People usually think “party” not “history” when they think of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. But that where you’ll find the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, honoring the men who fought with Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, and celebrating the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the U.S.
Its Doric column rises 352 feet in the air on a grassy park that thrusts out into the water, and from its observation deck on a clear days you can see across western Lake Erie all the way to Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo.
The monument is open from May through October, and admission is only $3, free for kids. Come in September and be part of the Perry’s Victory Heritage Festival.