Top 10 Historical Landmarks to Visit in Ohio

Ohio’s Top Historic Sites

76 National Historic Landmarks call the Buckeye State home, from presidential homes to ancient earthworks. Here are 11 of our must-visits.

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens

This massive 65-room Tudor Revival mansion, America’s 6th-largest historic home open to the public, was built between 1912-1915 for Goodyear Tire co-founder F.A. Seiberling.

The 70-acre estate features meticulously maintained gardens, including a Japanese garden with an authentic tea house and a butterfly habitat hosting over 100 species. The conservatory houses 2,500 exotic plants with displays that change six times yearly.

All original furnishings remain intact, and guided tours through the servant quarters show how both wealthy and working-class people lived during the American Industrial Revolution.

During winter, Deck the Hall features over one million holiday lights, while Halloween brings theatrical performances that put modern haunted houses to shame.

Adena Mansion

Built in 1807 for Thomas Worthington, the ‘Father of Ohio Statehood,’ this stone mansion sits on a hilltop overlooking the Scioto River Valley.

The stunning view inspired the Great Seal of Ohio, and inside you’ll find period-accurate furnishings, including Worthington’s original mahogany desk where he drafted Ohio’s first state constitution.

The estate includes four original outbuildings and formal gardens designed by early American landscape pioneer Andre Parmentier, plus five miles of hiking trails. Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s original architectural drawings helped restore the mansion perfectly.

Living history demonstrations showcase early 19th-century skills like hearth cooking and blacksmithing, bringing the past to life.

Serpent Mound

This ancient earthwork, built by Indigenous peoples around 1000 CE, stretches an impressive 1,348 feet and stands 4 feet high and 20 feet wide. It remains the world’s largest surviving serpent effigy mound, carefully preserved through centuries.

From the 35-foot observation tower, you can see all seven coils, the oval head, and open jaws. The site becomes especially magical during summer and winter solstices, when the serpent’s head aligns perfectly with the sunset, demonstrating the builders’ astronomical knowledge.

James A. Garfield National Historic Site

The 42-room Victorian home where America’s 20th president conducted his famous ‘front porch campaign’ has been perfectly preserved to its 1880s appearance. During the 1880 campaign, Garfield spoke to over 17,000 visitors right from his porch.

The house showcases original furniture, personal artifacts, and campaign memorabilia, including Garfield’s presidential desk and family photographs.

His library, containing over 5,000 books on subjects from classical literature to military strategy, holds the distinction of being America’s first presidential library.

Perry’s Victory Memorial

This 352-foot Doric column, built with 2,400 pink granite blocks, stands as the world’s largest monument of its kind. It honors Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s crucial victory in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

The observation deck offers 40-mile views across Lake Erie, letting visitors see three states and Canada on clear days.

The National Park Service maintains detailed exhibits featuring interactive displays and authentic artifacts from the USS Lawrence and USS Niagara.

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

This futuristic museum, with its white aluminum exterior and 56-foot dome, looks ready for liftoff. Inside, you’ll find the actual Gemini VIII spacecraft that Neil Armstrong piloted in 1966 and his Apollo 11 backup suit.

A state-of-the-art planetarium projector displays over 5,000 stars, while interactive exhibits let visitors experience space exploration firsthand. The museum’s prized possession is a 125.8-gram moon rock brought back from the Apollo 11 mission.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House

This modest Greek Revival home, built in 1833, shaped American history. Stowe lived here from 1832 to 1850, gathering experiences that inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ which sold 300,000 copies in its first year.

Through period furnishings and interactive exhibits about the Underground Railroad, visitors learn how Stowe’s observations of slavery in Cincinnati, including the 1836 race riots, influenced her groundbreaking novel.

Fort Ancient

The ancient Hopewell people built this 100-acre hilltop enclosure between 100 BCE and 500 CE, moving an astounding 550,000 cubic yards of soil using only baskets and hand tools. The site’s museum showcases their remarkable engineering skills.

Trails wind through the earthworks, offering spectacular views from 270 feet above the Little Miami River Valley. Archaeologists have identified at least 40 significant features within the enclosure, suggesting both ceremonial and social uses.

Buff Nursery

John Buff revolutionized American landscape design here in the 19th century through innovative propagation techniques. His 300-acre nursery grew over 10,000 plant varieties and introduced more than 200 new species to America.

While much of the original nursery has been developed, the remaining structures and heritage gardens showcase early American horticultural practices.

The site is famous for creating the popular Buff Rose hybrid, which changed American gardening.

Zoar Village

Founded in 1817 by 200 religious refugees from Württemberg, this German separatist settlement preserves a unique piece of American history.

The village retains its original 1835 meetinghouse, communal bakery, and many other historic buildings. Today, visitors can explore the blacksmith shop, tin shop, and dairy while learning about the community’s socialist system.