However, even with the original location of Zane's Trace in many areas lost to bulldozer and plow, there are still many points along its original path that divulge the route without question. With a little sleuthing, one can ascertain where these abandoned sections may lie. Once the approximate location of the trace has been determined, a close examination of the man-made structures in the area can lead to an accurate guess of the path.
Homes were rarely built at great distances from access roads. Homes that were built along sections of the trace that are now abandoned often seem to be situated unusually far from our present roads. Frequently the fronts of these homes are facing the old trace as well and not the current road of address. In many cases the driveways that lead to these homes may actually be the trace itself.
Cemeteries also may assist in finding Zane's Trace. Small family burial plots were often located near homes along the trace. While houses and buildings do not always survive the ravages of time, documentation is often available that pinpoints the resting places of many of our first settlers. Other manmade structures also may give clues to the location of the old roadbed. On the northeast side of Lancaster along the route of the trace as it approached town is an original hand-dug well that served residents along this early road. Features such as this dug well (now protected as part of the Hansel Nature Preserve by the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission), foundation stones from houses or barns, or even out-of-place rows of very old trees in the midst of a younger forest often belie the mystery of the location of the original State Road.
As soon as the trace has been blazed across the region, people searching for adventure and a new home began settling the interior of the Ohio territory. The very earliest settlers to the Lancaster area most probably traveled the trace to get here. Our own Capt. Joseph Hunter--regarded as the first settler--traveled this route from Kentucky in 1797. In the next two years, there was a steady influx of settlers to the area, most of whom traveled the trace to get here. Many of these individuals came from the east--especially from the Lancaster and Berks County region of Pennsylvania. In honor of their homeland, the town they settled at the crossing of the Hockhocking River was named New Lancaster when set up in 1800 (the "New" was dropped in 1805). Various other small towns were planned along the route of the trace as more settlers moved in. East and West Rushville, Hamburg, and Tarlton all were established along the route. Other settlements along the route may not be as well-known. A couple of these "lost" villages include Fairfield, located in Richland Township near the present location of Fairfield Union High School, and Hamilsbourg, which was located east of Lancaster near the Grace Lutheran Church. Both of these towns were platted on paper but never established.
Another early settler of the county--first arriving in 1798--was Martin Landis Sr. After spending a year in the Lancaster area, Landis removed himself and family to the Clearcreek Valley at the crossing of Zane's Trace in what is now Madison Township (however, at that time it was a part of Clearcreek Township). Landis was originally purchasing sections 6 and 7 of Madison Township for David Shellenbarger, the brother of his wife Barbara, but came to settle on the land himself when David died and Landis was appointed assignee of David's heirs and paid for the land himself. The path of Zane's Trace is only evident for a short distance through this property in Madison Township as the present route of Strickler Road. North of the junction of Strickler Road with Amanda-Clearport Road, the trace is nearly lost as it heads toward Hamburg Road.
The home north of the crossing of Clearcreek that was eventually built on this property early in the 1800s stands a couple hundred yards from Amanda-Clearport Road but less than 100 feet from the trace--which the front of the house faces. This home, once known as the Wylie Inn, served for a time as a stagecoach stop along the trace offering beds to weary travelers. A short distance east of this home, Landis built the first schoolhouse in Madison Township, which also served as a Mennonite meeting house on Sundays. There is no trace of this school, but the small Landis Cemetery where Martin was interred in 1814 still exists on a small hill overlooking Clearcreek Valley. The driveway that travels this portion of the trace continues back through reverting pasture land and follows a deep cut in the hillside--presumably made to level the path of the roadway. After leaving the pasture lands and entering the woods, the trace follows the crest of a ridge before dipping down into a valley as it winds past yet another cemetery. Next to this cemetery stood the St. John's Lutheran Church, which was built in 1826. This church stood until 1877, when it burned to the ground with no trace left.
Whereas other sections of the trace seemed to have gone into disuse in the mid-1800s, this section serving the church most likely stayed open much longer and can be seen on the Madison Township plat in Everts' 1875 Atlas of Fairfield County. Not far from this burial ground is the remodeled Sweyer's Union Inn. This Inn, now a one story residence, was at one time a three story brick inn. Built in 1821, it hosted several notable guests, including Henry Clay and Santa Anna (then president of Mexico) as he was en route east to visit with Andrew Jackson. It is a very short distance from this inn until you reach another existing portion of Zane's Trace that now follows the route of Hamburg Road toward Lancaster.
Our Fairfield County has an amazing story embedded in the history of the towns, roads and people that have made their mark on our past. The passing of time may cause us to forget the events that have shaped out present but if we look hard enough, the past is still there--sometimes just waiting to be rediscovered.