On September 10, 1813, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated and captured a British squadron of warships at the Battle of Lake Erie. The battle, fought during the War of 1812, secured control of Lake Erie for the United States and enabled General William Henry Harrison to conduct a successful invasion of Western Upper Canada. Harrison subsequently defeated the British and Indians at the Thames River on October 5, 1813. The dual victories of Lake Erie and the Thames provided an important morale boost to the young country and gave the United States a much stronger bargaining position at the peace talks.

The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, ended the War 1812. However, in 1817 the United States signed the Rush-Bagot Agreement with Great Britain, a document that has resulted in peaceful relations between the United States and Canada since the War of 1812. Constructed between 1912 and 1915 by a commission of nine states and the federal government, Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial was built not only to commemorate the American naval triumph, but also "to inculcate the lessons of international peace by arbitration and disarmament." On June 2, 1936 the memorial was established as a unit of the National Park Service by a presidential proclamation of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

 Directions 

Plane - Griffing Island Airlines/Flying Service (800-368-3743): Year round transit to Put-in-Bay and all of the Lake Erie Islands from Port Clinton and Sandusky. Reservations required. PRIVATE PLANES:Put-in-Bay Airport is open daily from dawn to dusk. A small landing fee is charged and tie-downs are available.

Car - FROM EAST: Ohio Turnpike to US 250. Take US 250 north to SR 2 west. FROM WEST: Ohio Turnpike to SR 53 and SR 2. There are several ferry lines that service the island, the Jet Express, The Miller Boat Line, and the Rocket.

Take SR 2 to 163/Port Clinton exit and follow the signs to the Jet Express.

Take SR 2 to 53 N/Catawba Island exit and to the Miller Boat Line.

Take SR 2 to 250 N/Sandusky exit and follow the signs to the Rocket ferry line.

Public Transportation - Access to the island is by public ferry or plane only. Facilities are available on the island for private planes and boats.

On the island there are several taxi companies that will take you around th