NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 7-20-07, by Rania Shakkour
Route 254 gets push for 'scenic byway' title
``AVON -- Almost 200 years of historical settlements and houses still stand on Detroit Road, and two local historical societies are pushing to designate state Route 254 in Lorain County as an Ohio scenic byway.
The Sheffield Village Historical Society and Cultural Center and the Avon Historical Society submitted a request to the Ohio Department of Transportation to designate the 10-mile highway in Sheffield Township, Sheffield and Avon as a [scenic] byway and hope to hear a final answer within two weeks.
"We'll probably be one of the shortest, but one of the most spectacular," Ed Herdendorf said, president of Sheffield Village historical society. Herdendorf lives in the house his great-great-grandfather built in 1839 on Detroit Road. The Milton Garfield House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized with a heritage plaque from the county.
"The reason we thought it (the road) was important is because we have well over a hundred historic homes on the byway," Herdendorf said, adding that the houses date back to the 1830s and the settlements to 1815.
To become a scenic byway, the road must be at least two lanes and five miles long, promise the management and growth of businesses and provide scenic, historical, recreational and agricultural sites -- all documented in a 200-page proposal, mostly of pictures, which was submitted.
The road also cannot have any billboards -- the easiest to verify since Sheffield and Avon have ordinances that ban them. The Metro Parks, Garfield farm, Victorian-style homes, historical cemeteries dating to the War of 1812 and [archeological] sites dating back 3,500 years contribute to the rich heritage of the road.
The most astonishing detail is that 12,400 years ago, when Lake Erie was bigger and deeper, Detroit Road was the lake's shoreline, according to the request.
There are 25 designated scenic byways in Ohio, including four national byways and one All-American road. The Lake Erie Coastal Trail, a national byway, is the only other byway in Lorain County. If approved, the road, between state Route 57 and the end of the county line at Westlake, would be listed as the North Ridge Scenic Byway in Ohio tourist maps.''
Contact Rania Shakkour at rshakkour@chroniclet.com.
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[Grant for Guides to the North Ridge Scenic Byway]
EDITORIAL from The Morning Journal, 12-2-08,
``North Ridge Scenic Byway is a much appreciated effort
A much traveled route will soon be promoted as the North Ridge Scenic Byway.
Two illustrated guides are being funded by $16,000 in a federal highway grant to promote SR 254, also known as North Ridge Road and Detroit Road, from its intersection with SR 57 in Sheffield Township eastward through Sheffield Village and Avon.
These nine miles traverse the northernmost ancient beach ridge of Lorain County and show off many cultural and natural features, including historic homes, Revolutionary War-era cemeteries and exquisite park land.
It took a year and a half of combined efforts by the Sheffield Village and Avon historical societies to get the North Ridge Scenic Byway designation approved in August [2007]. The societies must now put together a mile-by-mile color guidebook and a trifold brochure by next August [2009] ...
The publications will be based on the 175-page scenic byway application submitted by the local groups to the federal government, which can be viewed at
We applaud the cooperative efforts of the historical societies and local, county and state officials that are making the North Ridge Scenic Byway a new attraction for visitors to this area.''
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In December 2005, the Sheffield Village Historical Society and the Avon Historical Society joined forces to prepare a proposal to establish a North Ridge Scenic Byway along the entire reach of State Route 254 in Lorain County, Ohio. The proposal was prepared on behalf of and endorsed by the Village of Sheffield and the City of Avon.
In August 2007, the Ohio Department of Transportation officially designated this highway corridor as the North Ridge Scenic Byway. This 9-mile segment of SR 254 in Lorain County passes through a diverse assemblage of agricultural, residential, commercial, and natural settings as it traverses the northernmost ancient beach ridge of a glacial-lake predecessor to Lake Erie. Travelers along this stretch of highway are treated to pleasing views of many cultural and natural features.
In March 2008 the Sheffield Village Historical Society and the Avon Historical Society again joined forces to propose a project to the US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, through the Ohio Department of Transportation to Produce and Publish Guides to the North Ridge Scenic Byway, Lorain, Ohio on behalf of the Village of Sheffield and the City of Avon, Ohio.
Dr. Charles E. Herdendorf, President of the Sheffield Village Historical Society and Taylor J. Smith, President of Avon Historical Society are pleased to announce that the grant application has been approved for $20,000 ($16,000 Federal and $4,000 Local in-kind match).
The proposal sought funds to enhance the travelers' experiences as they journey along the North Ridge Scenic Byway and to promote the natural and cultural attributes of the byway corridor by producing and publishing two types of high-quality guides.
The first will be a full-color guidebook, which describes in detail the fascinating natural setting and cultural history of the corridor as well as presents a mile point-by-mile point log of noteworthy attributes and vistas of the North Ridge Scenic Byway. Topics to be covered include scenic, geological, botanical, native wildlife, archaeological, historical, agricultural, recreational, and cultural features of the corridor.
The guidebook is envisioned to be approximately 180 pages in length and richly illustrated with new color images, historic photographs, explanatory diagrams, and easily-followed maps. This guidebook will be made available at a modest price to travelers and residents of the region.
The second will be a full-color, tri-fold brochure, which outlines the natural and cultural attributes of the North Ridge Scenic Byway. The brochure is intended to be distributed, free of charge, by commercial establishments and public facilities along the byway corridor. Dr. Herdendorf will serve as the project director and senior author of the guides.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 11-26-08, By the MORNING JOURNAL STAFF
``North Ridge byway will receive illustrated guide
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Ohio Department of Transportation has been given $16,000 to produce two illustrated guides to the North Ridge Scenic Byway.
The money is coming from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, according to Senator Sherrod Brown.
"This is great news for the northern Lorain County area," Brown said. "These funds will help advertise the North Ridge area and its unique culture. This is a win-win for the region. An increase in tourism boosts the local economy while also expanding knowledge of this important region and its history."
The richly illustrated guides will explain the diverse geology, native wildlife and botanical, archaeological, historical, agricultural, recreational and cultural features of the North Ridge Scenic Byway Corridor.
The North Ridge Scenic Byway is part of a system of national byways created to provide a unique travel experience with stops at historic railroads, bridges, barns and homes, among other points of interest.
The North Ridge Scenic Byway begins at the intersection of SR 254 and SR 57 in Sheffield Township and runs in an east-northeasterly direction to the Cuyahoga County line.''
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