A Patriotic Family Road Trip in Ohio

Ohio Statehouse

Columbus, OH

A Greek Revival capitol in Columbus that took over two decades to finish, delayed by funding fights and a cholera epidemic.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Dayton, OH

The largest military aviation museum in the world, on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton — the birthplace of powered flight.

National Veterans Memorial and Museum

Columbus, OH

A museum opened in 2018 telling the story of American service through the words of veterans themselves.

Motts Military Museum

Groveport, OH

A museum of American military history from the Revolution forward, with artifacts and vehicles.

USS Cod Submarine Memorial

Cleveland, OH

A World War II fleet submarine on the lakefront, toured through its original hatches and ladders.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland, OH

I. M. Pei's glass pyramid on Lake Erie, holding the artifacts of American popular music.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Canton, OH

The birthplace of the NFL, which was founded in a Canton car dealership in 1920.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Cincinnati, OH

A museum on the Ohio River, the line between slavery and freedom, built around a 19th-century slave pen moved from Kentucky.

Carillon Historical Park

Dayton, OH

A history park home to the 1905 Wright Flyer III, the plane the Wright brothers considered their first practical airplane.

Ohio History Center

Columbus, OH

The state history museum, with Ohio Village, a recreated 1890s town, on the same grounds.

Steamship William G. Mather

Cleveland, OH

A 1925 Great Lakes freighter that carried ore and coal for the steel industry, now a museum ship.

Cleveland History Center

Cleveland, OH

The museum of the Western Reserve Historical Society, with a car and aircraft collection and a working carousel.

International Women's Air & Space Museum

Cleveland, OH

A museum at Burke Lakefront Airport of women in aviation and spaceflight, from Amelia Earhart to NASA astronauts.

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Cincinnati, OH

The birthplace and boyhood home of William Howard Taft, the only man to serve as both president and chief justice.

William Henry Harrison Tomb

North Bend, OH

The hilltop tomb of William Henry Harrison, who died a month into his presidency in 1841.

Grant Birthplace

Point Pleasant, OH

The small riverside cottage on the Ohio where Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822.

Harding Home and Memorial

Marion, OH

Warren G. Harding's home, from whose porch he ran his 1920 "front porch campaign," and the marble memorial where he is buried.

James A. Garfield National Historic Site

Mentor, OH

Lawnfield, the farm from which James Garfield ran his 1880 front-porch campaign.

James A. Garfield Memorial

Cleveland, OH

The tomb of the assassinated president in Lake View Cemetery, dedicated in 1890.

First Ladies National Historic Site

Canton, OH

The home of Ida Saxton McKinley and a library devoted to the nation's first ladies.

William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

Canton, OH

The McKinley National Memorial, where the 25th president is buried, with a museum beneath.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House

Cincinnati, OH

The house where Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in the 1830s, where she saw the slavery across the river that shaped Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Cincinnati Union Terminal

Cincinnati, OH

An Art Deco rail station opened in 1933, now the Cincinnati Museum Center, which handled troop trains through World War II.

John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge

Cincinnati, OH

A bridge over the Ohio opened in 1866, then the world's longest suspension span, by the engineer who went on to design the Brooklyn Bridge.

Fort Ancient Earthworks

Oregonia, OH

Hilltop earthen walls built by the Hopewell people about two thousand years ago, part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Cincinnati Observatory

Cincinnati, OH

The first public observatory in the country, whose cornerstone John Quincy Adams laid in 1843 in his last public speech; its 1845 telescope still works.

Spring Grove Cemetery

Cincinnati, OH

One of the largest cemeteries in the country, opened in 1845 and a National Historic Landmark, where 41 Civil War generals are buried.

John Rankin House

Ripley, OH

A hilltop Underground Railroad station where the Rankins hung a lantern to guide freedom seekers across the Ohio.

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Columbus, OH

The burial ground of more than 2,000 Confederate prisoners who died at Camp Chase, a Union training camp and prison.

Newark Earthworks

Newark, OH

Geometric earthworks built by the Hopewell culture about 2,000 years ago, aligned to the moon and listed by UNESCO in 2023.

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

Chillicothe, OH

Mound groups of the Hopewell culture along the Scioto River, part of the UNESCO Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.

Sherman House Museum

Lancaster, OH

The birthplace of General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1820 and boyhood home of his brother, Senator John Sherman.

Kelton House Museum & Garden

Columbus, OH

An 1852 home whose family sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.

Hale Farm & Village

Bath, OH

A living-history farm in the Cuyahoga Valley, built around the 1820s brick home of a Connecticut settler.

Terminal Tower

Cleveland, OH

A 52-story tower completed in 1930 over the city's union rail terminal, once the tallest building outside New York.

Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

Pickerington, OH

The American Motorcyclist Association's museum of the people and machines of American motorcycling.

A Christmas Story House

Cleveland, OH

The Tremont house used for exterior shots in the 1983 film A Christmas Story, restored to match the film.

Adena Mansion and Gardens

Chillicothe, OH

The 1807 home of Thomas Worthington, a father of Ohio statehood; tradition holds its view inspired the state seal.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Cleveland

Cleveland, OH

An 1894 Civil War memorial on Public Square, with the names of some 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans inside.