TRUMBULL COUNTY Fowler historical society will preserve heritage

By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL BUREAU
FOWLER -- It took 200 years for Fowler Township to go from agriculture to industry, then back again.
The township, which started off as Samuel Fowler's land, had a chair factory, machine shop, mills and a handfull of stores at just one settlement, Tyrell Hill near the Vienna-Fowler line.
There is nothing there now, but Fowler has a lot to remember.
Meeting planned: On Wednesday, a group of residents will meet to form a historical society. Fowler is one of the few townships in Trumbull County without one.
The meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. in Fowler Community Center.
"The purpose is to preserve the history and artifacts of the community," said Wendell Lauth, Trumbull County historian and a trustee of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums.
"Otherwise, they tend to get dispersed at auctions and may get lost."
Past remains: Much of the Fowler's past still remains.
The five-acre square in the center of the township, which the Fowler family bequeathed to the township trustees, remains as a park.
Residents also can buy sundries at a general store built in the 1800s.
"When you look at the center of the community, visually it has not changed since the Civil War," said Dave Cover, a former township trustee and local historian. "I think that is pretty neat."
The 1864 brick town hall was rehabilitated for the celebration of the township's bicentennial in 1999, and township trustees are in the process of restoring the 1852 home of a prominent local citizen, David Butts.
As well, many homes and a former hotel in the township center have been restored to look much the way they did more than a century ago.
"It is not just us old fogies," Cover said. "Lots of people have put the money where their mouth is to bring the buildings back."
Seeking artifacts: Trustees have put out a call for artifacts to display at a local history museum in the Butts home, once restoration is complete, Cover said.
A Fowler Township Historical Society may play a role in staffing the museum and organizing the collection, he said.
siff@vindy.com