The 10 Best Historic Sites in Ohio, United States

Completed in 1915, Stan Hywet Hall was built for the family of F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. It was named Stan Hywet, Old English for stone quarry, after the property’s most prominent natural feature. The 65-room Manor House is one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in America, and the sixth largest home open to the public. The estate includes historic gardens and grounds and is open for tours, Tuesday-Sunday from April to December. The Gate Lodge at the entrance to the estate has its own historic significance. In 1935, two admitted alcoholics met there and talked long into the night, when the principles that still serve as the cornerstone of Alcoholics Anonymous were identified.

Historic estate built in the 1930s reflects the 18th-century Georgian architectural style and includes more than 50 rooms and 16 fireplaces.

Wade Memorial Chapel, built in memory of Jeptha Wade, founder of The Western Union Telegraph Company and the first president of Lake View Cemetery, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few interiors left in the world that was totally designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his studios. The Chapel is open daily, April 1 through November 19, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The site is made up of a visitors' center, as well as the 20-room farmhouse Garfield lived in with his wife and five children.

Birthplace of America's 27th president, now a museum containing momentos of Taft's personal life and political career.

A highway bridge over Interstate 70 is all that separates the German Village Historic District from downtown Columbus, but as one looks east from the interstate, the difference between old and new is glaring. A 20+ story structure sits just north of the interstate bridge, and just south, in German Village, no structure is higher than three stories. Five blocks south, the spire of St. Mary Church stands 197’ off the sidewalk and towers over everything around it. Structures and sidewalks are orange masonry, and many streets (about half) are still brick pavers. German Village does not have a recreated sense of history or kitschy Bavarian feel ~ rather, it is a neighborhood with architecture dating from the 1840s-1890s that has been preserved, and its use as a shared residential and commercial neighborhood has been maintained. People walk to their destinations, park on the street due to the overwhelming absence of driveways, and live life at a very pedestrian level. The neighborhood is extremely dense ~ very often only inches separate neighboring structures, and many structures were built for multi-family use. German Village is notably different because its appearance has changed so little.

Tour the submarine responsible for the sinking of nearly 30,000 tons of Japanese ships during WWII.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums is dedicated to 19th U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy Hayes. The site houses their 25-acre wooded estate, known as Spiegel Grove; their 31-room Victorian mansion; the presidential library; a museum; the tomb; and a mile of paved walking trails. There are fees to tour the museum and the home. Use of the presidential library, which has a massive genealogy and local history collections, is free. The museum was renovated in early 2016 and includes interactive exhibits that tell the story of Rutherford and Lucy, the issues they faced and what they thought about those issues. Sit at a replica of the Resolute Desk - the original was given to President Hayes and still sits in the Oval Office of the White House - try on a Civil War soldier's haversack and more. The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums is America's first presidential library and the forerunner for the federal presidential library system.