I am glad to report that an important piece of our collective history has been saved from the bulldozers of "progress." In a recent meeting between the mayor of Toledo and representatives of the Toledo Metroparks, it was agreed to sell the Fallen Timbers Battlefield to the Metroparks for $5.5 million. The agreement calls for the Metroparks to buy the land in two parcels. The first 72-acre plot was bought June 19 for $2.8 million. The second part, the remaining 115 acres, has to be paid for by July of 2001. This settlement ends a 6-year struggle to save the property from urban developement.

The City of Toledo purchased the property back in 1987 as part of a 1,200 acre land annex plan to expand its tax base, which was challenged in court and eventually abandoned. Since that time, most of the other land has been sold off. In 1995, Dr. Michael Pratt of Heidelberg College discovered that the actual battle had been fought on the land which the City of Toledo owned. he money to buy the site came from many sources. The State of Ohio gave $2 million, the City of Maumee added $500,000. Lucas County pledged $300,000 and the remaining funds came from The Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission. Representative Marcy Kaptur has promised to help secure Federal money for the purchase of the remaining parcel.

This story has a happy ending and a lesson for all of us: You CAN fight City Hall,and WIN!