Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio / 29 September 2017
Rising up 352 feet above Lake Erie, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial is a symbol of American Naval Commander Oliver Hazard Perry’s Victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie and a testament to enduring peace.
The world’s largest Doric column, made of pink granite from Milford, MA, is also the third tallest memorial in the National Park Service and the country’s highest open air observation deck at 317 feet.
Built by a commission of nine states – Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Rhode Island – from 1912 to 1915, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial opened on June 13, 1915 and became a National Park in 1936. Ohio native and U.S. President William Howard Taft signed the legislation creating the Park with the stipulation that his newly-formed Commission of Fine Arts hold a contest and select the best design.
Park Rangers give daily programs on the Battle of Lake Erie, the enduring peace between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and the building of the memorial. The Park also hosts many events and special programs throughout the season.
Visitors can ride an elevator to the 317-foot high observation deck for a 360 degree view of the Lake Erie Islands – including the U.S. and Canada, and the United States and Canadian mainland. The fee for riding the elevator to the observation deck is $7 for adults. Youngsters 15 and younger are always free. Anyone holding a current Park Pass – Annual America the Beautiful, EKIP, Lifetime Senior or Annual Senior, Active Military or Access – are admitted free.
The United States-Canada border is just five miles from the 25-acre Park and both countries share the world’s longest unarmed border at nearly 5,000 miles.
MEMORIAL RE-OPENS
Saturday, May 19, 2018
10 am
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial will reopen Saturday, May 19, at 10 am with a ribbon cutting and brief program after being inaccessible throughout 2017 during an exterior and interior restoration. The 352-foot tall structure is the world’s largest Doric column and is made of pink granite from Milford, MA. The column has a wood base structure with an outer concrete core. The granite exterior was cleaned and the entire structure repointed. Broken interior wall tile was also replaced and cleaned.
The 25-acre Park, Memorial Column and Visitor Center is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily through September 9. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm September 10 through September 30 and weekends in October (Friday through Monday) until October 22.
PLANTING SEEDS OF PEACE
Monday, May 21, 2018
11 am, 2 pm, 4 pm
In celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday, and a nod to neighboring Canada, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial Rangers will help kids make seed pots out of newspaper and give programs on proper planting techniques and on pollinators. The program will emphasize planting native plants and the importance of not introducing invasive plant species in the environment.
PERRY EDUCATION DAYS
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 – Thursday, May 24, 2018
10 am to 4 pm
A hands on educational experience for students to learn about the War of 1812, life during that period in the United States, and life on board the US vessels. An open invitation is extended to the first 3,000 students to enlist in Perry’s Navy. Students will experience learning through a Living History camp that includes living conditions, cooking, 1812 medical practices and black powder demonstrations. The free program includes a trip to the 317-foot high open air Observation Deck and a view of the Lake Erie Islands and the site of the Battle of Lake Erie. School teachers should contact the Park at 419-285-2184 to enroll their class.
MAY CARRONADE WEEKEND
Saturday, May 26, 2018 – Sunday, May27, 2018
11 am to 5 pm
Park Rangers and volunteers will demonstrate firing black powder muskets and the Park’s carronade throughout the day. Ranger programs will cover the nuances of the 1812 military uniform, the proper handling of black powder and the steps to firing a musket. The carronade, a small gun like those used on board the US Brig Lawrence and US Brig Niagara, will be fired by the Park’s Gun Crew. The Carronade program will discuss the proper steps in firing the short range gun and its limitation during the Battle of Lake Erie. Musket firing demonstrations will take place at 11 am, 1, 3, and 5 pm. Carronade demonstrations will be given at noon, 2, and 4 pm.
MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
Monday, May 28, 2018
11 am
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial will honor our fallen veterans, including the three American and three British Naval Officers interned beneath the Memorial Column’s rotunda, at a Memorial Day Service on the lower plaza at 11 am. The Memorial Day Procession, led by Put-in-Bay American Legion Post #542 will depart the Park’s Visitor Center at 11am and make its way to the Column. After the program, a Wreath of Remembrance will be placed over the stone marking the resting place of the six veterans buried here. Bagpipes will play Taps and Amazing Grace before a musket volley and firing of the carronade. Area veterans are invited to attend the Memorial Service. Island ferry services give free passage to veterans on Memorial Day.
PUT-IN-BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL AT PERRY’S VICTORY
Saturday, June 9 2018
1 pm to 7 pm
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial celebrates peace through music by hosting the second annual Put-in-Bay Music Festival. A collaboration between the National Park, the Perry Group, the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society and title sponsor Miller Boat Line, the free concert is also supported with a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. About 3,000 people were entertained in 2017 by the Floorwalkers, Strung Like a Horse, Mo ‘Mojo, Emily Keener, JP and the Chatfield Boys, the Flyin’ Jays and Bob Gatewood. Attendees will enjoy playing the Battle of Lake Erie Corn Toss, kids music crafts and yard games, Music Workshops on drumming, and beginner and advanced ukulele, and a Guitar Hero competition. Rangers also will have a living history display. Food, beer and soft drinks will also be available on site.
JUNE CARRONADE WEEKEND
Saturday, June 16, 2018 – Sunday, June 17, 2018
11 am to 5 pm
Park Rangers and volunteers will demonstrate firing black powder muskets and the Park’s carronade throughout the day. Ranger programs will cover the nuances of the 1812 military uniform, the proper handling of black powder and the steps to firing a musket. The carronade, a small gun like those used on board the US Brig Lawrence and US Brig Niagara, will be fired by the Park’s Gun Crew. The Carronade program will discuss the proper steps in firing the short range gun and its limitation during the Battle of Lake Erie. Musket firing demonstrations will take place at 11 am, 1, 3, and 5 pm. Carronade demonstrations will be given at noon, 2, and 4 pm.
103rd ANNIVERSARY OF MEMORIAL OPENING & SUNSET TOUR
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
7-9 pm
Ranger programs on column construction, restorations and maintenance during the day and an astronomy program at 7 pm by NASA Solar System Ambassador Gene Zajac that includes how the moon and other objects in our atmosphere affect the rising winds at sunset and other phenomenon. The evening Sunset Tour includes a trip to the Observation Deck. There is a $20 fee for the evening program and tickets can be purchased through the NPS Fee Portal in the spring of 2018.
YOUTH MARITIME EXPLORERS CAMP
Saturday, June 16, 2018
11 am to 4 pm
Rangers and volunteers combine Maritime history and science to educate youth on the history of the Lake Erie Islands and how science and the environment affected maritime history, such as the Battle of Lake Erie, in a day camp for explorers. During the camp, youth will learn about Boating Safety from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, learn Sea Chanteys and try their hand at climbing the U.S. Brig Niagara’s “Royal Yard.” Explorers will also learn the time-honored tradition of tying a Turkshead knot, attend a demonstration on making boat oars and rope, and browse displays of vintage vessels, an ice boat and ice fishing equipment. Rangers in 1812 Military uniforms will give black powder programs, firing muskets and the Park’s carronade. A program on invasive species, a collection of small animals, and snakes will also be part of the camp experience. The program is free and teachers and youth organization can enroll their students by calling the Park at 419-285-2184.
ARTS ON ERIE
Tuesday, June 25, 2018 – Thursday, June 27, 2018
10 am to noon and 1 pm to 3 pm
Arts on Erie is a free hands-on workshop for youth and the young at heart with a different project being offered each day. Area artists conduct the workshops that in the past have included painting, clay work and print making. The Park supplies art materials and space on the back porch of the Visitor Center for this program that is open to the general public.
JULY 4TH NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
11 am
New American Citizens take their Citizenship Oath on the lower plaza of Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial in a Naturalization Ceremony on Independence Day. Park friends, The Perry Group, sponsor a music program at 5 pm on the back porch of the Visitor Center and Rangers will assist visitors parking on park property for the annual community fireworks that begin at dark.
JULY CARRONADE WEEKEND
Saturday, July 28, 2018 – Sunday, July 29, 2018
11 am to 5 pm
Park Rangers and volunteers will demonstrate firing black powder muskets and the Park’s carronade throughout the day. Ranger programs will cover the nuances of the 1812 military uniform, the proper handling of black powder and the steps to firing a musket. The carronade, a small gun like those used on board the US Brig Lawrence and US Brig Niagara, will be fired by the Park’s Gun Crew. The Carronade program will discuss the proper steps in firing the short-range gun and its limitation during the Battle of Lake Erie. Musket firing demonstrations will take place at 11 am, 1, 3, and 5 pm. Carronade demonstrations will be given at noon, 2, and 4 pm.
WORLD RANGER DAY
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
A global observance of Rangers across the world who died in the line of duty over the past 12 months. Many of these Rangers are from Africa, India and Southeast Asia. More than half of these deaths are at the hands of poachers and illegal miners and timber harvesters. Many more are killed by animals such as elephants, lions and bears. Rangers will show “The Thin Green Line” about the Rangers protecting natural resources in their countries and paying the ultimate price.The film will be shown at 1 pm in the Visitor Center Theater. Flags from each country affected will be flown on the Park grounds.
BARBERSHOP SINGERS CONCERT
Friday, August 10, 2018
7-9 pm
For more than seven decades hundreds of people have gathered to hear the Barbershop Singers perform a free concert at Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial. Harmony and peace are perfect companions and the concert takes place on the back porch of the National Park’s Visitor Center. Some seating is provided but people are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to accommodate the large crowds that attend each year. Another event in the Park’s “peace through music” legacy.
AUGUST SKY TOUR
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
7-9 pm
View the night sky from the Observation Deck at Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial and learn how mariners navigated using the constellations and stars. NASA Ambassador Gene Zajac will present an astronomy program at the Park’s Visitor Center before heading to the 317-foot tall open air Observation Deck. There is a fee for the evening program and tickets can be purchased through the NPS Fee Portal in the spring of 2018. The program is open to the general public.
PERRY’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Saturday, August 25, 2018 – Sunday, August 26, 2018
Weekend celebration of the 233rdAnniversary of Oliver Hazard Perry’s birth on August 23, 1785 and the 199th Anniversary of his death at 34 on August 23, 1819. Listen to the Hero of Lake Erie as he discussed his life from the time he became a midshipman at age 13 to his victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie at age 28. Musket firing demonstrations will take place at 11 am, 1, 3, and 5 pm. Carronade demonstrations will be given at noon, 2, and 4 pm.
102nd ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial celebrates the 102nd Anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service with a Fee Free Day. Visitors will be able to ride the elevator to the 317-foot Observation Deck for free. Kids can also visit the “See Yourself as a Park Ranger” display where they can try on different Ranger uniforms and equipment and learn about the many different jobs Park Rangers can choose from.
HISTORIC WEEKEND
Friday, September 7, 2018 – Sunday, September 9, 2018
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial celebrates the 205th Anniversary of Oliver Hazard Perry’s defeat of the British fleet in The Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, and the enduring peace that has bound the United States, Great Britain and Canada in peace and as allies for more than 200 years. A Flag Retirement Ceremony is held Friday evening at 7pm with Park Rangers, American Legion members and Boy Scouts retiring a flag from each country. Saturday begins with an 11 am Memorial Service for the men who fought and died during the naval battle. The Grand Parade steps off at 2:15 pm and ends at the Park’s flag poles where four high school marching bands will play the National Anthems from each country before Rangers and volunteers fire a musket and carronade salute. A Living History 1812 Military Encampment is open 11 am to 4 pm each day and Rangers will give black powder musket demonstrations and carronade firing demonstrations throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. The Perry Group will host a concert Saturday evening and the annual “Lights of Peace” Harbor Illumination at dusk. About 1,200 Boy Scouts will camp on the east lawn at Port Clinton Troop #360’s annual Camporee.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Friday, September 21, 2018
World Peace Day was established in 1981 by unanimous UN resolution. Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial wants to challenge the current 5,600-person “World’s Largest Peace Symbol” on Park property. Interested groups should contact the Park at 419-285-2184 for more information.