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Sisters Travel to
Every Ohio County Courthouse in Seven Days
By Jenna Gant
May 20, 2015
For two sisters, traveling to all 88 county courthouses in Ohio was a
lifelong dream.
“We planned the trip unofficially since we were little kids,” Jessica
Daniels said.
So last year they packed their bags, buckled up, and drove across the
state.
“Basically printed off a map of Ohio, kind of took a pencil, sketched
in a map that we think would work,” Daniels said.
They did it in seven days. The sisters drove to each county, took a
photo of themselves in front of the courthouse, and moved on to their
next destination.
“The first day we started out like I said up we visited 15 or 16
counties in the first day, and we were exhausted, wore out you know,
too much, so then after that the remaining six days we ended up usually
between nine and 13 counties a day,” Daniels said.
They took note of the distinct beauty of each courthouse.
“I was amazed at just how different many of them were. They were built
at different times,” Hannah Tucker said. “I think the county courthouse
is an important part of each community, and it kind of gives them
something to hold on to as their own as it gives them a diverse looking
place.”
In those seven days, the sisters learned more about each other and made
memories to last a lifetime.
“We crashed a wedding in Cuyahoga County,” Tucker said.
They also marveled at how their lives have changed since they were
kids. One is now a high school Spanish teacher, the other is a pastor.
But their lives came full circle with this trip.
“Now that we are adults I know a lot of people don’t get to have, or
might not have, a close relationship with their siblings, and I’m happy
that I do have one, and that we got to spend this time together,”
Daniels said.
A Cleveland man also recently finished a similar trip. He took photos
of all 88 courthouses over the course of a few years. Patrick Shepherd
started his journey in 2012 after reading a newspaper article about
courthouses in disrepair across Ohio. He said he took the photos to
bring attention to the “endangered” county courthouses.
“I really feel these buildings are of such significant, historical, and
architectural importance that for me as an amateur photographer, I just
thought it would be an interesting project to try and grab images of
all 88,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd did most of his travels on the weekend. He said he loved
the journey and learning more about the history of each building.
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