War of 1812 Relic Gavel
Ohio Blockhouse Fort

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1812 Gavel 1812 Gavel 1812 Gavel
1812 Gavel 1812 Gavel
War of 1812 Fortress Relic Gavel
American: 1924
Oak with copper bands
Length overall:  11 inches
Mallet head: 3.75 inches
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Handmade presentation gavel furnished from the relic wood of a War of 1812 blockhouse, said by the prior owner to be an Ohio blockhouse.  A blockhouse is a defensive military fort.  There were a number of such blockhouses in Ohio, but given the date of 1924 on the mallet head, this gavel may have been made from wood taken from Captain James Manary's Blockhouse, which was moved from its original location three miles north of Bellefontaine to Lakeview and made into a museum in 1924.  Originally built in the 1810s, it was purchased in 1823 by a war veteran, who plugged up the rifle ports and lived there.  The mallet head inscription indicates that the gavel was made and presented to the Olympic Lodge 658 of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order.

The War of 1812 was fought as result of a growing crisis during the early years of the 1800s where the United States felt its rights on the seas were being violated by France and Britain.  President James Madison signed a declaration of war on Great Britain in June 1812.  Although a peace treaty ending the war was signed in Europe in December 1814, the war did not end until the spring of 1815.  Most of the fighting took place along the Canadian border, in the Chesapeake Bay area, along the Gulf of Mexico and at sea.

Inscription on mallet head:  THIS GAVEL IS MADE FROM A PIECE OF THE OLD BLOCKHOUSE OF 1812. MADE AND PRESENTED TO OLYMPIC LODGE 658 K OF P BY L. R. SPAIN CHARTER MEMBER AND DECENDENT [sic.] OF THE OLD BLOCKHOUSE 1924.

References:

“Ohio.” American Forts Network.  http://www.geocities.com/naforts/oh.html (10 May 2005).