Quantcast
Channel: Sandusky History
Viewing all 1250 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Annual Session of United Commercial Travelers, Grand Council of Ohio in 1906

June 10, 2015, 7:30 am
$
0
0

The seventeenth annual session of the Grand Council of Ohio, United Commercial Travelers, was held in Sandusky, Ohio from June 7 to June 9, 1906. The United Commercial Travelers was organized in Columbus, Ohio in 1888 by a small group of traveling salesmen. The purpose of the group was to provide insurance and other benefits for its members. The Sandusky Council, No. 278 of the United Commercial Travelers was active for many years.  An article in the June 8, 1906 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that three thousand traveling men arrived in Sandusky and took the city “by storm.  Big bands accompanied the visitors, most of whom arrived by train. Many of the commercial travelers stayed at the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point.

          
On June 7, a band contest was held at Cedar Point, followed by a boat ride on a steamer. The Cedar Point Band gave a concert for the commercial travelers in the evening. On June 8, the day opened with an invocation by Rev. A.P. Higley, welcome address by Sandusky Mayor John J. Molter, and an address by William Homer Reinhart, who was the chairman of the general executive committee of the Sandusky Council of the U.C.T.



Several more sessions of the United Commercial Travelers were held during the annual meeting. On Friday evening, June 8, a dance and a progressive dinner were held at the Coliseum at Cedar Point. On Saturday, Van Doren’s Band from Toledo gave a concert in Washington Park. A huge parade commenced at 1 p.m. in downtown Sandusky. At 3:30 p.m., the Columbus and Akron United Commercial Travelers played a baseball game, with $25 awarded to the winning team. 

The annual session of the United Commercial Travelers, Grand Council of Ohio concluded with a grand concert at Cedar Point.  The Sandusky Register of June 9, 1906 stated that the U.C.T. convention in Sandusky was “without doubt the largest in point of attendance and best in every way in history of organization.” Inside the back cover of the souvenir program from the U.C.T. convention is a list of the members of the Sandusky Council, No. 278 of the U.C.T.

↧
Search

David S. Curr, Practical Sail and Awning Maker

June 14, 2015, 8:29 am
$
0
0
Two receipts from David S. Curr are housed in the business collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. In the spring of 1908, James Emrich paid 75 cents for putting up an awning (about $20 in today's money).


In December of 1908, John A. Feick paid $28.35 to Mr. Curr for a winter covering for his yacht named the Elizabeth.



David S. Curr was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1858. He came to the United States from Scotland in 1881. On the passenger list of the Devonia, accessed at FamilySearch.org,  he listed his occupation as sailmaker. His name is the twelfth name on the list below.


From about 1902 to 1910+, David S. Curr made and repaired sails and awnings for area residents. His sail loft was in the 500 block of Water Street, above a feed and grain store. Mr. Curr passed away on September 6, 1910, at the age of 52. He was survived by his wife Rosetta, and sons Charles and Frederick. Rev. H.V. Givler officiated at his funeral services, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.
↧
↧

Limestone Quarrying Has Been Important to Sandusky and Erie County for Generations

June 17, 2015, 7:00 am
$
0
0

Hewson Peeke wrote in his book A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, about the limestone underlying the ground in Sandusky and the Lake Erie Islands region. In Sandusky, the upper portion of stone is corniferous limestone, which is bluish in color and found in thin strata. The stone quarried at Marblehead and Kelleys Island is lower in the ground than the corniferous limestone, and lighter in hue. 

Ellie Damm wrote in her book Treasure by the Bay that many limestone mansions were built in Sandusky between 1834 and 1872. The stone for most of these buildings was quarried near the building sites. It is thought that the stone for Grace Episcopal Church and the Oran Follett House was quarried in the area of the triangular park at the corner of Wayne Street, Huron Avenue, and East Adams Street. 

At one time, Sandusky and the Lake Erie Islands region were dotted with quarries, many which were filled in and used as building sites. There were lime kilns in Marblehead and in Sandusky in the 1800s.

                                           
Some individuals ran stone quarries. In the 1880s, Ira Davis established a quarry along Sycamore Line.

Charles Schoepfle had a quarry on the west of Hancock Street, south of McKelvey Street in the 1890s. Here is a receipt for items purchased by Jay Bogert from Charles Schoepfle.

In 1893  Michael Wagner established the Wagner Quarries, now a part of Lehigh Hanson. This post card created by Ernst Niebergall shows Wagner Quarry employees in 1926, at Plant Number 2.
  
         
Below is an aerial photograph of the Wagner Quarry in Perkins Township, taken by Thomas Root in 1950; it is still operating today.
                    

 Limestone and crushed stone quarried and processed from Erie and Ottawa Counties continue to provide needed materials for the construction of roads, highways, businesses, and homes in our area and beyond.  This area is fortunate to have so many natural resources, including the limestone bedrock as well as a natural harbor from which the stone can be transported to where it is needed.  To read more about the geology of Erie County, see A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio by Hewson L. Peeke and History of Erie County, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, both available at Sandusky Library. 
↧

The Terminal Inn, on the Downtown Waterfront

June 21, 2015, 11:48 am
$
0
0

In May of 1903 the Terminal Inn opened in downtown Sandusky at the foot of Columbus Avenue, close to the passenger steamer docks and railroad tracks. The Inn featured a cigar store, café, and a large waiting area for visitors to Sandusky. The proprietors of the Terminal Inn were Adam Stoll and William Finley. You can see visitors peering over the balcony of the Terminal Inn in the close up view below.


In the early hours on the morning on June 21, 1904, a massive fire destroyed almost an entire block of Sandusky’s waterfront, north of Railroad Street (now Shoreline Drive) from the Jackson Street slip to the Columbus Avenue slip. Over $150,000 worth of property was destroyed (about $4 million in today's value), including the Terminal Inn, Booth Fish Company, and a building owned by the Gilcher and Schuck Lumber Company. Detailed accounts of the fire appeared in the Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star, nowavailable on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Though the Terminal Inn was in business in Sandusky for a short time, a plate depicting the Terminal Inn and Sandusky’s waterfront is now housed in the collections of the Follett House Museum. Mrs. Marjorie Owings, longtime staff member of Sandusky Library, donated the plate to the museum.


↧

Hoover and Woodward, Wholesale Grocers

June 24, 2015, 8:48 am
$
0
0

 In 1880, Frederick E. Hoover and William W. Woodward started a wholesale grocery business on Water Street in Sandusky, Ohio. Frederick Hoover had moved to Sandusky from Sidney, Ohio. He was a Civil War veteran, having served in Company D of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Manning Force, who was the first commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Homein Erie County, Ohio, now the Ohio Veterans Home.



William W. Woodward lived in Dayton, Ohio, before he moved to Sandusky. He too was a Civil War veteran. W.W. Woodward served as an officer in several different units during the war. He was 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Ohio Infantry; Captain in the 44th Ohio infantry; Captain in the 8th Ohio Cavalry; and he was a Colonel in the 166th U.S.C.T.


Mr. Hoover and Mr. Woodward married sisters, both daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Zinn from Shelby County, Ohio. Mrs. Jennie Zinn Woodward died in the West House in Sandusky, when she was only forty one years old. She left behind two young children. After Frederick Hoover’s death in 1894, his widow Margaret Zinn Hoover assisted W.W. Woodward in the wholesale grocery business. Mr. Woodward married Florence Hadley in 1898.  In 1910, W.W. Woodward went into a partnership with M.J. Bender, with Mr. Bender serving as the president of the company, and Mr. Woodward serving as vice-president. The Bender Woodward wholesale grocery store was much larger than the original building of the Hoover Woodward store.


 W.W. Woodward died on April 5, 1913. He was buried in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Woodward's daughter Cora married another Sandusky businessman, Gustav Jarecki. Frederick E. Hoover, in his estate, left an amount totaling several thousand dollars to the College of Wooster to be used towards a dormitory for women and the education of men.
↧
↧

Postcards from Lakeside

June 27, 2015, 1:32 pm
$
0
0

Lakesidehad its beginnings in 1873, when land was cleared for the purpose of creating an area where religious meetings could take place. Soon Lakeside became involved in the Chautauqua Movement, an adult educational movement that provided cultural and educational events for the community. Several vintage postcards from Lakeside are housed in the historical postcard collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. With the popularity of passenger steamers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sandusky residents were able to visit Lakeside,  just a short distance away from Sandusky when travelling by water. As automobiles became popular, and especially after the construction of the Sandusky Bay Bridge, local residents could drive to Lakeside as well. 

Hoover Auditorium is still the site of concerts during the summer season of the Lakeside Association:

       
This vintage postcard shows the hotel, boathouse, and a portion of the dock at Lakeside:

     
The pavilion at Lakeside offers a lovely view of Lake Erie on warm summer nights:

       
Though the exact location was not provided, “Flirtation Walk” at Lakeside is the subject of this postcard:

     

Visit the SanduskyLibrary to find books on the history of Lakeside and other nearby areas. Lakeside continues the tradition of providing entertainment, lectures, and spiritual opportunities for its hundreds of visitors during the summer months.
↧

Gainsborough Photographers

June 30, 2015, 6:44 am
$
0
0
From 1931 until 1982, Gainsborough Photographers did business at 223 West Washington Street, on the street level of the Odd Fellows Temple in downtown Sandusky.


Though this close up view is not very clear, you can see that at Gainsborough’s you could have portraits taken, or purchase a camera.


Samuel Barkan opened the Gainsborough photographic studio in Sandusky in October of 1931. There was a studio in Lorain as well. An opening day special included twelve 4 x 6 inch pictures in a folder, and a 7 x 9 inch color picture in an easel frame, all for $7.50.


In the 1940s, Sam Barkan resided on Fifth Street in Sandusky with his wife Ann, and their two daughters. During World War II, there was a patriotic display at the Gainsborough Studio during Sandusky’s fifth war loan drive. Every customer who purchased a $25 war bond received a picture of one of the panels of the Honor Board that was on display in Washington Park.


This undated advertisement shows the services available at Gainsborough’s, which included family and commercial photography, sales of photographic equipment and supplies, camera repair, and one day film finishing, as well as reprints and enlargements.



When customers picked up their developed film, the prints were inside a paper album that stated “Send a snapshot with every letter.”


In the 1950s, Sam Barkan wrote a newspaper column entitled “The Camera Column.” This column appeared in the May 12, 1954 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.


This artistic picture of a championship bowling team was created by Gainsborough Photographers.



Sam Barkan’s name was associated with the Gainsborough Photography studio through the 1960s. In the 1969 Sandusky City Directory, he was listed as the president of Gainsborough, Inc. and Mrs. Ann Barkan was the secretary-treasurer. From 1970 through 1977, George A. Hassenplug was the proprietor of Gainsborough Photographers. Rick Abbott operated Gainsborough Photographers from 1978 until the studio closed in October of 1982. By 1970 Sam and Ann Barkan had moved to Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Sam Barkan passed away at the age of 67 on September 6, 1972. Ann Barkan died in 2006. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barkan were buried at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus. During their years in Sandusky, Mr. and Mrs. Barkan were active members of the Oheb Shalom Temple.
↧

The League of American Wheelmen in Sandusky

July 4, 2015, 7:24 am
$
0
0

From July 3 to July 5, 1893, the 13th Annual Meeting of the Ohio Division of the League of American Wheelmen was held in Sandusky, Ohio. During Sandusky’s Fourth of July Parade, several members took part in the procession. An article in the July 5, 1893 issue of the Sandusky Register stated, “The wheelmen congregated in knots around their machines, and many of them being dressed in smart uniforms and decorated with silken badges presented a very attractive appearance, while the plated spokes of the wheels glistened in the sunlight and gave additional brilliance to the scene.” 

The group picture was taken on the north side of the old Sandusky High School (later Adams Junior High) on July 4, 1893. Wilbert Schwer donated this photograph to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.
↧
Search

The Schoepfles Left Their Mark on Erie County, Ohio

July 7, 2015, 11:30 am
$
0
0

The final resting place of several generations of members of the Schoepfle family is at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. The lovely monument pictured above honors the memory of banker C.F. Schoepfle and his wife, the former Sarah Knoepfle. Christian F. Schoepfle was born in Groetzingen, Baden, Germany. With his parents Henry and Barbara, he emigrated to the United States in 1846. 


C.F. Schoepfle was in the lumber business in Sandusky for over fifty years, and at one time he was the president of the Third National Bank. He was very active in the Masons, having been the master of the Science Lodge No. 50 in 1887.

One of C.F. Schoepfle’s sons was Dr. H.C. Schoepfle.


During the time just prior to World War I, Dr. H. C. Schoepfle provided free medical services to Company B as they were on guard in Sandusky. A biographical sketch about Dr. Schoepfle in the Honor Roll of Erie County, stated that he was “one of the City’s most patriotic citizens.” He served as Erie County Coroner from 1901 to 1903. His brother, Dr. Fred Schoepfle, held this position from 1914 to 1918.

Another Schoepfle family also made their way to Erie County from Groetzingen, Germany. Christopher Schoepfle, a cousin to C.F. Schoepfle, was a son of John and Mary (Walther) Schoepfle. After his father died, Christopher left Germany to settle in Erie County, Ohio. In 1853, his widowed mother and several of his siblings also emigrated to Ohio. A biographical sketch about Christopher Schoepfle is found in History of Erie County, Ohio, ed. by Lewis Cass Aldrich,(Mason and Co., 1889).  Christopher was a farmer, and for a time was a stone dealer. One of Christopher’s sons was Henry Schoepfle (1867-1927).



This Henry Schoepfle was a longtime attorney in Sandusky. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1892. He served as solicitor of the city of Sandusky in the 1890s, and had his office in the Kingsbury Block. When Henry Schoepfle died in July of 1927, a resolution was composed by members of the Erie County Bar, paying tribue to his many achievements to the local bar association. The Erie County Common Pleas Court recessed during the funeral, so that Sandusky attorney and officials could attend the services.

Rev. C.H. Schoepfle, the brother of Christopher Schoepfle, gave an account in the December 23, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal of how he helped bring the first Christmas tree to Sandusky. Rev. Schoepfle, when just a youth in 1854, cut down the top of a cedar tree at Cedar Point, and took it the First Reformed Church for a special Christmas entertainment. He and his friends were returning to Sandusky with the tree, when some other young men tried to take the tree away from Rev. Schoepfle and his friends. Luckily the cedar tree made it to the church in time for the special service. A descendant of Rev. Schoepfle wasOtto Schoepfle,who became the chief executive officer of the Elyria Chronicle newspaper. Otto Schoepfle donated property to Lorain Metro Parks, which is now a popular site known as Schoepfle Garden.


As often is the case in families of German descent, the spelling of the surname Schoepfle varies widely. It is sometimes listed as Shepley, Shipley, or Schoepflin, depending on the source. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn about the Schoepfle family, or perhaps your own ancestors. A wide variety of print and digital resources are available for genealogical and historical research.
↧
↧

Central Avenue was once Miami Avenue

July 10, 2015, 6:00 am
$
0
0

In the 1818 plat map of Sandusky, the street we now call Central Avenue was known as Miami Avenue. By the 1890s, Miami Avenue was renamed Central Avenue. This street runs diagonally from  the west side of Washington Park to Monroe Street, and then at Monroe Street it runs in a north-south direction to north of North Depot Street. For many decades, local residents have found that Central Avenue provides an efficient route to get from downtown Sandusky to key places on Sandusky’s near western side. 

If you take Central Avenue to West Osborne Street, you will soon find yourself at Osborne School.

                   
If you take Central Avenue south to North Depot Street, after you turn right, you will come to Sandusky’s Amtrak Station.


In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, there was a fire station located at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Osborne Street, known as Fire Station Number 4.This fire station was razed about 1930.


Two churches are located on Central Avenue. St. Mary’s Catholic Church was established to meet the needs of Sandusky’s Catholic residents of German heritage. The current parish was built in the 1870s, and is the largest church building in the city of Sandusky.

             
Before moving to its current location at Mills Street, St. Paul Lutheran Church was at the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Tyler Street. A number of other Protestant churches have met at this location in recent years.

       
A previous Sandusky History blog post featured a picture of horse racing on Central Avenue.



Now primarily residential, Central Avenue continues to be a vital thoroughfare for area residents. Visit Sandusky Library to view historical Sandusky city directories to learn more about our community’s past residents, businesses, and cultural institutions. 
↧

Historic Views of the Former Railroad Bridge on Sandusky’s East Side

July 13, 2015, 6:27 am
$
0
0

Oswald Zistel was aboard his sailboat in the picture above, taken in the early twentieth century. Behind him is the old railroad bridge. In the 1896 Erie County Atlas, a swing bridge is shown along the railroad tracks just past the cove on Sandusky’s northeast side, near present day Battery Park.


A late nineteenth century stereographic image shows the drawbridge of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, along with Ben Icsman’s lumber yard in the east cove area of Sandusky.

           
The bridge and tracks were in use by several different railroads from 1853 until the 1970s, including the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio. In June of 1908, a train wrecked at the drawbridge, causing a large crowd to gather.

     

According to the New York Times of June 22, 1908, an engine carrying a heavy trainload of tourists from Indianapolis who had spent the day at Cedar Point, plunged through an open drawbridge in the east end of Sandusky. While none of the passengers was hurt, J. J. Perrish, the engineer, had both legs broken, and Fred Sullivan, fireman, had cuts on his head and shoulders. Both had internal injuries as well. The gatekeeper of the bridge says the train pulled out at 9 p.m., but had not been scheduled to leave until 9:30.
↧

Sandusky Youngsters go to the Circus

July 15, 2015, 8:48 am
$
0
0

While we do not know the exact date of the photograph above, the local Kiwanis Club often provided fun activities for Sandusky’s children. The June 15, 1930 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the fifty of Sandusky’s youngsters were the guests of the Kiwanis Club at a matinee performance of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Members of the committee for the event were: Earl Zolman, Wentworth Graham, C. A. Thornbaugh, B. T. Gagen, George J. Doerzbach and M. J. McCabe. Sandusky’s Kiwanis Club was very civic minded, as they hosted a Christmas party for forty-five children from the Erie County Children’s Home on December 21, 1926.
↧

Sandusky Chamber of Commerce Members in 1918

July 20, 2015, 7:37 am
$
0
0
Members of Sandusky’s Chamber of Commerce are pictured in front of the Masonic Temple in Sandusky in 1918. A sign that reads “Keep Sandusky at the Front” is at the front and center of the group. At this time the United States was fighting in World War I, and at the same time an influenza epidemic had swept through the entire world, infecting millions. Many of the men in the Chamber of Commerce took leadership roles in Sandusky during the war. The Honor Roll, 1917-1918, Erie County Edition features pictures and information about the men and women on the home front who took part in supporting the war effort. Some of the local organizations and activities that existed locally during World War One were the Erie County War Industries Committee, Erie County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Erie County War Leagues, Erie County food Administration, Liberty Loan Drives, War Savings Stamp Committees. People of all ages and economic groups contributed their time and energy to the war effort. Pages 281-287 of The Honor Roll give a detailed description of the home front during this time. In spite of the fact that approximately forty per cent of the population of Erie County was of German descent, the community pulled together in a joint cause. One paragraph reads, “From the very first the people of Erie County, almost to the last person, put everything aside and labored tirelessly with but one object in view, that object being the winning of the war. They gave their sons and daughters. They surrendered their means, depriving themselves, to a more or less extent, of even the ordinary comforts of life in a great many instances. They contributed valuable time without thought of compensation other than that which victory held. Best of all they lent their moral support.” 
↧
↧

Undertakers in Sandusky were also Furniture Dealers

July 23, 2015, 8:17 am
$
0
0

The advertisement above for Chas. J. Andres appeared in the 1900-1901 Sandusky City Directory. Mr. Andres was a furniture dealer as well as a funeral director and embalmer. In the classified business directory of that volume, Krupp and Goebel and Marquart and Myers were also listed as both furniture manufacturers and undertakers. The same skills it took to make fine furniture were also used in the making of wooden coffins. After the death of Charles J. Andres in 1902, for several years, Mrs. Andres and Fred Frey, Sr. were partners in the furniture and undertaking business. These postcards advertised furniture sold by Andres and Frey, about 1912.




An advertisement from the Sandusky Star Journal of October 16, 1918 stated that furniture from Andres & Frey would add “personality and charm to the home,” which brings to mind a fond image of hearth and home. This image is in sharp contrast to the thought of losing a loved one, which necessitates the need for an undertaker.


After the death of their parents, the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Andres continued as the C.J. Andres & Sons Funeral Home until 1971.


The Frey Funeral Home began at 604. W. Washington Street in 1925. When F. Leo Groff joined the firm, the name changed to the Frey-Groff Funeral Home. In 1987, a new building was opened on East Perkins Avenue, and the name was changed to Groff Funeral Home. 
↧

Clues to Everyday Life in the 19th Century from a Sanborn Map

July 26, 2015, 6:00 am
$
0
0

By looking more closely at page 5 from the 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Sandusky, Ohio, we can learn more about what everyday life in Sandusky was like in the late nineteenth century. You can tell by all the businesses along Sandusky Bay that the fish and ice industrieswere important to Sandusky at that time.


Railroad Street is now Shoreline Drive. Instead of large hotel chains, hotels in the late 1800s were usually independently owned, such as the Sloane House, at the corner of Washington Row and Columbus Avenue in the 1880s.


Several livery businesses were located on page 5 of the 1886 Sanborn Map, which provided housing for the animals that were necessary for horse drawn vehicles.


The Active Turner Hall reminds us of Sandusky’s rich German heritage, about which Dr. Ernst VonSchulenberg wrote in his book, Sandusky: Then and Now.



We have three Sanborn Maps from different years at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, as well as three Sanborn Maps, from 1886, 1893, and 1905 available on microfilm. Sanborn Maps may also be accessed online through the ClevnetResearch Databases, after logging in with your library card.
↧
Search

Carp Were Shipped Live From Sandusky to Philadelphia in 1911

July 29, 2015, 6:30 am
$
0
0

An article in the May 18, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that 4000 pounds of live carp from Oscar Zistel’s wholesale fish company, on Meigs Street in Sandusky, were recently shipped to Philadelphia. Mr. Zistel, the Adams Express Company, and government officials all worked together on the venture. At one time the fish, which were introduced in the U.S. from other countries, were despised,  known as “the hog of the waters,” but by the 1910s carp were considered a delicacy in some markets in the eastern U.S.

To ship the carp, first the fish were penned in floats on Sandusky Bay; then the floats were transported to the Pennsylvania freight house. The live fish were loaded onto a car on the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was refrigerated and had circulating water, to ensure the well being of the carp. The carp were taken out of the floats, placed into baskets, weighed, and put into the freshwater tanks on the railway car, where they traveled from Mansfield to Pittsburgh, and then on to Philadelphia.The trip to Philadelphia was over 500 miles, and an expert aboard the railroad monitored the refrigeration and air tanks in the fish tanks. The Star Journal article stated that the Jewish residents of Philadelphia were so eager to purchase the fresh fish that they bought it straight from the train car, where the fresh carp sold for eighteen to twenty cents per pound. 

In 1913 and 1914, Oscar Zistel received patents for fish transporting devices. Patent number 1,109,193 was for the improvement of an aerating device which could be useful in the transporting of live fish. Patent number 1,227,732, issued in 1917, was for an automobile which could be used to transport live fish.



Sadly, Oscar Zistel died in 1918, before his vehicle could be fully developed. Several patents issued between 1951 and 2011 cited technology that Zistel had patented. The Zistel family was quite entrepreneurial. Oscar’s father Louis Zistel carried passengers to Cedar Point in the 1870s, and was the proprietor of the Atlantic Pleasure Gardens, a saloon and entertainment center on Meigs Street.
↧

George C. Matthes Coal and Supply Company

August 1, 2015, 6:00 am
$
0
0

The postcard above was sent to customers as a reminder to order coal from the George C. Matthes Coal and Supply Company in Sandusky, in order to stay warm in the winter months. The company was founded by George C. Matthes in 1900, and was located at 642 North Depot, at the Hayes Avenue Subway. The Matthes Coal and Supply Company dealt in both wholesale and retail coal. Because of the popularity of coal as a fuel for businesses and homes, in 1916, there were six wholesale coal dealers in Sandusky, and ten retail coal distributors. 

In 1921, Matthes Coal was one of several Sandusky coal dealers that shipped their coal on the New York Central Railroad. Four huge silos for storing coal were built at the Matthes coal yards. The four new silos, along with another smaller silo, the company had the capacity for 1,250 tons of coal. You can see the coal silos at the Matthes Coal and Supply Company in this aerial picture, taken by photographer Thomas Root in 1955.


In 1929, Matthes Coal and Supply provided the enamel brick for the new swimming pool at Jackson Junior High School. Mr. Matthes was active in the National Retail Coal Merchants’ Association and in state coal organizations as well. The advertisement below appeared in the September 9, 1940 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.



This receipt from the Matthes Coal and Supply Company dates back to the 1950s.


As the demand for coal declined, when more modern methods of heating became popular, Matthes Coal and Supply branched out into more types of supplies, such as patio brick, cast stone, and parking blocks. 

George C. Matthes died on May 21, 1973. The Matthes Coal and Supply Company continued for a time in Sandusky, under the leadership of Alvin W. Beverick, vice president and treasurer of the company. By 1976, the Matthes Coal and Supply Company was no longer listed in the Sandusky City Directory. Though the George C. Matthes Coal and Supply Company is no longer in existence, for many years, the company helped keep “the home fires burning” in the Sandusky area.
↧
↧

The Rich History of the First Congregational Church

August 4, 2015, 7:50 am
$
0
0

After having been organized in 1819, the First Congregational Church opened its first church building in Sandusky in 1835. This church stood in Washington Park until it was razed in 1896. An article in the January 1920 issue of the Firelands Pioneer stated that in the early years, the First Congregational Church was considered a social center for Sandusky. It was the site of a number of meetings dealing with temperance and antislavery issues. At a church meeting held on August 16, 1847, resolutions denouncing slavery were introduced by Moors Farwell, and passed unianimously. 

Rev. N.W. Fisher was minister of the First Congregational Church in 1849, when a cholera epidemic swept through Sandusky. Rev. Fisher died from cholera on July 30, 1849. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery along with two other local ministers who also fell victim to cholera, Rev. Thomas Cooper and Rev. Hibbard P. Ward.

             
Under the leadership of Rev. Clarence Vincent, a new church building was constructed at what is now 431 Columbus Avenue. The builder was by George Philip Feick. (He would later also build Zion Lutheran Church across the street from the Congregational Church.)


From May 25 to May 28, 1919, the First Congregational Church celebrated its centennial services. A copy of the program from the centennial celebration is located in the church collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.



Now known as the First Congregational United Church of Christ, this church continues to play a vital role in the spiritual life of many local residents. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of churches in Sandusky and Erie County.
↧

The Colton House

August 8, 2015, 6:00 am
$
0
0

From the early 1860s until his death in 1898, Harry Colton was the proprietor of the Colton House, a hotel located in Sandusky at the southeast corner of Lawrence and Water Streets. It was situated just across from the docks of the Big Fourrailway and its predecessors. A portion of the 1886 Sanborn Map shows the location of the business. There was a saloon and billiards hall on the portion of the hotel that faced Water Street, and the hotel’s rooms were located along the side of the hotel which faced Lawrence Street.


The 1870 U.S.Census lists all the residents of the Colton House in Sandusky on July 25, 1870, which included Harry Colton, his wife Susanna, and several children. An article in the July 1, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that the Colton House was a leading hotel in Sandusky at one time, due to its proximity to the shipping docks along Sandusky Bay. In its later years, it became known primarily as a boarding house and café. 

Harry Colton died on May 8, 1898. After his death, the Colton House was operated by his wife, and later by his sons. By the early twentieth century, other owners had taken over the business. In 1905 the hotel became known as the Hotel Lawrence. The building was razed in the fall of 1932.

Harry and Susanna Colton and several of the extended Colton family are buried in Block 60 of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.


↧

The Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works Made the Hero Reaper

August 12, 2015, 11:17 am
$
0
0
Though the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was begun in the mid nineteenth century, it was not incorporated until 1870, with W.F. Converse as the president. The 1874 Sandusky City Directory states that the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was located on Water Street between Jackson and Decatur Streets. The company manufactured threshers, corn shellers, portable engines and other agricultural implements. In the business collections of the Sandusky Archives Research Center is a catalog for the Hero Reaper, made by the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works in the 1880s.


The brochure’s cover claimed that the Hero Reaper was the lightest draft and strongest reaper in the world. It could work in any type of soil, and was easily pulled by a pair of light horses. The Hero Reaper sold for $125, and each reaper came with its own tool box of extra bolts, rivets and wrenches. Several pages containing testimonials of farmers who had satisfactorily used the Hero Reaper were printed in the 1881 catalog.


Another product manufactured by the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was the Excelsior Gleaner and Binder, which was said to be simple, efficient and light.


Eventually the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was consolidated with the Klotz and Kromer Machine Company.



In the early twentieth century, the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works name was dropped, and by 1929, the Klotz and Kromer Machine Company incorporated as the Klotz Machine Company. Later it was known as the Klotz Machine and Foundry Company, which was acquired by Union Chain in 1951. Today, the company formerly known as Union Chain is a part of U.S. Tsubaki, located on Edgewater Avenue on Sandusky’s west side.
↧
Viewing all 1250 articles
Browse latest View live
Search