Ohio is launching a new driving trail in the lead up to the celebration of America's 250th anniversary. The Ohio Creativity Trail spans the state with more than a hundred stops.
Each stop is focused on one of six themes: literature, music, visual arts, glass and pottery, folk and traditional arts, and carousel art.
"What I think is so cool about this is a lot of people don't associate Ohio with creativity, but surprise — Ohio has got it in spades," says Todd Kleismit, executive director of the America 250-Ohio Commission. "There's so much here, and so we've got every region of the state well represented. There's so many cool places, and I think it might surprise some people to see this much creativity in our state of Ohio."
Local stops include McGuffey House and Museum in Oxford; Rookwood Pottery and the zoo carousel in Cincinnati; BeauVerre Riordan Studios in Middletown; Harmon Museum & Art Gallery in Lebanon; the Harriett Beecher Stowe House, also in Cincinnati, and more.
Other highlights around the state include:
- the Toni Morrison Room at the Lorain Public Library;
- the Toledo Museum of Art;
- the Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works
- the Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool;
- the Richland Carrousel Park in Mansfield;
- the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens.
"I think one of the most surprising [aspects of the trail] is the fact that we have 22 working carousels in the state of Ohio. We are one of the states with the largest collection of carousels," says Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association and member of the America 250-Ohio Commission.
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"Indeed, it is thought that the very first carousel in the United States actually began in Hessville, Ohio. A lot of people are surprised by that."
The map is available as a downloadable PDF or as an online interactive map.
The Ohio Creativity Trail is the second in a series planned as part of the "Trails & Tales" program. It aims to create four more thematic trails by the end of 2026. The first trail, the Ohio Air & Space Trail, launched in May 2024.
