Zanesville, OH
A Zanesville institution since 1948, when cousins Jack Hemmer and Tom Mirgon started scooping on Linden Avenue; the name arrived in 1957 after a customer, staggered by the size of the sundaes, demanded his in a soup bowl. Four owners in nearly eighty years, still the only place in town making ice cream daily, still serving Rittberger bologna from Zanesville's top meat market on the sandwich board, white subway tile and a decor that has honestly not needed to change. The sundaes are the legend; come at 7 am if you want breakfast first. Ten minutes from the field, and downtown the famous Y-Bridge forks mid-river, one of the few bridges in America you can cross and end up on the same side you started. Open seven days, 7 to 9, Friday and Saturday to 10.
Famous for its Y-Bridge — the only Y-shaped bridge in America at the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking rivers. Amelia Earhart said it was "the most unusual bridge in the world." From the air, the Y-shape is unmistakable. Zanesville was once the capital of Ohio (briefly, 1810-1812) and is the boyhood home of Western novelist Zane Grey, for whom the city is named. The National Road (US 40) passes through downtown — historic America from above.
Few towns hand a pilot a better landmark than Zanesville. Where the Licking River meets the Muskingum, the road doesn't cross on one bridge — it crosses on a Y. The Y-Bridge is a three-legged span that meets midstream, so you can drive onto it and come off on the same bank you started from. There has been a Y-bridge here since 1814; the current one, the fifth, dates to 1902 and is on the National Register. Aviator Amelia Earhart is said to have called Zanesville the most recognizable city in the country because of it. The town sits on Zane's Trace, the pioneer road that ran from Wheeling all the way to Maysville, Kentucky.
John Glenn — first American to orbit the Earth, Marine combat pilot, four-term U.S. senator, and at 77 the oldest person to fly in space — grew up in New Concord, just east of Zanesville. The Sears kit house his father assembled in 1923 has been restored as the John & Annie Glenn Museum, complete with costumed interpreters and a one-third-scale Friendship 7 capsule. Glenn met Annie here as a child; she went on to become a noted advocate for people with speech disabilities. His name rides on the Columbus airport and his statue stands in the Statehouse, but this small town is where the dreams started — fitting ground for an app about flying.
One of the largest sets of geometric earthworks in the world — built by the Hopewell culture between 100 BC and 500 AD. The Octagon Earthwork and Great Circle are extraordinary: a perfect octagon enclosing 50 acres connected to a circle 1,054 feet in diameter, all built without metal tools. The earthworks align precisely with the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle — astronomical engineering 2,000 years ahead of European equivalents. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023 as part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. From the air, the geometric perfection is staggering.
Holmes County has the largest Amish population of any county in the world — over 35,000 — exceeding even Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From the air, the contrast is striking: Amish farms with no power lines, neat rows of crops, often a windmill, surrounded by English farms with electrical service. Berlin, Walnut Creek, Sugarcreek, and Charm are the heart of the community. Amish furniture and quilt shops, family-style restaurants, and quiet country roads define the area. KBJJ (Wooster) is the closest GA airport.