stephenb
05-05-2012, 11:46 PM
For those who are familiar with Leslie Peltier and his magnificent work Starlight Nights, I have for some time now, been trying to establish the exact location of his original family farm on the outskirts of Delphos, Ohio.
Very little information is on the internet which divulges the location of his family farmhouse which forms the centerpiece for his classic autobiography. The most valuable piece of information is on page 19 of his book - a beautifully drawn 'birds eye' sketch of his farm from a century ago, complete with all the landmarks he tells in his book.
Without naming the exact address, I believe after some time I have located the area on Google Maps.
The first image is the scan from his book. Image two is a screenshot from Google Earth, and the third image is with some identifying features marked. I am convinced that this is the exact location of Leslie Peltier's iconic farm. This is the only location on the Auglaize River in Ohio which match the landscape features: the Quarry is now quite clearly a dam. The Woods still exists in it's distinct shape. The old roads (marked yellow in the image) can be seen when zoomed in on Google Earth. The swamp area next to the river still appears relevant today. Peltier mentions "Our farm is located in Northwestern Ohio, about twenty-five miles from the Indiana line" ( I measured 27 miles). "Half a mile south is the Pensylvania Railroad" (I measured 0.45 miles). And the nearest down is 4 miles west - just as Peltier states in his book.
Thoughts?
Stephen
Very little information is on the internet which divulges the location of his family farmhouse which forms the centerpiece for his classic autobiography. The most valuable piece of information is on page 19 of his book - a beautifully drawn 'birds eye' sketch of his farm from a century ago, complete with all the landmarks he tells in his book.
Without naming the exact address, I believe after some time I have located the area on Google Maps.
The first image is the scan from his book. Image two is a screenshot from Google Earth, and the third image is with some identifying features marked. I am convinced that this is the exact location of Leslie Peltier's iconic farm. This is the only location on the Auglaize River in Ohio which match the landscape features: the Quarry is now quite clearly a dam. The Woods still exists in it's distinct shape. The old roads (marked yellow in the image) can be seen when zoomed in on Google Earth. The swamp area next to the river still appears relevant today. Peltier mentions "Our farm is located in Northwestern Ohio, about twenty-five miles from the Indiana line" ( I measured 27 miles). "Half a mile south is the Pensylvania Railroad" (I measured 0.45 miles). And the nearest down is 4 miles west - just as Peltier states in his book.
Thoughts?
Stephen