William Firestone, Author, will discuss Transformation of the Northwest Territory, Founding of the Ohio Country at April Meeting

Hudson Heritage Association will host author William Firestone at its monthly meeting April 11 when the Ohio native provides highlights from his recent book, “Grandeur and Grace in the Ohio Country: Building America from the Ground Up, 1786-1860.”

Firestone’s book focuses on the impact transplanted New England culture had on the character of the Northwest Territory and later, Ohio. His research centers on four building types – courthouses, inns and taverns, homes and churches – that served as the “building blocks” for the communities that emerged from the wilderness as New Englanders began to settle the region. The program will explore the establishment of civil law on the frontier, the development and expansion of transportation networks, the variety of domestic architecture and diversity of religious expression in the West. Firestone also will discuss the participation of New Englanders in local, state and national politics, and the important role played by New Englanders in the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad.

The walkway leading to the Chapel at Western Reserve Academy. Founded as Western Reserve College in 1826, the school served as the first institution of higher learning in what had been the Western Reserve of Connecticut. William Firestone’s presentation to the Hudson Heritage Association on April 11 will include a discussion of the school’s role in the development of Hudson and the surrounding region.

A graduate of The Ohio State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, Firestone spent five years researching and writing his book, recently hailed as “the bible for Midwest architecture for decades to come.”   He currently resides in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

The Hudson Heritage Association meeting is free and open to the public and will be held at the Barlow Community Center.   The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will conclude with refreshments. For more information, call 330-342-7996.