Put-in-Bay is a resort village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, 85 miles (137 km) west of Cleveland and 35 miles (56 km) east of Toledo.

The bay played a significant role in the War of 1812 as the location of the squadron of U.S. naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry, who sailed from the port on September 10, 1813, to engage a British squadron just north of the island in the Battle of Lake Erie.

[7] The first known people to use the island were various groups of Native American tribes, including the Ottawas, Miamis, Shawnee, Senecas, Iroquois, and the Eries.

[8] In 1679, Robert LaSalle and thirty-two of his men were the first to sail a large vessel in the Great Lakes: the Griffon.

[9] During the War of 1812, Put-in-Bay was an important base of operations for the US Navy fleet commanded by Oliver Hazard Perry.

They used the island to train and to spy on the British, who were located at Fort Malden, Ontario, Canada.

At that point, the war had been going on for 32 months and developments had favored the British: Detroit had surrendered to them, and all American invasions of Canada had been repulsed.

On September 10, 1813, Captain Robert H. Barclay, the commander of the British ships, was seen by a lookout on Perry's flagship, the Lawrence.

Perry and his fleet hid behind the Bass Islands and waited for the British to unknowingly cross their path.

[10] Two iconic American Navy slogans originated from these events: "Dont Give Up The Ship" and "We have met the enemy and they are ours.".

The remains of six naval officers, three Britons and three Americans, were interred beneath the floor of the monument's rotunda.

These students arrive by plane, boat, or ATV across the frozen lake, depending on the season and weather.

The temporary road course set up at the Put-in-Bay Airport during the event was a key step in pointing the way to the return of real vintage sports car racing to the island for 2012.