Sunday, September 17, 2017
Underground Railroad house visitor center opens
RIPLEY, Ohio
A visitor center is set to open at a house that served as one of Ohio’s most active Underground Railroad sites used by slaves fleeing the south.
The new center at the John Rankin House concludes a multiyear renovation of the interior and exterior of the house in Ripley, about 53 miles southeast of Cincinnati.
The visitor center includes new exhibit galleries, a gift shop, updated restrooms and a picnic facility with a view of the house and the Ohio River.
A dedication took place Sept. 10.
The 1828 building was home to John Rankin, an abolitionist and Presbyterian minister, his wife, Jean, and their 13 children.
It’s been estimated that more than 2,000 slaves stayed at the home, sometimes as many as 12 at a time.
Ky. man wants to bring amusement park to S. Indiana
CORYDON, Ind.
A Kentucky businessman who wants to build an amusement park featuring an aquarium, a water park and a dinosaur museum in southern Indiana has briefed local officials on his proposal.
More than 100 people filled the Harrison County Government Center to hear Louisville, Ky.-area businessman Ed Dana outline the amusement park proposal for an as-yet undisclosed location.
Dana plans to ask county officials for an incentive package to give a boost to his proposal for a 200,000-square-foot, four-section amusement park.
He says the $81 million attraction would create “thousands of jobs,” generate economic impact money from visitors and rebrand Harrison County as a “tourist destination.”
The Courier-Journal reported that Dana initially made a similar pitch in February in adjacent Louisville, but officials there declared the project unfeasible.
UNMC College of Dentistry Dental Museum opens
LINCOLN, Neb.
The UNMC College of Dentistry Museum is now open in Lincoln.
The museum features a collection of dental artifacts that chart the history and evolution of the profession.
Museum curator and professor emeritus Stan Harn has been building the collection since 1977. He says the exhibit this year has more than 40 dental cabinets on display from the 1860s through the 1950s, including several new ones from the 1870s.
The museum also features six period dentist offices from the 1850s to the 1930s, several dental chairs dating from 1840 to 1880, a collection of tooth extraction instruments dating from the 1500s, X-ray machines and other instruments.
Leaf-peeping season peeking out in northern Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine
Maine’s fall foliage season is underway, and the state is promoting its annual display of orange, yellow and red as the leaves begin to turn.
The state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry released a foliage report that says color change is spotty in the woods so far, with slightly more color in the north.
Most of Maine’s progression to fall colors usually starts around mid-October. Coastal Maine typically reaches peak conditions by mid- to late October. Northern Maine usually reaches peak conditions around the end of September.
Associated Press