Wischmeyer Hotel Cook House

26566 Lake Road, and former location of Wischmeyer Hotel, 26556 Lake Road, both c. 1874.
The 1879 Crisfield Johnson “History of Cuyahoga County” states: “Henry Wischmeyer came out from Cleveland in 1874, and began to raise grapes upon a tract of fifty acres…In 1874 he built upon his land a wine cellar with a capacity of ten thousand gallons, and manufactures considerable wine every year.” “Bay Village: A Way of Life” states: “A resort hotel was built above the Wischmeyer wine cellar in 1874 which could accommodate seventy guests. His hotel became a regular stopping place for business men traveling from Sandusky to Cleveland, who could not return the same day after making their wine purchases. The hotel became a popular resort for affluent Clevelanders and guest[s] arrived who traveled not only on the interurban but also from out of state via the railroad.” The 1880 United States Census list Henry’s occupation as farmer and his agricultural production in 1880 included butter, eggs, oats, rye, potatoes, apples, peaches, grapes and 400 gallons of wine (quite different from 10,000!). An 1880 Auditor’s map curiously only shows the Wischmeyer family home on the fifty acres. The hotel was demolished in 1962.
This is the 18th of approximately 100 brief articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historic Society in 2026. The articles are being submitted profiling the oldest to the newest minimum century old artifacts.