History comes to life at Prospect Place

TRINWAY — The Civil War was a crucial part of American History, and Kevin McNamara takes pride in teaching those lessons to others.

McNamara has been a member of the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry since 2010 and currently serves as a captain for the group, which participates in Civil War reenactments throughout Ohio.

The unit was camped in front of Historic Prospect Place in Trinway on Saturday, as The G.W. Adams Educational Center hosted its inaugural Civil War Living History event.

"One of our goals is bringing history to life and drawing interest to that time," McNamara said. "We like to connect with local museums and historic sites and promote what they're doing. The Civil War was a big part of our country's history, and we want to engage with the public and show them what life was like during the war."

Prospect Place has a connection to that era. G.W. Adams, who built the mansion, came to Ohio after his father and abolitionist, George Beal, moved the family from Virginia. G.W. followed in his father's footsteps in being an abolitionist and shared the 150-acre estate with his brother, Edward, after their father passed away in 1826.

G.W., who was a businessman and served in the Ohio Assembly, built the original mansion in 1855, but it burnt down due to arson before being completed. The second mansion was built on the same site and completed a few years later, as G.W. used his home as a conductor in the Underground Railroad.

Connecting their namesake to the era was why the G.W. Adams Education Center decided to host the event, said Executive Director Jeff Cole. It had been in discussion since the current board took over seven years ago.

"This is the first time we've held this, and we're very excited about it. We wanted to kick the tires and give it a try since there is plenty of history and space here," Cole said. "We wanted to offer a modern perspective in historic context. Educational outreach is one of our missions, and we hope this creates an educational opportunity."

The event featured the infantry camped out in the front yard, while a cannon from that era was shot several times. Visitors could walk through the camp and the house, while Low Tea, a fashion show, a watermelon eating contest and a sack race were among the festivities.

Several visitors had driven past Prospect Place, but this event gave them a chance to visit and tour the grounds.

Helen DeCaro, who lives in South Zanesville, heard about the event through Facebook and decided to attend.

"We've never been here and wanted to see what was going on," she said. "It sounded interesting to be able to see things from the Civil War era, and it gives you an idea what life was like back then."

A family connection drew Jared Besser, of Zanesville, to the site. His father had done cement work on the property, and he felt it was a good chance to experience history.

"Prospect Place has a lot of history, and this is the first time I've been able to visit and look around," he said. "It's interesting to see everything and take it all in."

The center offers school tours and lectures, and Prospect Place will host an old time baseball game in September. Events like these assist the group in its mission, noted treasurer Amy Green.

"We want to provide an educational experience," Green said. "We're all volunteers who want to keep history alive. We believe it's important to remember what G.W. and his family did, while also using these events to raise money so we can restore and maintain the property."

Despite rainy weather, Cole felt the turnout was good for the first-time event. He doesn't know if it will be an annual gathering, but the board is aiming to have events like this in the future.

"This is about creating an educational opportunity. If it goes well, we want to build on it," Cole said. "There's a lot of history here and space for an event like this. We wanted to see how it went then make a decision from there.

"Historic places like this are disappearing," he added. "We want to keep history alive and make sure it gets passed onto the next generation."

bhannahs@gannett.com

Twitter: @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: History comes to life at Prospect Place