Submitted photo A new passport program is designed to encourage people to visit more than 30 historic sites in Trumbull County.

Folks don’t need a passport to get around in Trumbull County, but they might win a prize if they have one.

“This Is Trumbull: A Local History Adventure” is a passport program created by the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau and local historical societies.

Savannah Moss, collections manager at the Trumbull County Historical Society, said it’s something they’ve talked about for a while, but they didn’t want there to be financial obstacles that would keep people from participating. Also, some of the local historic venues have limited hours, which also would impede some.

“Finally, it just clicked one day that we could do something where you don’t have to go inside the building to participate,” Moss said.

Those with passports must look for the answer to a question at each site. If the destination is an outdoor monument, the information needed is on the monument itself. If the location is a museum or a historic site, the information to complete the passport is on a sign with the Ohio’s America250 logo on it that is visible from the outside.

“We wanted it to be something where people didn’t have to pay an admission fee as well as not have to struggle with all the open hours — you try to go to two sites Hubbard and they’re not open at the same time or something like that,” Moss said.

There might not be financial obstacles, but that doesn’t mean Moss made it easy for participants. She didn’t want passport holders to be able to find the answers needed from the comfort of their homes.

“One of our goals was to make it so it wasn’t easy to find the answer online,” Moss said. “We really wanted to make it where people had to go.”

The passport contains 34 locations and isn’t all-inclusive. Moss wanted to encourage participants to visit all parts of the county instead of focusing on well-known destinations in the larger cities.

Downtown Warren’s Monument Park isn’t one of the stops, but Civil War monuments in Southington and Bristolville are.

“I often hear people stay in their own little corner of Trumbull County, so I really think this is a great way to get people out and about,” Moss said. “And at the back of the booklet, we do have some of our other 250 experiences listed as well.”

Moss created a website with detailed information about each destination at theclio.com/tour/2944. The entries can be read or listened to using text-to-speech audio, and maps with directions to each stop can be downloaded.

The program originally was supposed to launch near the beginning of the year, but the website took far longer to complete than anticipated, she said.

Physical passports can be picked up at the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau, 321 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren, and the Local History & Genealogy Center at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 444 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren.

Completed answer sheets can be mailed to the Trumbull County Historical Society, PO Box 1907, Warren, OH 44482; dropped off at the tourism bureau or emailed to info@trumbullcountyhistory.org.

Everyone who completes a passport and answers the questions correctly will be entered into a raffle to win one of two gift baskets provided by Peter Allen Inn in Kinsman and the End of the Commons General Store in Mesopotamia.

The drawing won’t take place until early December to give people several months to complete the project.

With the focus in 2026 on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Moss said she hopes it generates increased interest in history in general.

“Typically, when people get interested in history, it’s their own personal family history. I feel like that’s where it kind of gets people interested if they’re not already history oriented or a history buff. Then from there, they’re like, ‘Well, I learned about my family, and they’re from here, and then you start researching where they’re from, and then that gets you interested in your region’s history. That’s how I’ve seen the pattern go. With America250, I’m hoping that it’s also making people reflect on what this area has gone through (since) the earliest formations of Trumbull County.”