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1-48 Presque Isle
Near this site scout Peter Navarre built in 1807 a log cabin close by an Ottawa Indian Village of 60 whitewashed cabins. Here he maintained friendly relations between white settlers and Chief Autokee. The 1833 Treaty of Maumee gave 320 acres of this region to the Indians who later sold the isle for $1,000. Presque […]
36-47 Toni Morrison, Lorain Native / Toni Morrison, Prize Winning Author
Author Toni Morrison was born, Chloe Ardelia Wofford, in Lorain on February 18, 1931. Her passion for language was nurtured by her family and while working at the Lorain Public Library during high school. Then housed in the Carnegie Center, the library hired her to reshelve and catalog books. Morrison said that she “was slow […]
35-47 Ambassador William Graves Sharp
William Graves Sharp lived at this location before and after his tenure as Ambassador to France during World War I. He was born to George Sharp and Mahala Graves Sharp in Mount Gilead, Ohio, on March 14, 1859. As children, Sharp and his twin brother George moved to Elyria with their mother and grandparents, William […]
34-47 Beach Park Station / Beach Park Station
From the 1890s to the 1930s, interurban railways were an important form of travel in the Midwest. Beach Park Station had an interurban carhouse, where repairs were performed and passengers boarded. The Lorain & Cleveland Railway (L&C) built the 65½ by 200 foot brick station in 1897. By 1901, the L&C became part of the […]
33-47 Village of South Amherst Town Hall
The Village of South Amherst incorporated in 1918. Mayor Fred Ruth and village’s council authorized a special election on February 22, 1919 so that the village could issue bonds to establish a town hall. The village used the funds to buy the house of Jeannette and Alexander Born. Purchased on September 3, 1919 for $3,750, […]
32-47 Lorain West Breakwater Lighthouse / Saving the Lorain Lighthouse
On October 22, 1913, Congress appropriated $35,000 to build a light-and-fog station at Lorain harbor. Construction began after plans were approved in 1916. The concrete structure was finished and light placed in service in 1917, but the station was not completed until 1919. The lighthouse’s foundation is comprised of a wooden crib and boxes filled […]
31-47 General Quincy Adams Gillmore
Quincy Adams Gillmore, considered one of the greatest military engineers and artillerists of the Civil War, was born to Quartus Gillmore and Elizabeth Reid Gillmore at this location in 1825. He attended Norwalk Academy and taught high school in Elyria before embarking on a military career. Graduating first in his class at West Point in […]
19-47 Edgar F. “Daddy” Allen
Elyria businessman Edgar “Daddy” Allen (1862 — 1937), founder of Easter Seals, is buried in this cemetery with his wife Blanche and son Homer. In 1907 Allen lost his son because of an interurban crash. The lack of adequate medical services prompted Allen to begin a fundraising campaign to build the city’s first hospital, Elyria […]
30-47 Antoinette Brown Blackwell (1825-1921) and First Church in Oberlin
First Church was built by the Oberlin Community in 1842-44 for the great evangelist Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875). He was its pastor, headed Oberlin College’s Theology Department, and later became College president. In the mid-19th century this Congregational church had one of the largest congregations and auditoriums west of the Alleghenies. Eminent speakers such as […]
29-47 Tragedy at 5th Street and Middle Avenue
On Memorial Day in 1907, interurban car 123 crashed into the rear of interurban car 129 at the intersection of 5th Street and Middle Avenue. Eight passengers died including Homer Allen, son of Elyria businessman Edgar F. Allen. Inadequate hospital facilities are believed to have contributed to some of the deaths. After the accident, Allen […]