The Village of Milan has long been known as the birthplace of Thomas Edison, but residents and visitors know there is much more to this historic village.
“It is a great place to live and raise a family,” said Village Administrator and Fire Department Chief Brian Rospert.
Milan is located in the heart of what was once called the Fire Lands.
Colonial charters were rather non specific in their grants of land.
The northernmost part of Ohio was part of the “western lands” granted to Connecticut.
After the Revolutionary War, Connecticut colonists displaced by British soldiers who had burned their homes were given “fire lands” in what is now north central Ohio, explained local historian Robert Wheeler.
Settlers began growing wheat and dug an eight-mile canal by hand to get their product to Lake Erie so it could be shipped east, Wheeler said.
Milan became a busy shipping city and shipbuilding center.
It was into this booming community that Samuel and Nancy Edison moved in the 1840s.
Thomas Alva Edison was born in the house that still bears his name on Feb. 11, 1847.
With the dawn of the railroad age, Milan’s boom came to an end.
The Edison family moved to Michigan with Thomas eventually moving on to found his famous lab in New Jersey.
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, Edison’s daughter opened his birthplace as a museum, now headed by Wheeler.
Milan Mayor Pam Crosby said the small-town charm attracts all sorts of tourists, regularly swelling the village’s official population of 1,374.
“We are midway between Toledo and Cleveland, only a mile from the (Ohio) turnpike,” Crosby said, adding the village is close to Summit Motorsports Park, Kalahari Resort, Cedar Point and, of course, Lake Erie.
“There’s a lot to do in the area for people who just want to meander all around,” Rospert added.
Milan also is proud to be designated a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for the last 22 years.
Rospert’s uncle was village administrator when that effort began and they continue to take good care of the trees.
“That’s something we’re really proud of,” Rospert said. “It’s my honor to keep it going.”
In addition to the Labor Day Weekend Melon Fest, now in its 66th year, Milan hosts an annual antique show chaired by Crosby, who is president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Younger residents are becoming more involved and this summer started “Small Town Summer,” which concludes Aug. 28 with the third of three family-friendly events.
The events have included face painting, food trucks, games and plenty of sidewalk to chalk the village square.
“The kids come, the parents love it; it’s safe,” said Crosby, who’s excited for the next generation of volunteers. “We’re looking forward to what else they can come up with.”
The village square is a designated outdoor refreshment area, which allows visitors to carry alcoholic beverages from place-to-place in the square without being subject to open container laws.
DORAs are designed to bring visitors to specific areas in Ohio towns and villages.
“We like to try to bring local residents and people from the outside in to show them what we have to offer,” Rospert said.
Other events include an end of summer tractor show by the area Farm Bureau set for Aug. 27, the upcoming Second Annual Halloween Parade and Light Up Village Square featuring Santa Claus on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
