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Branch Rickey’s boyhood home is on Duck Run-Otway Road, and he is buried nearby. Born in 1881, he died in 1965. Rickey had a mediocre major league playing career as a catcher at the turn of the twentieth century. Rickey was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Branch Rickey helped break Baseball's color barrier by signing up Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who became the modem major league's first African-American player in 1947. As an executive with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey pioneered the use of baseball statistics for evaluating players. He invented the modem farm system while as an executive with the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1920s and 1930s. W. Branch Rickey was elected to the Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1967.
Ohio & Erie Canal
Ohio's 1000-mile network of navigable canals, constructed between 1825 and 1847, provided a system of economical transportation where none had previously existed. The young state with its isolated frontier economy was transformed almost overnight. The canals opened many markets for its agriculture and industrial products, and attracted thousands of immigrants to the state. Today only a few of the deep excavations, the high earthen embankments and the massive structures of timber and cut stone are left to remind us of our debt to those who built Ohio's first transportation system. By 1820 the new state of Ohio had grown to a
population of 580,000 residents. The main industry of the state was
agricultural. It soon became evident that the state suffered from a severe
lack of reliable transportation to move its products to eastern markets.
The Various attempts at restoration were made between 1904 and 1910, however, on March 23, 1913, Ohio's canal system came to an abrupt end. After a winter of record snowfall, storms dumped an abnormally heavy amount of rain on the state. The flood caused the reservoirs to spill over into the canals, destroying aqueducts, washing out banks, and devastating most of the locks. In the ensuing years most of the canal lands were sold to private individuals or transferred to other public agencies for recreation, roads, and other public uses. Local Ohio Canal Preservation efforts are underway. Link to: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water, Canal Lands page
McDermott Quarries Several sandstone-bearing formations crop out
along the Ohio River in the vicinity of Buena Vista. They are in ascending
order the Bedford shale and Berea Sandstone of Devonian or Mississippian
age and the Buena Vista Sandstone Member of the Cuyahoga Formation of
Mississippian age. These exposed rocks drew the attention of pioneers, and
quarrying began in the early 1800's. Although both the Berea Sandstone and
Bedford Shale contain suitable sandstone units, almost all dimension stone
has been quarried from beds of the Buena Vista Member. Stone from a
certain layer became so popular with architects and builders at Cincinnati Blocks containing as much as 300 cubic feet were quarried and shipped, but the average has been about 45 cubic feet. The blocks are sawed in pieces of various sizes to meet the market demand. In addition to a large use for architectural purposes, this ledge has provided stone for culverts, flagging, and curbing. Historic McDermott Stone Buildings
Visitors to McDermott can enjoy the many structures constructed of McDermott sandstone. Even landscaping walls made of discarded stone fragments add to the character of this mining town.
Elks Golf Course Built in 1924, this l8 hole course has had more than 80 years to mature and develop a rich character. The Elks Is one that challenges a golfer and demands respect of the more experienced. The Elks is open to the public |
Now marked with
a historical plaque, the property is privately owned. The maple trees
Branch Rickey is said to have planted on both sides of the rural road are
now mature and have grown into a lovely archway. 
