Levi Beebe built the Commercial Building in 1836. It housed various businesses such as law firms, stores, an inn, a bank, and the local post office. As an inn, it hosted future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S, Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. The success of the building and the ventures inside it could be attributed to its location near the Maumee River, on the stagecoach route from Detroit to Fort Wayne. Thought the Lucas County seat moved from Maumee to Toledo in 1852, weakening the economy, the Commercial Building continued to be occupied by a number of businesses. In the early twentieth century, it was used as an inn again, known at different times as the Neely House, Schiely House, the Bismark, Seurin Hotel Langley Inn, and, after 1940, The Old Plantation. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 under the name Governor’s Inn. More recently, the building accommodated Giannos Italian Bistro and Degage Jazz Café; both are now closed.

The Commercial Building (Governor's Inn)

This short drive through Maumee and Perryville Ohio includes several sites related to the conflicts between Native tribes and settlers of British and French descent as they battled for control of the era from the colonial period to the early 1800s. The tour begins at the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers and continues on to Fort Meigs Historic Site. The tour then stops at several historical and cultural landmarks in Maumee before concluding at Fort Miamis which was constructed by the British following the American Revolution. 

Maumee Ohio Driving Tour: Fallen Timbers to Fort Miamis 

Despite the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, American settlers poured into the region and the United States government attempted to secure a new agreement with area tribes. Shawnee leader Blue Jacket led the Native Americans in the area who refused to give up their claim on area lands. The Battle of Fallen Timbers was a lopsided victory for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne and his force of two thousand men. These troops departed from Fort Washington to this location and engaged a force of roughly fifteen hundred Native Americans. The Americans attacked with bayonets and the Native forces attempted to fall back to their British allies. The British refused to support their Native allies and with the defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers,&nbsp;American forces&nbsp;spent the next few days destroying the Indian emplacements. The&nbsp;Treaty of Greenville was signed in 1795 giving the United States control of the area.

In 1995, archaeologists determined that this was the location of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final battle of the wars between the United States and the Native American tribes of this region in the 1790s. The battle occurred on August 20, 1794 when Native Americans of a variety of area tribes, with the aid of British traders and under the leadership of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami tribe, ambushed and chased a smaller force of Kentucky militia to this location where they clashed with a larger force of federal troops under General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. President George Washington had appointed General Anthony Wayne to lead troops to crush the Western Confederacy, and with his superior force and supply, he was able to defeat the Native American forces after a fierce battle that lasted for several hours. After the defeat, Native American tribes felt no choice but to agree to abandon their claim on the land and signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. 

The site features a visitor's center and a loop trail with a few spots where interpretive signs are located.

Fallen Timbers Battlefield

Visitors can tour the reconstructed wooden fort and see replicas of cannon as well as authentic weapons and other artifacts in the visitor's center. The Siege of Fort Meigs, a battle during the War of 1812, was an attempt by the British to help the Native Americans take back control of their lands. The battle resulted in many casualties for the Americans and many were captured and executed in front of Tecumseh. Even with the great loss of soldiers, the British and Native Americans failed to capture the fort. Fort Meigs was a strategic fortification along the banks of the Maumee River in present-day Perrysburg, Ohio. On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain, who joined forces with Tecumseh and the Native Americans. The western theater of the war played a prominent role in the early military plans of the war for the United States. However, American soldiers were highly unprepared for war and suffered many early defeats. In the first three months of the war, the United States lost Fort Mackinac in Michigan, Fort Detroit, and Fort Dearborn, and only controlled Fort Wayne.&nbsp;&nbsp; As the war waged on, Tecumseh's men and the forces of Great Britain defeated the Americans at the Battle of the River Raisin in January of 1813. As a result, General William Henry Harrison lost one-third of his Army. However, in a turn of events, the Americans began to turn their luck around as the construction of Fort Meigs, a massive 10-acre installation that became a base for men and supplies. It was from here that the Americans launched&nbsp;a winter invasion into Canada in 1813. However, this plan failed, and General Harrison used Fort Meigs as a defensive checkpoint in order to prevent the Native Americans and the British into American territory as well as to by the American forces enough time to build a navy and defeat the British on Lake Erie.&nbsp;	Fort Meigs consisted of seven blockhouses used for defense tactics, five artillery batteries, two storehouses, and had about twenty pieces of artillery. &nbsp;Fort Meigs withstood two sieges by the British and their American Indian allies in 1813 when the British and Native American troops attempted to capture the fort. As stated above, they failed in both attempts. The American victories turned the&nbsp;war around in favor of the United States.	After the second siege, the Native American and British forces lost a naval battle on Lake Erie in September of 1813, forcing them to retreat to Upper Canada where they were defeated by the American forces at the Battle of Thames in October of 1813. Tecumseh, the Shawnee war chief, was killed in the battle.	As for Fort Meigs, the fort was reconstructed in the 1970s and in 2003. Today, it is the largest reconstructed, wooden-walled fort in the United States. Along with visiting the reconstructed fort, the museum offers many artifacts found on site and teaches about the siege and other events and people from around that time. The fort was reconstructed in the 1970’s and the museum opened in 1974. The museum is a great way to visit the past and learn more about that time. Some of the artifacts include bomb fragments and there is even the wampum belt from the Greenville treaty as well. After visiting this great museum there is a gift shop to stop in and see as well. The highlight of the museum is the four large exhibits called the "Legacy of Freedom." Each unique exhibit covers a specific part of the battle. For instance, the discovery exhibit called "Era," is an interactive, historical exhibit about Frontier Ohio. This section of the Fort Meigs Museum is filled with maps and descriptions of the early Native inhabitants and how they came into conflict with Europeans and Americans. Next, visitors can explore the conflict portion of the museum. This exhibit provides historical context about the Battle/Siege of Fort Meigs, as well as, what started the War of 1812. Also, it shows the role that Fort Meigs played in the war. This portion displays hundreds of artifacts, most of which were found on-site, to help tell the story of Fort Meigs. Moving on to the sections titled "understanding," this exhibit has something for everyone and provides the most "hands-on" experiences for guests. With that, the understand exhibit shows how archaeologists and historians were able to discover what took place here over 200 years ago. Guests can enjoy watching a video about the discovery of two horses found buried here. Last but not least, the remembrance section of the museum shows how the men that served here at Fort Meigs are being remembered, as well as their experiences in battle. Another aspect of this display focuses on how people in today's world are either remembering or immortalizing them.

Now a National Historic Landmark, Fort Meigs was the location of a large fort built by American soldiers during the War of 1812. The fort was constructed in 1813 and was named in honor of Governor Return Jonathan Meigs. Return Meigs was the Commandant of troops in Louisiana Territory prior to the war and served as both a US Senator and the Governor of Ohio as the conflict between the United States, Britain, and Native tribes in this region came to a head. The fort was built to help protect American settlers and traders in the region from attacks by the British and their Native American allies at a time when Britain was trying to gain control of the Northwest Territory. In the Spring of 1813, the British laid siege to the fort but ultimately failed, turning the tide of the war in favor of the United States. The site features a reconstructed fort designed to mirror the original fort as well as a visitor center which contains a museum, classrooms, a conference room, and a gift shop. The museum has exhibits that explain the history of the fort and numerous artifacts and staff that help to interpret the history of the fort and its role in the War of 1812. 

Fort Meigs Historic Site

The First Presbyterian Church of Maumee was organized by eleven charter members on January 9, 1820. Services were held in the members’ homes or in the local schoolhouse until a small frame church was built in 1837 on land that had been reserved for religious purposes. The church was refurbished in 1920 as the congregation grew. In 1950, an adjacent house was added for Sunday School classrooms and a meeting space. The church acquired property for a new sanctuary in 1960, though it was not finished until 1969. Since then, the original chapel, Sunday School classrooms, and Fellowship Hall have all been updated.

First Presbyterian Church of Maumee

The Wolcotts were a prominent family as well as a culturally mixed one. James, who was born in 1789 and related to a signer of the Declaration of Independence, arrived in Ohio from Connecticut in 1818. He met and married his wife, Mary Wells, in 1821 in Missouri. Mary was the granddaughter of Miami&nbsp;Chief Li<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>ttle Turtle, who fought the United States (and its Indian allies) in the Northwest Indian War over control of the Northwest Territory in the 1790s. She and James returned to Ohio sometime in the next few years, eventually settling in Maumee after learning about the project to build canals connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River in Indiana. James earned considerable wealth and prominence within the community as a result. He and Mary had seven children, two of whom did not reach adulthood. Mary passed away in 1843 and James in 1873. The roots of the Maumee Valley Historical Society extends back to 1864 when a group of early pioneers and entrepreneurs came together to form the Maumee Valley Pioneer Association. In 1957 Rilla Hull, the last descendant to live in the Wolcott family home, left&nbsp;the building and grounds to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with the hope that it would become a museum to honor the early settlers of the Maumee Valley.

Built by James Wolcott and his wife, Mary Wells, the Wolcott House began as a log home and evolved into a beautiful 14-room Federal-style mansion between the years 1827 and 1836. Wolcott was a successful merchant and shipbuilder, operating a warehouse next to the Maumee River and building steamships. Wolcott also served as a judge and politician. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house contains period furnishings and decorative arts owned by typical middle-class Maumee families of the day. 

The house is part of a larger museum complex that features a number of other historical buildings including a church, schoolhouse, and log cabin. The site is operated by the Maumee Valley Historical Society.  


Wolcott House Museum and Maumee Valley Historical Society

British soldiers constructed Fort Miamis in 1794 as an obstacle to American Anthony Wayne’s mission to attack Fort Detroit. It featured four diamond-shaped bastions (walls) and a twenty-five-foot deep trench. Additionally, the British boasted fourteen canons. The construction of the fort was intended to help protect British lands that had been ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris, which had ended the American Revolutionary War nearly a decade earlier. The British decided, instead, to hold onto their lands until the Americans fulfilled their part of the treaty, repaying debts to England.

In reality, Anthony Wayne had no plans of attacking Fort Detroit in 1794. His goal was to conquer the Native Americans who lived along the Maumee River. After Wayne defeated some Native Americans and Canadian military at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, they fled to Fort Miamis. Though the British had been trying to foster a relationship with the Native Americans, they refused to help them or offer protection. This caused a rift in the supposed alliance.

The next day, August 21, Wayne arrived at Fort Miamis and demanded a British surrender. The soldiers refused. He returned the next day alone, walking along the fort’s perimeter and trying to instigate a fight. The Native Americans, standing by in the woods, soon realized the British were unwilling to fight and left. Wayne also retreated to Fort Defiance, realizing it would be hard to attack Miamis. Following the signings of the Jay Treaty and the Treaty of Greeneville (1794 and 1795, respectively), the fort was given to U.S. forces and abandoned.

The British reoccupied Fort Miamis during the War of 1812. They used the run-down fort as a base for their siege of the nearby Fort Meigs. When American forces attempted a siege of the British gun batteries, the British and their Native American allies counterattacked. The U.S. prisoners then tried to retaliate, leading to some of their deaths. The incident became known as Dudley’s Defeat. Shawnee leader Tecumseh arrived during the skirmish and, in an effort to prevent retribution from the Americans, convinced his warriors to stop killing. After the British failed to siege Fort Meigs, Fort Miamis was no longer used for military purposes.

Fort Miamis was built in 1794 by British forces trying to protect the land they had ceded to the U.S. after the Revolutionary War. American Colonel “Mad” Anthony Wayne tried to get the British to surrender that same year but to no avail. They only gave up the fort after the Jay Treaty, which resolved issues with the Treaty of Paris, was signed in 1795. The British occupied the fort once more during the War of 1812 as they attempted to siege the nearby Fort Meigs. After failing to do so, Fort Miamis was never again used for military purposes.

Maumee Ohio Driving Tour: Fallen Timbers to Fort Miamis

The Commercial Building (Governor's Inn)

Introduction

Images

Sources