Glimpse of the Past: July 4th, 1926

Imagine for a moment, what July 4th celebrations would have looked like for Bay Village just 100 short years ago…

The sun rises over the farms of Dover Township, glistening off rows of corn and the calm waters of Lake Erie. The scent of fresh-cut hay drifts through open windows as families prepare for one of the year’s most anticipated days—the Fourth of July, 1926.

America is celebrating its 150th birthday, and while Philadelphia hosts grand national festivities, here in what would later become Bay Village, Independence Day is celebrated in a distinctly local way.

The roads are busy, though not with endless streams of traffic. A Model T Ford rattles down Dover Center Road, passing horse-drawn wagons still common in the township. Neighbors wave as they head toward church picnics, family reunions, or the lakeshore for an afternoon by the water.

Many families begin the day with a patriotic church service. Hymns like America the Beautiful and The Star-Spangled Banner fill the sanctuary before congregations gather outdoors beneath towering maple trees for picnic lunches spread across long wooden tables.

Children race across grassy fields while adults catch up with neighbors they may not have seen since planting season. Baseball games break out wherever enough players can be found. There are no matching uniforms—just rolled-up sleeves, suspenders, and plenty of friendly competition.

Back at home, kitchens have been busy since dawn.

Roast chicken, potato salad, fresh-picked vegetables, baked beans, homemade bread, and berry pies line the tables. Ice cream, still a special treat, is made by hand in cranked freezers packed with salt and ice. Everyone takes a turn spinning the handle before enjoying the reward.

As the afternoon heat settles in, many families make their way to Lake Erie. Children splash in the cool water while fathers launch small fishing boats or simply relax on the shoreline. The lake has always been one of Bay Village’s greatest treasures, and Independence Day offers the perfect excuse to enjoy it.

When evening arrives, excitement grows.

Unlike today’s professionally choreographed fireworks displays, families often supplied their own entertainment. Sparklers, Roman candles, and firecrackers illuminate front yards across the township. The crack of fireworks echoes through the countryside, though newspapers of the era regularly remind readers to celebrate safely, as injuries from holiday fireworks were common throughout the country.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of that Fourth of July is not what was different—but what was the same. Parents watched children chase fireflies. Neighbors shared food. Flags fluttered from porches.

Veterans reflected on the sacrifices that had secured American independence generations earlier.

And everyone paused, if only for a moment, to appreciate the freedoms that connected them to the generations who had come before.

In 1926, Bay Village was still very much a rural community. Most residents could not have imagined the neighborhoods, schools, and businesses that would eventually replace many of the surrounding farms. Yet the values celebrated on Independence Day—community, gratitude, and hope for the future—remain just as meaningful today.

As we commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, it’s worth remembering that a century ago another generation gathered beneath the same July sky to celebrate a milestone in our nation’s history. Their fireworks have long since faded, but their traditions continue to echo through Bay Village every Fourth of July.

America’s 250th: Community Pride in 1858

With the warmth of summer finally in the air, more and more of us are spending nights outside, visiting farmers’ markets, and enjoying world-class fairs. 200 years ago, summer celebrations were much the same.

On September 30, 1858, residents of Dover Township gathered for the Second Annual Fair of the Dover Agricultural and Mechanical Society. Held on seven acres of specially prepared grounds, the fair showcased the region’s achievements and fostered a sense of pride among neighbors, highlighting the importance of local efforts.

Visitors admired displays of cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, along with an impressive variety of fruits and vegetables. Exhibitors presented apples, pears, peaches, grapes, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes, reflecting the rich agricultural traditions of northeastern Ohio and inspiring appreciation for local heritage.

The horse ring was among the fair’s most popular attractions. Spectators watched prize-winning horses compete, while two women riders—Mrs. Kirby of Ridgeville and Miss Elizabeth Hurst-earned admiration despite rainy weather limiting participation in the riding contests, adding to the lively scene.

Music from the Hecker Band entertained visitors throughout the day, helping create a festive atmosphere. Although storms interrupted some activities, the event was considered a great success. Organizers were praised for their careful planning and efficient management.

The Dover Fair served as an important gathering place where neighbors celebrated agricultural achievement, shared knowledge, and strengthened community ties that shaped the future of Dover and Bay Village from its humble beginnings.

America’s 250th: Joseph Porter Sr.

Joseph Porter Sr. (1760–1844)

Joseph Porter Sr., born in 1760 in Ashfield, Massachusetts, came of age during the American Revolution. In March 1782, at twenty-two years old, he enlisted as a private in the Massachusetts 5th Regiment under Colonel Newell, serving in Captain Joseph Hillin’s company. His service extended through the war’s final campaign season, and he was discharged at New Windsor, New York, in March 1783. Though he hired a substitute to complete part of his enlistment—a common and lawful practice—his pension record confirms his year of active service at the close of the struggle for independence.

After the war, Joseph returned to Ashfield, where he and his wife, Leonard Graves, raised eleven children. Like many veterans, Joseph struggled to get full compensation for his service. Although granted a $40 annual pension in 1835, he petitioned for more, and in 1836, a jury declared him “insane by reason of old age” during disputes over his affairs, but this was reversed on appeal. His persistence reflects the hardships many aging veterans faced. After his wife’s death in 1825, he moved to Ohio’s Western Reserve to join his children there and died in 1844 at age eighty-four. Joseph Porter Sr.’s life bridged the colony and the republic, the battlefield and the frontier, exemplifying a generation whose sacrifices secured independence and shaped communities.

America’s 250th: Jedediah Crocker

By Pat Cook
Jedediah Crocker:(1761–1841)

Next time you stop by Crocker Park to grab a bite to eat or window shop, stop and remember how our land has changed. Today Crocker Park sits upon the original site the Crocker family settled upon in 1811.

Born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1761, Jedediah Crocker moved with his family to Lee, Massachusetts, as a boy. At just sixteen, he volunteered for service during the American Revolution, marching north toward Saratoga alongside fellow soldier David Foote. He later rose to the rank of Sergeant.

After the war, Crocker became Lee’s first postmaster and a respected property owner. He was deeply connected to the close-knit community that would later settle Dover Township. In 1806, his son married Betsey Foote, linking two Revolutionary families. Members of the Crocker, Foote, and Smith families worshiped together in Lee’s congregational church—ties of faith and kinship that would shape Dover’s founding.

In 1811, Crocker traveled west to scout land in Ohio. His family soon followed. They first settled near present-day Euclid while several of his children pushed onward to Dover, clearing forested land for future settlement. By 1816, Jedediah and his wife, Sarah, made Dover Township their permanent home.

Today, Crocker Road and Crocker Park stand on land once part of his original homestead—a lasting reminder of Dover’s Revolutionary beginnings. Although no Crockers remain in the Dover/Westlake area, their descendants live on throughout the country.

America’s 250th: Women in the Revolution

Women in the Revolution 1775-1783:

By Pat Cook,

During the American Revolution, women played an important role in supporting the struggle for independence. They participated in political activism, supported the war effort, and pushed for new legal and social rights. Women organized boycotts of British goods and promoted the use of homemade products, helping to resist British economic control and sustain colonial communities before the war even began.

One of the most influential voices of the era was Abigail Adams, the wife of future president John Adams. In letters to her husband, she urged lawmakers to “remember the ladies” when creating the new nation’s laws, advocating for greater rights and protections for women. Although she would not live to see the reforms of the 19th and 20th centuries, Abigail Adams set the standard for all future first ladies.

Many women also worked close to the front lines as camp followers with the Continental Army. They cooked meals, washed clothing, mended uniforms, and cared for sick and wounded soldiers, providing essential support to the troops. Initially, Commander Washington was concerned that camp followers would strain already limited resources. However, as the war continued, he recognized their essential contributions to the soldiers’ morale and well-being. Some women also risked their lives for the Patriot cause. Anna Smith Strong assisted the Culper spy network by secretly signaling information to support George Washington’s intelligence operations, famously evading and spying upon the watchful eyes of the British throughout New York for the entirety of the war.

Another well-known figure, Betsy Ross, was one of several Philadelphia flag makers who produced early American flags. The renowned story that she designed the first flag became popular during the nation’s 1876 centennial celebrations. However, the story that she was the sole creator of the flag is likely embellished by her family. The story’s origins can be traced to William Canby, Ross’s grandson, who, according to family accounts, claimed that Betsy designed and sewed the original flag. This claim that Ross solely designed the flag is difficult to verify, as the flag’s design evolved multiple times. No evidence has ever been found to substantiate Canby’s claim. The Betsy Ross myth illustrates how historical facts can become complicated and are often shaped by limited documentation and collective memory.

Women’s contributions during the American Revolution were vital to the war effort and the nation’s founding ideals. From organizing boycotts and managing households under hardship to risking their lives on the front lines, women shaped the course of history in both visible and invisible ways. Their actions laid important groundwork for future generations pursuing equality and recognition, reminding us that the story of the Revolution is incomplete without acknowledging the courage and resilience of the women who helped secure independence.

[1] “Women in the American Revolution,” Heritage Library: American Revolution Anniversary, Heritage Library Foundation (accessed 2026).

[2] Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. “How Betsy Ross Became Famous: Oral Tradition, Nationalism, and the Invention of History.” Common-Place 8, no. 1 (October 2007).

America’s 250th: Private Christopher Saddler

By Pat Cook

Christopher Saddler, born in 1756 in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, was recruited by the British Army and served as a Hessian Private, arriving in the American colonies in 1777. He was soon captured by the Colonial Army and spent two years serving as a dragoon (cavalryman), joining the Patriots under General Count Pulaski. Christopher was highly educated and fluent in German, English, and an American Indian language, making him valuable to the Patriot cause. After the war, he settled in New York, married Sophia Ortz, and fathered ten children. One of his sons, William, served in the War of 1812 and fought in the Battle of Lake Erie.

On his way home to New York, William passed through Dover Township. Unbeknownst to William, the family’s New York farmhouse was tragically destroyed in an indigenous uprising during the War of 1812. William convinced his father to go back with him to Dover Township, and at 58, Christopher began the tough journey. Because of Christopher’s prior service, his family received land from the Connecticut Land Grant Company. Traveling mostly during the winter of 1814–1815, they crossed frozen Lake Erie from Erie, Pennsylvania, a route that kept them safe from wild animals and provided a smoother ride for their oxen-drawn wagon. When they arrived, Christopher and William built a small cabin, which was later replaced by a frame farmhouse at what is now 29737 Lake Road. Christopher’s two other sons eventually left New York to farm in northern Ohio, but became unhappy and moved away. The property stayed in the Saddler family until 1997. With later updates, the house was torn down around 2008.

Sources:

Retracing Footsteps: Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village, Cuyahoga County, OH pg. 199-200.

Bay Village A Way of Life: BVHS pg. 19-20.

America’s 250th: Private David Foote Revolutionary Soldier

By Pat Cook

The Bay Village Historical Society wishes you a Happy New Year in 2026. We thank everyone who contributed to preserving and sharing our town’s history in 2025, whether by attending events, volunteering at historic sites, or providing financial support. Your support was vital in helping us catalog our collections and make objects, papers, and photographs increasingly accessible to the public.

With America’s 250th anniversary approaching, we want to highlight some of the Revolutionary War soldiers who later settled in Bay Village, Westlake, and the Western Reserve.

Pvt. David Foote was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1760 and served during the American Revolutionary War. Before the Revolution, he moved to Lee, Massachusetts, in Berkshire County. At that time, Massachusetts, like most colonies, enforced strict religious, or Puritan, laws that required all able-bodied men to serve in the local militia. Militias were typically organized by towns or counties and led by locally elected officers. This system allowed for rapid mobilization using local knowledge and skills, but it also had weaknesses. Enlistment terms were often short, discipline and training varied, and supplies were frequently inadequate. Throughout much of the war, General George Washington struggled to maintain troop levels as enlistments expired and soldiers lacked sufficient food and clothing. These hardships contributed to desertions, with some troops returning home or disappearing into the western frontier.

Foote’s military record, when viewed through a modern lens, appears somewhat sporadic. This reflects the nature of militia service, in which soldiers were often called up for brief periods in response to immediate needs.

David Foote’s Service Record

September 1777
Served as a private in Captain Ezra Whittelsey’s company, part of Colonel John Brown’s Berkshire County militia detachment.
Enlisted September 11, 1777; discharged September 30, 1777.
His unit marched north in response to the Saratoga Campaign.

July–August 1779
Served in Captain Samuel Goodrich’s company, part of Lieutenant Colonel Miles Powell’s Berkshire County regiment.
Enlisted July 18, 1779; discharged August 22, 1779.
Stationed at New Haven, Connecticut, for coastal defense and security duty.

October 1780 – First Alarm
Served in Captain Amos Porter’s company, part of Colonel David Rosseter’s regiment.
Enlisted October 14, 1780; discharged October 17, 1780.
Responded to a local military alarm in Berkshire County.

October 1780 – Second Alarm
Served again in the same company and regiment.
Enlisted October 18, 1780; discharged October 21, 1780.
Responded to another local alarm in Berkshire County.

Although remote and far from Boston, the Berkshire County militia played an essential role in protecting western supply lines from British and Indigenous attacks. The militia mobilized quickly in 1775 following the Battles of Lexington and Concord and was later used to reinforce northern forces in New York and parts of Canada. Most notably, these units supported American troops during the Saratoga Campaign. By 1777, British forces aimed to cut off Massachusetts from the rest of the colonies by advancing on Albany from Canada via Lake Champlain. While initially successful, they were ultimately stopped at the Battles of Saratoga, a turning point in the war that favored the American cause.

After the war, David Foote remained in Lee, Massachusetts, where he and his wife, Betsy Hamlin, raised ten children. In 1815, David and Betsy moved west to Ohio, settling in Dover Township along the shore of Lake Erie, now known as Lake Road. Using trees from their land, they built a simple log cabin.

David Foote died in 1851 at the age of 91. The homestead was later cared for by two of his grandchildren, Ranson and Lavias, and the Foote family continued to live on the northern end of the property for many years. They also operated a small sawmill near the lake, where it is said logs were often dropped directly into the water from the cliffside. Another grandchild, Henry P. Foote, used portions of the land for fruit and berry farming while advocating for and selling the interurban rail line. During the latter half of the 19th century, much of the original property was sold and developed into housing.

The original Foote log cabin remained in the family for many years before being heavily remodeled in 1893 and later purchased by the Wieland family in 1937. Although that cabin no longer stands, a later Foote family cabin once stood at 30912 Lake Road and included a barn behind it. After falling out of use by the 1940s, the barn was converted into a house and painted pink, earning the local nickname “the Pink Barn.” The Foote Barn House remains a private residence today.

Henry P. Foote, 1869

Foote Barn House Modern Day

Bibliography:

Bay Village Historical Society. Bay Village: A Way of Life. Bay Village, OH: Bay Village Historical Society, 1974.

Flament, Catherine Burke. Retracing Footsteps: Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Bay Village, OH: Bay Village Historical Society, 2025.

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War: A Compilation from the Archives. Vol. 5. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, 1896.

Autographs

The Bay Village Historical Society would like to send our congratulations to the recent graduates of Bay High School in 2024. One hundred years ago, in May of 1924, the two-year old Parkview School building (located where the middle school stands today) only housed grades 1-9^th grade and was preparing to add a 10^th grade class that fall. Any Bay Village graduating student at that time still needed to attend neighboring high schools, such as in Westlake and Rocky River, until Bay added its first senior class in the fall of 1926. You can view yearbooks for Bay’s high school all the way back to this first graduating class of 1927 at the Osborn Learning Center or by viewing a digital copy on our website here.

On the subject of yearbooks, one may think of the autographs within them. This personal addition of autographs and poems are left behind within the cover pages and margins of the book as fond remembrances from fellow schoolmates and teachers. Their messages can also be found in booklets from the late 19^th century, made specifically for this purpose. We have a few such booklets in our collections, including some that contains locks of hair! The autograph books included here all contain signatures dating from the 1880s.

First is the autograph book of Miss Emily Oborn (b. 1871, d. 1955). Emily was the great-granddaughter of early Dover Township (now Bay Village) settlers Sarah and Reuben Osborn. Inside the booklet, the signatures implore Emily to not forget them and send best wishes and wonders about the future. The pages are signed by her teacher, family, and various friends and students, beginning in the early 1880s.

*Pages from the autograph book of Miss Emily Osborn. Note the sticker or pasted image of flowers at top right. Such small images are often pasted in the pages of these books. 2021.07.09*

The autograph book of Herbert “Bertie” Barker (b. 1871, d. 1924) contains signatures of schoolmates and friends in New York from 1882-1883 with some additional signatures collected into the 1890s. Barker later married a member of Dover Township’s Aldrich family.

*Pages from the autograph book of Bertie Barker, 2021.FIC.033.*

Edythe Amelia Aldrich (b. 1876 d. 1961) was the great-granddaughter of Elizabeth and Aaron Aldrich III, the first members of the Aldrich family to settle in Dover Township in 1816. Edythe Aldrich’s book contains many pieces of sage advice from Dover classmates but also some humorous poems and teases about the future love interest in her life. That person turned out to be Herbert Marcus Barker (Bertie Barker) whom she married in 1905.

*Pages from the autograph book of Edythe (or Edith) Amelia Aldrich, with collected signatures from 1887-1891, 2021.FIC.034.* *The signature at left might be of Wirt Wallace Dodd (b. 1868, d. 1950). Dodd’s future daughter, Sarah, was a member of the first graduating class in Bay in 1927.*

This page of Edythe Aldrich’s autograph book contains the signature of Arthur H. Wolf. This is probably Arthur H. J. Wolf (b. 1874, d. 1900), the grandson of early Dover settlers Ann and John Wolf, who came to the area in 1818 from Virginia. According to Bay Village: A Way of Life, Arthur’s father, Alfred, was born in 1828 in his parent’s log cabin, built 300 feet south of what is now Wolf Road, near Walmar Drive.

In May of 2023, we took a look back at a few pictures and papers from some early graduates of Bay Village on our Glimpse of the Past page. It’s worth a look!

Also worth a look is the historic Sarah and Reuben Osborn house, on Lake Road, next to Rose Hill Museum. It is believed to be the oldest surviving framed house between Cleveland and Lorain County. It was saved from destruction and moved to its current location in 1995. It also received a bit of a facelift in 2023 with a new paint job and some exterior work. The building is officially known as the Osborn Learning Center because it houses some small exhibits and resources for research on Bay history. Come visit this house as well as Rose Hill Museum on Sundays, April – December in 2024 from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. (excluding holiday weekends). Contact us at info@bayhistorical.com or call us at 216-319-4634 with any questions. You may also visit our website at www.bayhistorical.com, for additional information.

1813 Grist Mill at Rose Hill Museum

by Michele Yamamoto

In our records at the Bay Village Historical Society there is much historical evidence that the Joseph Cahoon family built at least two mills on Cahoon Creek, beginning in 1813. The grist and saw mills are now long gone but they used to sit just east of Rose Hill house on Cahoon Creek. In fact, the creek may have been the reason the Cahoon family chose to settle in this particular location in what was then called Dover Township.

According to a piece in the 1958 Bay Village City brochure, “The Bay Village Story,” it is claimed that Joseph Cahoon, who was the first settler in Dover in 1810, wrote to his wife, Lydia, about the land he chose. “Lydia, we need go no further. There is timber, all we can ever use, and the land is fine for grain and vegetables and this creek we will call Cahoon Creek, and we will build a grist mill right there.” The Bay Village Historical Society has not yet found the original copy of this letter and cannot verify the quote given, but it is certainly possible that Joseph would have expressed sentiments like these.

*Copy of map showing the locations of the Cahoon buildings in 1852, including the mills. 1996.M.03.05*

A granddaughter of Joseph Cahoon, Ida Maria Cahoon, wrote a book in 1910 about her family history titled “History of the Cahoon Family.” In this book, Ida states that her father, Joel, one of Joseph’s sons, helped his father to erect and operate both mills when he wasn’t serving for several months during 1814 in the War of 1812. Ida’s words are a much-referenced description of the building of the mill and some of the travel challenges faced by early settlers:

“While Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was fighting his famous battle upon Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, a grist mill was being raised by Grandfather Cahoon and his neighbors upon Cahoon Creek, east of our house. Prior to this time, the nearest flour mill was at Newburgh, eighteen miles away. Miles seemed longer when no streams were bridged, no hills graded, and a horse or ox bore the burden of the grain to be ground, then they do today with modern means of transportation. The stones for grinding the grain were quarried from the creek by Joseph Cahoon and his son Joel. They are placed as stepping stones at the entrance to our lawn, preserved as a part of the history of the place.”

And the mill stones remain there still. Two stones rest near the Rose Hill north side porch. There is an additional stone on the south side. Several accounts claim the stones for grinding the grist were hewn from Cahoon Creek, or at least somewhere not too far away. You can still see the furrows or channels cut into a sickle pattern on one side of the stones. From the north porch of Rose Hill, you may look down upon Cahoon Creek and see the spot where the grist mill once stood. No remains can be seen today of that mill.

Another water-powered mill, a saw mill, was built just north of and not long after the grist mill. This saw mill is credited with cutting the lumber used to build the Cahoon’s permanent framed house in 1818, known as Rose Hill. According to recollections in our archives, there may still have been remnants of the saw mill into the 20^th century.

Photo from Wilfred Swanker, claiming to be taken of the “Cahoon Mill.” Based on Swanker’s location description in a newspaper interview for West Life in 1982, this could actually be the ruins of the old Oviatt saw mill, located further south on Cahoon Creek, across from Lincoln Road.

This photo was identified by an unknown person as the “Cahoon grist mill.” This is unlikely the Joseph Cahoon grist mill, in part, because writings from his granddaughter, Ida Maria, tell us Joel B. Cahoon rebuilt the original mill in the 1840s, but it was out of use by the end of the Civil War though it may be the mill of different Cahoon family member.

A short history about water power and mills in early America

In the early days of America, most settlers on the frontier were farmers. Wood, water and good farming soil were in abundance but man power was scarce and expensive. Technology helped to save time and money. Water was an energy source that could be harnessed to replace both humans and animals to power machinery, move grist mills, saw mills and power cloth mills, among other uses.

Grist mills were a top priority for settlers as baked goods like bread were a staple of many early American families. They were usually built before schools and churches in a new township. This was because grinding grist (any grain that has been separated from its chaff) into flour was quite physically demanding and time consuming. Grain farmers would travel up to 50 miles away to avoid the work and the Cahoon mill was probably filled with fellow farmers from the area, considering the nearest mill at the time was reportedly in Newburgh, some 18 miles away. These farmers likely paid for the service by offering part of their grain harvest to the Cahoons.

There are no definitively proven photos of the old Cahoon mills in the Bay Village Historical Society collections. We can surmise, from other mills constructed at the time and the topography of the Cahoon land, that the Cahoon grist mill was powered by water moving up Cahoon Creek to either a large vertical undershot or breastshot wheel. A millpond or dam, which is referenced in Cahoon letters as late as the 1840s, along with a millrace channel, helped to direct, contain and control the flow of water. The wheel would power a system of gears inside the millhouse that could power a set of mill stones and maybe even a series of pulleys. A multistoried building meant that gravity could provide help in moving the grain down through the processing. The grist is fed into a hole in the middle of the top “running” stone and as that stone moves over the one below it, the grist is ground by the flat cut sections between the two stones. The grist becomes a finer flour and the long furrows cut into the stones move the grain outward to be collected.

The inside of the model grist mill at Rose Hill shows how the Cahoon’s grist mill probably worked. The grain was stored at the top and brought down by a chute to a hole at the top of the running mill stone. The wooden peg gears, which could more easily be replaced when broken, were turned by an outside water-powered wheel. The Cahoon mill probably ground its own corn as it is listed as one of their crops in the late 1800s.

You may get some idea of technology like this used during the 1800s at the Rose Hill Museum. There are various tools and machines on display that once aided early farmers. One of these tools is the working model 1813 grist mill. This model shows how harnessing water may power the wheel to the inner workings of a building. With the help of a docent, you may even try to power this mill yourself!

*Pamela Ebert paints the model grist mill.*

Thanks to all of the fantastic volunteers who helped make this model grist mill possible, including:

Wood Structure – Senior Center Wood Shop at City Hall, Ed Wozniak, Jim Rowe, and Tony Pantina
Painting – Pamela Ebert and Ed Neal
Interior Structure and Mechanical Fittings – Dan Krieg
Assisted by – Michele Yamamoto, Cathy Flament, and Marie Albano

**********

Source for some of the early history of grist mills in American drawn from:

General history taken from Penn State University website “Building Community: Medieval Technology and American History” See: https://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/articles/colonial_wood_water.htm

Ernest Wuebker, the first mail carrier in West Dover

The following article was written by former Bay Village Historical Society president and historian, Kay Laughlin, in 2015. Ernest Wuebker is credited as the first rural mailman in West Dover Township (part of what is now Bay Village).

The first mail carrier in West Dover

by Kay Laughlin

Ernest Wuebker was born in 1884 and grew up near Akron. In 1897, at age 13, Ernie came to Dover Township to pick grapes for his Uncle Henry [Wuebker] who lived in the old Heckerman house on the east side of Bradley Road, south of the tracks. Casper, Ernie’s [younger uncle], joined him and later purchased Uncle Henry’s property. The next year, Casper invited Ernie and his mom to move to Dover. Across the street lived Gus Fortlage.

Ernest stands in the back row, second boy from left, between his little brothers Henry and Lewis, in this cropped 1898 school photo. His little sister, Ina, is in the second row, at far right. Oldest sister, Amanda, is not in this picture. Ernest was born in New York City and came to Dover, Ohio only about a year before this photo was taken. (2018.P.03.03.78)

*Ernest as a young man, 2018.P.03.03.28.*

At that time, the acreage around the railroad crossing and Lear/Nagel Road was called West Dover. Shortly after Ernie arrived, the West Dover Post Office was moved from Dieterich’s store north of the tracks on the east side of Bradley Road (where Bay Commons is today) to the southwest side of the tracks in Gus Fortlage’s place.

One day Gus stopped Ernie on his way up Bradley Road and told him he, Gus, had received a contract to start the first rural mail carrier route out of West Dover and suggested Ernie be the mailman. Ernie would receive $50 a month and provide his own transportation and expenses.

So in 1904, at 20 years of age, after passing a U.S. Civil Service examination in Cleveland, Ernie started delivering mail by bicycle and on horseback. Ernie’s route encompassed not only Dover Township but also Avon and North Ridgeville townships.

Ernie bought one of those regular green RFD mail wagons that had the reins going out two holes in front, which made delivering mail much safer and warmer. Between Porter and Center Ridge roads, the Greens, who owned Green’s Garage, allowed him to leave his horse at their barn to rest while he used the Greens’ horse to finish the North Ridgeville loop of his route. It was in 1916 Ernie turned to a Model T Ford in good weather. So, in accordance with the motto, “the mail always went through.”

Ernie married Alvina Peters and raised his family on Bradley Road in the 1850 Thomas Powell house. Alvina’s grandparents were Tom and Sophia Saddler Powell. In 1923, Ernie built a colonial house south of the Powell house at 584 Bradley Road. Delivering the mail had served Ernie well.

*Alvina and Ernest Wuebker relax inside their Bradley Road home in 1926, 2018.P.03.03.39. The couple had been married for 20 years by the time this photo was taken.*

*Ernest and wife Alvina in front of their home on Bradley in the summer of 1927, 2018.P.03.03.55.* *The Wuebker’s raised peaches, apples and grapes on their property.*

In the early years there was not a person in western Westlake and Bay whom Ernie did not know by name and sight because of his occupation. They saw him often and he became their confidant and trusted friend.

Ernest and Alvina’s children stand behind them at their Bradley Road home. From left to right are Vera, Elaine and Carl. Vera was one of the first Bay high school graduates in 1927. Her younger brother, Carl, was on the first school football team. Tragically, he died of kidney failure at the age of 21, not long after this photo was taken. (2018.P.03.03.36)

Ernest Wuebker poses for a 1961 article photo with a miniature replica of the type of transportation he used in his early days as a mail carrier, later using a Model-T Ford. Wuebker served as a mail carrier from 1904-1935. “None of the roads was paved,” he said in the article. “When it was too muddy for the wagon, I pushed a two-wheeled cart. When there was snow I took the wheels off the wagon and put on runners. When it was too deep for that, I rode horseback.” Wuebker died in 1979, at the age of 94. (2023.P.FIC.012)

There is more to learn about the West Dover Post Office and 19^th century letter writing on our website page Fun with History. Our Glimpse of the Past page has information about stamp collecting here.

********

We hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the life of Ernest August Wuebker. If learning historical information such as this is important to you, please consider a donation to the Bay Village Historical Society. Find out more on our website Donate page. You may also contact us by phone at (216) 319-4634 or email info@bayhistorical.com.