"We have concluded the reason so few are willing to return from the Western country is not that the country is so good, but because the journey is so bad."
In 1810, 20-year-old Margaret Van Horn Dwight embarked on a remarkable journey from Connecticut to Warren, Ohio, through the Connecticut Western Reserve. Along the way, she recorded her observations of the people, landscapes, hardships, and adventures she encountered, creating a vivid firsthand account of early American travel.
Join Ray O'Neill from the Girard Historical Society as he explores A Journey to Ohio in 1810, bringing Margaret's experiences to life through stories, historical context, and fascinating insights into life in the developing Western Reserve during Ohio’s early years of statehood. Discover the challenges of frontier travel and the personality behind Margaret’s journal, from her hopes of finding a husband to her candid — and sometimes cutting — views of her fellow travelers, waggoners, and the Pennsylvania Dutch.