The Buckeye Chronicles - Sandusky name

a compendium of facts about Ohio history

by Dan Chabek

Sandusky, an Indian Name

The signification of the Indian name Sandusky has been frequently a matter of dispute, according to Henry Howe, early Ohio historian.

However, William Walker, principal chief of the Wyandot tribe at Upper Sandusky (1835-36), claimed it meant, "at the cold water," and should be sounded, "San-doos-tee."

Sandusky County, formed in 1820, and three towns in Ohio took their name from the river. Although the town names of Sandusky and Upper Sandusky remain, Lower Sandusky had its name changed to Fremont before the Civil War.

Lawyer Rutherford B. Hayes, who later became three-time governor of Ohio and president of the United States, petitioned to change the town name of Lower Sandusky to Fremont in honor of famous Rocky Mountain trail blazer John Charles Fremont.

Judge Elisha W. Howland, writer of humorous verse who lived in Lower Sandusky at the time, objected to the proposed change and wrote a poem about it, but it was to no avail. The verse read in part:

"Sandusky is a pleasant name

'Tis short and easy spoken; Descending to us by a chain

That never should be broken... Therefore my prayer shall still remain,

Intil my voice grows husky; Oh, change the people, not the name

Of my old home, Sandusky!"

City of Sandusky

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

John Charles Fremont