Little Ohio: Small-Town Destinations

by Jane Simon Ammeson

Where can you travel the Erie Canal on a boat pulled by a horse? What is Wapakoneta, and what does it have to do with Neil Armstrong? Where can you eat ice cream at a stop on the Underground Railroad?

Find these answers and more in Little Small-Town Destinations. Author and blogger Jane Simon Ammeson traveled across the state to discover where to eat, stay, play, and shop in more than 90 charming small towns. Organized by region, Little Ohio offers fellow road trippers an easy-to-use guide of must-see attractions. Full-color images showcase unmissable museums, quaint Main Streets, historic sites, and more.

From wineries to chocolate shops, old mills to Amish villages, riverboats to covered bridges, Little Ohio has everything you need for a day, weekend, or week full of fun. No matter where you are in the Buckeye State, there's always something to explore!

384 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

Ever since she started her own newspaper at age eight, selling it to neighbors who had no choice but to subscribe, Jane has loved to write. She’s now upped her game writing about travel, food, history for newspapers, magazines and Websites and is the author of 14 books including the recently released How to Murder Your Wealthy Lovers and Get Away With It; Murder & Mayhem in the Gilded Age, Lincoln Back Roads and Side Trips, Hauntings of the Underground Railroad: Ghosts of the Midwest and Murders that Made Headlines: Crimes of Indiana. She also authored A Jazz Age Murder in Northwest Indiana, a true crime book about a murder that took place in her hometown. Jane writes a weekly food column for the Herald Palladium and Shelf Life, a book column for the Times of Northwest Indiana, and currently has three Bindu Travel Apps: Michigan Road Trips, Experience Curacao and Indiana Journeys.

A member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the International Food Wine Travel Writers Association (IFWTA) and Midwest Travel Journalists Association (MTJA), Jane’s home base is on the shores of Lake Michigan in Southwest Michigan. Follow Jane on Facebook at janesimonammeson; Twitter @janeammeson1 and @travelfoodIN and on her blogs janeammeson.blog and shelflife.blog

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first disappointment with this book was discovering on the first page that the author was not from Ohio and, the publisher was an Indiana university press. I am a lifelong Buckeye (except for which Big 10 team I root for!)
The author divided the state into regions then told a little about the towns in that area in alphabetical order. I did not always agree with the region in which a city was placed (e.g. Vermillion is much closer to Cleveland in Northeast Ohio than the designated Northwest Ohio of Toledo).
Not all of the listings included the same information but did include a brief introduction, where to stay, where to eat, where to play. Some included "famous people from" paragraphs. (In one of those, Paul Lynde's birth year was incorrectly stated - he was born the same year as my father.)
In one Northwest Ohio town (Maumee) she referenced Fort Meigs which is actually in the next town, Perrysburg, which was also in the book.
A lot of what was included in the Central section were not what I would consider "small-towns" but suburbs of Columbus. (When I mentioned this to a friend, he agreed with me.)
And, the final insult, the town that I have lived in for almost 30 years was not included in the book at all, so I don't know what the criteria was for "small-town." Urbana's population is much smaller than either Perrysburg or Maumee and we do have places of interest such as a fish farm (with a well-attended festival in September) and a couple of castles.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Little Ohio: Small-Town Destinations" by Jane Simon Ammerson is an at times interesting but also frustrating book to get through as it plays out as a miniature travel guide to 97 locations within the state of Ohio divided by region. Each city isn't entirely treated fairly with various locations getting more information provided on them vs others. Also, Central Ohio ends up with the fewest number of destinations at 13. Geographically speaking there's not a lot of rhyme or reason as to why the map of the state was divided the way it was and not having an actual map in the book showing that is a hindrance. This book realistically speaking should be tied into the state department of tourism although you may get more information out of them than you would attempting to read this tedious novel. As a native of Ohio, I did find a few useful things out of it, but this is not a book I'd recommend and was a huge disappointment.

[David Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I never determined the author's definition of a small town (she included towns of less than 200 people, and more than 25,000 people), I enjoyed her journey through Ohio. She lists the towns alphabetically according to one of five (NE, NW, Central, SE, SW) regions.

For each town she gave a reason for visiting, a short history, and places to eat, shop or play. At the back of the book she has a detailed list of destinations and websites of interest.

This book is a great introduction to some of the off-the-beaten-path locations in Ohio.

[Muskingum County Library System · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for adventure right in your own backyard, this little book is a great resource. Little Ohio has everything you need for a day, weekend, or week full of fun!

https://catalog.muskingumlibrary.org/...
Juanita, Customer Service Specialist, Roseville Branch Library

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not this year but maybe next year! Missed a trip to Marietta , Ohio but still want to go to this town and some in between. Road trip next year!!