At the top of the invitation to the
Cotillion Soiree held on December 11, 1850 at the Townsend House in Sandusky is
a portion of a poem by Milton. It reads:
Come, and trip it as you
go,
On the light fantastic
toe.
(From this poem, to “trip the light fantastic” became a way of describing dancing.)
The Townsend House, which opened
in the 1840s, was at the northwest corner
of Market and Decatur Streets.
A young Rush R. Sloane was one of the floor
managers of the Cotillion Soiree. He would later go on to build the
Sloane House hotel, and serve as Mayor of Sandusky. He was also known for his
bold abolitionist views and actions during the time of the Underground Railroad.
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| image from the Internet Archive |
Other
floor managers of the Soiree were: John W. Wetherell and G.J. Francisco.
Honorary managers were Ebenezer B. Sadler, E.S. Flint,
Pitt Cooke, J.G. Camp, Jr., J.E. Follett, and Theodore Hosmer. These were some of
the earliest and best known pioneer residents of Sandusky. Visit the Sandusky
Library Archives Research to learn more about the history of Sandusky and Erie
County, Ohio.
