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Mohican Shrine (confirmed in place 10/11/2008) LbNA #29664 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Apr 1, 2007
Location:
City:Loudonville
County:Ashland
State:Ohio
Boxes:1
Planted by:PhotoSeeker
Found by: 'Zim'ster
Last found:May 26, 2014
Status:aFFFFFFaFFFFFFFFaFaa
Last edited:Apr 1, 2007
Mohican Memorial Shrine Letterbox

I checked this letterbox today, and it is still in place. I am editing the directions so that it is easier to find.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 25-30 minutes
Cautions: We encountered several bushes with thorns, so you may want to wear long pants to find this box. The state park website also states that copperheads live in the area.

The Mohican Memorial Shrine, off State Route 97, is located in the 270-acre Mohican Forest Park next to the state park. Authorized by the Ohio General Assembly in 1945, here rests the state’s handicap accessible, official monument to her 20,000 sons and daughters killed in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. Several park benches surround the Memorial. It’s a great place to stop and reflect on Ohio’s fallen heroes after a long hike in the woods.

For two years, over 60,000 members of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs (OFWC) raised the funds to build the 32- by 24-foot sandstone structure. As required by legislation, all materials and services needed for construction were supplied by Ohio companies. Once completed in April of 1947, two thousand people, including some decorated war veterans, visited the shrine for its dedication.

Once inside, you will notice the Ohio State Seal located along the back wall. In the middle of the room, protected by the enclosed glass case, rest two large books with the handwritten names of Ohio’s 20,000 fallen soldiers. The nearby eight notebooks, also located at the center of the shrine, list these names by county and war so that those visitors searching for specific names can find them more easily. The stained-glass windows, that line the sides of the interior, include the figures of a dove with an olive branch, as well as Ohio’s state symbols, the cardinal and the buckeye tree.

In the forest areas surrounding the shrine, foresters have planted 310,000 trees as living memorials to Ohio’s fallen heroes. The books within the shrine continue to be maintained and updated by the OFWC. Also, the OFWC continues to donate $1,200 each year toward the upkeep of the shrine and its surrounding park area. In 1997, however, just prior to the shrine’s 50th anniversary and rededication ceremony, a NatureWorks grant provided the needed funds for renovations. Two major events are held at the memorial each year: a special gathering of the Ohio Chapter of Gold Star Mothers, an organization honoring the mothers of fallen loved ones, and a Memorial Day service conducted by the local chapter of the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars. Please do not try to find this box during these events.

To find this letterbox, find State Route 97. The park is located about 3.2 miles west of State Route 3 on 97. Park at the west end of the parking lot at the shrine. Walk past the shrine and the Presidential grove towards the stop sign on the eastern exit/entrance. Stand at the stop sign on the eastern end of the parking lot and look down at 120 degrees. Here you will see the faint outline of a fallen tree rotting into the earth. (You may have to walk around a bit to see the tree due to the vegetation that has grown since we placed it last spring.) Follow this tree all the way to its base. "Mohican Shrine" rests in the tree, located at the end of the fallen tree and about 40 steps from the stop sign, on the side facing the Presidential grove. It is carefully covered with pieces of bark. Look carefully. I was pleasant surprised to discover the box is still there! Please be sure to cover the box when replacing. If you are not careful it can be seen by the public from the nearby Presidential Grove. Before leaving the park, check out the shrine and be sure to sign the guest book within.
If you attempt to find this box, please email me so that I can find out why a few have attempted this one without finding it. Thanks.