A statue of Gen. Philip Sheridan stands in the town square of Somerset, Ohio, which was once Perry County’s county seat. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

This week in Travel Ohio with Dusty Tires, I’m tracking the oldest road in Ohio, Zane’s Trace.

Col. Ebenezer Zane, a Revolutionary War veteran, cut the first road from the wilderness in the Northwest Territory in the 1790s.

By receiving government land grants and providing ferry crossings where his road crossed the Muskingum, Hocking and Scioto rivers, Zane would help found the cities of Zanesville, Lancaster and Chillicothe.

Zane’s Trace was the shortest distance between Wheeling and Limestown, Kentucky (present-day Maysville) on the Ohio River. The road eventually extended for 230 miles.

Along Zane’s Trace, we visit two historic towns – Somerset in Perry County and Lancaster, county seat of Fairfield County.

Somerset was established in 1807 by settlers from Somerset, Pennsylvania at the midway point on Zane’s Trace between Lancaster and Zanesville.

The village includes a village hall built in 1829 as the Perry County Courthouse, a statue of Gen. Phil Sheridan in the town square, and a number of notable buildings, such as Clay Haus, built in 1820, and Jacob Miller’s Tavern, built around 1807.

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Lancaster was founded by Zane on Nov. 10, 1800. The new town was initially named New Lancaster and shortened to Lancaster in 1805.

Lancaster’s Zane Square honors its namesake and includes an ornate cast iron and zinc fountain crafted by J.W. Fiske of New York City, to replicate one in Etain, France, dedicated on July 23, 1890.

Lancaster’s City Hall, built in 1897 at the corner of Main and Broad streets, is undergoing a multi-million dollar restoration. New windows, entry doors and elevator are being installed; other restorations and repairs include clock, bell, tower, roof and gutters as well as stone cleaning.

The city is perhaps best known as the birthplace of the famed Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891).

The Sherman House Museum, 137 E. Main St., is the birthplace of the general, his younger brother U.S. Senator John Sherman and home of the remarkable Sherman family. The house, along with Georgian Museum, is owned and operated by the Fairfield County Heritage Association. The original house was built in 1811 and had additions and renovations in 1816 and 1870.

Next door, at 145 E. Main St., is the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. The Reese-Peters House was built in 1835 for William James Reese and his wife, Mary Elisabeth Sherman, sister of William and John Sherman. The house was renovated in the 1990s and dedicated for its current use in 2000.

There’s lots to see and do in both Lancaster and Somerset – check out the Perry County and Fairfield County tourism websites for ideas.

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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