Perry Peace Memorial and Visitors Center - On 10 September 1813, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry met and defeated a British flotilla, under Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, at the Battle of Lake Erie. With a squadron of nine ships, manned as a mixed crew of soldiers, marines, and sailors, Perry achieved one of the most significant victories of the War of 1812. At the most crucial period of the engagement, with the flagship the Lawrence battered into a helpless wreck, Perry transferred his command to the U.S. Brig Niagara, aboard which he broke the British battle line and achieved his great triumph. Moments after the final gun went silent, Perry wrote his now famous message to General William Henry Harrison: " We have met the enemy and they are ours."
In the decades following the battle, several movements were generated to construct a monument to Perry. Enthusiasm was plentiful, but finances were not. It was not until 1910, with the centennial of the battle approaching that the dream of building the Perry Memorial actually came to pass. Begun in October of 1912, Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial opened to the public in June of 1915. In 1936, the Memorial was declared a National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, at which time the memorial became part of the National Park System.
Rising 352 feet above Lake Erie, the Perry Memorial is the most dominant feature of the Lake Erie Islands. Interred beneath the rotunda floor are the remains of the three American and three British officers who were killed during the Battle of Lake Erie. Carved in the rotunda walls are the names of Perry's vessels along with the names of the Americans who were killed or wounded in the battle. After a climb of 37 steps to the lower landing, an elevator takes visitors to an open-air observation deck 317 feet above Lake Erie.
On a moderately clear day the observation deck offers a panoramic view of the Lake Erie Islands and the shorelines of Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario. From mid-June through the end of August, Park Rangers offer interpretive talks about the Battle of Lake Erie, the War of 1812, construction of the monument, and other topics of interest. Talks normally occur on the plaza at the base of the Memorial and are usually offered on the hour from 11:00 am to 5 pm. On weekends, Rangers offer living history demonstrations. Dressed in War of 1812 military and civilian uniforms, Rangers present talks about the battle and the war, concluded with a firing demonstration of reproduction flintlock muskets and rifles. On scheduled weekends there are firing demonstrations of a reproduction 32-pounder carronade.
In 2002, the National Park Service opened a new $2.4 million visitor center. The Perry Victory Visitor Center features a 15-minute movie about the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie, a large display area, three large historically accurate paintings of the battle and a gift shop. The centerpiece of the visitor's center is the 1860 statue of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, on permanent loan from the city of Perrysburg, Ohio. The statue is Ohio's first public memorial.
