History 

The Lathrop House

In the 1830s, Toledo merchant Elkanah Briggs came to Sylvania and purchased a parcel of land on Maumee Road (now Main Street) from Elijah Rice. Briggs built a home on the site in 1835. Lucian Lathrop purchased the home in 1847 and moved there with his family. Around 1850, he built the two-story Greek Revival Home. Years later, after the death of his Mother-In-Law he would move the smaller Briggs home and combine it with this new Greek Revival home. Making a much larger and more impressive residence. The Lathrop Family would live in this home through the 1870s.

During this time, it is thought that the Lathrops were active participants on the underground railroad, aiding individuals fleeing from slavery. With the use of a concealed room down in the basement and cleverly placed exterior stairs, they were able to take in "fugitives" as they made their way north. 

Unfortunately, there is no real proof of these efforts. After many years of research, no "smoking gun" has been found linking the efforts of the Lathrops to that of the Underground Railroad. The closest link we have is their an adjacent family, the Harrouns.  

After the Lathrops, the home became known by many different names, including the Old Colonial House, the Vogt Home, the Bischoff House, Fallis House, and Maple Grow Tea Room. The house underwent many renovations during the next 170 years, including a major one in the 1930s, which uncovered the hidden room behind an old oven in the basement where escapees were hidden. Amazingly, the room still had beds in it. The final owner was Marie Vogt, the founder of the Toledo Ballet. After the home was purchased by St. Joseph's Church, a grassroots effort worked to save the house from demolition. In 2004, through fundraising efforts by the Toledo MetroParks and the volunteer Friends of the Lathrop House, the home was moved from its original location to its current location in the adjacent Harroun Park. Prior to the move, two archeological digs were done around the site with dozens of artifacts unearthed. Work to stabilize the structure was done and the lower level was turned into a museum featuring an exhibit room and a recreation of the basement kitchen and hidden room. In 2014, the Lathrop House was rededicated and opened as the only Underground Railroad site open to the public in Northwest Ohio.

The home is owned by the City of Sylvania and managed by Heritage Sylvania.

The Cooke-Kuhlman House

The Cooke house was built in 1897 by Dr. Uriah Cooke. This same year, he married his wife, Ethel, and graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in medicine. 

The Historical Village

The Historical Village started construction in 1997, 

Northwest Ohio

Once covered in a sheet of Ice, Northwest Ohio has spent most of its life known as the Great Black Swamp a vast area of swamp land that stretched from Allen County to the Border of Lucas County. 

Native Americans