GALION, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—As the Galion History Center prepares for its busiest holiday stretch of the year, historians are inviting the community to experience seasonal events at Brownella Cottage while uncovering some of the city’s lesser-known 19th-century history.

Speaking on the “Community Spotlight” program with host Randy Bigley, Tanesha Pickering and Kylie Cunningham of the Galion History Center outlined their upcoming schedule; the center is already preparing for its December lineup. Upcoming holiday events include the annual Holiday Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 5 during Come Home to Galion, Christmas Cookie and Cocktail Tours at 6, 7, and 8 p.m. Dec. 11, and a Dec. 12 holiday event featuring Santa Claus.

During the “Hidden History” segment of the broadcast, Pickering and Cunningham shared research—sparked by an archival discovery from Dr. Margaret Sumner of Ohio State University at Marion—into the “Red Onion,” a notorious 19th-century brothel and saloon that operated during Galion’s bustling railroad era.

Located at 64 East Main St. (now 232 1/2 Harding Way East, part of H&R Wolf Hardware) just across from the city building, the Red Onion first appeared in the Galion Inquirer in February 1878 when an unsatisfied customer filed a complaint, leading to a fine and 13 men being subpoenaed as witnesses. Despite an 1851 Ohio law declaring houses of prostitution public nuisances, 1885 newspaper accounts openly noted the Red Onion was “flourishing” alongside other local establishments like the Blue Goose.

In March 1886, authorities raided the Red Onion and charged its madam, Nancy A. Akins. Following a packed courtroom trial featuring testimony from employees May Smith, May Thompson, and bartender George Anderson, Akins relocated the operation to Crestline. Operating under the alias Carrie Dahl, she faced fierce pushback in Crestline, where masked vigilantes broke windows and used a village hose cart to drench the building in May 1889. Ordered out of town by the Crestline mayor while suffering from tuberculosis, she relocated to Upper Sandusky under the name Carrie Weintrout and died in September 1889 at age 29.

Tickets and updates for upcoming Galion History Center events are available at galionhistory.com and on the Galion History Center Facebook page.