The Search for Seccaium

Long before Seccaium Park attracted crowds to Crawford County in the early 1900s, stories of an older Seccaium—a trading village said to have thrived along the Olentangy River—captured the imagination of the Honorable E.B. Finley. In 1897, Finley, a respected Crawford County attorney, former Adjutant General of Ohio, and devoted researcher of Native American history,¹ partnered with a professor from Ohio State University to uncover the facts of the ancient village. Their goal was not simply to collect artifacts, but to recover a forgotten chapter of history from the soil along the Olentangy by traveling the same routes as the ancients through the same water trails they traveled. For E.B. Finley and the Professor, the expedition was less about science and more about honoring memory, driven by the belief that beneath quiet fields and winding waters lay traces of commerce, culture, and community long lost to time.² Though their expedition was canceled due to illness³, Finley’s efforts ensured that the story of Seccaium would remain suspended between legend and legacy for generations to come.

Ebenezer Brown Finley was, above all, a writer.⁴ He crafted speeches for the political offices he held and filled journals with reflections on his work as an attorney in Bucyrus, Ohio.⁵ Yet his deepest passion was reserved for Ohio’s prehistoric past.⁶ As a charter member of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, founded in 1885, Finley not only attended their gatherings but often spoke about his research. Rooted in his Bucyrus heritage, he carried a special interest in Crawford County’s ancient history. By the 1890s, that curiosity drove him to probe even further: toward the mysteries of a place that would soon become known as Seccaium Park.

The name Seccaium is said to have originated from a local American Indian tribe, though research has not confirmed it as an actual tribal name. Before the 17th century, the Erie people lived in this region, followed later by the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Wyandot. Some 19th-century publications even hint that a river or tributary of the Sandusky once bore the name Seccaium. Whatever its true origin, Emaline nee. Codding Finley ⁷, wife of E.B. Finley, suggested it for what would become Seccaium Park.⁸

Jolly Times at Seccaium Park is available at the Bucyrus Public Library.

Although E.B. Finley never uncovered definitive proof of the Seccaium trading village, his determination left a lasting mark on Crawford County. His research, though inconclusive, inspired the naming of Seccaium Park, a tribute not only to the legend he pursued but to the spirit of inquiry that drives historical and genealogical work.

Finley’s journey reminds us that the absence of evidence does not erase meaning. In genealogy and local history, the search itself often reveals deeper connections between people, places, and the stories that shape them. Some trails may end in mystery, yet they invite future generations to continue the quest. Finley’s legacy lies not in what he proved, but in what he preserved: curiosity, commitment, and the belief that even unverified stories deserve a place in our collective memory. Today, the Seccaium Historical Marker on Route 19 between Galion and Bucyrus stands as a quiet monument to that belief—inviting all who pass to wonder, question, and remember.

1. “Ohio, Crawford County Obituaries, 1860-2004,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTCH-9HJZ?cc=1384728&wc=71J1-HTK%3A987801 : 18 October 2019), Fiala, Dora H. (Weltle)-Flynn, V. Eva (Patton) > image 336 of 1523; Crawford County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, Bucyrus. ↩︎
2. “The Indian Metropolis”, New Haven Morning Journal and Courier, 4 Nov 1897, p.4 column 3 near bottom. Chronicling America: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ndnp/ct/batch_ct_ash_ver01/data/sn84020358/00415621176/1897110401/0885.pdf. Last Accessed 24 Feb 2026. ↩︎
3. Moorehead, Warren K. (Warren King), 1866-1939. The Field Diary of an Archaeological Collector. [Andover? Mass., 1904.] ↩︎
4. Stout, Herald F. 1903-. The Clan Finley. 2d ed., rev. and corrected. Dover, Ohio: The Eagle Press, 19561957. Hathitrust : https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062871215. Last Accessed 24 Feb 2026. ↩︎
5. Read about his work as an Ohio State Representative in the Journal of the House of Representatives vol. 49 p. 45. Ohio. General Assembly. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the … General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Columbus, Ohio: National Graphics Corp. Hathitrust : https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.aa0001573054 . Last Accessed 24 Feb 2026. ↩︎
6. Read his Mound Builders article available online at the Hathitrust website. Magazine of Western History. Cleveland, Ohio: [s.n.], 1884. Hathitrust : https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924093243362 . Last accessed 24 Feb 2026. ↩︎
7. “Ohio, Crawford County Obituaries, 1860-2004,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTCH-9HVS?cc=1384728&wc=71J1-HTK%3A987801 : 18 October 2019), Fiala, Dora H. (Weltle)-Flynn, V. Eva (Patton) > image 337 of 1523; Crawford County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, Bucyrus. ↩︎
8. Honneffer, Frederick N. Jolly Times at Seccaium Park, 1899-1948. [Honneffer], 2003. ↩︎