Letter from Zalmon Wildman to Dr. George Anderson in 1826

Born in Danbury, Connecticut, Zalmon Wildman was one of the original founders of Sandusky. He owned a lot of property in the Sandusky area, and worked with others to promote business ventures and transportation in the area now known as Erie County, Ohio. Below is a portion of a letter that Zalmon Wildman wrote to Dr. George Anderson on May 6, 1826. Mr. Wildman discusses how he spoke in Washington D.C. before the Committee on Commerce to recommend a survey of Sandusky Bay. He suggested that two hundred dollars be set aside for to cover the expenses of the survey.

According to U.S. Government reports, in July of 1826 the Corps of Engineers was given four hundred dollars in order to carry out a survey of Sandusky Bay, to “ascertain the expediency and expense of constructing piers to improve the navigation thereof…” The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has in its map collection a Chart of the Entrance of Sandusky Bay, published by the Bureau of U.S. Topographical Engineers in 1838, which was based on the original survey of the Sandusky Bay, completed by Lieut. Campbell Graham in 1826.

Zalmon Wildman was elected as a Representative to the 24th United States Congress. He served in Congress from March 4, 1835 until his death on December 14, 1835. Zalmon Wildman’s grandson, Horatio Wildman, was a lawyer in Sandusky, and was elected Mayor of Sandusky in 1851. Horatio Wildman died in 1909, and he is buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.