Even today, it is hard to imagine 10,000 folks gathering on Mount Vernon's Public Square to listen attentively for two hours or more to an energized political speaker.
But gather they did to hear a speech that we remember today as an important benchmark event in America's Civil War story.
One of America's outstanding writers was recognized in 2003 for his years in residence at Kenyon College.
Kenyon College came here in the early days of Knox County, and for nearly 200 years has maintained a distinguished standard for higher education in the United States.
As the Civil War neared, Kenyon College's President Lorin Andrews set an example by becoming Ohio's first volunteer for military service.
The beautiful farmhouse residence of Columbus Delano has now been preserved as the administrative offices for the Mount Vernon Nazarene University.