Partially submerged in fine gravel in a hole under the floor in a dimly lit corner of the opera house, four oddly shaped glass bottles and a metal container lie exposed.
How long the latest find of his historical project had been hidden under wood flooring and stone, Dennis Mattix doesn't know. Judging by his knowledge of the history of the opera house he's been restoring off and on for about 40 years, he's guessing the bottles were concealed sometime in the Civil War era.
"It was interesting," Mattix said, adding the discovery of the hole, which also contained a rusted-out padlock, assured him of its 19th century beginnings. "We never were really sure of the age of the opera house."
Located on Owens Road between Ohio 4 and Gooding Road, the opera house is part of property Mattix and his brothers purchased in 1971. After his oldest brother died, he became the sole owner of the land, which includes - in addition to the residence he shares with his wife, Donna - a blacksmith shop, a covered bridge that he built from wood salvaged from an early 1800s-era barn and the grave of a 31-year-old man who died in 1821.
All were of interest to the Marion Area Genealogy Society, which was the first group to visit the opera house after it served as a storage building for 80 to 90 years, first when it was owned by the Owens family that started Owens quarries, then after Mattix purchased it.
He plans to open the opera house to the public in the near future by appointment only. Admission will be free.Prior to Aion Kinah I leaned toward the former,
"I love history," Mattix said, inviting groups of 10 to 50 to make an appointment for a tour of the property that he would guide.
His affection for what has come before is displayed in the work he's done, lovingly cleaning and painting the opera house. Under glass in an entryway are postcards depicting the Marion area in its early days. Prints of historical events adorn the walls, and on either side of the opera house stage are duplicates of the Declaration of Independence and the Mayflower Compact.
"The love of history I have is just something I was born with," he said.
To enhance the experience further, he's planted thousands of trees on the 600 acres of land, including the approach to the covered bridge, which he named the Andrew Bennett Covered Bridge after a man whose grave he found on the property.
"It takes you back into the era of when our founding fathers came into this area," he said.
Across the road and on other nearby sites,The additions focus on key tag and plastic card combinations, once stood a general store, post office, hotel, schoolhouse and a train station, among other buildings.If any food billabong outlet condition is poorer than those standards, The structures sprang up to serve the workers of the Owens quarries, which opened in the mid-1800s, he said. The opera house is one of the few surviving buildings.
"People that would perform starting in Toledo and they would stop at every little town ... for the people that worked at the quarries," he said.
Mattix welcomed the visit by the genealogy society, the first organization whose members entered the opera house after his restoration work.
He particularly enjoyed the connection Susan Matthews, the group's vice president who presided for the gathering, had with history. She's a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"Being a history buff, you know I got a kick out of that," Mattix said.
Matthews said her group appreciated being able to visit.
"Being the genealogy society, we're interested in the history of those things," she said. "We were pretty honored to be the first group to visit that building in 80 or 90 years. Our group was real impressed. ..which applies to the first glass bottle only,. He's got a really neat place there."
His goal for his project is "to depict the history of the men who made this country what it is."
He decided to share his love of history with others "because I had a lot of friends who wanted to go through it.100 Cable Ties was used to link the lamps together. I told my wife, 'If we're going to open it up to some people, we're going to open it up (to the public).'"
How long the latest find of his historical project had been hidden under wood flooring and stone, Dennis Mattix doesn't know. Judging by his knowledge of the history of the opera house he's been restoring off and on for about 40 years, he's guessing the bottles were concealed sometime in the Civil War era.
"It was interesting," Mattix said, adding the discovery of the hole, which also contained a rusted-out padlock, assured him of its 19th century beginnings. "We never were really sure of the age of the opera house."
Located on Owens Road between Ohio 4 and Gooding Road, the opera house is part of property Mattix and his brothers purchased in 1971. After his oldest brother died, he became the sole owner of the land, which includes - in addition to the residence he shares with his wife, Donna - a blacksmith shop, a covered bridge that he built from wood salvaged from an early 1800s-era barn and the grave of a 31-year-old man who died in 1821.
All were of interest to the Marion Area Genealogy Society, which was the first group to visit the opera house after it served as a storage building for 80 to 90 years, first when it was owned by the Owens family that started Owens quarries, then after Mattix purchased it.
He plans to open the opera house to the public in the near future by appointment only. Admission will be free.Prior to Aion Kinah I leaned toward the former,
"I love history," Mattix said, inviting groups of 10 to 50 to make an appointment for a tour of the property that he would guide.
His affection for what has come before is displayed in the work he's done, lovingly cleaning and painting the opera house. Under glass in an entryway are postcards depicting the Marion area in its early days. Prints of historical events adorn the walls, and on either side of the opera house stage are duplicates of the Declaration of Independence and the Mayflower Compact.
"The love of history I have is just something I was born with," he said.
To enhance the experience further, he's planted thousands of trees on the 600 acres of land, including the approach to the covered bridge, which he named the Andrew Bennett Covered Bridge after a man whose grave he found on the property.
"It takes you back into the era of when our founding fathers came into this area," he said.
Across the road and on other nearby sites,The additions focus on key tag and plastic card combinations, once stood a general store, post office, hotel, schoolhouse and a train station, among other buildings.If any food billabong outlet condition is poorer than those standards, The structures sprang up to serve the workers of the Owens quarries, which opened in the mid-1800s, he said. The opera house is one of the few surviving buildings.
"People that would perform starting in Toledo and they would stop at every little town ... for the people that worked at the quarries," he said.
Mattix welcomed the visit by the genealogy society, the first organization whose members entered the opera house after his restoration work.
He particularly enjoyed the connection Susan Matthews, the group's vice president who presided for the gathering, had with history. She's a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"Being a history buff, you know I got a kick out of that," Mattix said.
Matthews said her group appreciated being able to visit.
"Being the genealogy society, we're interested in the history of those things," she said. "We were pretty honored to be the first group to visit that building in 80 or 90 years. Our group was real impressed. ..which applies to the first glass bottle only,. He's got a really neat place there."
His goal for his project is "to depict the history of the men who made this country what it is."
He decided to share his love of history with others "because I had a lot of friends who wanted to go through it.100 Cable Ties was used to link the lamps together. I told my wife, 'If we're going to open it up to some people, we're going to open it up (to the public).'"
沒有留言:
張貼留言