A Look Back Gala Information
On July 13, 1810, Jonathan Hale, a tall, lanky farmer from Glastonbury, Connecticut, ended his journey to the wilderness of the Ohio Country. After traveling 646 miles in 28 days, he had arrived at his new home in Range 12, Township 3 of Connecticut’s Western Reserve, now known as Bath, Ohio.
Jonathan, his wife, Mercy Piper Hale, and his five children, Sophronia, William, Pamelia, Andrew and James Madison, lived for the next 15 years in a one-room log house and transformed forest into farmland with ax and plough.
Jonathan was an energetic man who envisioned an elegant, three-story, brick farmhouse as the centerpiece of his property. He had the know-how to make it happen and the raw materials at hand: timber for framing, clay for bricks, and limestone to burn for mortar.
Jonathan began work on the house in 1825, the same year ground was broken for the Ohio Canal, and by 1827, “Old Brick” was ready for occupancy. Three generations of Hales subsequently lived this house.
Jonathan’s great-grand daughter, Clara Belle Ritchie, acquired the property in the 1930s and supervised restoration work, but never lived in the house herself. Upon her death in 1956, Miss Ritchie bequeathed the property to The Western Reserve Historical Society. It was specified in her will that the Society was “to establish the Hale Farm…as a museum…to the end that the greatest number of persons may be informed as to the history and culture of the Western Reserve.”
Back to top
During 2008 Hale Farm & Village, a property of the Western Reserve Historical Society is celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Hale Farm & Village, Ohio’s premiere living history museum, located in
Bath, Ohio kicks off their celebration with a summer season filled with family programs and special events. Fifty continuous years of historic preservation and presentation has made Hale Farm & Village a staple in the
Northeast Ohio community, a place where you can take a walk through history.
The final culmination event of the 50th Anniversary Season is the first annual Hale Farm & Village Celebration and Fundraiser. On October 18, 2008, Hale Farm & Village will host a celebration of 50 years of operation, a celebration to mark the personal achievement and the dedication of Siegfried Buerling and a celebration of a historic property that will continue for decades to come.
To commemorate this evening, there will be a dinner, entertainment, music and a ceremony to recognize the contributions of Siegfried Burling. The first 50 years have been a wonderful journey for the Western Reserve Historical Society and the 2008 Season Special Events followed by the culminating 50th Anniversary Gala are just two of the ways we encourage you to join us in the celebration.
For more information about the Hale Farm & Village 50th Anniversary Celebration, please contact Becky Carlino at bcarlino@wrhs.org
Back to top
