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Editorial
The Blade (Toledo, OH)
6-21-00
Finally. The deal is done for the Fallen Timbers battlefield. Now another sort of battle begins, one to win more state and federal funds to properly transform the 187 acres of farmland into a site commemorating its significant place in the history of northwest Ohio and the nation.
The agreement for the city of Toledo to sell the property to the Metroparks board for $5.5 million was entirely too long in the making, adding unneeded delay to a project that could play a headlining role in Ohio's bicentennial celebration in 2003.
The 1794 battle between the forces of Gen. Anthony Wayne and an alliance of Indian tribes led the next year to the Treaty of Greenville, which opened Ohio and the Northwest Territory to settlers and, ultimately, to vast westward expansion of the United States. As Susan Horvath, Metroparks board president, put it, the land, just west of what is now the I-475-U.S. 23 interchange, is truly "hallowed ground."
Participants in the struggle to put the property under Metroparks ownership, principally Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, should have heeded the suggestion of Harry Kessler, a former mayor, to split the difference in various appraisals of the site. That's almost exactly where the selling price ended up, but after six-months of ego-driven wrangling.
Under the deal approved Tuesday by city council, the Metroparks board gets an initial 72 acres for $2.8 million and has until July 31, 2001, to buy the remaining 115 acres for $2.7 million. Pressure must continue for Governor Taft to keep his commitment to provide at least another $500,000 in addition to the $2 million the state already has contributed. And we trust that Sen. Mike DeWine and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur will continue their efforts to obtain federal funds.
Although Congress designated Fallen Timbers a national historic site last year, federal policy has been not to provide funding for development where sites are not already owned by the federal government.
In order to accurately delineate the sweep of history set off by the 1794 battle, Metroparks officials envision putting in roads, trails, exhibits, and an interpretive center. All this will cost several million dollars, Ms. Horvath speculates.
It's an expense that can certainly be justified, because, as Ms. Kaptur correctly noted, the Fallen Timbers preservation will be not only history worth saving but also "a gift with significant economic benefit to our area."
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