The Century Village Museum’s series of events celebrating America’s 250th anniversary will continue by welcoming local Ohio historian Dr. Dan Rager for an interactive presentation about the history of the Maple Leaf Route, an interurban railroad junction in Geauga Count from 1899-1925, on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. in Burton.
“It is very exciting,” Volunteer Linn Walker told The Weekly Villager on April 9. “We are getting calls galore from people wanting to come. We have plenty of space, so we moved it because of the interest and excitement around Dan Rager and the expertise and being a renowned speaker so there is a lot of excitement.”
Rager, a Chardon resident, is an established author, having written over a dozen books chronicling the history of early Ohio railroads and transportation. One of his books is “The Maple Leaf Route”, a book that outlines the history of Geauga County’s interurban railway and details its construction, operations, and impact on social life.
In addition to being a well-renowned Ohio historian, Rager also is an international award-winning composer and conductor, working as an emeritus music professor at Cleveland State University.
Rager’s most recently published book is “Ohio Getaway to America”, chronicling the history of Ohio’s ground transportation, from nNtive American trails to modern roads.
Due to the overwhelming interest from the community in attending Dr. Rager’s presentation, Walker said that the Museum will move Rager’s lecture into a large building on campus to accommodate the expected crowd.,
Walker said that interest in attending Rager’s lecture is not only coming from Geauga County but also from neighboring counties as well.
Walker said that Rager’s presentation will be an evening of culture, history, and discovery at Century Village including presenting well-known tales and rare stories of the Maple Leaf Route, as well as showing off several artifacts, having a question-and-answer session and concluding with a book signing.
“Our tradition continues with preserving the history of Geauga County,” noted Walker. “We get a lot of history buffs coming on the property, asking about things, wanting to take tours and listening to our people, so history is alive and well in Geauga County.”
According To Walker, Century Village has wanted to make the 2026 calendar year a special one by scheduling many events that align with the celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary, including having an exhibit in January about the first telephone in the State of Ohio, followed by an exhibit in February of maple, dairy and cheese production in Geauga County and hosting an exhibit in March about the history of movies that were filmed in Geauga County.
She added that Rager’s lecture is another event that aligns well with the 250th anniversary of the nation.
“We are all about America 250th this year at Century Village Museum,” she said. “We have a lot of different things going. We are very much excited and into America’s 250th anniversary.”
In addition to continuing to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with Rager as the Museum’s latest guest, Walker acknowledged the benefit of finding an Ohio historian who has local ties to the community.
“He has a huge commitment and has a huge passion,” she added. “He did write that we would discover the fascinating story of the Cleveland and Eastern railroad.”
As much as Rager’s lecture aligns with Century Village’s goals of continuing to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, she said that the event also fits the Museum’s core mission statement.
“Our mission statement is to ensure the history of Geauga County is preserved through the education and appreciation of present and future generations so this a part of our Geauga History,” she said.
While Rager’s lecture is the latest event recognizing America’s 250th anniversary, Walker said that it is not the last event that Century Village has scheduled as it will be a busy summer with the Museum hosting a community picnic celebrating the nation’s semi semiquincentennial, with several other events on the horizon.
“We are going to do a lot of exhibits,” Walker said. “We are working on other exhibits; we are going to have Threads of Valor which is all of the uniforms from the Civil War to World War II.”
