several reasons that revolved around California.

Birchard (who was a leading businessman in the community) along with Hayes (who would later become Ohio's governor and then the 19th President of the United States) strongly pushed for the name Fremont to be adopted. John Fremont had shown to be a leader, an explorer, and an outspoken innovator. He would later be the first presidential candidate of the new Republican political party. The fact that Rutherford B. Hayes was also a leader in the new Republican Party may have also played a part in their decision to support this particular name change. So in 1849 the name Fremont was officially made for the small town in northwest Ohio.

 

Today, Fremont is known as a historic community. It is known as the home of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. Downtown Fremont offers a variety of activities throughout the year including a Farmer's Market on Saturday's where visitors can purchase homemade and fresh products from local growers.

In the downtown area is the Birchard Public Library that was founded in 1870 by Sardis Birchard. The building stands on a park where Fort Stephenson was located and is where George Croghan is buried next to his faithful cannon "Old Betsy".

Lower Sandusky History

As the first white settlers began moving into this area around the big bend in the Sandusky River, it was commonly referred to as Lower Sandusky. But long before they arrived, this place was home to several different Native American nations, including a small group of Eries who had escaped to here from an Iroquois massacre along the shores of Lake Erie. The Wyandotte also had a village here for a time, and was used as a place where capture white settlers could be brought here and traded to other Native American nations. Some more notable prisoners held here included Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. It was estimated that more than 1000 whites were held captive here.

Before the Revolutionary War during what became known as Pontiac's Rebellion, a combined force of Colonial and British troops in 1764 arrived here in During the Revolutionary War, this location became a western British Post.

During the War of 1812, Lower Sandusky became a strategic location where greatly outnumbered and out gunned Americans held off a British force coming up the Sandusky River at Fort Stephenson. Major George Croghan with 160 men stood off almost 600 British and Native Americans.

After that the small village on the east side of the Sandusky River was named Croghansville in 1816. The west side of the river was named Sandusky in 1817. In 1829 the area was incorporated into Lower Sandusky which included both Sandusky and Croghansville.