Former location of Christopher Saddler House

by William Krause

29737 Lake Road, c. 1835

The seventh in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

Christopher Saddler, born in Germany in 1756, first came to America in 1777 as a private in the British Army. He was taken prisoner and in 1778 he switched sides. He served with the patriots under General Count Pulaski.

William Saddler, his son, was a sharpshooter who participated in the War of 1812’s Battle of Lake Erie which brought him through Dover. Their home in New York was burned down during the war, so the son convinced the father to move to Dover. They arrived in 1814 or 1815. Their wives Sophia and Elizabeth later joined them.

Tax records and deeds indicate that it was a Christopher Saddler who owned this land from 1820 through the early 1850s during which time this modest Greek Revival home was probably built, though Christopher, the father, died in 1839 according to a pension application. It stayed in the Saddler family until 1997.

The home, with an added porch and folk Victorian elements, was demolished in about 2008. The front entrance and sidelights were preserved and are being incorporated into a building in Gates Mills, Ohio.

Selden & Nancy Osborn House

by William Krause

29059 Lake Road, c. 1832-1847

The east end (on the left) is likely the original house of Selden and Nancy Osborn. Photo by William Krause
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The eighth in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

Selden was the only son of Reuben and Sarah Osborn. He was born in 1809 in New York and married Ohioan Nancy Ruple in 1833.

Selden first owned land in the 1830s away from Lake Road and tax records are not clear as to when this house was built. His father owned this land until 1842 when 25 acres were transferred to Selden and the tax value went up significantly in 1847. The house has had many additions with the east end of the current house probably the original.

“Osborn Family History” by Julia Osborn Scott states that Selden and Nancy lived here all of their married lives, raising nine children and taking in paying guests from Cleveland for summer vacations. It also says: “Selden was an herb doctor, receiving his training in a doctor’s office. He grew his own herbs. Nancy brewed them for him. He travelled by horseback with … two saddle bags – one for … his medicine.”

Selden was a captain in the Ohio militia. Nancy was a deeply religious woman. Their granddaughter Mabel occupied the house until 1969

Dexter & Amelia Tuttle House

by William Krause

25547 Lake Road, c. 1852

The ninth in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

According to the “Tuttle Family Story” by Flora Tuttle Renfrew, Dexter was born in 1807 in Massachusetts and came to what is now Rocky River at 16 with his family. He married Amelia Weidnar (born 1811) in about 1828 and settled in Dover Township in 1836.

The couple first lived in a log cabin west of Tuttle Creek and north of Lake Road. They had seven boys and one girl who died young. Son Ezra (born 1837) helped Dexter build this house where they raised chickens and sheep. Amelia used wool from the sheep to make clothing for the family. They also had a sawmill.

Dexter acquired 80 acres from the lake south to the railroad and died in 1878. Amelia lived until 1896, her last seven years blind and cared for by son Marius. Ezra married Victoria Clague from what is now Westlake. Their son Edward inherited the Lake Road house, and it remained in the family until 1921.

Tax records indicate that this classic Greek Revival house was constructed in 1852. Unfortunately, a previous owner cut windows into the original front trim.

This is the 9th of approximately 100 brief articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historic Society in 2025. The articles are being submitted profiling the oldest to the newest minimum century old artifacts.

Former location of the John Baker/Becker House

by William Krause

28838 Lake Road, c. 1853

The landmark Baker/Becker House on Lake Road was disassembled for preservation in 2007.

The 10th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

This address on Lake Road was the location of the large, landmark Baker/Becker House which occupied this site from 1853 until 2007 when it was preserved by being disassembled.

Because the lake side of the house was as formal and finished as the front facade and some saw Federal elements in the original design, possibly remodeled into Greek Revival, there were thoughts it was built as early as 1828. However, curiously it does not appear on any maps until 1870.

The land was first owned by Asahel Porter. In 1843 it was sold along with some other nearby land for 21,005 francs to John Baker/Becker, from France. Tax records indicate that a home was constructed on the property in 1850 and the tax value doubled in 1854.

By 1870 it was owned by Charles Hassler, by 1884 the Cahoons, who used it to house their immigrant farm workers. It was occupied by the Ellinwood family in the early 1900s and was the centerpiece of their showplace gardens called “Long Beach Park.” Their daughter was told by a visiting priest that it was constructed in 1853.

Photo by Ginny Peterson

Ransom L. & Julia Foote House

by William Krause

31263 Lake Rd., c. 1853

The 11th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

Very little information has been previously written on this charming small home. The County Auditor lists the construction date very specifically as 1853. If so, it would have been constructed on a large undivided 195-acre parcel owned by Ransom Foote heirs which included the c. 1828 David Foote house on the north side of Lake Road (now demolished).

Ransom Foote Sr., the son of David, died in 1846 leaving his wife, Catherine, widowed with 10 children. According to the 1850 Census, 22-year-old Ransom L. Foote was living with his 44-year-old mother, 92-year-old grandfather David, and numerous siblings. He married Julia Farr in 1853.

The 1860 Census finds he and Julia and their two daughters living nearby but in a separate home from the rest of the Foote family. This suggests that this home may have been constructed for Ransom and Julia at the time of their marriage. Eventually later generations of the Foote family carved off separate parcels.

In 1912 Bessie V. Miller, probably a niece, owned this home and 1.29 acres with an access easement to the beach.

Former David & Betsy Foote Barn

by William Krause

30912 Lake Road, c. 1855

The 12th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

According to Foote genealogy and “Bay Village: A Way of Life,” David Foote was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1760 and married Betsy Hamlin of the same town. He served in the Revolutionary War. They had 10 children.

In 1815, David packed up part of his family and moved to Dover Township, settling on Lot 97 in the northwest corner of the township. His 195-acre parcel extended from Lake Erie to the north, what is now Bradley Road to the east, south to what is now Walker Road and west to the Avon line.

David built a log cabin at what is now 30903 Lake Road, then another at 30912 Lake Road for his son. He built a frame house at 30906 Lake Road in 1828 (which was torn down about 1995). Behind the second log cabin David built this barn in the 1850s.

A Foote descendant, Mary Liggett, owned the property in the 1920s. After a period of disuse the barn became the basis for a house conversion in the 1940s. It was painted pink and was known in the community as the “Pink Barn.”

Sherman & “Nettie” Osborn house

by William Krause

29560 Lake Rd., c. 1860

The 13th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

It was Sherman’s grandfather, Reuben Osborn, who originally bought the land from the Connecticut Land Company. Sherman Osborn was the son of Selden Osborn.

According to “Bay Village: A Way of Life,” Reuben later gave each of his five grandchildren some of his land. The grandchildren raised berries, fruits and grapes to sell and on a smaller scale oats, corn and wheat to supply their own needs. They also fished.

Life was difficult, requiring many hours to prepare the fruit for market, which was sold, for the most part, in stalls on Broadway Road in Cleveland. The person selling the fruit had to rise at 1:00 a.m. and drive some 14 miles to market, as most of the business was in full swing by 5 a.m. Then, too they had to get the pickers and take them back as far as Rocky River during peak harvest time.

Sherman married Nettie Phinney and built this Greek Revival gable-wing house in 1860. Their children were Calvin, Albert and Emily, who occupied this house their whole lives. After being widowed Sherman married Myra Yoder in 1884.

Betsey and (Barney) Williams house

by William Krause

29357 Lake Road, c. 1873

The westernmost portion of the current house was constructed in 1873 closer to the street. It was turned sideways and greatly enlarged in 1939 by the famous George Steinbrenner III’s parents. Photo by Will Krause
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The 14th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

Betsey Osborn, the granddaughter of pioneer Reuben Osborn and daughter of herbalist Seldon Osborn, married Thomas Williams in 1873. They married when Betsey was 33 and Thomas 21.

The house was built on land she inherited, and it remained in her name until her death in 1912 (he died at 43 in 1895). In 1914 Henry Steinbrenner Sr. and Sophia Steinbrenner purchased the Williams house and farm which extended from Lake Erie to the Interurban tracks.

In 1938 Henry Steinbrenner Jr. purchased the property from his mother’s estate. The property was George Steinbrenner III’s childhood home. George is most famous for his long ownership of the New York Yankees baseball team.

George continued to live in Bay Village until 1975 when he relocated to Tampa, Florida. His parents sold this property in 1964 and relocated to Westlake.

The house had several owners before it was purchased by the current owners in 1985. Originally the house was closer to the street. The westernmost portion of the current house was moved back on the lot and re-oriented west to east and greatly enlarged by the Steinbrenners.

John and Maria Pellett House

by William Krause

26400 Lake Road, c. 1872

John and Maria Pellett House, c. 1872

The 16th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.

John and Maria Pellett were both born in England and immigrated to the U.S. in 1853. By 1857 they were living in Cleveland and purchasing property in Dover. They purchased 58 acres in this location in 1864 and built this home in 1872.

John Pellett is listed as a “Master Machinist” in an 1874 Dover Business Directory. “Bay Village: A Way of Life” states that he farmed the Glen Park area and that his daughter taught school at the Lake Road schoolhouse. Also, that William Lewis did general blacksmithing and at some point the Lewis family occupied this home.

“Retracing Footsteps” has a wealth of information about the Pellett family. John and Maria (and daughter Elizabeth) are buried in Lakeside Cemetery. They left this house to their daughters Elizabeth and Eva and most of the farm to their son Reuben.

The most distinctive part of the house is the curved top of the front windows which are typical of Italianate style homes in the Victorian era. Unfortunately, the replacement windows lack some of the detailing that would have embellished the originals.

Henry and Regina Wischmeyer House

by William Krause

26565 Lake Road, c. 1872

The 17th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2026.

The book “Retracing Footsteps” by Catherine Burke Flament has a wealth of information about both Henry and Regina and their families because many of them are buried in Lakeside Cemetery.

Henry was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1832; Regina in Wurtenburg, Germany, in 1834. Regina’s family immigrated in 1850; Henry in 1854. They were married in 1854 and Henry (and therefore Regina) was naturalized in 1860.

They lived on the west side of Cleveland when Henry first purchased 50 acres of land on both sides of Lake Road in 1862. The tax value jumped in 1872 and the Wischmeyer Family Papers at Rose Hill Museum indicate that this was the year the family moved to Dover.

By the 1880 U.S. Census their family includes Adelaide, 21; Louis, 15; Matilda, 13; Olga, 11; Henry, 7; and Julius, 5. The 1900 Census indicates that Regina had a total of eight children, five of whom were alive in 1900. Louis had been killed by a Lakeshore Electric Interurban train in 1899.

Henry Sr. died in 1902 and Regina in 1918. A foster daughter, Mabel, was the last Wischmeyer to live here.