Downtown Milan Ohio

Milan is a neat little town.  We moved here about 6 years ago, and we couldn't be happier.  There's only one stoplight, a small town square, but there's character spilling into the city streets.

The town square consists of some antique shops, bed and breakfasts, a quaint little inn, and some other neat spots.  There is a greasy spoon diner that is complete with padded spinning stools, waitresses that will call you "hon" or "sugar", and some of the best breakfast food that I've had.

Our only claim to fame is that Thomas Edison was born here.  He stayed here until he was merely seven, but that's enough for us to claim him as our local hero!

Below is a statue that was put up in his honor at one end of the town square.

(5 Exposures at F11, ISO 100, 40mm) 

The Gazebo at the other end of the town square....

(5 Exposures at F11, ISO 100, 17mm) 

And a really neat building within the Milan Historical Society...

(5 Exposures at F11, ISO 100, 17mm) 

There are a just couple of good shots of this area.  There will certainly be more!

Thanks!

Brian

Sewel H. Richards

I recently took part in a small photography competition.  The theme that I was assigned was "weathered".

I only had a few days to get something together, and I didn't want to do a typical old barn, an abandoned house, or old farm equipment.

So I started thinking about subjects around my town that have been in existence the longest.  Milan has a rich history, going back to the very early 1800's with the Milan Canal System prior to railroads coming through.  After the war of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie, peaceful times led to more and more settlers in this area which led to the Village of Milan's incorporation in 1833.

History lesson aside, my mind immediately went to the cemetery knowing that gravestones have been there quite a long time.  So I went there around sunset and I found the grave of Mr. Sewel H. Richards, born 1811, died 1880.

If you look closely, you can see that the original "Richards" inscription towards the bottom is barely still legible, while the main inscription above it seems a lot more crisp, leading me to believe that the inscription has been reworked over the years.

Regardless, I was real happy with how this turned out and I won the competition!

(5 Exposures at F11, ISO 100, 22mm)

Thanks

Brian