GHAWG Behind the Scenes: Fun with Maps 10

Today I go behind the scenes to show what I saw while reviewing the digital map between East Palestine and Cleveland.

Screen captures come from Excel 2007. Minor edits made using MS Paint.
Other images are sourced as noted.

TL;DR

• Introduction
• Fun with Maps

1. Champion Heights, OH

2. Churchill, OH

3. Vienna Center, OH

4. Lordstown, OH

5. Patmos, OH

6. Poland, OH

• More Fun with Maps

Introduction
After a long (and mostly undocumented) ride through Penssylvania, David Guardia crossed into Ohio via East Palestine. This village in Ohio is a short drive from the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

Along the way, he must have been looking at digital (or even paper) maps.

What was he looking at? What caught his eye? What surprises did he find?

While I can't answer those questions for him, I can answer them for myself.

In our physical offline world, the trip to STURGIS would have been shorter and more efficient (not to mention cheaper) had David Guardia used some navigational aid, be it GPS or a Viking Sunstone. It also would have been a much more boring ride for him (and for us as readers).

Maps are a vital part of The GHAWG Universe, both for me as storyteller and for the characters. As much as I want to have scenes take place at certain locations, the ultimate decider is THE MAP: If the location doesn't make sense for the story, then I can't use it for that story. On the other hand, the map may show me a location I hadn't considered before but makes perfect sense both for utility and symbolism.

While reviewing digital maps, there are times I find locations which get me scratching my head and scruff, get me laughing, or even get me wondering "WTF is this??" This post features what I discovered between the suburbs of Pittsburgh and East Palestine, Ohio.

Fun with Maps

As with earlier editions of Fun With Maps, a few places on the map
… I had known about over the years;
… are better known by their more famous alternatives; and
… I just hadn't expected at all.

Now that David Guardia is in Ohio, there will be more zapfic entries taking place there.

This is my second look at the stretch of Interstate 76 connecting East palestine and Cleveland. Here is the 2nd set of discoveries in this section of I-76:

Just to remind myself that this map was part of Ohio, I added the label OHIO. Then I highlighted 6 locations. This map isn't directly tied to any other map, so I added the label East Palestine ▬►► for reference. Here are the 6 locations in reverse order of interest:

6. Champion Heights, OH
This is a variation of the place name Champion, Pennsylvania.

In the case of Champion Heights, which is part of Champion Township in Trumbull County, the name comes from Henry Champion. He was an original member of the Connecticut Land Company.

5. Churchill, OH
Whether we think of the man whose service to the British Empire went back all the way to the Boer Wars in South Africa to through his iconic leadership as Prime Minister when he became the face of Great Britain during World War II... or we think of one of the most famous events in horse racing which takes place at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, the name Churchill is well-known by many people.

The origin of the place name is simple enough: The borough (incorporated in 1834) is named after the Beulah Church which was at the top of the hill where General Forbes set up camp in 1858.

Source: Churchill Borough History

Vienna Center, OH

When it comes to an exact place name, there are two places named Vienna I think about: the original in Austria, and the one in Virginia which happens to be a suburb of Washington, DC. Even though this is a modified version of the place name, it still reminds me of those to Viennas.

Along with a few other states, Connecticut had land claims in the Ohio Country. After the American Revolution, the state of Connecticut sold its most of its claims to the federal government so that it could create the Northwest Terrotory. The part it kept for itself, the northeastern corner of the claimed land, was known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. It's in this area where Vienna Center was located.

Lordstown, OH

On 2023-May-3 I had published to LeoThreads a zapfic entry which included the place name Prophetstown in Illinois. Given the nature of the daily zapfic serial-- not to mention what David Guardia had become-- it makes sense that I would highlight Lordstown, Ohio.

The origins of Lordstown are 100% earthly. It was named after Samuel P. Lord, the surveyor who drew the boundaries for this area. For reference, it's an hour's drive from both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and it's also near Niles, Warren, and Youngstown.

Patmos, OH
Until now, the only Patmos I had known about was the island where John, future saint and one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, spent his final years. This island is where he wrote the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament of the Bible.

Patmos, Ohio was founded in 1850 when John Templin set up shop there. The name itself came from a religious hymn titled "Patmos".

Poland, OH

It's safe to say that everyone who sees the name "Poland" thinks of the Eastern European country between Germany and Austria to its west and Belarus and Ukraine to its east (and Russia east of those two countries). Not including the country, the name Poland is associated with bottled water from Poland Spring, Maine, US.

Poland, Ohio was named in honor of the country which offered to "these United States" during the Revolutionary War the services of some of its leading generals. Perhaps the most well-known of these Polish generals was Tadeusz Kościuszko (full name Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kościuszko).

More Fun with Maps
After East Palestine, the next stop for David Guardia is Cleveland. Where else in Ohio will David Guardia find himself? What other notable people will he find there? How does his ride further unfold?

Let's find out together as I continue my research and we have more fun with maps.

As more posts in this series are published, they will be added to the pinned post "GHAWGnav: Navigating The GHAWG Universe". Thanks for taking time to see how this part of The GHAWG Universe is being built.

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See you next time for another edition of Fun with Maps.