Second oldest Historical Society in Ohio, Since July 17, 1838
A way for our visitors to help ACHS
Since many of our pages here have been the same for many years we have decided to ask our visitors to help with any stories or other information about the history (NOT genealogy please) of Ashtabula County, Ohio. Please make sure that anything you wish to send us is about something more than 100 years old, particularly from the 1800's or before.
This has already happened, since a visitor living in Rome Township emailed me to say that his mother (or grandmother?) had written a book about the township she lives in and is so proud of. This was put into the Rome Township page as soon as it was ready. I'd be glad to get any other articles about YOUR township, village or city to consider! Please email any different information you have from the Contact page. It may take some time for us to review it and place it in the right place on the website. We will be glad to notify contributors when their item(s) are published to the ACHS website, and which page it is on.
Thank you, Ted Quick  ACHS Webmaster
Ashtabula County History BookÂ
​We were given a PDF file of scans made of the book "History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, by Williams, W. W." (printed in 1878) by our friends at the Platt R Spencer Historical Society in Geneva. This has been redone so that it is possible to do word searches on your computer, phone or tablet. That will help people find just the exact thing they are looking for in Ashtabula County history between it's founding and 1878. Most computers now have PDF readers on them, which may be built into your Chrome, Firefox or Edge browser. If not you can download a free Adobe Acrobat Reader program from.
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This was a HUGE PDF file, since it contained 415 pages, it has been split into 2 parts. Downloading both will take a fairly long time. Please click BELOW to download it.
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Once you have it there you can search for any word or phrase by holding down the CTRL key and hitting the F key to Find what you need. You may get any number of items which you can then scroll through until you find what you need. You can also use Ctrl C to copy them to use in an editor to collect all that you want. Once there use Ctrl V to place them where needed.
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Become a member and support local history
Join the society and become a member of the team of volunteers and history lovers who are helping us save the stories and historic properties of Ohio's largest county. Memberships start at just $18 a year for individuals. They make great gifts and members receive our newsletters. The form can be downloaded and mailed, along with payment, to:Â
Ashtabula County Historical Society
P.O. Box 36Â
Jefferson, Ohio 44047
Phone number: 866-533-3277
Bliss and Tragedy Books now available again
On a bitter cold night in late December, 1876, a passenger train fell into the Ashtabula River gulf, killing nearly 100 passengers and crew and injuring dozens more. It was the worst American rail disaster up to that time.
The second printing of the book "Bliss and Tragedy, The Ashtabula Railway Bridge Accident of 1876 and the Loss of P.P.Bliss" tells the story of this tragedy through a series of essays. The book is edited by the late Dr. Thomas Corts. Cost of this soft cover book (second edition) is $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping.Â
Purchase in the gift shop of The Lodge and Conference Center at GOTL, pick up at the Jennie Munger Gregory Memorial Museum in GOTL or send a check to:Â
ACHS
P.O. box 36,Â
Jefferson, OH 44047
ACHS Collection Management
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ACHS Collection Management
Norma Waters
Barrie Bottorf
Judy Pallutch
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Giddings Law Office
Norma Waters (Chairman)
Kari Roberts
Blakeslee Log Cabin
Barrie Bottorf (Chairman)
Dan Hill
Susan Hill
Nominating Committee
Judy Pallutch  (Chairman) ​
Barrie Bottorf
​Newsletter​
Susan Hill
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ACHS HeadquartersÂ
Judy Pallutch (Chairman/Research)
Cameron Hartly
Dan Hill
Susan Hill
John Hnath​
Margie Millikan
Jennie Munger Gregory and
Officers for the Ashtabula County Historical Society for 2020:
President Greg Kocjancic
Vice Presidents
Susan Hill, Al Slater or John JohnsonÂ
Past President David Lepard
Secretary Amanda Briggs de Lavini
Treasurer & Membership
Courtney Johnson
       Â
Museum Chairpersons:
Giddings law Office: Dave Martin
Blakeslee Log Cabin: Allen Slater
Jennie Munger Museum:Â
Lynn Cummings, Rhonda, Judy PallutchÂ
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Committee Chairmen
Library Helper: Susan Hill
Events/Facebook: Courtney and John Johnson
Blakeslee: Barrie Bottorf , Allen Slater, Dan Hill
Jennie Munger: Judy Pallutch, Dan andÂ
Susan Hill
UELN Partnership: Bob and Bonnie Thompson
Long Range Planning/Financial Stabilization: John Johnson, Susan Hill, Norma Waters
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Trustees:
Barrie Bottorf     Courtney Johnson
​John Johnson            Dan Hill
Susan Hill            John Hnath
Dave Lepard         Judy Pallutch
Allen Slater         Bob Thompson
Norma Waters         Keri Wetzel
 Bob Thompson
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Trustees' meetings are now the third Tuesday of each month at
Jefferson Healthcare at 6pm.
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Email: ashcohs@gmail.com
Website:Â http://www.ashtcohs.com
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashtcoh


Century Home Program
  John Johnson,
  Courtney Johnson,Â
  Amanda Briggs de Laviini,
  David MartinÂ
  and Susan Hill
CuratorsÂ
Giddings: Dave Martin;Â
Jennie: Lynn Cummings
Blakeslee: Al Slater
Advisory Committee:Â
    Judy Pallutch,Â
    Barrie Bottorf,Â
    Sandy John,Â
    Ted Quick
Inventory Â
    Olivia Beeb and Susan Hill   Â
Erosion/$75,000Â Capital Budget Grant:
    Greg Kocjancic,Â
    Susan Hill and Committee       Â