Ashtabula: The Community We Call Home

Since our formative roots in 1813 as the pioneer Episcopal congregation west of the Alleghenies, we’ve been proud to call Ashtabula and Ashtabula County our home.

The compact 7.6-square-mile City of Ashtabula ( http://ci.ashtabula.oh.us/) , founded in 1803 and incorporated as a city in April 1893, is today home to 20,962 residents. Located on Ohio’s scenic “North Coast” in northeast Ohio, Ashtabula is centered about an hour’s drive between two larger urban centers – 467,851-resident Cleveland to the west and 102,122-resident Erie, Pennsylvania to the east. The City of Ashtabula is the largest municipality in 102,728-resident Ashtabula County, at 1,368 square miles the largest county by area in the State of Ohio

Located along historic U.S. 20, the General McPherson Memorial Highway, Ashtabula is located just minutes north of major east-west corridor I-90 via the two “Ashtabula” exits – 229 (Ohio 11) and 223 (Ohio 45).

Built on Ohio’s frontier “Western Reserve,” the bluff-top Lake Erie manufacturing and port city, as well as the rolling Appalachian foothills county, get their name from the native Algonquins, who dubbed the scenic Ashtabula River that dissects the city as “Hush-tah-buh-lah” – translated as “River of Many Fish.”

Capitalizing on Ashtabula County’s burgeoning tourism industry (www.visitashtabulacounty.com), the City of Ashtabula is home to a growing tourism industry of its own, drawing shoppers to its two historic shopping districts -- downtown Ashtabula, centered around Main Avenue (www.ashtabulachamber.net), and the quaint retail district on Bridge Street in Ashtabula Harbor (www.ashtabulaharbor.org).

Visitors and residents alike enjoy our many historical sites including the National Register-listed Hubbard House Underground Railway Museum (www.hubbardhouseugrrmuseum.org), the National Register-listed Blakeslee Log Cabin (www.ashtcohs.com), the Great Lakes Marine & Coast Guard Museum, the Ashtabula Harbor Lighthouse (www.ashtabulalighthouse.com), and the city’s c. 1925 Bridge Street Bascule Lift Bridge, one of the last of its kind in the nation.

Also popular are the area’s natural treasures along the Lake Erie shoreline, including Walnut Beach in the City of Ashtabula and two parks in neighboring townships – Saybrook Township Park to the west and Lakeshore Park (www.lakeshorepark.ashtabula.org) to the east in Ashtabula Township. The city and surrounding areas are also served by several park developments operated by the Ashtabula County MetroParks (www.ashtabulacountymetroparks.org), including the Ashtabula-Orwell recreational Western Reserve Greenway Trail and the Harpersfield Covered Bridge and Graham Road (Pierpont) Covered Bridge MetroParks.

Ashtabula is home to a rich and active arts community, served by a number of organizations including the Ashtabula Arts Center (www.artscenternews.com), the Ashtabula Orchestra Society (www.ashtabulaareaorchestra.com), the Ashtabula County Choral Music Society, and the St. Peter’s Fine Arts Series (www.stpetersashtabula.org). The city is also home to higher education with Kent State University’s Ashtabula Campus (www.ashtabula.kent.edu), which stages a longstanding fine arts concert series.

With its rich history, numerous historic sites, and natural beauty, Ashtabula is prominently located on two national scenic tours – the Great Lakes Circle Tour (www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/erie) and the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Scenic Byway (www.coastalohio.com), the newest national scenic byway.

  Ashtabula County, the northeasternmost in Ohio, has its county seat in the quaint and historic 3,537-resident Village of Jefferson, located just minutes south of Ashtabula via Ohio 11.

  Part of the foothills of the Appalachian mountain range, rolling Ashtabula County features a wide variety of scenic topography. The county also enjoys the largest Lake Erie shoreline of any Ohio county.

  Home of a large tourism industry, major attractions for residents and visitors alike include Ashtabula County’s sixteen covered bridges (www.coveredbridgefestival.org), 20 county and regional wineries (www.ohiowines.org) on the Lake Erie Wines and Vines Trail, lush countryside vineyards and apple orchards, seven challenging golf courses, and the retro nostalgic delights of c. 1869 Geneva-on-the-Lake (www.visitgenevaonthelake.com), Ohio’s first resort community.

  Scenic Ashtabula County is also home to two of Ohio’s 73 state parks (www.dnr.state.oh.us),  including 698-acre Geneva State Park on the shores of Lake Erie in Geneva-on-the-Lake and 3,512-acre Pymatuning State Park near Andover on picturesque Pymatuning Lake, which straddles the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Geneva State Park is home to a marina and the breathtaking 109-room Lodge and Conference Center at Geneva State Park, Ohio’s newest state park lodge facility.

  Ashtabula County is also home to a number of major festivals including the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Festival (www.coveredbridgefestival.org), the Ashtabula County Gospel Fest at Ashtabula’s North (Hall Smith) Park (440-998-5637), the Geneva Area Grape JAMboree (www.grapejamboree.com) in downtown Geneva, the Lakeshore Park Rib Burn Off (www.lakeshoreparkashtabula.org) in Ashtabula Township, and the Ashtabula County Fair in county seat Jefferson, one of the oldest county fairs in Ohio. A new area attraction in 2006 is December’s holiday-themed Lights on the Lake at Lakeshore Park (www.lakeshoreparkashtabula.org).

  Come visit us at St. Peter’s Church, Ashtabula … and stay a little while longer while you’re here! 

Community Photo's

Andrew Johnson welcomes you to Ashtabula, Ohio	Annual Rib Burn-Off at Lakeshore Park
Ashtabula Fire Department in Memorial Day Parade, Downtown Ashtabula	Ashtabula River and Ashtabula Harbor
Back to the Future at retro 1950s Eddie's Grill.	Bustling Norfolk Southern coal shipping yard at Port of Ashtabula
C. 1925 Bridge Street Bascule Lift Bridge, Ashtabula	Eddie's Grill, Geneva-on-the-Lake at Night
Evelyn Johnson in pie eating contest at Geneva Area Grape JAMboree	Great Lakes Marine & Coast Guard Memorial Museum, Ashtabula
Great Lakes Medieval Faire, Trumbull Township near Geneva	Historic Ashtabula County Courthouse, Jefferson
Historic Ashtabula Harbor Lighthouse	Historic Jefferson Depot, home of the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson Railway
Lake Erie sunset, Ashtabula County, Ohio	Lake Erie view from Saybrook Township Park
Lakeside High Dragons Marching Band	Log Cabin Days Festival at Blakeslee Log Cabin, Plymouth Township
Scenic grounds, Lakeshore Park, Ashtabula Township	State Road Covered Bridge on Conneaut Creek near Conneaut