Category Archives: National Register Nomination

Zanesville Historical Marker Moves Forward

Hardlines Design Company, Heritage Tourism, Historic Preservation, National Register Nomination,
HDC was successful in getting the Downtown Zanesville Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2024, but one final piece of mitigation remained outstanding: the Ohio historical marker. Ohio historical markers started in the 1950s, born from the 1953 state sesquicentennial, to document important people, places, and events, with the first marker placed in 1957 for Akron’s Portage Path, all managed by the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society) to tell community stories through Ohio-shaped signs. The program, run on an annual cycle with sponsor-funded markers, now boasts over 1,700 markers, including special ones for the Bicentennial and LGBTQ+ history, making Ohio’s past accessible.
The company that produced the first historical marker is still producing them today. In 1927, E. M. Hawes founded Sewah Studios (his name spelled backwards) in Marietta, Ohio, to create roadside signs and markers for automobile tourists. Hawes researched and developed a cast aluminum process that was lightweight, inexpensive, and corrosion resistant compared to traditional wood, bronze, or ferrous metal signs common at the time. He also sponsored a cash competition where hand lettering artists submitted designs for capital and lower case letters less than 1 inch in size, which did not exist at the time. Hawes chose a winner, made a few changes, and the Sewah script was born. Sewah’s first commission was for over 500 signs for the Ohio Revolutionary Trail Commission in 1929.
One of the original Ohio Revolutionary Trail markers, shot by Dale K. Benington, on April 6, 2010.
The distinctive Ohio-shaped marker was designed by Sewah Studios, who submitted the winning design to the historical marker committee in 1955. They received the contract to cast the first historical marker in Akron and have been producing them ever since. The process consists of hand assembling the letters and images into a pattern, which is then pressed into fine sane to create a mold. Two halves of the sand mold are then clamped together and molten aluminum is poured into the cavity. The raw casting is then sent to the finishing department who adds the colors to the sign.
The Ohio History Connection’s marker approval process simply involves approving text not to exceed a specific word count and images of a specific size. However, the City of Zanesville required graphics showing exactly what the sign would look like, so HDC traced the outline of a historical marker in AutoCAD and mocked up the text and image for both the Zoning and Building permits, which were received in November 2025. The marker application was signed soon after and we are waiting on a proposed delivery date.
     
Proposed historical marker Side A and Side B.

HDC Starts Work on Another National Register Nomination

National Register Nomination

HDC has been commissioned to prepare a National Register Historic District Nomination of the Village of Glouster, Ohio, to support development and renovation of historic buildings downtown. The nomination is being supported by a Pipeline grant from the Ohio Department of Development. Most of the buildings lie north of the railroad tracks on each side of High Street, with the buildings on the west side backing up to Sunday Creek. The main industry in 19th century Glouster was coal mining the Sundar Creek seam. Supporting industries included brickmaking (the Wassall brick Company operated from 1895 to 1932) and the railroad line (Michigan & Kanawha) had a freight and passenger station in town.

        
Top: 1896 Sanborn Insurance Map of Glouster; about half the buildings are still present.
Bottom Left: A block of buildings remaining on the west side of High Street. Bottom Right: Buildings on the east side of High Street.

Fall 2013

Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, National Register Nomination

(originally posted by Andy Sewell on November 6, 2013)

Our quarterly update for Fall 2013 focuses on recent work we have done with historic buildings and historic districts. And of course, there’s a beagle update at the bottom!

HDC assesses the Canal Fulton Public Library’s moisture issues

HDC completed a moisture penetration assessment of the historic Canal Fulton Public Library, which received a grant from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. The original building was constructed in 1879 as a residence known as the Sullivan-Held House. The library moved into the house in 1949 and built an addition in 1958. The library is a contributing element of the Canal Fulton Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1982. In 1992, the library constructed a second addition, and in 2003 underwent a complete renovation, along with the erection of a third addition. The Library commissioned HDC earlier this year to identify sources of ongoing moisture penetration and to provide recommendations and cost estimates to remediate the problems.

Canal Fulton Public Library, ca. 1882

HDC identified two active areas of active moisture penetration caused by improper installation of roofing materials in the previous renovations. In one area of the EPDM roof, improper slope caused water to pond, aggravated by improper roof drain locations and flashing details. In another area, EPDM roofing improperly overlapped an existing asphalt shingle roof, causing water to get under the shingles. Both of these problems could be easily remedied without adversely impacting the building’s historic features.

HDC also identified areas of excessive moisture content in the wooden siding, caused by too many coats of paint, as well as excessive humidity in the basement caused by an open crawl space. HDC also provided work recommendations and cost estimates for these items that followed the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

National Register Nominations in Middletown, Ohio

For the past several months, HDC has been working with Downtown Middletown, Inc., to list a former railroad depot and two historic districts in the city of Middletown, Ohio, in the National Register of Historic Places. The former Big Four Depot National Register nomination was approved by the Ohio Historic Preservation Advisory Board (OSHPAB) at the end of September and was sent to the National Park Service for final approval. The Main Street Commercial Historic District nomination will create a new historic district in Middletown to encompass several historic buildings along Main Street including its intersection with Central Avenue. A revised draft of the nomination will be reviewed by the OSHPAB during their December meeting. The Central Avenue Historic District will create a new historic district comprised of more than 40 of Middletown’s historic commercial buildings. This nomination has been submitted to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) for their comments. After the OHPO’s comments are received and addressed, the Central Avenue Historic District nomination will be sent onto the OSHPAB for their approval as well. By listing these historically significant buildings and districts on the National Register, they will be granted some protections from federally funded and/or permitted projects, and the property owners can qualify for historic preservation tax credits. In addition, listing on the National Register assists downtown revitalization efforts by adding a sense of significance to the historic downtown, and can be a source of pride for the local community.

Donut L-O-V-E-S her Backyard!

Since the day she came home from the shelter at the age of 8 weeks, Donut has just been obsessed with the backyard. Where our previous beagle (Bagle) would head straight for her supper dish when she got home, Donut heads straight for the back door for a chance to run around in the yard. One side of the backyard is separated from a public walkway by only a chain link fence, so Donut can seen everyone (and every dog) who walks by and bark at them. We discovered long ago that Donut has a 30-foot turning radius (she fought every tie out length until she got 30 feet), and have avoided putting in raised garden beds that would interfere with her ability to get up to full speed.

Donut posing with sunflowers from [her] garden Donut posing with gardening tools
There are days when Donut will spend hours by herself outside, happily barking at passers-by and only coming in for a drink. Her favorite days are sunny cool days where she lays in the sun and soaks up the warm rays, but the ground is still cool enough to she won’t overheat. After an hour she flips over very slowly and does her other side.