We took Rt. 30 out of Fort Worth and headed east. An old Indian trail followed the high ground into Ohio and later these trails became known as the "ridge roads." The Lincoln Highway followed the ridge, called sugar ridge by early settlers.
East of Fort Worth, near the Sugar Ridge Cemetery, the Lincoln Highway cuts completely away from Rt 30 and somehow we lost track of it. We wondered through corn fields filled with windmills, a great site on a warm summer day, but not what we were looking for. Finally we stopped at a rest area on Rt. 30 to try to figure out our error.
We found our way back onto the Lincoln Highway at Middle Point Rd where we stopped at the dilapidated Dutch Mill building, once a restaurant, bar and gas station. We realized we had missed the many Lincoln Highway treasures of Van Wirt. Running short on time, we decided to press on and make a pilgrimage back to Van Wirt at a later date.
Delphos, Ohio
Delphos Ohio was founded in the 1850's and derived its name from the Greek god Delphus. Delphus: son of Poseidon, namesake of Delphi, the ancient greek sanctuary of the oracle. And on our summer trip to Delphos, as we rolled in on the old Lincoln Highway, we did indeed discover an oracle at Delphos
Even with the best planning, travel can tend to be a random business. So it was with our visit to Delphos. The town owes its primary history to the Erie and Miami canals; later the Lincoln Highway made its contribution.
But on this Saturday our journey thorugh town history was diverted to a small building at 339 N. Main St. It was the sandwich board sign that first caught our attention, drawing us into the Museum of Postal History.
The museum is only open a few hours each week, so it was our good fortune to arrive on a Saturday and meet our guide and oracle Joyce Maye. Her tour of the suprisingly extensive museum was facinating.
In our digital world it is beneficial to take a glimpse back at RFD (rural farm delivery) and the catalog trade, where the Sears & Roebucks catalog posed the first great threat to buying local. My son, Grant, was facinated by the museum collection, curated by the town's former postmaster.
Joyce showed us how postal codes started out as one or two digit numbers following the city name. Postal zones were initiated in 1943. Many postal clerks had gone into service and the new inexperienced clerks had trouble sorting the mail. That the modern zip code started in 1963. That in the time of Benjamin Franklin the receiver--not the sender-- paid the postage. Interesting stuff.
Delphos thinks of itself as America's friendliest city (visit their website). It is indeed friendly and we had a pleasant visit there. Next time I would like to visit the canal museum. And maybe learn more about dentist turned western novelist Zane Grey's brief indiscretion here (apparently a paternity suit filed here while he was playing college baseball). But for now we will travel on, sure to be back.
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