Frankly Scarlet............I Was Born Here

My previous post about the Perfect Partner and it's tie in with Gone With the Wind reminded me that not too far from home is the birthplace of the leading male character of the movie Rhett Butler. Out of that character, he was better known as Clark Gable.

So, on a snowy late Sunday afternoon we headed east to visit the place where Rhett Butler was really born. (Sorry the photos are a bit dark as they were taken after the sun had set. We got a late start and wasn't able to take advantage of the daylight.)

Gable was born in the small eastern Ohio town of Cadiz, Ohio in 1901. It is assumed he was given the name William Clark Gable, as many "official" records contain disputed information.

The home in the picture is a replica of the home Gable was born in, however the house is situated on the original lot. It's reported that the original home was torn down in the early 1960's.

The stone monument was one of the first steps to recognize one of the towns most famous previous residents. It was erected in 1986 on the site of Gable's birth.

The reconstructed birth house was dedicated in January, 1998. It supposedly is an exact replica of the home including many pieces of period furniture and loaded with memorabilia of Gable's career, including a Cadillac once owned by Gable.

Cadiz also was home to another person of great fame.

John Armor Bingham, while not born in Cadiz, also lived in the village. Bingham's claim to fame was severing as one of three prosecutors of the co-conspirators of Abraham Lincoln's assignation. The trial concluded with 8 convictions and made history when Mary Surratt was the first woman in the United States to be executed for a crime.

Bingham was also involved as a prosecutor in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and an architect of the 14th Amendment.