Windsor is a historic town in Ohio at the intersection of U.S. Route 322 and State Route 534. The town is a somewhat hidden gem of Ohio history. Windsor is an unincorporated community located in eastern Windsor Township, Ashtabula County. Although it is unincorporated, it does have a post office with the ZIP code of 44099.

We can take the town’s history all the way back to 1799, when the first settlement at Windsor was made by George Phelps. He had moved from Tolland, Connecticut with his wife, Eliza Griswold and their two small children. When they had settled, they decided to name the town Windsor, after Windsor, Connecticut. Their cabin sat in the south-east part of town on the bank of Phelps creek, which runs through Warner’s Hollow. During the short four years that Mrs. Phelps lived in Windsor, she had become the mother of the first child born in the township: Eliza Griswold Phelps.

The Phelps family were accompanied by Mrs. Phelps’ brother, Solomon Griswold during their journey across Lake Erie. Solomon was a father to six daughters – all whom no longer had a mother. He had taken a different route through Canada, and was blocked by ice, delaying his arrival to Windsor until 1800. When the Phelps family arrived in Windsor, they constructed a basic cabin with no windows, floors or doors, along with a bark roof. They soon had a nicer cabin erected, but this cabin too had been left behind in 1819 when they built a nicer two-story frame building. This new building had become not only a home for them, but a place for the community to gather. They were known for great hospitality to locals and travelers alike.

While much of Windsor sits quiet and empty today, it was once a bustling little town with a lively history often overlooked. The town had numerous prosperous businesses, with some buildings changing in use over time. Some businesses operating in Windsor over the years included a general store, bar, antique shops, a hotel, restaurant, grange, creamery, ice cream shop, a building where they made maple syrup and others. In the town’s earlier days, there were even two different railroads that went to two main quarries.

Dances were hosted in the former grange hall, always accompanied by music from the same trio; two brothers along with one brother’s wife on the piano. The Windsor Grange was constructed in the late 1800s, opened on January 30, 1874. On January 30, 1974 a celebration was held as the grange turned 100 years old, effectively making it the oldest grange in Ashtabula County; a title which it still holds today. It was closed in the mid-1970s.

One former antique shop spent the beginning of its life as Sadie Barnard’s ice cream shop during the early 1900s. For some time during the mid-1950s, it had also operated as a VFW. To this day in 2020 the building stands empty.

The town’s general store was built in the 1870s, and had initially operated as a post office and store. It was later opened as a general store called the Windsor Market. The building was demolished in 2013 after a fire. For years, this store served the community of Windsor, and had also operated motel rooms on the upper floors.

What now stands empty as the Switching Post Restaurant was initially the Elk Hotel. The hotel was built and opened in 1870. After operating for some years as a hotel, the building then went on to become an antique shop, and gas pumps were installed sometime around the 1940s. The shop gained quite a large popularity, and would see customers from Cleveland and even Canada when activity in the town was at its peak. It was eventually converted to use as a restaurant, and renamed as the Switching Post Restaurant. They still held onto their antiques, and continued to sell them while the restaurant was in operation. During the 1950’s before the dial system was implemented, the Windsor Telephone Company’s switchboard operated in the south end of the building. At this time, it was the home of, and run by Pauline Olin. During the 90s, people would rent apartments on the top floor, but it was eventually closed in the late 90s due to flooding, electrical and sewage issues. The gas pumps were also removed during this time.

Among other businesses, Alderman’s TV Repair was well known to residents of Windsor.

Marlin Alderman was a television repairman and resident of Windsor. He would visit the homes of his clients to fix their televisions, but couldn’t keep up with the workload over the years.

The former home of Doris Drown also sits empty, now fading away to leave no more than memories. Doris was the sister of Marlin’s wife, Marian Alderman.

The former nursing home was opened in 1964. It was closed in June of 2009 due to reports of bed bugs and mold from a creek, which runs below the building. Today, some parts of the building are falling into the creek below its floors. The original owners of the nursing home had been deeply committed to taking part in supporting the Windsor community, but after the building was handed to new owners, things began to go downhill.   

Today, Taylor’s Pub still operates, bringing the community of Windsor together, and welcoming visitors with good company, and some of the best burgers you will ever eat.

In 1850, Windsor’s population was 1,033 – slightly below Harpersfield, which had a population of 1,278 at the time. It was Ashtabula County’s 9th most populated area. In this same year, Conneaut had the highest population at 1,877 residents. In 2020, Windsor’s population is right around 2,000, making it 13th on the list today, with Ashtabula being number one at around 20,290.

Windsor remained quite lively through the 1960s and even held up fairly well into the 80s, but had started to see a quick decline during the late 90s as many buildings were abandoned.

Though much of the town remains quiet, you’ll still find life passing through, whether it be to stop at Taylor’s Pub, admire the history of the town, or head over to Ireland Road to see the world’s largest Our Lady of Guadalupe Statue. Among the interesting history of the town, this statue is one of the most notable pieces, known and visited by many all around the world. While not so much “forgotten,” it does remain an interesting piece of this area’s unique history.

At 50 feet tall, this statue towers over the fields of a 120-year-old, 50-acre farm purchased by Deacon Ed Heinz and his wife Pat in 1987. Initial plans for a Catholic youth camp had fallen through when they lost the property due to financial issues. Later however, the two were able to repurchase the farm, deciding this time to establish the Servants of Mary Center for Peace and share their Catholic faith with the community. The statue stands before a reflecting pool surrounded by lights, which when viewed from above represent a Catholic rosary with Jesus on a cross at the bottom.

Ed and Patricia Heinz had left Ohio after losing the farm, and Ed took an engineering job in the United Kingdom. Ed said that their then four-year-old son Carl had sat down in front of a Nativity scene at church, and had a conversation with the Virgin Mary. She had told Carl “go back to the farm and wait.” Ed believed in Carl’s words, and now financially able to, repurchased the farm. They came back to Ohio with seven children and built the Servants of Mary Center for Peace on the farm.

Heinz had wanted to erect a statue, but scrambled to find a way to come up with funding to complete such a project. Fortunately for Ed, when he had reached out to Richard Hyslin – then a professor at the University of Texas in McAllen – he offered to build the statue at no cost. Rather, he worked for just the price of the materials, and over the course of two years the statue was built. He had used rebar, concrete, wire mesh and metal to complete the structure. It then took over a month to put the pieces together, and after that, 90 days to place all of the mosaic tiles. The statue was dedicated in 1995.

The statue can be visited today as Heinz continues to welcome guests onto the land.