One hundred seventy years ago this April 1st, more than a quarter of Chillicothe burned in the worst disaster to befall the thriving canal town.

Join local guide Kevin Coleman in a walking tour of part of the “burned district” to explore the architecture and history of the time of the “Great Fire of 1852” and its aftermath.

The tour ends in an open house in Chillicothe’s fire museum, Phoenix Fire Co. No. 2, at 68 East Second Street. Enjoy a guided tour there, including a ten-minute video and restored upstairs, that help to interpret more then 200 years of firefighting with photos, equipment, and gear.

The walking tour tours begin 2pm Sunday, April 3rd, on West Second near Walnut Street. Tours are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and $15 for families (three or more family members). Please pay with cash ‘at the door’ when you arrive.

Tours of the museum starting about 3pm are free, but donations are welcome there.

Learn more from Kevin Coleman on his Intrepid Heritage Services Facebook site. Contact him at [email protected], 740 / 775-4036 (phone), IntrepidHeritageServices.com, 740 / 771-8574 (texting), or messaging on Facebook.

The tour along Second Street includes the site where the fire began, houses from long before the fire that survived their brush with flames, homes and commercial buildings of the time, and post-fire replacements that remain to lend Chillicothe its antebellum architecture.