Lancaster (Images of America: Ohio)

Lancaster, Ohio, with a population of around 35,000, sits snuggled among the rolling hills at the base of a sandstone bluff that the Wyandot Indians called ""Standing Stone.""

Just east of the Hock-Hocking River in Fairfield County and a few miles southeast of Columbus, Lancaster was founded on November 10, 1800, by Col. Ebenezer Zane (1747-1811). The city's rich history is celebrated today in one of the most significant historic districts in the Midwest, known as Square 13. The city offers a walking tour of the area, originally designed in 1800. In a 24-block area, 89 buildings have been designated on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Sherman House Museum is listed as a National Historical Landmark.

Connie L. Rutter has always had a love of history. She is a longtime resident of the Hudson Avenue Historic District in Newark, Ohio, and before retirement worked for the Licking County Historical Society. She is coauthor of Licking County with Sondra Brockway Gartner. Sondra Brockway Gartner's interest in photography was passed down from her father, Chance Brockway. This is her fourth book with Arcadia's Images of America Series; her previous works were Newark, Buckeye Lake, and Licking County.