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Lewis-Sample Farmstead. The farmstead shares the name of the Lewis and Sample families, two owners since European-descended settlers began moving into the Ohio County in the late 1700s. Andrew (1762-1847) and Martha Lewis (1774-1852) acquired this land in 1804. Like others, Andrew saw for himself the rich land north of the Ohio River while in the army during the Ohio Indian Wars of the 1790s. By 1834, the Lewis farmstead had expanded to more than 350 acres with a brick house, still house, and sawmill on Indian Creek. The Sample family purchased the farm in 1871 and owned it until 2007.
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Settlers from New England purchased this land in 1817 for use as a burying ground and to build a meeting house. Located in the center of Bath Township, a part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, the site provided a convenient place for public and religious gatherings and for a cemetery. Out of need, the cemetery was established before the township was founded in 1818. Many of Bath Township’s farming families, as well as both owners and operators of businesses of Bath, are interred in the cemetery. In a tradition originating with Civil War veteran Perry Alexander, the graves of all veterans are marked with an American flag on Memorial Day as a tribute to their service.
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With its favorable seasons and fertile soils, the northern Ohio frontier attracted settlers to the Western Reserve from the beginning of the nineteenth century. With a well-established agricultural heritage, “truck farming” became popular as wagons hauled produce to stands at the Central Market on Public Square in Cleveland around 1860. Thirty years later, to extend the growing season, Martin Ruetenik, who was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame, introduced the concept of greenhouse growing by constructing a 550-square foot greenhouse. Following his lead, nearly every farmer along Schaaf Road became a greenhouse farmer making Brooklyn Heights one of the leading greenhouse areas in the United States with over 4 million square feet or 100 acres “under glass.” With its concentration of greenhouse farming, Brooklyn Heights became synonymous with fine, high quality, greenhouse tomatoes.
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Toledo State Hospital opened in January 1888 as the Toledo Asylum for the Insane. Originally located immediately south of this cemetery, the hospital was designed to function as a self-contained community for 650 people. Patients lived in large cottages, surrounded by a post office, church, library, male and female hospital, strong wards, bakery, and dining hall. People were admitted with mild to severe forms of mental illness, and a variety of other disabling conditions, including developmental, medical or neurological, as well as for addictions, injuries, and old age. Work became a form of treatment, with patients involved in construction, farming, laundry, and other jobs to help maintain the hospital. Patients could also participate in recreational activities from gardening to playing in the hospital band. The State Hospital became home for many, as hospitalization could last a lifetime, often spanning decades. (continued on other side)
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The George and Christina Ealy House is a testament to the prosperity of one of this area’s early residents and the skills of mid-nineteenth-century craftsmen. In 1830, members of the Ealy family moved from Pennsylvania to a 73-acre parcel where the house and six-acre Resch Park surrounding it are located. The Ealys were representative of a second wave of pioneers who settled Plain Township after 1812. The Ealys cleared land for farming and operated a sawmill on Rose Run. George prospered and in 1860 built this fine brick house. Architecturally, the house exhibits the transition between Greek Revival and Italianate styles. Its layout reflects the former; its proportions and decorative detail, the latter. (Continued on other side)
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