Connecting U.S. 250 with America's 250th birthday
CHESTER TOWNSHIP − As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, the thought of connecting U.S. Route 250 to the country's birthday seemed natural to Todd Kleismit.
Kleismit is the executive director of the Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial (also known as America 250-Ohio), and he immediately embraced the concept connecting the two, and ran with it.
U.S. Route 250 runs through nine Ohio counties, stretching from Lake Erie in Sandusky southeasterly to Bridgeport and the Ohio River.
"The location of our first barn painting, which was done by Scott Hagan, was no accident," Kleismit said. "Last year, some of our stakeholders brought to my attention the potential to theme America 250 with U.S. Route 250. I immediately fell in love with the concept and have been excited about pursuing these themes ever since. I knew that our first barn painting needed to be somewhere along U.S. Route 250.
"We knew we were going to get a great product at the end, and we sure did," he continued. "We are very happy with that."
About the barn artist
Hagan finished painting the Rice Farms barn earlier this summer, and it has been a big attraction for the Rice family.
Hagan, known as 'The Barn Artist,' is the man who painted the Bicentennial logo on barns for Ohio's 200th birthday in 2003. He was commissioned for the America 250-Ohio project and the Rice barn was completed back in June. He was paid $11,000 for his work by the America 250-Ohio commission.
The barn is located in New Pittsburgh, Chester Township, Wayne County, about a mile east of the Ashland County line on U.S. Route 250, on The Rice Farms.
A unique opportunity
Joe Rice is a seventh generation farmer whose three daughters and six grandchildren, the eighth and ninth generations, all live on the farm. And they were excited to be part of the project.
Rice explained that Kleismit stopped by the family farm in the spring while he was away and spoke with his daughter, leaving literature about what they would like to do.
"One phone call led to another and he told me what he wanted to do," Rice said. "We were all for it. It just kind of went from there. And it developed really fast."
He adds that people regularly stop by to take photos of the barn.
Rice holds the original deed for the property from 1818, that was signed by President James Monroe. Rice Farms produces corn, soybeans and wheat, and they grow cover crops as well. He also serves as the local fire chief and has been on the fire department for 46 years.
Plans for the future
Kleismit hopes to have at least one barn in each region of the state by 2026. He hopes to utilize Hagan again in the future. They want to incorporate all 88 counties in the celebration in various ways.
"At this point, we just don't know how many barns we'll be able to do," Kleismit said. "Because barns are in rural areas, we'd also like to do some urban murals. We want to find the right opportunities around Ohio to get some artwork on buildings and barns."
He added that earlier this year, he went knocking on a few doors anytime he was near U.S. Route 250.
"This route has multiple stories along the way, with many communities with interesting histories," Kleismit said. "It's scenic in many places, with a piece of the Lincoln Highway along there, as well as the two bodies of water.
"The Rice barn is somewhat central along U.S. 250, and when I talked with Joe Rice, there were a number of things that seemed to be perfect for our wants and desires," the director continued. "He was great to work with. The Rice family were perfect partners for this project."
Kleismit doesn't know where the next America 250-Ohio barn be located, but that’s part of the excitement of the lead-up to 2026.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Connecting U.S. 250 with America's 250th birthday
