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by Kelly J. Kaczala, Mirror Reporter
The Mirror (Maumee, OH)
10-03-97
The Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission hopes to persuade the public to support its campaign to turn 186 acres of farm field into a protected historical site.
The Fallen Timbers Battlefield, at the intersection of highways 24 and 475, is considered the actual site of a battle that was fought between American troops and Indians in 1794.
Although that battle ended over 200 years ago, a new war continues to be waged between the City of Toledo, which owns the land, and the City of Maumee, which wants to buy the property. Various local historical groups support Maumee in its quest.
"We are currently in the process of trying to organize a coalition of groups, such as the Maumee Valley Heritage Association, and trying to preserve this battlefield," said Kathryn M. Johnson, a member of the Preservation Commission.
The problem arose two years ago when an archaeologist found over 400 artifacts from the battle at the site, confirming that the property is the actual Fallen Timbers battlefield.
Maumee, which annexed the property in 1994, has offered $15,000 per acre, or $2.5 million to purchase the land for park development. The National Park Service is also interested in offering its assistance to Maumee to develop the land.
The Service, however, no longer purchases land for parks.
"The National Park Service would like to link Fallen Timbers, Fort Meigs and Fort Miamis into a group a national historical parks," Johnson said.
But Toledo, which initially purchased the site for $6,500 per acre, is hampering Maumee's plans by putting the property up for sale for $50,000 per acre.
A developer had also been thrown into the mix, expressing an interest in building a mall on Toledo-owned property adjoining the site. The developer has an option to purchase the property, as well as a right of first refusal on the battlefield site, according to Maumee Mayor Stephen Pauken.
"Because of that right of first refusal, which expires later this year, there is a figure Mayor Finkbeiner is clinging to that he claims the ground is worth, and that's $50,000 per acre," Mayor Pauken said.
What happens after the right of first refusal expires is the "$64,000 question," Pauken said. "It's anyone's guess."
Maumee has joined other groups, such as the historical societies of Whitehouse, Waterville and Maumee Valley, "to collectively say the battlefield is in the national, as well as local, interest. It brings great distinction to northwest Ohio," the mayor said.
Larry Michaels, a member of the Preservation Commission, compared the site to Gettysburg, the Pennsylvania town where a crucial battle in 1863 took place during the Civil War. The battle has been called by many historians the "turning point of the Civil War."
"Certainly its residents would rather have the battlefield there than another mall -- certainly for the pride of the area," Michaels said.
Unfortunately, the Indian wars and the War of 1812 aren't as popular with the public as the Civil War, Michaels said. "So people don't appreciate it as much. But this is the area where those wars were staged. People here have to preserve their history, or else get swallowed up by development," he said.
Johnson said her group, as well as others interested in preserving the site, could raise money to purchase the land if Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner agreed to sell at a "reasonable" price.
"There's been a lot of correspondence and meetings between the commission and Mr. Finkbeiner, but he just stands firm at selling a $50,000 per acre. Why, I don't know," Johnson said.
Finkbeiner would not return phone messages to comment for this article.
"A small amount of money has been raised privately," Mayor Pauken said. "There are still a lot of people who approach me daily asking about what's going on at the site."
The mayor has even received $5.00 donations in envelopes from residents who are concerned about preserving the site. "They can't afford any more than that, but that's a big donation, because it says they support what's going on out there," he said.
Johnson urged residents interested in preserving the site to call or write Toledo's mayor and council members, as well as their state representatives.
Also involved is US Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, who has introduced a bill that would designate the property, along with Fort Miamis and Fort Meigs, as a national historic area, according to Mayor Pauken. Unfortunately, that bill is stalled in committee.
"And that's a major source of frustration for me," said the mayor. "We've gone through about four years now of bureaucracy."
So just what happened here that makes the ground so sacred to historians?
Ohio in the late 1700s was the site of intense battles between settlers and Indians. The government's long struggle with the Indians had consumed a major portion of the government's revenues and had held back settlement of the Northwest Territory.
The Indians, according to historians, had inflicted a series of humiliating defeats on American forces in this area in the 1700s. In the winter of 1791-92, Indians dominated the whole region.
But in August 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The battle effectively opened the area for settlement and, according to many historians, could actually be called the last battle of the Revolutionary War, said Johnson.
This victory allowed settlers to "pour into the west as water bursts through a broken pipe," according to The American Nation, a history book by John A. Garraty.
"It's one of the most historic places in American history," said Mayor Pauken. "There's very little American soil that was more important to the western expansion of the United States. And just as importantly, there's no more of an important piece of ground to the Native American population of the Great Lakes area than that land."
"It's a very historic piece of ground," said Johnson, "and it ought to be preserved for our children and our children's children."
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