1824 - 1911
Judge William H. West of Bellefontaine led a distinguished career in law, public service, and politics. In 1854 West helped found the Republican party in Ohio and six years later he participated in Abraham Lincoln's nomination for the presidency. West served consecutive terms in both houses of Ohio's General Assembly from 1857 to 1865 and was elected the state's attorney general at the end of the Civil War. He became an Ohio Supreme Court justice in 1871 and in 1877 was his party's nominee for governor. After losing his sight, Judge West retired from the court but continued to practice law. At the Republican party's convention in 1884, the "Blind Man Eloquent" nominated James G. Blaine as the G.O.P.'s presidential candidate. Defining Republicans as a party for "union, freedom, humanity, and progress," the judge's nomination speech sparked a celebration that historian David McCullough described as "one of the most memorable events in the whole history of national political conventions."| HM Number | HMEL0 |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Ohio: Ohio Historical Society series |
| Tags | |
| Marker Number | 4-46 |
| Year Placed | 1998 |
| Placed By | Descendants of William H. West and The Ohio Historical Society |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Thursday, October 16th, 2014 at 11:06pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17T E 265726 N 4471474 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 40.36095000, -83.75895000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 40° 21.657', W 83° 45.537' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 40° 21' 39.42" N, 83° 45' 32.22" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 937 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 100-198 S Opera St, Bellefontaine OH 43311, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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