Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

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Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Century Village Museum, Burton

Burton · Geauga County · Northeast Ohio
A Western Reserve village of moved buildings on a working farm
Western Reserve villageBuckeye Trail Town
Century Village Museum, 14653 E Park St, Burton Directions →Official source →

A museum village of moved 19th-century buildings on a working farm just off Burton's town square, on the Buckeye Trail.

Village
Between 22 and 25 historic buildings, depending on the source, including five historic homes, a church, an apothecary, a one-room schoolhouse, a general store and a train depot
Grounds
A 65-acre working farm with a sugar bush for maple syrup
Collection
More than 20,000 artifacts
Society
The Geauga County Historical Society, whose plan for a county museum was first raised at a family reunion in 1873
Burton
Founded in 1798 and Geauga County's oldest settlement, laid out around a New England-style village green
Event
The Apple Butter Festival, the second weekend of October

The story

Burton was founded in 1798, the oldest settlement in Geauga County, in the Connecticut Western Reserve, land that Native peoples had lived on for thousands of years before Connecticut sold it to settlers. Like other Western Reserve towns it was laid out around a village green in the New England pattern, and its location near the Cuyahoga River helped its trade and industry. The area became one of Ohio's major producers of maple syrup.

In 1873 the county's early settlers gathered at a family reunion and planned a historical society to preserve the names and stories of the original families. They collected artifacts for many years before anyone made a formal effort toward a museum. Century Village grew from that idea into a collection of 19th-century buildings moved from around the county to a site at the south end of Burton's square, arranged as a Western Reserve village. Visitors can walk the general store, school, church, apothecary, depot and marshal's office, and the museum runs a working farm, tours and seasonal festivals. The Buckeye Trail's Burton Section runs through Burton.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.
Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Century Village Museum, 14653 E Park St, Burton
Seasonal access
Sources differ: one lists Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; another lists weekends from mid-April to November. The grounds are open from sunrise to sunset and house tours run on weekends. Call 440-834-1492 before you go.
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The Museum That Began at a Family Reunion

In 1873 the descendants of Geauga County's first families got together for a reunion and decided that someone ought to write their ancestors' names down. That was the start of the county historical society, and it took more than a century to turn a collection of trunks and tools into a village.

The village is made of buildings that were rescued from around the county and rebuilt on the museum's land, so no two of them started out in the same place.

Behind the legend

The 1873 reunion, the 1798 founding of Burton and the sugar-bush and maple-syrup history are from the historical society's and See Ohio First's pages. The number of buildings varies among sources, from 22 to 25. That the buildings were moved from elsewhere is stated by Wikipedia.

If you go

Walk the village, sample maple syrup in season and come for the Apple Butter Festival in October.

Visiting

Status
Open; hours vary by season
Managed by
Geauga County Historical Society
Hours
Sources differ: one lists Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; another lists weekends from mid-April to November. The grounds are open from sunrise to sunset and house tours run on weekends. Call 440-834-1492 before you go.
Admission
About $10 for adults and $8 for children; the price varies by event.
Phone
440-834-1492
Please note
Special events, such as the Apple Butter Festival in October, have separate hours.
Address
14653 E Park St, Burton, OH 44021
Official information →DirectionsFind trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.

Parks nearby

Big Creek Park and Headwaters Park (Geauga Park District)
About 8 miles · Tent sites and Adirondack shelters on the Buckeye Trail.
Open
Punderson State Park
About 10 miles · A lodge and lake park in Geauga County.
Open
Girdled Road Reservation (Lake Metroparks)
About 15 miles · A free hiker camp on the Buckeye Trail.
Open

Buckeye Trail

Burton Section
57 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.