tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21407210141345589602024-03-08T14:23:22.298-05:00Cleveland Area HistoryAn opinionated, vocal, approach to history, preservation, and related issues in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.comBlogger282125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-36655744688985918382014-02-27T14:42:00.000-05:002014-02-27T14:42:13.328-05:00Earthworks and Cows and Hills, Oh My! A View of Chillicothe in the 1830s<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/12817823204_021b99e9a2.jpg"><br />
<small>"Chillicothe with Cows" Staffordshire platter. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.prices4antiques.com/">Prices 4 Antiques</a>.</small><br />
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In the early through mid 19th century, a considerable volume of Staffordshire pottery was created with <a href="http://www.americanhistoricalstaffordshire.com/">views of American scenes</a>. They were created, in Staffordshire, for the United States audience. Four illustrate Ohio views: two of Chillicothe, the first capitol of the state; and one each of Sandusky and Columbus. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8496837684/" title="Sandusky by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8248/8496837684_a641403818.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="Sandusky"></a><br />
<small><i>Sandusky</i> Staffordshire platter. Reproduced from <i>Pictures of early New York on dark blue Staffordshire pottery, together with pictures of Boston and New England, Philadelphia, the South and West</i> (1899) by R.T. Haines Halsey. Used courtesy of <a href="http://archive.org/details/picturesofearlyn00hals" rel="nofollow">Boston Public Library and the Internet Archive</a>.</small><br />
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There's little doubt that the Sandusky platter does, in fact, illustrate Sandusky, Ohio. It's consistent enough what was known about the city at the time that we can be confident in this assumption.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8496837412/" title="Columbus by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8248/8496837412_0a1553f5ff.jpg" width="500" height="402" alt="Columbus"></a><br />
<small><i>Columbus</i> Staffordshire platter. Reproduced from <i>Pictures of early New York on dark blue Staffordshire pottery, together with pictures of Boston and New England, Philadelphia, the South and West</i> (1899) by R.T. Haines Halsey. Used courtesy of <a href="http://archive.org/details/picturesofearlyn00hals" rel="nofollow">Boston Public Library and the Internet Archive</a>.</small><br />
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Likewise, we can say the same for this view of Columbus. It illustrates the city from a viewpoint similar to that used by Thomas Kelah Wharton, below. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6970391308/" title="Columbus, Ohio from the south west by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6970391308_8793dc0d9a.jpg" width="500" height="307" alt="Columbus, Ohio from the south west"></a><br />
<small><i>Columbus, Ohio from the south west</i>. A drawing (1832) by Thomas Kelah Wharton. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?54035" rel="nofollow">New York Public Library</a>. </small><br />
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The similar in the lay of the city in Wharton's viewpoint, from the southwest, would seem to suggest that both views were made near the same time. <br />
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The two Chillicothe views - the one illustrated above and <a href="http://www.americanhistoricalstaffordshire.com">Chillicothe with raft</a> - have, to this point, presented more difficulty. The most obvious landmark, the first statehouse, isn't visible in either view. It's been suggested by many that these views might not be Chillicothe at all, but rather, some other images chosent to stand in. <br />
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I tend to be cautious about asserting that a view <i>isn't</i> a place without evidence as to the actual location of the view being depicted. For an example of the dangers of these assumptions, I need point no further than Karl Bodmer's print of the Cleveland lighthouse, which many asserted couldn't be Cleveland because the lighthouse was clearly different and had different surroundings. It turned out that the structure being depicted was the harbor light, as is illustrated in depth in <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2013/02/new-find-first-painting-of-cleveland-in.html">New Find! First* Painting of Cleveland in Color!</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7134119463/" title="S.W. View of Chillicothe by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7134119463_cc0e9e9a04.jpg" width="500" height="319" alt="S.W. View of Chillicothe"></a><br />
<small><i>S.W. View of Chillicothe</i>. An engraving (1839) by Charles Foster. Reproduced from <i>Chillicothe, Ohio</i> by G. Richard Peck. Used courtesy of the Ross County Historical Society.</small> <br />
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The landscape illustrated in the Staffordshire platter of Chillicothe seemed inconsistent with the one shown in this 1839 engraving by Charles Foster, one of four views of the city that he printed that year. This made me less comfortable with the assumption that the view on the platter was, in fact, Chillicothe, Ohio.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/12817363415/" title="George Wood residence, Chillicothe, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7409/12817363415_09180979d9.jpg" width="500" height="363" alt="George Wood residence, Chillicothe, Ohio"></a><br />
<small><i>George Wood residence, Chillicothe, Ohio</i>. A watercolor painting (late 1830s). Used courtesy of Donald Carpentier. </small><br />
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A couple weeks ago, my colleague, Andrew Richmond, asked me if I might be able to identify the house illustrated in this watercolor from the late 1830s, the residence of one George Wood. I dug in. While Wood was clearly a man of considerable means, I wasn't able to learn that much about him. I was able to narrow down the general location of the residence, but beyond that, I was unsure. What followed was a lot of hemming and hawing. <br />
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Finally, I sent an email to Pat Medert, Archivist, at the Ross County Historical Society. Her response was most illuminating: "The house in the painting appears to be that of George Wood who resided at 144 W. Fifth St. George was born in 1793 in Jefferson County, VA. The family moved to Kentucky when he was a child, and in 1810, he and his brother, John moved to Chillicothe. They were partners in the mercantile and pork packing businesses. George also invested extensively in farm land in Ross County and was a person of considerable wealth at the time of his death in January 1861. He was never married and his estate went to his sister, Susan Hoffman."<br />
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Medert added, "George bought the property in 1833 and erected the house in 1837. It can be seen in a sketch made by Charles Foster in 1839. The house was remodeled in 1874, and renovations included the construction of an addition to the east side of the house. It is still standing and is well maintained."<br />
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(The George Wood residence is about a third of the way from the left in the Charles Foster print.)<br />
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The George Wood residence is on the south side of the street. The surrounding geology means that this view is looking approximately southwest.<br />
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This is, indeed, an interesting painting, but what does it have to do with the Staffordshire <i>Chillicothe (with cows)</i>?<br />
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Look at the background of the George Wood residence. The hills aren't covered with trees like they are in the Charles Foster print. Further, they're similar in <i>style</i> to the view on <i>Chillicothe (with cows)</i>. This suggested to me, "Hey, this might actually be Chillicothe, Ohio."<br />
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With the assumption that the view on this piece of Staffordshire was Chillicothe, I tested what would happen if one made the rest of the evidence fit that hypothesis.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7322787878/" title="Chillicothe Courthouse, Etc., in 1801 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7221/7322787878_d0d1749515.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt="Chillicothe Courthouse, Etc., in 1801"></a><br />
<small><i>Chillicothe Courthouse, Etc., in 1801</i>. A print (June, 1842) by Horace C. Grosvenor. Published in <i>American Pioneer</i> (June, 1842). Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll32/id/8384" rel="nofollow">Ohio Historical Society</a>.</small><br />
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This is the first statehouse, as illustrated in 1842. At the time, the building was still standing - this represents a reasonably accurate depiction of the structure. The statehouse was in the middle of this city. What this illustration doesn't convey are the significant quantity of buildings that were built up around the structure by the 1830s. <br />
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Since the statehouse was only two stories tall, it wouldn't stand out much among the buildings. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/12819827404/" title="Detail, Chillicothe with cows Platter by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3688/12819827404_cb7c1fe526.jpg" width="500" height="330" alt="Detail, Chillicothe with cows Platter"></a><br />
<small><i>Chillicothe with cows</i> (detail). A Staffordshire platter (circa 1830). Used courtesy of <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sEJEFDCoCDNCi--b3pa-c9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0" rel="nofollow">Dennis and Dad Antiques</a>.</small><br />
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With the assumption that this is Chillicothe, the statehouse is most likely represented by the cupola indicated by the green arrow. With that knowledge, how can we orient ourselves in this city?<br />
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The 1860 <a href="http://www.loc.gov/item/2012592235">Topographical map of Ross County, Ohio</a> includes the first detailed map of Chillicothe that I've been able to find. Note: if you're aware of an earlier one, please let me know. The lack of such a map seems odd, especially given that one of the great early maps of the state, Hough and Bourne's 1815 <a href="http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/s/t6ya0x">Map of the State of Ohio</a> was published there. <br />
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The 1860 map doesn't help much. The landscape illustrated in the foreground, which I assumed was the floodplain of the Scioto River, had been significantly changed since the view used for the Staffordshire platter was made. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7797055064/" title="Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8424/7797055064_9b04d067f1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments"></a><br />
<small><i>Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments</i>. Constructed by E.G. Squier, 1847. A print (June, 1847) by Sarony and Major. Plate II in <i>Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley</i> (June, 1847) by Ephraim G. Squier and Edwin H. Davis. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/brbldl_getrec.asp?fld=img&id=1003928" rel="nofollow">Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University</a>.</small><br />
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In a desperate measure for any sort of early map of the city at all, I remembered this wonderful view from Squier and Davis' 1847 <i>Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley</i>. It illustrates all of the Native American earthworks present in the vicinity of Chillicothe, most of which are now lost. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/12820144044/" title="Detail, Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5474/12820144044_c4cd1de62f.jpg" width="500" height="491" alt="Detail, Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Map of a Section of Twelve Miles of the Scioto Valley with its Ancient Monuments</i>. Constructed by E.G. Squier, 1847. A print (June, 1847) by Sarony and Major. Plate II in <i>Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley</i> (June, 1847) by Ephraim G. Squier and Edwin H. Davis. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/brbldl_getrec.asp?fld=img&id=1003928" rel="nofollow">Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University</a>.</small><br />
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This detail illustrates the area being illustrated. In the lower left are the hills we see in the background. The green "X" marks the approximate location of the statehouse. The artist's viewpoint is marked by a red arrow. <br />
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The cows, then, it seems, are sitting inside a circular mound! What better visual icon could there be for that area, really, than the earthworks built by the Native Americans? <br />
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Not only does this information help to reasonably conclude that the view is, indeed, Chillicothe, Ohio, but it means that we now have an image of a Native American earthwork that before this point we knew only by a measured drawing!<br />
Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-31687663150774581932013-05-23T12:26:00.000-04:002013-05-23T14:59:32.142-04:00Farmhouse in the City<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4520602605/" title="Greek Revival farmhouse by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4060/4520602605_b5d0a9703e.jpg" width="500" height="294" alt="Greek Revival farmhouse"></a><br />
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This house, at 1209 East 71st Street - just north of Superior - has been on my radar for a long time. In fact, it was <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2009/10/save-this-greek-revival-house.html">the subject of one of my very first stories here</a>. <br />
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Try to imagine the house as it was at the time it was built, 160 years ago. Remove the porch. The house would have sat on a rise, a couple of steps leading up to the front door. The windows on the front of the house, on the first floor, had a somewhat ornate trim, as did the front door. The windows, two over two, would have been flanked by shutters, perhaps in dark green, in contrast to the white of the house. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4802724023/" title="Clemen N. Jagger residence by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4101/4802724023_93b3110446.jpg" width="500" height="289" alt="Clemen N. Jagger residence"></a><br />
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The color scheme might have been something along the lines of the Clemen N. Jagger residence, now at Hale Farm and Village. The first floor windows on the front might have had panels underneath, like this structure, or they might have been triple-hung - what I do know is that the original window trim extended downward to a line even with the bottom of the doorframe. <br />
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It was a simple structure, but with good proportions, on a relatively small (ten acre) lot. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4060337327/" title="Greek Revival house - foundation detail by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2658/4060337327_f47f4f1252.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Greek Revival house - foundation detail"></a><br />
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On the exterior, the house has plenty to tell us. The foundation, now covered with a layer of paint, bears the tool marks of the people who quarried and cut it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5815298586/" title="Hand-hewn timbers by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5023/5815298586_82b0d0820d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Hand-hewn timbers"></a><br />
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While most of the framing for the house was cut in a sawmill, the largest timbers were hewn by hand. One can be seen here, underneath a bit of trim.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6460426055/" title="Siding detail, W. Lewis residence by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6460426055_919bbe0512.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Siding detail, W. Lewis residence"></a><br />
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A closer look at the front of the house illustrates the flush siding - an uncommon detail. One can also see, in the paint, the outline of the trim that originally flanked the windows - a helpful piece of information for the party that chooses to fix up this house. <br />
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This house plays a signficant role in illustrating the way this neighborhood changed and grew over time.<br />
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William Lewis was born on 3 April 1809, in Westport St. Mary, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. His wife, Mary Anne Ponting Lewis, was born 1814, also in England. In 1847, they immigrated to the United States with their four children: Thomas (born 1838); George (born 1840); Jane (born about 1842); and Edward (born about 1845). By 1850, they were farming in East Cleveland, Ohio. (Sources: Find a Grave records for <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19498171">William Lewis</a> and <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=LEW&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=37&GScntry=4&GSsr=6521&GRid=19498198&">Mary Anne Ponting Lewis</a>, 1850 and 1860 US Census).<br />
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<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004dd3e48211aa237508&msa=0&ll=41.521841,-81.636711&spn=0.004354,0.006856" title="1209 East 71st street Google Maps by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8550/8773220748_3efe4cbfa6.jpg" width="500" height="264" alt="1209 East 71st street Google Maps"></a><br />
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In September, 1852, they purchased, for $500, a ten acre parcel facing Becker Avenue - now East 71st Street. (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185312190004 ) The parcel extended eastward to what is now East 79th Street. The original property is shown in blue on this map - the location of the house, in green.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770865758/" title="1897-10-10-p4 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8535/8770865758_d724ed1f61.jpg" width="428" height="500" alt="1897-10-10-p4"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 10 October 1897, page 4. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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The seller was one Edward Lewis, also from Wiltshire, England. He had risen to prominence within the iron and steel industry by the time this portrait was made, in 1897. His relationship, if any, with William Lewis is unclear.<br />
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At the price, it's plausible that the house had just been built - especially if Edward Lewis was a relative and was giving William a good deal. If not, the house was built soon after. <br />
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The 1860 US Census lists two more children: William (born about 1848) (henceforth William, Jr.) and Benjamin (born about 1851). It's unclear why William, Jr. wasn't numerated in the 1850 census.<br />
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William Lewis died July 30, 1854, at the age of 45. He was buried in Woodland Cemetery. I have not been able to locate any documentation as to the cause of death. (Find a Grave <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19498171">William Lewis</a>.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6685003063/" title="View of the Ohio State Fair Grounds, 1856 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6685003063_28effa67af.jpg" width="500" height="455" alt="View of the Ohio State Fair Grounds, 1856"></a><br />
<small><i>View of the Ohio State Fair Grounds, 1856</i>. A hand-colored print (1856) by Klauprech & Menzel. Used courtesy of the <a href="https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/22040/View_of_the_Ohio_State_Fair_Grounds_1856_For_The_7th_Annual_Fair_o_the/Klauprech & Menzel.html" rel="nofollow">Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps</a>.</small><br />
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The family would have likely attended the 1856 Ohio State Fair, held just a mile and a quarter to the east.<br />
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By 1858, there were neighbors on either side, both occupying similarly sized (and shaped) lots. The family remained at this house, and by 1860, the value of the property was listed as $4,000. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8769525913/" title="Draft by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5469/8769525913_4bf1f90e22.jpg" width="500" height="105" alt="Draft"></a><br />
<small>Used courtesy of the National Archives, Ancestry.com, and Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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Thomas Lewis and George Lewis both registered for the draft in 1863. Their occupation is listed as "gardener". How this is different from "farmer", which appears far more frequently, is unclear. <br />
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Mary Lewis died 11 December 1863. She was buried alongside her husband at Woodland Cemetery. (Find a Grave: <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=LEW&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=37&GScntry=4&GSsr=6521&GRid=19498198&">Mary Anne Ponting Lewis</a>)<br />
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George Lewis and Jane Lewis transferred their shares in the property to Thomas Lewis, in 1863. (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 186302250002)<br />
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Thomas Lewis married Amelia Gibbs. They raised several children in the house: Celia Jane Lewis (born 23 October 1865); Frank J. Lewis (born 1866); William E. Lewis (born July, 1870); Thomas E. Lewis (born 9 July 1873); Charles A. Lewis (born January, 1878); and Sarah E. Lewis (born December, 1879). Arthur Lewis, born November 1875, died the following month, from whooping cough. <br />
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By 1874, the area was becoming more developed. The Lewis children would have attended a brick schoolhouse, built at the corner of what is now Carl Avenue and Addison Road, a walk of abuot a fifth of a mile. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6363910547/" title="The best frame Italianate house on the east side by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6212/6363910547_e20694913c.jpg" width="500" height="361" alt="The best frame Italianate house on the east side"></a><br />
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The larger farm lots were beginning to be split up to build residences. Some were massive, grand structures, like this house, at 6512 Superior, which I've written about in detail. (See: <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2009/11/very-good-italianate-house-on-superior.html">The best frame Italianate house I've seen in Cleveland</a> and <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2011/11/threatened-best-frame-italianate-on.html">Threatened: The best frame Italianate house on Cleveland's east side</a>)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4521233086/" title="Italianate house on Superior by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2793/4521233086_c6d6b139ec.jpg" width="500" height="363" alt="Italianate house on Superior"></a><br />
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On the opposite side of the street, <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/04/st-georges-lithuanian-church-or.html">the Beckenback residence</a> has a similarly interesting story. Like the house facing it, it <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/06/inside-beckenbach-residence.html">retains significant interior detail</a>.<br />
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The biggest change to the immediate surroundings came in the form of the Lakeview, Collamer, and Euclid Railway, which ended just a couple hundred feet up Becker Avenue (now East 71st Street).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770870470/" title="1876-06-23-Page4 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8411/8770870470_d69fa820f0_b.jpg" width="410" height="1024" alt="1876-06-23-Page4"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 23 June 1876, page 4. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770867834/" title="1880-05-08-p4 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/8770867834_8b20ebb072.jpg" width="339" height="500" alt="1880-05-08-p4"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 8 May 1880, page 4. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6177623391/" title="449 Camp Gilbert by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6170/6177623391_be484f44e6.jpg" width="500" height="457" alt="449 Camp Gilbert"></a><br />
<small><i>Residence and Grounds of George Gilbert, Esquire, Euclid Station, Ohio</i>. From the 1874 Lake <i>Atlas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio</i>. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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Passengers might have used the railway to visit Camp Gilbert, at the mouth of Euclid Creek.<br />
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The following clipping, in addition to illustrating storm damage (front page news!) provides us with a vital bit of history - this house did, in fact, have shutters.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770869984/" title="1876-12-16-p1 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8405/8770869984_3cf6bcd01e.jpg" width="474" height="500" alt="1876-12-16-p1"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 16 December 1876, page 1. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770869576/" title="1877-02-10-Page4 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8770869576_558fcc0c23.jpg" width="500" height="155" alt="1877-02-10-Page4"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 10 February 1877, page 4. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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This quantity - an unknown portion of the Lewis flock - strongly suggests that at least part of their income came from selling either eggs or chickens. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770868262/" title="1880-04-13-p5 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7307/8770868262_85103c33fe.jpg" width="500" height="322" alt="1880-04-13-p5"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 13 April 1880, page 5. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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This purchase suggests that the railway was busy. <br />
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A beer garden was built at the railway terminal - next door to the Lewis house. As <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8766195617/in/photostream">this 1885 article suggests</a>, it caused some problems. <br />
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There's nothing useful that I can say about the following articles.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8766195163/" title="1885-07-13-Page1] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5335/8766195163_b199fb9fc0.jpg" width="500" height="198" alt="1885-07-13-Page1]"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 13 July 1885, page 1. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8770866904/" title="1885-07-14-Page1 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2833/8770866904_f65241d2b4.jpg" width="500" height="157" alt="1885-07-14-Page1"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 14 July 1885, page 1. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8766194773/" title="1885-07-14-page3 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5446/8766194773_2f2a8fbd81.jpg" width="500" height="176" alt="1885-07-14-page3"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 14 July 1885, page 3. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8766194295/" title="1885-10-01-p3 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/8766194295_3770970e08.jpg" width="500" height="241" alt="1885-10-01-p3"></a><br />
<small>Published in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, 1 October 1885, page 3. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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In 1885, Celia Lewis married John Moser in a ceremony at the Lewis family home. John Moser moved in to the house, where they had two children: Grace M. Moser (born 1886) and John Lewis Moser (born 1887).<br />
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The Lewis / Moser family remained in the house through the end of the 19th century. The ten acre lot was gradually split into smaller and smaller peices, as this became a residential neighborhood. In 1900, Amelia Lewis sold the house to Eliza and William Lehmann. (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 190003230029)<br />
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In the next article, we'll see how this house (and the neighborhood) changed during the course of the 20th century. Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-74684315795362615552013-05-03T11:13:00.000-04:002013-05-03T11:13:22.331-04:00Granville, Ohio, in the 1830s - Two Views or Two Copies of the Same View?<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8703957989/" title="[Granville Female College] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8550/8703957989_9b11da87b4.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="[Granville Female College]"></a><br />
<small>[Granville Female College]. A drawing (1830s?). Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.garths.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=1089+++++421+&refno=++235754" rel="nofollow">Garth's Auctions</a>.</small><br />
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When I first saw the thumbnail for this drawing in the current catalogue at Garth's Auctions, I knew the composition was familiar - namely, it was a subject illustrated in a lithograph by one M. French, made between 1835 and 1839, in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. The date for the drawing was listed as "mid 19th century" - I hoped that the lithograph might provide some context - most likely the size of the trees - that would give a more specific date. <br />
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On further examination, I've come to see that they're a lot closer in composition - and likely date - than I had initially guessed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7227323768/" title="Female academy, Granville Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5194/7227323768_54893e6d5d.jpg" width="500" height="381" alt="Female academy, Granville Ohio"></a><br />
<small><i>Female academy, Granville Ohio</i>. A lithograph (between 1835 and 1839) from a drawing by M. French. Printed by Bufford's Lith. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://gigi.mwa.org/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=4072&site=public" rel="nofollow">American Antiquarian Society</a>.</small><br />
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There are quite a few elements shared by both images. A woman in a white dress stands in the front door of the Academy, with two women in dark dresses immediately to the right. The chimney of the house to the left ends up centered in a second floor window in both cases - even though they have rather different perspectives. The trees both show approximately the same amount of growth. Many (though not all) of the same windows are open on the front of the structure. There's even a similarity in the toning of the sky.<br />
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The drawing features central chimneys, while the print has more of them, smaller in size. In the drawing, the gable has a single window, while in the print, there are two smaller ones. In the print, the house is closer to the street, while in the drawing, it appears to have been moved back. In the drawing, which has a more crude sense of perspective, we can see more detail in the house to the right. The print has a different fence from the drawing. <br />
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It seems likely that these two images share some sort of common source - but what that source is, I do not know.<br />
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They have enough in common that one might start to consider if the drawing was a copy after the print - but the lack of the same skill in perspective tends to refute this. <br />
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My guess - and it is a guess - is that these were the product of two students, working under the same teacher at Granville Female Academy at the same time. On a given day, they went out and made sketches together. They included some suggestions about perspective - and some idealized items (the people walking on the street) as suggested, perhaps by the teacher. It might be worth the time to see if an "M. French" was, indeed, a student there at that time. <br />
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This pair appears to provide a look at how two artists, one more skilled than the other, approached the same subject at the same time.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-55887098336635265342013-04-03T14:32:00.001-04:002013-04-03T14:32:56.474-04:00The Strange Disappearing Houses of the Lomond Neighborhood, in Shaker Heights, Ohio<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wa6Urlluxj0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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My colleague, Korbi Roberts, put together this video, <i>The Strange Disappearing Houses of the Lomond Neighborhood, in Shaker Heights, Ohio</i>. It illustrates that the issues concerning the demolition of homes in historic neighborhoods are not limited to the inner city.<br />
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Rather than reading my continued ramblings (I could go on and on, you know) please take a look at the video. Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-55246332994568575862013-02-15T13:22:00.000-05:002013-02-15T13:22:19.658-05:00Cincinnati's Kilgour house and Mount Adams - This Time in Winter!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7456238126/" title="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7456238126_37cd9dd16c.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington"></a><br />
<small><i>Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington</i>. An oil painting (circa 1820). Used courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, Paterson, NJ. Reproduced from <i>Folk Painters of America</i> (1979) by Robert Bishop.</small><br />
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As part of my research, I've been reading <i>Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900: A Biographyical Dictionary</i>, (2000) edited by Mary Sayre Haverstock, Jeannette Mahoney Vance, and Brian L. Meggitt. This 1066 page tome includes perhaps 10,000 artists active in Ohio in or before 1900. I've been reading it, seeking out all of the artists active in or before 1865. <br />
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<a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2013/01/cincinnati-in-1820s-identifying.html">Two weeks ago</a>, I identified the painting shown here as a Cincinnati scene. At center is the Kilgour house, built about 1820. To the right, the city's first water works. At the left, Deer Creek empties into the Ohio River. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8475554039/" title="The Forest Queen in Winter by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8521/8475554039_c03744a551.jpg" width="500" height="367" alt="The Forest Queen in Winter"></a><br />
<small><i>The Forest Queen in Winter</i>. A painting (1857) by Martin Andreas Reisner. Used courtesy of Richard and Jane Manoogian. Image used courtesy of <a href="http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=20332" rel="nofollow">The Athenaeum</a>.</small><br />
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This morning, while reading <i>Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900</i>, I came across a citation for this 1857 painting, <i>The Forest Queen in Winter</i> by Martin Andreas Reisner. The authors noted that, in 1857, Reisner "visited Cincinnati (Hamilton), a portrino of whose riverfont features prominently in <i>The Forest Queen in Winter</i> (Manoogian Collection)." <br />
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To my surprise, I was able to locate a high quality image of the painting. It appears to be based, in part, on the same landscape! Mount Adams is present in the background. The Kilgour house is present, just to the right of center. The Little Miami Railroad runs along the river. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8425893756/" title="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8425893756_1f1dd90593.jpg" width="500" height="329" alt="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Cincinnati Panorama</i>. A daguerreotype (1848) by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/4168" rel="nofollow">Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County</a>.</small><br />
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When compared with this photograph, made nine years earlier, it's obvious that Martin Andreas Reisner took considerable liberties. The commercial buildings are all gone - either he envisioned the landscape without them, or, perhaps, he was working based on an earlier view of the area. On the other hand, he retains what appears to be a bit of commercial activity based around the (considerably smaller) Deer Creek. Yet if we are to see this as something based on an earlier work, why the inclusion of the railroad?<br />
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This view clearly involves a bit of imagination and artistic license. This doesn't diminish its value as a look at Cincinnati in the 1850s. Further, given the rarity of winter views, it seems perfect for a day like today.<br />
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What do you see in it?Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-31323679076228440092013-02-13T11:49:00.000-05:002016-11-01T17:41:49.193-04:00New Find! First* Painting of Cleveland in Color!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8411612627/" title="Lake Erie, From Cleveland by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8363/8411612627_85a528302d.jpg" width="500" height="342" alt="Lake Erie, From Cleveland"></a><br />
<small><i>Lake Erie, From Cleveland</i>. A watercolor painting (July, 1833) by Seth Eastman. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.sloansandkenyon.com/">Sloans and Kenyon Auctioneers and Appraisers, Bethesda, Maryland</a>.</small><br />
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When I think about downtown Cleveland and the mouth of the Cuyahoga, images of industry and commerce come to mind. While I know it wasn't always this way, this area has so long been the heart of the city it's hard to imagine it otherwise. Even <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/09/cleveland-in-1833-as-seen-by-thomas.html">Thomas Whelpley's four views of the city</a>, published in 1834, show a quickly-growing city.<br />
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It's for that very reason that this watercolor, made by Seth Eastman in July, 1833, is so special - it represents the earliest detailed painting I'm aware of of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/134eastman.htm">Eastman</a> probably came through Cleveland en route from <a href="http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hfs/">Fort Snelling</a>, in Minnesota, to <a href="http://www.usma.edu/SitePages/Home.aspx">West Point</a>, New York, where he had received a teaching appointment. He appears to have been looking west from what is now <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=41.501217,-81.700022&hl=en&sll=41.500205,-81.700687&sspn=0.008325,0.012832&mra=mift&mrsp=1&sz=16&t=m&z=16">the intersection of West Sixth Streets and Lakeside Avenue</a>. <br />
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In the foreground, to the right, there's a group of five Native Americans, said to be Iroquois. A few people sit on the hillside, where a row of fenceposts is visible. Closer to the river are a couple of buildings, one of which appears to be a log house. On the river, there are what could be canal boats. The pier and harbor light are also present. The hill at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, on the west bank, had not yet been flattened. A steamship, with a cloud of black smoke, sails on Lake Erie. In the distance, we see what would come to be called the "Gold Coast."<br />
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These things are all significant.<br />
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There are almost no historic images of Native Americans in Ohio. Of those, virtually all were either made years after the fact, based on memory and conjecture or were made by artists who hadn't seen the people in question. I can't think of another painting (within the scope of my current research - before 1866) that documents Native Americans in Ohio <i>at the time the painting was made</i>.<br />
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The presence of a log building is also notable - there are very few known in northern Ohio. While there were a good number built (though not in such numbers as in the southern part of the state) they would have usually been covered with siding as soon as was practical, as a matter of fashion and appearance. <br />
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Further, this painting documents Cleveland at a point just before it underwent a major transformation. With the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal, Cleveland and the interior of Ohio were opened up to commerce. The cost of shipping goods dropped considerably. Cuyahoga County's population would more than double between 1830 and 1840. It would almost double again by 1850. The landscape illustrated here would soon be gone.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7699438810/" title="Cleveland, 1853 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7699438810_cde1a3416b.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="Cleveland, 1853"></a><br />
<small><i>Cleveland, 1853</i> A hand colored lithograph (1853) by B.F. Smith, after a drawing by J.W. Hill. Published by Smith Bros. & Co. Used courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society. Reproduced from <i>Bird's Eye Views: Historic Lithographs of North American Cities</i> by John W. Reps.</small><br />
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This view, made 20 years later, from the west bank of the Cuyahoga, looking east, shows the magnitude of the change. While the west bank still has plenty of vacant land, the east side and downtown are mostly built up. Warehouses line the banks of the Cuyahoga River. To the right, we see both the Cuyahoga River and the narrower Ohio and Erie Canal. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4971351193/" title="Cleveland, Ohio, From Brooklyn Hill Looking East by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4154/4971351193_77396ba539.jpg" width="500" height="311" alt="Cleveland, Ohio, From Brooklyn Hill Looking East"></a><br />
<small> <i>Cleveland, Ohio, From Brooklyn Hill Looking East</i>. A hand-colored etching (1834) by Thomas Whelpley. Engraved by Milo Osborne. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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The point from where Seth Eastman made the watercolor is illustrated in this 1834 print, <i>Cleveland, Ohio, From Brooklyn Hill Looking East</i>. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4971351193/" title="Whelpley detail by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8471251134_26abfa8e8c.jpg" width="500" height="248" alt="Whelpley detail"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Cleveland, Ohio, From Brooklyn Hill Looking East</i>. A hand-colored etching (1834) by Thomas Whelpley. Engraved by Milo Osborne. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
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This detail, taken from the left side of the print, illustrates the location more clearly. Eastman's vantage point is indicated by the red arrow. Note the row of fenceposts, illustrated in the painting, to the left of the arrow. The yellow arrow indicates the location of the Cleveland lighthouse. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8470218887/" title="Harbor Light by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8248/8470218887_a875488445.jpg" width="500" height="248" alt="Harbor Light"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Lake Erie, From Cleveland</i>. A watercolor painting (July, 1833) by Seth Eastman. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.sloansandkenyon.com/" rel="nofollow">Sloans and Kenyon Auctioneers and Appraisers, Bethesda, Maryland</a>.</small><br />
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It's worth noting the presence of the harbor light, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. This structure was likely completed a year or two earlier.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8411612627/" title="[Cleveland harbor] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8516/8414635606_e3049f77d0.jpg" width="500" height="389" alt="[Cleveland harbor]"></a><br />
<small>[Cleveland harbor] A print (1837) by Charles Whittlesey. Published in the <i> Annual report on the geological survey of the State of Ohio</i> (1837). Used courtesy of <a href="http://archive.org/details/AnnualReportOnTheGeologicalSurveyOfTheStateOfOhio" rel="nofollow">Ohio State University and the Internet Archive</a>.</small><br />
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The pier upon which the harbor light was built is illustrated, top and center, in this drawing - letter "F". There's a square, on the right (east) side of the river that provided the foundation for the structure. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7201025742/" title="Cleveland Lighthouse on the Lake Erie by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7201025742_d7f4a18797.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="Cleveland Lighthouse on the Lake Erie"></a><br />
<small> <i>Cleveland Lighthouse on the Lake Erie</i>. A hand-colored engraving (1839) by Pierre Eugène I. Aubert, after a drawing by Karl Bodmer. Published in <i>Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834</i> (1839) by Maximilian Wied. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/brbldl_getrec.asp?fld=img&id=1005223" rel="nofollow">Beinecke Library, Yale University</a>.</small><br />
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I've often heard suggested that this 1839 print, based on preliminary drawings and/or paintings made in 1834, doesn't actually portray the Cleveland lighthouse. What then, I ask, does it portray? The response tends to be a mumble that it's probably somewhere else. <br />
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It's been pointed out that the structure in the print doesn't look like the Cleveland lighthouse, nor is it located up on the hill like the Cleveland lighthouse was - see the point noted by the yellow arrow above. <br />
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Seth Eastman's painting, combined with Charles Whittlesey's map of the harbor seem to indicate that Karl Bodmer's print, <i>Cleveland Lighthouse on the Lake Erie</i>, does, in fact, depict a Cleveland scene. It's just that the structure being illustrated isn't the lighthouse but rather, the harbor light. Perhaps this was a translation issue. <br />
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Bodmer's vantage point appears to have been from the west bank of the Cuyahoga. It's worth noting that the physical relationship between the ship and the harbor light appears to be about the same in Seth Eastman's painting and Karl Bodmer's print. What does this mean? I do not know.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7144776483/" title="View of Inscription Rock on South side of Cunningham Island, Lake Erie by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5031/7144776483_efdc2e35a0.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="View of Inscription Rock on South side of Cunningham Island, Lake Erie"></a><br />
<small><i>View of Inscription Rock on South side of Cunningham Island, Lake Erie</i>. A print (1852) The print is based on a drawing by Seth Eastman created in 1850.<br />
C. E. Wagstaff & J. Andrews (Engraver) Published in <i>Historical and statistical information respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States; collected and prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs per act of Congress of March 3rd, 1847</i>, Volume 2 (1852) by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Image used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll32/id/9226" rel="nofollow">Ohio Historical Society</a>.</small><br />
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Seth Eastman is best known for the work he did portraying Native Americans - the greatest bulk of which appeared in Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's <i>Historical and Statistical Information, Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States</i>, published in the 1850s. This view of Kelley's Island is one such image. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7463344358/" title="Sculptured Inscriptions on Rock, South Side Of Cunningham's Island, Lake Erie by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8015/7463344358_b16efc93f1.jpg" width="370" height="500" alt="Sculptured Inscriptions on Rock, South Side Of Cunningham's Island, Lake Erie"></a><br />
<small><i>Sculptured Inscriptions on Rock, South Side Of Cunningham's Island, Lake Erie</i>. A pen and ink drawing (October 10, 1850) by Seth Eastman. Reproduced from <i>Seth Eastman: A Portfolio of North American Indians</i> (1995) by Sarah E. Boehme, Christian F. Feest, and Patricia Condon Johnston.</small> <br />
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His record of Inscripion Rock on Kelley's Island, the original drawing for which is shown here, remains the best document that we have of this important, but now rather eroded, pictograph group. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7177332177/" title="Inscription Rock, North Side of Cunningham's Is., Lake Erie by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7177332177_385b2297c0.jpg" width="500" height="354" alt="Inscription Rock, North Side of Cunningham's Is., Lake Erie"></a><br />
<small><i>Inscription Rock, North Side of Cunningham's Is., Lake Erie</i>. A print (1852) by Seth Eastman, from a sketch made October 12, 1850. Published in <i>Historical and statistical information respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States; collected and prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs per act of Congress of March 3rd, 1847</i>, Volume 2 (1852) by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Used courtesy of <a href="http://archive.org/details/cu31924091889968" rel="nofollow">Cornell University Library and the Internet Archive</a>.</small><br />
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Another boulder, now lost, inscribed with pictographs was present on the north shore of Kelley's Island, near the present state park campground. <br />
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Eastman's documentation of the island also included <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7177332021/">two</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7362556008/">earthworks</a>. <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7146993693/" title="Cleveland, Ohio Grocery Store"><img src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7140/7146993693_0f18bfa16e.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="Cleveland, Ohio Grocery Store"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<small><i>Cleveland, Ohio Grocery Store</i> [John Smith Grocer]. A drawing (October 9, 1850) by Seth Eastman. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/cleveland-ohio-grocery-store-157751" rel="nofollow">Museum of Fine Arts, Boston</a>.</small><br />
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In the course of his travels, Seth Eastman made drawings of the cities he passed through, along with other items not relating to the subject of his research. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has drawings by Eastman of Fairport Harbor and Sandusky, in addition to this one, of a grocer on the Cuyahoga River, in Cleveland.<br />
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After the initial discovery of this painting wore off, I started to suspect that the watercolor painting, <i>Lake Erie, From Cleveland</i>, might have been made in the 1850s, based partially on his observations in the 1830s. I couldn't locate any works this early by Seth Eastman, and the combination of factors in this painting - the portrayal of the landscape and the presence of Native Americans, among others - just seemed too good to be true. <br />
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So I did more research. I found that the layout of the harbor is consistent with Cleveland in 1833. The number and nature of buildings corresponds reasonably with Whelpley's print of a year later. And the improvements made in the 1840s are not present. Further, the technique of the painting is not as refined as Eastman's later works. <br />
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I'm confident, now, that <i>Lake Erie, From Cleveland</i> depicts Cleveland in July of 1833. It provides a rare glimpse into the landscape of this region as it used to be.<br />
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This watercolor is to be auctioned at <a href="http://www.sloansandkenyon.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=75++++++1552+&refno=265354&saletype=">Sloans and Kenyon</a> this Sunday. Their estimate is $80,000-$150,000 - meaning that the bidding will likely start at $40,000. <br />
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* The Seth Pease 1796 map of Cleveland (see <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeplsG_ygCveDaBu8K3Y1RXMpN0kaPD-eN3RLvDmE8TZrhKERoDYV5vuPYxju7kwbMPEI0RY2IDFKr4ZUcMwlZZJTscPewEnzGIk2Dx9tXs36k7bQQE1GviTctXsZIxjHlgLIzuUGja8zw/s1600-h/1796PeaseMap.jpg">a drawing based upon said map</a>) features a tent with a couple men situated by the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. However, this appears, to my eyes, to be merely added as a visual device, rather than an attempt to illustrate the location. For that reason, I don't count it as a painting of the city.<br />
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Correction: Janice B. Patterson, author of <i>Cleveland's Lighthouses</i>, pointed out to me that where I said "breakwater", I meant "pier". I corrected the two instances of this term. She noted that "There were no breakwaters in the 1830s -- they were built in the 1870s. I think what you are calling a breakwater was actually just a wooden pier, built on pilings and possibly reinforced with stones."Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-73922075329956567272013-01-29T07:30:00.000-05:002013-01-29T07:30:03.387-05:00Cincinnati in the 1820s - Identifying the Location Depicted in "Ohio River Landscape"<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7456238126/" title="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7456238126_37cd9dd16c.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington"></a><br />
<small><i>Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington</i>, an oil painting, circa 1820. Used courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, Paterson, NJ (as of 1987). Reproduced from <i>Folk Painters of America</i> (1979) by Robert Bishop.</small><br />
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When I came across this painting in Robert Bishop's <i>Folk Painters of America</i>, I decided to add it to my ongoing research collection, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/sets/72157629488817352/">Ohio Art through 1865</a>, even though it felt more like something that one might find in the American south, because the odds were better than even that, at least in theory, it depicted an Ohio scene.<br />
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The Ohio River is 981 miles long. Of that, about 449 miles is in Ohio. (I was unable to find a source for the portion in Ohio, so I <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004d44a1fd9e07d0e1b0&msa=0">went to work in Google Maps</a>. It's worth noting that increasing the precision of the line at the point that I'm at on this map does not have a significant effect - 20 minutes of additional precision had a net effect of less than a third of a mile.) <br />
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However, when I added it to the set, I assumed, eyeballing, it, that perhaps 60% of the Ohio River was in Ohio - so a site described as <i>Ohio River Landscape</i> had better than even odds of being in Ohio - at least in a situation like this where both sides of the river are included.<br />
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I've been collecting <i>all</i> the images that I can find illustrating Ohio and created before 1866, without regard to quality - a low quality image can at least act as a placeholder.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7250546690/" title="Topographical Map of the City of Cincinnati, from Actual Survey by Capt. H. L. Barnum by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7250546690_090866e799.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="Topographical Map of the City of Cincinnati, from Actual Survey by Capt. H. L. Barnum"></a><br />
<small><i>Topographical Map of the City of Cincinnati, from Actual Survey by Capt. H. L. Barnum</i> A print (1831), engraved and published by Doolittle & Munson. Used courtesy of the Cincinnati Historical Society Library. Digitized as part of <a href="http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/ArtAsImage/" rel="nofollow">Art as Image; Prints and Promotion in Cincinnati, Ohio</a>, Alice M. Cornell, editor. </small><br />
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A couple days ago, a colleague mentioned an 1831 map of Cincinnati in his possession. I searched my image collection and came up with the map you see above. When I saw the images in the border with fresh eyes, I immediately recognized the composition - look on the top border, second image from the left.<br />
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One can see, even in the tiny image, the large building, right at the water's edge. The slope of the hill is similar, and there's the building with two small wings halfway up the hillside.<br />
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A higher resolution version of this map would surely verify that this painting depicted the same scene illustrated in the scene. Unfortunately, I could not locate one online. <br />
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In looking for a copy of the map, I came across <a href="http://mirlyn.lib.umich.edu/Record/004982141/Description#tabs">this catalog record</a>, from the Clements Library at the University of Michigan. Among other things, it identifies the structures illustrated on the border of the map:<br />
Water works; Cincinnati; Mouth of Licking River; Sycamore Street Church; Second Presbyterian Church; Commercial Bank; Unitarian church; Christ's Church; U.S. Branch Bank; Roman Catholic church; Methodist church; Baptist church; Medical college.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7834644118/" title="Cincinnati by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7834644118_38418a3096.jpg" width="500" height="292" alt="Cincinnati"></a><br />
<small><i>Cincinnati</i>, (March, 1834) by Doolittle & Munson. Used courtesy of the Cincinnati Museum Center. Reproduced from <i>Bulletin of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio</i>, June, 1945.</small><br />
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After working by process of elimination for a bit, I came to the conclusion that the first three subjects were probably the three center images. I'd seen the composition at center before - a view of Cincinnati shown here. The image immediately to the right of it looked to, plausibly, be the mouth of a river, which would make the one to the left - the subject of our painting - the Water Works. <br />
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I was able to find, on <a href="http://sandmancincinnati.com/cincinnati-maps">Sandman Cincinnati</a>, several maps that help illustrate the location depicted here.<br />
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<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8424301923_93eb3ff287.jpg" width="500" height="461" alt="1831 Cincinnati"><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Topographical Map of the City of Cincinnati, from Actual Survey by Capt. H. L. Barnum</i> A print (1831), engraved and published by Doolittle & Munson. Used courtesy of <a href="http://sandmancincinnati.com/images/stories/maps/1831.pdf">Sandman Cincinnati</a>.</small><br />
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On this map, the water works is outlined in red, a house in green, and reservoirs, in blue. The Miami and Erie Canal empties into the Ohio River here, near the mouth of Deer Creek. The map provides some hint that we <i>may</i> be on the right track, but it's hardly conclusive.<br />
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<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cincinnati,OH&aq=&sll=40.365277,-82.669252&sspn=4.151798,6.569824&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cincinnati,+Hamilton,+Ohio&t=m&ll=39.103273,-84.497845&spn=0.005828,0.00912&z=16&output=embed"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cincinnati,OH&aq=&sll=40.365277,-82.669252&sspn=4.151798,6.569824&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cincinnati,+Hamilton,+Ohio&t=m&ll=39.103273,-84.497845&spn=0.005828,0.00912&z=16" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br />
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For comparison, this map illustrates the same approximate area in Cincinnati today.<br />
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<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8424326347_691c4a4a60.jpg" width="378" height="343" alt="1838"><br />
<small>Detail, <i>City of Cincinnati From Actual Survey by Joseph Gest</i> (1838). Used courtesy of <a href="http://sandmancincinnati.com/images/stories/maps/Cincinnati-map-Gest1838_60in.pdf">Sandman Cincinnati</a>.</small><br />
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This detail of an 1838 map shows the same area. Near the center is a square, flanked by two smaller squares, labeled "Kilgour's". This rather distinctive footprint is identical to that of the house illustrated in the painting.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7456238126/" title="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7456238126_37cd9dd16c.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington"></a><br />
<small><i>Ohio River Landscape / The Steamboat Washington</i>, an oil painting, circa 1820. Used courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, Paterson, NJ (as of 1987). Reproduced from <i>Folk Painters of America</i> (1979) by Robert Bishop.</small><br />
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To better illustrate what I think we're seeing here, let's take another look at the painting itself. <br />
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In the foreground, we see the Ohio River and its north shore, as viewed from Kentucky. A steamboat, "Washington", is visible on the river. On the right, there's a brick building with a stone foundation - the water works. A channel runs up the hillside from the water works to what appears, from this angle, to be a triangle-shaped reservoir. A grand house, owned by one "Kilgour", sits in the center. It is surrounded by a large, well manicured yard and garden. At the left, part of a bridge, over Deer Creek, is visible. The hillside appears green, and there are still quite a few trees on it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6962332224/" title="Cincinnati Panorama by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/6962332224_e23ce35bc0.jpg" width="500" height="41" alt="Cincinnati Panorama"></a><br />
<small><i>Cincinnati Panorama</i>, A daguerreotype (1848) by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/4168" rel="nofollow">Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County</a>.</small><br />
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This massive daguerreotype, by Fontayne and Porter, was made 20-30 years after the painting. It illustrates how much the area had changed in the intervening years. It's worth taking the time to look at in detail - the image represents the largest-scale early photograph of a city. Take a few minutes to stop and look at the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6962332224/sizes/o/in/photostream/">extra large version</a> - it's amazing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8425893756/" title="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8425893756_1f1dd90593.jpg" width="500" height="329" alt="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Cincinnati Panorama</i>, A daguerreotype (1848) by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/4168" rel="nofollow">Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County</a>.</small><br />
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The area illustrated in our painting is covered in the right half of plate 6 and the left half of plate 7 of the daguerreotype. Note that the Fontayne and Porter, the photographers, were at a point considerably downstream (left) of the site used by the painter.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8424807643/" title="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8424807643_4e1a8fa44c.jpg" width="500" height="329" alt="Detail, Cincinnati Panorama"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Cincinnati Panorama</i>, A daguerreotype (1848) by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/4168" rel="nofollow">Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County</a>.</small><br />
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Here's the same image, with the Charles H. Kilgour house outlined in green and the water works outlined in red, for greater visibility. Note that on the water works building, an addition had been made to the rear, and the roofline changed, but the distinctive structure remains the same. Likewise, an entire story had been added to the Kilgour house. <br />
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Immediately below the Kilgour house, one can see the stone bridge that was built over Deer Creek, replacing the one seen in the painting. Note, too, how much the city had been built up in the couple decades since the painting had been made.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8424759937/" title="Front (South) Elevation, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8424759937_0e76e5cc3a.jpg" width="500" height="226" alt="Front (South) Elevation, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH"></a><br />
<small><i>Front (South) Elevation, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH</i>. A drawing (April 2, 1934) by C. Brodersen for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh0266/sheet.00004a" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</small><br />
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In the 1930s, the Charles H. Kilgour house was <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh0266">documented in detail by the Historic American Buildings Survey</a>, a WPA project to record our country's most historically signfincant structures. I stumbled across these images by chance - they were labeled as the "Marine Hospital" - they only came up in my searches because they happened to include a description noting that the structure had been located at the intersection of Kilgour and Third.<br />
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Although the structure was altered considerably over time - perhaps most notably with the addition of a second floor, these drawings, compared with the painting and the 1848 daguerreotype, can help us see how it was changed. Note the Palladian window on the first floor, at the far right. One was present on at the far left as well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8424496317/" title="Detail, South Doorway. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8323/8424496317_d8cf950d0b.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt="Detail, South Doorway. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>South Doorway. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH</i>. A photograph (March 5, 1934) by Edgar D. Tyler for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh0266/photos.127409p" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</small><br />
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The grand front doorway was still present in the 1930s, though the porch had been changed to something larger long before. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5814690987/" title="Kinsman House, Kinsman, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5198/5814690987_b8ee453b4a.jpg" width="343" height="500" alt="Kinsman House, Kinsman, Ohio"></a><br />
<small><i>Kinsman House, Kinsman, Ohio</i>, a photograph by I.T. Frary. Used courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.</small><br />
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The front porch appears to have originally resembled the one present on the Kinsman House, in Kinsman, Ohio.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8425587718/" title="Detail, Main Hall Looking North. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8425587718_4a6022c8b1.jpg" width="413" height="500" alt="Detail, Main Hall Looking North. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Main Hall Looking North. - Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH</i>, a photograph (March 5, 1934) by Edgar D. Tyler for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh0266/photos.127410p" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</small><br />
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On entering the house, one would be greeted by this grand hall. It appears that most of the first first floor wasn't altered by the several rounds of renovations.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8425589090/" title="Detail, Doorway from Hallway, First Floor, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8425589090_07a445d12b.jpg" width="351" height="500" alt="Detail, Doorway from Hallway, First Floor, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH"></a><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Doorway from Hallway, First Floor, Marine Hospital, Third & Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH</i>, a photograph (March 5, 1934) by Edgar D. Tyler for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh0266/photos.127411p" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</small><br />
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The interior woodwork ranks among the very best I've ever seen in an Ohio house from this period. In fact, I can't recall <i>ever</i> having seen an interior doorway like this - woodwork of this style is virtually always reserved for exteriors.<br />
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This painting does much to illustrate how Cincinnati changed between 1820 and 1850. It shows how a landscape went from being agricultural to commercial / industrial - and it illustrates it in a way that text never could. <br />
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For now, the big mystery is locating the painting itself. I'm sure that with a higher resolution image, even more could be learned.<br />
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Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-38601917668291379162012-12-21T11:47:00.000-05:002012-12-21T11:47:03.466-05:00The Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio: The house and its residents<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4958066932/" title="Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/4958066932_f6098188f7.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small><i>The Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio</i> an oil painting (circa 1857) by Frederick Elmore Cohen. 38 x 45 in. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a>.</small><br><br>
<a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2012/12/in-search-of-bright-green-house-bentley.html">Last week</a>, I shared the location of this, the house depicted in one of my favorite Ohio paintings. Today, I'll illuminate something of the house itself and the people who lived there. In part three, next week, I'll bring everything together and provide some analysis as to what it all means.<br><br>
Boyd Addlesperger, local history librarian at the Mansfield / Richland County Public Library, was kind enough to email me with a copy of the following article.
Esther Smith (<u>Many Notables Walked Between Iron Lions of Former Cappeller Home on West Fourth</u>, <i>Mansfield News Journal</i>, July 20, 1941) provides a wonderful history of the house and the families who lived in it. I've inserted several historic maps to help illustrate the changes to the propery. Note that in the maps, the front of the house is at the top of the image. My commentary is in italics.<br><br>
<blockquote>For almost a century the doorway at 93 West Fourth street has been guarded by a pair of crouching cast-iron lions. They were placed there when the big brick house was built by Bentley Runyan who came to Mansfield from Knox County in 1847. State and national figures have passed between them. <br><br>
Three Ohio governors, Joseph V. Foraker, George K. Nash and Asa Bushnell were frequent visitors at the home during the 25 years it was occupied by William S. Cappeller, publisher of Mansfield's first daily newspaper and prominent figure in Ohio Republican life.<br><br>
Warren G. Harding was entertained there during his campaign for presidency of the United States and John Sherman often called at the Cappeller home.<br><br>
One of the showplaces of the city at the time it was built, the old Runyan home was for several years the only house that stood in that particular block on the south side of West Fourth Street.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8266111612/" title="1882 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8221/8266111612_eb1f36765e.jpg" width="277" height="464" alt="1882"></a><br>
<small>[detail] Plate B - Parts of Wards 1, 2, and 3, <i>Atlas of the City of Mansfield, Ohio</i>. E. Robinson & R.H. Pidgeon, Civil Engineers. Published by E. Robinson, New York, 1882. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/MansfieldAtlas1882/Mansfield1882.htm" rel="nofollow">Richland County, Ohio USGenWeb</a>.</small><br><br>
<i>The lot is seen here in 1882. The brick house, shown in Cohen's painting, is in red, while the barn, to the rear, is in yellow. Note that the lot remains empty of other structures.</i><br><br>
Commodious rooms prevailed throughout the house and the downstairs boasted both a parlor and sitting room, bedroom, a dining room that ran the width of the house, kitchen and pantry besides the various extensions that served as woodshed and ice house.<br><br>
Upstairs there were a series of bedrooms making a total of 14 rooms throughout the entire house.<br><br>
Numerous changes have been made in the house since then but one feature that remains the same, a beautiful spiral staircase that extends from the reception hall to the third floor. As unique in local architecture today as it was originally the staircase has a narrow walnut banister supported by a newel post and slender spindles whose fragile appearance belies their sturdiness.<br><br>
As long as the Runyan family occupied the house few changes, if any, were made, according to Mrs. George A. Mead, 65 Blymyer avenue, a granddaughter.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8265045273/" title="detail, 1887 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8265045273_8f475c3957.jpg" width="291" height="500" alt="detail, 1887 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small>[detail] 1887 Sanborn fire insurance map of Mansfield, Ohio. See also: <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/95951" rel="nofollow">the full map</a>.</small><br><br>
<i>While the residence and carriage house remained essentially unchanged, the lot was split in two by 1887. The area shown as the garden in Frederick Elmore Cohen's painting had a house sitting on it by the time this map, published in 1887, was printed.</i><br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8265092201/" title="Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8498/8265092201_fa9512604a.jpg" width="500" height="288" alt="Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street"></a><br>
<small><i>Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street</i>. Reproduced from <i>The County of Richland, Ohio</i> (1896). Published by Rerick Bros., Richmond, IN. Used courtesy of the Richland County Historical Society.</small><br><br>
The facade was first altered during the occupancy of the Cappeller family by the building of a verandah that gave an added appearance of width to the front of the dwelling.<br><br>
An oil painting of the home and Runyan family at the time the children were small now hands in the home of a granddaughter, Mrs. James McCullough in Oberlin. A photograph of the painting is in Mrs. Mead's possession.<br><br>
The house was kept in the Runyan family until the two sisters, Miss Mary Ellen Runyan, who had established the first private kindergarten in Mansfield, and Mrs. Almeda Parsons and the latter's infant daughter, now Mrs. McCullough, were the only occupants. Mrs. Parson's husband had recently died and she and her sister sought a more compact dwelling.<br><br>
W.S. Cappeller and his family came to Mansfield from Cincinnati in 1885 while Cappeller was commissioner of railroads in Ohio. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8265049109/" title="detail, 1897 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8345/8265049109_9f0881d9b1.jpg" width="282" height="500" alt="detail, 1897 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small>[detail], 1897 Sanborn fire insurance Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio. See also: <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/97329" rel="nofollow">the full map</a>.</small><br><br>
<i>Early in the residency of the Cappeller family (by 1897) the barn to the rear of the lot was removed.</i><br><br>
Scene of many social gatherings from the senior Cappeller's political and public life, the home for the next 25 years was also a gathering place for the friends of the sons and daughters. <br><br>
There were three grown children at home then, William G. Cappeller, now dead, a bookkeeper in his father's Daily News; a daughter, Nora, now the wife of W.M. Congwer of Cleveland, and E.B. Cappeller, then a student at Cornell university and now living in Cleveland.<br><br>
Antique furnishings were used throughout the house, Mrs. Flora G. Cappeller, 111 Sherman avenue, widow of W.G. Cappeller, recalls. Two choice pieces, belonging to her husband's grandmother, Mrs. Mary Cappeller, a dresser and a chest, are now in her possession, and also the silver water chariot that was presented to W.S. Cappeller at the time he retired as treasurer of Hamilton county.<br><br>
In 1911 W.S. Cappeller died and his widow dismantled the home and went to Cincinnati to live with a daughter, Mrs. Laura Doran, now a resident of California. <br><br>
Since that time the house has been occupied by a Mansfield physician, Dr. D.W. Peppard and his family. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8266116162/" title="detail, 1914 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8363/8266116162_fcae1ddf5d.jpg" width="281" height="500" alt="detail, 1914 Sanborn map of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small>[detail], 1914 Sanborn fire insurance map of Mansfield, Ohio. See also: <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/100712" rel="nofollow">the full map</a>.</small><br><br>
<i>Between <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/96855">1909</a> and 1914, the lots were split up, and new houses were built on the rear half of the lot. By <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/100273">1921</a>, a garage had been added to the lot of the house behind the Runyan house. No further changes to the footprints of the structures show up on the <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/97991">1929</a> or <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/99611">1949</a> Sanborn fire insurance maps.</i><br><br>
More extensive improvements have been made by the Peppards than in any year prior to their occupancy. Additional windows have been installed to let in more sunlight. New fireplaces have been built in practically all of the downstairs and upstairs rooms that were originally equipped with mantels. <br><br>
Part of the space in the large dining room has been appropriated for a modern kitchen while a rear screened-in porch with a floor has been built to the east for an "outdoor" dining nook where every meal in the summer time is a picnic, Mrs. Peppard said. <br><br>
Dr. Peppard's office now occupies the extension that was formerly the old Runyan woodshed and that now runs along side Cappeller court.<br><br>
Seldom has there been a time in the history of the house that there have not been young people in it. The Peppards reared a son and three daughters there and it was only this summer that the last of their children, William D. Peppard, married and moved to his own home.<br><br></blockquote>
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Be sure to tune in next time, for the final part of this story, where I'll make some sense of everything that's been revealed about this family and the place they called home.
Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-60645002481015386352012-12-14T08:25:00.000-05:002012-12-21T11:47:57.735-05:00In Search of the Bright Green House - The Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4958066932/" title="Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/4958066932_f6098188f7.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small><i>The Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio</i> an oil painting (circa 1857) by Frederick Elmore Cohen. 38 x 45 in. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a>.</small><br><br>
For as long as I can remember - since the mid-1990s at least - this painting has caught my attention when I've visited the Allen Memorial Art Museum, in Oberlin, Ohio. As I became interested in Cleveland area architecture, the painting became noteworthy as an early depiction of a house in color - how can one miss that bright green? Now I see it as a very special document.<br><br>
<i>The Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio</i>, a painting made circa 1857 by Frederick Elmore Cohen is arguably the best Ohio family portrait. It goes beyond merely depicing a man, a woman, and their five children - the level of detail in the image provides us so many details about how they lived and what they felt was important.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8268888278/" title="[detail] Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8353/8268888278_3376f28c17.jpg" width="500" height="254" alt="[detail] Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio"></a><br>
<small>Detail, <i>Bentley Simons Runyan Family of Mansfield, Ohio</i> an oil painting (circa 1857) by Frederick Elmore Cohen. 38 x 45 in. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a>.</small><br><br>
The yard is well manicured, with a variety of trees, some so small that they still have cages around their bases for protection. Trellises of a couple different designs line the side and front of the house, as well as the right edge of the yard. A lattice is attached to the side of the house near the rear. <br><br>
To the rear of the house, there's a barn and a smaller structure, both gray in color. To the left of these, a one and a half story building, painted white. Looking more distant, we can see what appears to be a hill, or perhaps even a mountain.<br><br>
Looking at the house itself, we first notice the color - a bright green where we're used to seeing white. Looking closely, we can make out the texture of brick underneath the green paint. From the two chimneys, wisps of smoke are visible. And then there's the grand front door, flanked by a pair of lions. Draperies appear present around all of the windows.<br><br>
Finally, there's the family! They're clearly of some means, as they appear well-dressed. One can see that Bentley Runyan's left arm used to be pointing, as if to say "this is mine". And what stories might the children tell?<br><br>
We knew what city the house was said to be located in, but, it seemed, nothing more. I had to, at the very least, <i>try</i> to put this scene on a map.<br><br>
Rather than reinvent the wheel - which I seem to do more frequently than I should - I sent an email to Andria Derstine, director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, asking if they had anything further in their curatorial files on the painting. There was an article, <u>Artist and Patron: Frederick Cohen and Bentley Runyan</u> by Marcia Goldberg, which appeared in the Allen Memorial Art Museum <i>Bulletin</i>, volume 37, number 2 (1979-80), pages 79-87. <br><br>
Goldberg notes (page 84) "The Runyan house was the showplace of Mansfield when it was built, probably in 1852 or 1853. It stood alone for some time on a large fenced and landscaped plot at the base of a hill (just visible to the left) on the western edge of town."<br><br>
The 1850 U.S. Census indicates that the Runyan family, living in Madison Township, Richland County, owned real estate worth $2,200. A decade later (1860 U.S. Census), they were living in Mansfield Township. There were five children (ages 13, 11, 8, 5 and 1), and they were of sufficient means to employ a laborer and a domestic. The value of their real estate had jumped to $25,000.<br><br>
With this information in hand - a large estate (as suggested by the value of the real estate) and a vague location (the west edge of Mansfield) - I knew just where I might find the answer to my question.<br><br>
Large-scale maps illustrating land ownership and the locations of houses were producted for more than half of the counties in Ohio in the 1850s and 1860s. My <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak7N4aOTHMjWdEF5aC05UEE1VlBrQVlkUXhvckpqNlE">working bibliography of such maps</a> indicated that, while such a map had been made for Richland County, it wasn't among those that I knew to have been digitized. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8265929952/" title="[detail] Plate B - Parts of Wards 1, 2, and 3 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8354/8265929952_243a27536b.jpg" width="436" height="500" alt="[detail] Plate B - Parts of Wards 1, 2, and 3"></a><br>
<small>[detail], Plate B - Parts of Wards 1, 2, and 3, <i>Atlas of the City of Mansfield, Ohio</i>. E. Robinson & R.H. Pidgeon, Civil Engineers. Published by E. Robinson, New York, 1882. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/MansfieldAtlas1882/Mansfield1882.htm" rel="nofollow">Richland County, Ohio USGenWeb</a>.</small><br><br>
Fortunately, the 1856 <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/Atlas1856/Atlas1856.htm">Map of Richland County, Ohio</a> had been digitized by Richland County Ohio USGenWeb. Alas, the map of Mansfield was not included. After some fumbing around, I came across the 1882 <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/MansfieldAtlas1882/Mansfield1882.htm">Atlas of the City of Mansfield, Ohio</a>. Someone had been kind enough to index the names on it, and finally, I hit paydirt! Take a close look at the south side of W. Fourth, about a block west of Mulberry.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8266111612/" title="1882 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8221/8266111612_eb1f36765e.jpg" width="277" height="464" alt="1882"></a><br>
<small>[detail] Plate B - Parts of Wards 1, 2, and 3, <i>Atlas of the City of Mansfield, Ohio</i>. E. Robinson & R.H. Pidgeon, Civil Engineers. Published by E. Robinson, New York, 1882. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/MansfieldAtlas1882/Mansfield1882.htm" rel="nofollow">Richland County, Ohio USGenWeb</a>.</small><br><br>
Looking more closely, we see a house belonging to "Lucinda Runyon" - the wife of Bentley Simons Runyan, and who is illustrated on the left side of the painting. The house is painted a red hue - indicating that is brick (a frame house would generally be painted yellow on such a map). Further, the footprint is approximately what we'd expect for the house as shown in the painting. Finally, there's a yellow building - a barn or carriage house - in approximately the right location.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8267742364/" title="BSR House 1 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8267742364_73cef39284.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="BSR House 1"></a><br>
<small>Photograph used courtesy of Jennifer Gray.</small><br><br>
I took a look at the site in Google Maps, hoping that the structure might still be standing, which would confirm my hypothesis that this was the house in the painting. What I saw looked promising. <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mansfield,+OH&hl=en&ll=40.761142,-82.519121&spn=0.000003,0.000857&sll=40.365277,-82.669252&sspn=4.352665,7.020264&oq=Mansfi&hnear=Mansfield,+Richland,+Ohio&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=40.761142,-82.519121&panoid=HH2rP1SgxxRn2XTQxwFv-w&cbp=12,193.78,,0,1.41">Streetview</a> confirmed that it was, in fact, still there!<br><br>
This photograph illustrates the house. It's brick, and the proportions appear correct. The windows and door on the front <i>were</i> in the same location as those in Cohen's panint.<br><br>
But it's not the house in the painting. In my excitement, I went a bit too far on West Fourth Street. The Runyan house was a block to the east. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8265092201/" title="Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8498/8265092201_fa9512604a.jpg" width="500" height="288" alt="Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street"></a><br>
<small><i>Residence of W.S. Cappeller, No. 93 West Fourth Street</i>. Reproduced from <i>The County of Richland, Ohio</i> (1896). Published by Rerick Bros., Richmond, IN. Used courtesy of the Richland County Historical Society.</small><br><br>
I put a call out on Facebook, asking for a photograph of the house, before I realized it was no longer standing. Alan Wigton, President of the Richland County Historical Society, was among the first to respond. He did end up pointing out my error - but he also provided this photograph of the house, taken in 1896. <br><br>
A massive front porch was added, and a bit of gingerbread had been affixed to the peak of the gable. The 8 over 8 windows present in 1857 were replaced with 1 over 1 ones and the shutters were removed, too. <br><br>
Note the lions on the front stoop. They seem a bit large for the space where they're sitting, I think. They appear to be the lions in Cohen's painting!<br><br>
<b>Enough of the house. Who were the Runyans?</b><br><br>
This passage (<i>History of Richland County, Ohio</i> (1880), <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ctwyAQAAMAAJ&dq=runyan%20%22richland%20county%22%20ohio&pg=PA730#v=onepage&q&f=false">pages 730-731</a>) provides as complete a background on the Runyan family as I've been able to find.<br>
<blockquote>RUNYAN, BENTLEY S. (deceased). The subject of this sketch, who was one of the active and prominent business men of Mansfield for over twenty years, was born in Knox Co., Ohio, March 6, 1821; he was the eighth child of Hill and Mary L. Runyan, who were old residents of that county; in the month of April, 1847, he removed to Mansfield, where he opened a hardware store, near the southeast corner of Walnut and Fourth streets; in the fall of the same year, he changel his location to a room south of Fourth on Main street, where he remained until after purchasing the building south of the present European Hotel, in which place for many years he did a large and extensive business, it being the chief hardware store in the city. During his residence in this city, he was prominent in all public and charitable enterprises, and his name was generally found at the head of the list of those citizens who petitioned and subscribed in the interest of the city and its inhabitants; he was one of the founders of the Mansfield Gas-Light Company, and served as one of its officers, and was elected on an independent ticket as Mayor of the city, in which capacity he gave universal satisfaction; for many years he was an active member and oflicer of the Richland Co. Agricultural Society, the success of which was due in a great measure to his efforts. <br><br>
He was married in Mount Vernon, Ohio, to Miss Lucinda Murphy, of that place, Jan. 14, 1844; five children by this marriage are living - John Beatley, now a resident of Tiffin, Ohio, where he holds the position of Teller in the Tiffin National Bank; Charles C., of the firm of Bush & Runyan, plumbers and gasfitters in this city; Robert Mead, iron-roofer and painter now in the employ of the Aultman & Taylor Co., and two daughters Almeda and Mary E. <br><br>
B.S. Runyan died in this city Jan. 12, 1869; R. Mead Runyan was married in Mansfield Jan. 20, 1875 to Miss Ida Boyle; two sons were born to them - Frank born in 1876, died March 18, 1878; Harry was born Jan. 15, 1877.</blockquote><br>
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Part 2 of this narrative, which will explain more of the history of this house and how it changed over time, will appear <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2012/12/the-bentley-simons-runyan-family-of.html">next week</a>. <br><br>
Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-36953726235103053152012-12-06T09:00:00.000-05:002016-05-14T14:23:28.511-04:00More Strange Geography - The Great Miami River and Harwinton, Connecticut<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7259456392/" title="The Great Miami River by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/7259456392_22685a58d8.jpg" width="500" height="356" alt="The Great Miami River"></a><br />
<small><i>The Great Miami River</i>, an oil painting (circa 1850) by either Elizabeth Frankenstein or Godfrey N. Frankenstein. Image courtesy of the Clark County Historical Society. Photo by Sandy Bialik.</small><br />
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Sometimes, when an image is good enough, or when it simply speaks to the people of a given place and time, it takes on a life of its own. Such is the case with this painting, by either Elizabeth Frankenstein or her brother, Godfrey Nicholas Frankenstein. <br />
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The painting, <i>The Great Miami River</i> (circa 1850) depicts a scene near Cleves, Ohio. Cleves is a town in the very southwest corner of the state, about seven and a half miles from where the Great Miami empties into the Ohio River. <br />
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<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8241987165_48a27cbfc2.jpg"><br />
<small>Detail, <i>Map of Hamilton County, Ohio</i>, a print (1856) by A.W. Gilbert. Used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g4083h.la000633" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</small><br />
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Based on the information available, Frankenstein's painting appears to have been made in the location shown on this detail of Gilbert's 1856 <i>Map of Hamilton County, Ohio</i>. It's the only place in the vicinity of Cleves where the road comes close enough to the water and one has an unobstructed straight view down the river. The view is looking approximately west, as shown by the green lines drawn on the map. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7484314102/" title="View on the Great Miami, Near North Bend by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7484314102_6570de70c5.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="View on the Great Miami, Near North Bend"></a><br />
<small><i>View on the Great Miami, Near North Bend</i>, a print (1851) by Onken's Lithography, after a painting by Godfrey N. Frankenstein. Published in <i>Western Scenery; or, Land and River, Hill and Dale, In the Mississippi Valley.</i> (1851) by William Wells. Used courtesy of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. </small><br />
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The image was reproduced by Onken's Lithography in this 1851 print, with the additon of a man fishing. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7174263346/" title="View On The Great Miami (Near Cleves, O.) by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7174263346_af69ceb8e3.jpg" width="500" height="372" alt="View On The Great Miami (Near Cleves, O.)"></a><br />
<small><i>View On The Great Miami (Near Cleves, O.)</i>, an engraving (April, 1857) by William Wellstood, after a painting by Godfrey N. Frankenstein. Published in <i>The Ladies Repository</i>, April, 1857. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.philaprintshop.com/" rel="nofollow">The Philadelphia Print Shop</a>.</small><br />
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It was reproduced again in the April, 1857 issue of <i>the Ladies Repository</i>, which was published in Cincinnati. In this image, the man fishing is in a boat, and a cart has been added on the road.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7456187278/" title="Mill Creek Near Cincinnati / [less likely ] Great Miami River near Cleves by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7456187278_6bd4aec4a3.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="Mill Creek Near Cincinnati / [less likely ] Great Miami River near Cleves"></a><br />
<small><i>Mill Creek Near Cincinnati / Great Miami River near Cleves</i>, an oil painting (1847) by Godfrey Nicholas Frankenstein. Used courtesy of Cincinnati Art Galleries. Reproduced from <i>Panorama of Cincinnati Art II, 1850-1950</i> by Cincinnati Art Galleries.</small><br />
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To help confuse things, another painting (1847) by Godfrey N. Frankenstein has sometimes been listed with the title <i>Great Miami River near Cleves</i>. At others, it was listed as <i>Mill Creek at Cincinnati</i>. A print of the subject was published with the title <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7227171076/">Mill Creek at Cincinnati</a> giving credence to that name. Note that the body of water in this painting is much shallower than in the other images.<br />
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I'm unsure as to whether this depicts the Great Miami River or Mill Creek. Whichever case, it's not the scene depicted in the lead painting. <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7789954220/" title="Fisherman on the Harwinton"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7789954220_cd409babe5.jpg" width="500" height="390" alt="Fisherman on the Harwinton"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<small><i>Fisherman on the Harwinton</i>, a drawing / watercolor painting (1857 or later). Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/fisherman-on-the-harwinton-269954" rel="nofollow">Museum of Fine Arts, Boston</a>. </small><br />
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Imagine my surprise when I saw this image, <i>Fisherman on the Harwinton</i>, in the <i>M. & M. Karolik collection of American water colors & drawings, 1800-1875</i>. A quick search revealed Harwinton to be in Connecticut.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7789954358/" title="Fisherman on the Harwinton"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7789954358_f8352242bc.jpg" width="500" height="366" alt="Fisherman on the Harwinton"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<small><i>Fisherman on the Harwinton</i>, a chalk drawing (1857 or later). Used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/fisherman-on-the-harwinton-260429" rel="nofollow">Museum of Fine Arts, Boston</a>. </small><br />
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I went to the online catalog of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, looking for more information. I was again surprised by a second work titled <i>Fisherman on the Harwinton</i>. These two works are said to depict a scene "near Litchfield, Connecticut". (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, <i>M. & M. Karolik collection of American water colors & drawings, 1800-1875</i>, vol. 2, p. 137-139.) <br />
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I'm sure that the two works titled <i>Fisherman on the Harwinton</i> are based on the print published in <i> The Ladies Repository</i>, in April, 1857. What, then, made someone think that they were of a scene in Connecticut? <br />
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I suspect that oral tradition held that one of the works depicted a scene near Harwinton, Connecticut. This somehow (as oral tradition tends to do) became a scene <i>on</i> the Harwinton. When another work with an identical composition came into the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's collection, it was obvious that it was after the same original - and so received the same title. <br />
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Out of curiousity, I checked the two gazetteers from that period that I could readily locate - John Hayward's 1839 <a href="http://archive.org/details/newenglandgazett1839hayw">New England Gazetteer</a> and John Chauncey Pease and John Milton Niles' 1819 <a href="http://archive.org/details/agazetteerstate00nilegoog">Gazetteer of the States of Connecticut and Rhode-Island</a>. While both listed Harwinton as a place name, neither listed it as the name of any sort of body of water. Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-48157279576590931212012-12-03T14:28:00.000-05:002012-12-03T14:28:29.596-05:00Ohio in Upstate New York: The Geography of a Painting by Robert S. Duncanson<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7099043513/" title="Not a Ohio Landscape by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5467/7099043513_6c3f160b7a.jpg" width="500" height="270" alt="Not a Ohio Landscape"></a><br>
<small><i>Ohio Landscape</i>, an oil painting (circa 1860-1870) by Robert Seldon Duncanson. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.cowanauctions.com/auctions/past-item.aspx?ItemId=58442" rel="nofollow">Cowan's Auctions</a>.</small><br><br>
This painting, by African American artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Duncanson">Robert Seldon Duncanson</a>, has been referred to as <i>Ohio Landscape</i>. The subject matter appears to be the southern part of the state, where Duncanson worked. His most notable Ohio landscape is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6947534544/">Blue Hole, Little Miami River</a> (1851), which I'll address in a future story.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8234422925/" title="Landscape & Covered Bridge by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8344/8234422925_ea1a78b4cc.jpg" width="500" height="292" alt="Landscape & Covered Bridge"></a><br>
<small><i>Landscape & Covered Bridge</i>, an oil painting (1888) by E.A. Sumner. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.p4aantiquesreference.com/search/itemdetail.asp?itemID=B149022" rel="nofollow">Cowan's Auctions</a>.</small><br><br>
While Duncanson's painting dates to the 1860s, it seems to have been exhibited somewhere in the 1880s or 1890s, as at least two paintings based on it were created during that period. This 1888 canvas by E.A. Sumner copies the original composition almost exactly, save for the omission of the person and boat in the foreground.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8234422883/" title="Ohio River Valley Landscape with Town by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8234422883_91d47381b3.jpg" width="500" height="409" alt="Ohio River Valley Landscape with Town"></a><br>
<small><i>Ohio River Valley Landscape with Town</i>, an oil painting (1894) signed "M.P.W." Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.p4aantiquesreference.com/search/itemdetail.asp?itemID=D9704372" rel="nofollow">Garth's Auctions</a>.</small><br><br>
This 1894 painting focuses on the centre part of the image, also omitting the person and boat. <br><br>
<hr>
<b>Where was this scene?</b><br><br>
While, as a work of art, Duncanson's painting may be appreciated without knowing this, and even as it relates to history it can be telling in some ways, there's much that is left unknown by the inability to name the location depicted.<br><br>
Place matters. It matters both for what a work can tell us about the subject, but also what it can tell us about the artist by his or her choice of that place. We can revisit a location and learn what liberties the artist took and how that location has changed in the intervening years.<br><br>
In short, I really really wanted to identify the subject of this painting. <br><br>
I consulted with some colleagues with the hopes that perhaps they might have some idea as to the location. <a href="http://www.shirleywajda.com/">Shirley Wajda</a> came up with a strong argument for Nelsonville, a city in Athens County, Ohio.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/myacpl/6329115723/" title="Covered Bridge over the Hocking River by MyACPL.org, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6042/6329115723_2bd826158d.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="Covered Bridge over the Hocking River"></a><br>
<small><i>Dangerous Bend, Hocking River, Nelsonville, Ohio</i>, a postcard. Used courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/myacpl/">Athens County Public Libraries</a>.</small><br><br>
Wajda was familar with the area through previous research. She located this postcard, which does appear to show the subject. There's the covered bridge. The curve of the river is just about right, as are the the locations of the buildings and the hills in the background. It was the best possibility that I'd seen - and it satisfied me that we'd identified the site where Robert S. Duncanson made the painting as well as could be, short of actually visiting it. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/4882331238/" title="Early Autumn on Esopus Creek by Boston Public Library, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4100/4882331238_fa2a4bc8a0.jpg" width="500" height="248" alt="Early Autumn on Esopus Creek"></a><br>
<small><i>Early Autumn on Esopus Creek</i>, a chromolithograph (1861-1897) by Alfred Thompson Bricher. Published by L. Prang & Co.. Used courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Print Department.</small><br><br>
Time passed. As part of the research for <i>Early Visions of Ohio, 1765-1865</i>, I've been looking at <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak7N4aOTHMjWdC1OcktiZzVJYVV1NGMzQUpIdU1HOHc">a lot of books</a> (more than 2700 at last count), many that include historic imagery of areas outside Ohio. In one of these titles, I came across this print, <i>Early Autumn on Esopus Creek</i>, a chromolithograph (1861-1897) by Alfred Thompson Bricher.<br><br>
The most likely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esopus_Creek">Esopus Creek</a> is in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_County,_New_York">Ulster County, New York</a>. The geology of that area is consistent with the subject depicted in the painting. <br><br>
My initial thought was that Duncanson based his painting on Alfred Thompson Bricher's print. Now I'm no longer so sure. <br><br>
The two other paintings of the subject have clouds that are consistent with Bricher's print, not Duncanson's painting. This means that the artists likely made their paintings while observing the print. Since they date so close together (1888 and 1894), it suggests to me that the print they were using as a reference had been printed recently. <br><br>
Based on the style of Duncanson's painting, I'm inclined to believe that he executed that work in the 1860s, as has been suggested, or perhaps a little earlier. This would suggest that Bricher's print was based on Duncanson's painting, not the other way around.<br><br>
<b>So the painting is of Esopus Creek?</b><br><br>
Maybe. Maybe not. <br><br>
The only landscape of a New York subject that I know of by Duncanson is <i>Niagara Falls</i> (1863). This is at the opposite end of the state from Esopus Creek. That said, Robert S. Duncanson painted at least a couple paintings of New Hampshire, the travels for which would have put him close enough to Esopus Creek.<br><br>
On the other hand, it's not inconceivable that Alfred Thompson Bricher might have given the subject a title that would sell better - there would be more demand for a New York landscape than an Ohio one. There's a great example of this in a painting by Godfrey Nicholas Frankenstein, of the Great Miami River near Cincinnati. A pair of paintings done after that image are described as being in Connecticut - but that's another story.<br><br>
It's not clear where this subject was painted. It'll take field work and more research to know for sure either way.
Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-37912758481267828172012-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:002013-03-01T17:11:56.797-05:00Discovered Yesterday: The oldest painting of an Ohio landscapeI admit it. I've been away from this blog for a little while. Part of it has been writer's block - ok, a good part of it - but also, I've been working on a project, a museum exhibition of art illustrating Ohio created before 1866. <br />
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As you know, I try to tell visually compelling stories. And to do that, I need good images. Again and again I ran into the problem that I simply couldn't locate good material to illustrate the early history of this area. One thing led to another and I began a quest to locate all the art I could reasonably locate of Ohio views created before 1866. <br />
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I thought there were, perhaps, a thousand such images. The first thousand came quickly. Then the second thousand. Right now, I'm closing in on 3,000. Many of them aren't that useful, but the point is that there's a great wealth of historic imagery, waiting to be used, if only it could be found. That's what I'm doing.<br />
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While the art is always interesting, occasionally, I find something that excites me to no end. This was the case yesterday afternoon.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8230454752/" title="Bass Island, West End of Lake Erie by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8340/8230454752_b9e1bac18a.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="Bass Island, West End of Lake Erie"></a> <small><i>Bass Island, West End of Lake Erie</i> (1795) by Elizabeth Simcoe, after a drawing (1795) by Robert Pilkington.</small><br />
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This watercolor painting, dating to 1795, is the earliest known painting of an Ohio landscape. I don't believe it's ever been reproduced in any work relating to Ohio history. <br />
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<b>How did I find this significant piece of our history?</b> <br />
<br />
I was flipping through <i>Northwest Ohio Quarterly</i> (the journal of the <a href="http://www.wolcotthouse.org/MVHS.html">Maumee Valley Historical Society</a>, looking for any art that might meet the criteria of this project. Much of the art relating to the state's history has only been illustrated in print once, and often not in places that one might expect. So the only way to find it all is to look at a <b>lot</b> of material. (Right now, my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak7N4aOTHMjWdC1OcktiZzVJYVV1NGMzQUpIdU1HOHc">sources consulted list</a> contains more than 2,700 titles.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/8230454680/" title="View on the Miami River [ now the Maumee River, probably at or near Fort Miami ] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8230454680_3e464def18.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="View on the Miami River [ now the Maumee River, probably at or near Fort Miami ]"></a> <small><i>View on the Miami River</i> (1794) by Elizabeth Simcoe, after a drawing (March, 1794) by Robert Pilkington.</small><br />
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In <i>Northwest Ohio Quarterly</i>, I came across this drawing, <i>View on the Miami River</i>. Fortunately, the author noted the source for the image, <a href="http://archive.org/details/diaryofmrsjohngr00simcuoft"> The diary of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe, wife of the first lieutenant-governor of the province of Upper Canada, 1792-6</a> (1911) by J. Ross Robertson.<br />
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After a bit of effort, I determined that Mrs. John Graves Simcoe did, in fact, have a name - Elizabeth Simcoe. <br />
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As lieutenant governor, John Graves Simcoe travelled considerably. Elizabeth accompanied him. On these travels, she kept a diary and made many sketches, including this one, <i>View on the Miami River</i> (1794).<br />
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The title confused me. The Simcoes travels were in Canada, almost exclusively. Elizabeth Simcoe's watercolors and drawings illustrate scenes along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. While it was plausible that they might have travelled as far as perhaps the upper reaches of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Miami_River">Great Miami River</a>, it seemed unlikely. Eventually, I broke down and <i>gasp</i> read the accompanying text, hoping to figure out where this was. <br />
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The text indicates that the location was near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Miami_(Ohio)">Fort Miami</a>. On reading further, it is noted that Miami and Maumee are variant spellings - Maumee being the one that remains in use today. The drawing above is of a scene likely in the vicinity of modern day Maumee, Ohio, in Lucas County. <br />
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The painting, however, is what I'm more interested in. There's very little early material dealing with northern Ohio - northwest Ohio especially. The state was, primarily, settled first in the south. So to have such an early painting of northern Ohio is exceptionally special. (It's in the <a href="http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=BLL01004987827&indx=1&recIds=BLL01004987827&recIdxs=0&elementId=&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&dscnt=0&frbrVersion=&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1354242626653&gathStatTab=true&mode=Basic&fromLogin=true&vl(freeText0)=004987827&vid=BLVU1">British Library</a>, by the way, if anyone would care to pay to have them photograph the painting. I'm sure we'd all love to see it in full color.)<br />
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I worked for a summer on South Bass Island, so I have some idea of the lay of the land. I couldn't think of any place on the island, to the extent that I'd seen it, where this painting could have been made. That said, there's a good chunk of the north shore for which there is no public access - so it's not automatically a scene of Middle Bass Island or North Bass Island. <br />
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I asked Roy Larick, historic geologist, of <a href="http://bluestoneheights.org/bsh/">Bluestone Heights</a>, if he had any ideas as to the location depicted. His eye for the historic landscape has often revealed things that I and many others have missed.<br />
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Still, I was surprised when, a little more than an hour after I emailed him, this picture, of South Bass Island, showed up in my inbox.<br />
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<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8197/8230496687_0d0e66dc34.jpg"><br />
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Roy Larick suggested that the view was "due east from Peach Orchard Point, across Put-in-Bay, to the north peninsula (monument location)." (As indicated by the arrow on the image.) He added "there are few other places where this configuration can be found in approximation with the painting distances."<br />
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<hr> This painting is significant and deserves more research. If you find yourself on a boat in the area, consider taking a photograph from approximately the same position and sharing it here. Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-31530840331154662872012-05-29T11:51:00.000-04:002012-05-29T11:51:36.084-04:00Mystery Painting: I.T. Frary<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7053711695/" title="Mill by a River by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/7053711695_96c401b756.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="Mill by a River"></a><br>
<small>[Mill by a River]. An oil painting (1899). Used courtesy of a private Cleveland area collector.</small><br><br>
Ages ago, when I began assembling material for the exhibition I curated for the Cleveland Artists Foundation on the life and work of I.T. Frary, I <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2011/02/assembling-museum-exhibit-i-need-your.html">asked if you, my readers, might have some of his paintings in your collections</a>. <br><br>
The exhibition, <a href="http://www.clevelandartists.org/?subject=exhibitions&sub=2011_06_it_fray">Designing History: I.T. Frary; Interior Design and the Beginnings of Historic Preservation in Ohio</a> traced Frary's career, from his beginnings in art school, through the work that he did as an artist and interior designer, to his landmark book, <i>Early Homes of Ohio</i>, published in 1936, which remains the best general work on historic architecture in this state.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5813516719/" title="Smith House, Adams Mills, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5230/5813516719_42e19a0945.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Smith House, Adams Mills, Ohio"></a><br>
<small><i>Smith House, Adams Mills, Ohio</i> A watercolor painting (1904). From the collection of Jim Oswald.</small><br><br>
A couple great watercolor paintings had remained in the Frary family. <br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5814122068/" title="H.A. Smith House, Adams Mills by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2570/5814122068_d429eb2c99.jpg" width="500" height="366" alt="H.A. Smith House, Adams Mills"></a><br>
<small><i>H.A. Smith House, Adams Mills</i> A watercolor painting (1905). From the collection of Jim Oswald.</small><br><br>
They depict the landscape in Adams Mills, in Muskingum County, Ohio, where Frary's wife's family lived.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6944798883/" title="Zoar by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6944798883_13800f5156.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="Zoar"></a><br>
<small><i>Zoar</i> A watercolor painting (1898). Collection of the Cleveland Artists Foundation.</small>.<br><br>
Another watercolor, the only one in private hands outside the Frary family, depicts a scene in Zoar, Ohio. It is now in the collections of the Cleveland Artists Foundation. Frary made the painting while a student of F.C. Gottwald. <br><br>
<hr>
Still, I knew that there had to be more of his paintings out there. Frary had exhibited dozens, at the least - and they were good paintings. They couldn't have all disappeared, could they?
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7053711695/" title="Mill by a River by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/7053711695_96c401b756.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="Mill by a River"></a><br>
<small>[Mill by a River]. An oil painting (1899). Used courtesy of a private Cleveland area collector.</small><br><br>
Then, a few months ago, I received and email from a private collector, who had purchased this oil painting at an estate sale years ago. It's the first oil painting that I've found by Frary - and I can't figure out where the scene is!
We know that I.T. Frary painted in the vicinity of Zoar, Chagrin Falls, and Adams Mills, Ohio. Could it be one of these, or possibly something in the vicinity of Cleveland? What do you see?<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7053712163/" title="Mill by a River by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5192/7053712163_8e5ea2d1b2_m.jpg" width="240" height="185" alt="Mill by a River"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7053712217/" title="Mill by a River by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/7053712217_e8111731dd_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Mill by a River"></a><br><small>[Mill by a River]. An oil painting (1899). Used courtesy of a private Cleveland area collector.</small><br><br>
Here are a couple details, with the hope that they may help in the identification of the piece.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-89306993443774076642012-04-03T11:53:00.000-04:002012-04-05T19:39:28.178-04:00Hiding on the Near West SideOver the weekend, I was driving around the near west side of Cleveland. My purpose was twofold. I needed to keep the kids entertained (our visit to the art museum had lasted but 45 minutes) and I wanted to check out a house, said to have been built in 1865, owned by someone that I went to high school with. Said house is undergoing a full-gut rehab, and I was hoping, if the date was indeed 1865, to be able to better document construction techniques. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7041920439/" title="3012 Barber Avenue (rear) by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7193/7041920439_284a47ecbf.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="3012 Barber Avenue (rear)"></a><br>
Then, I came across this house, peeking out from behind another, at 3012 Barber Avenue. Based on the style, it seems to have been built around 1840-1850. A better look reveals a bit of detail, but not much – it’s all hidden underneath vinyl siding. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6895824478/" title="3012 Barber Avenue (rear) by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/6895824478_3daf0a765a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="3012 Barber Avenue (rear)"></a><br>
The foundation appears to be made from rusticated concrete blocks, which replaced the original stone blocks. This means either that it was moved at some point or that something happened (deterioration of the original foundation, for instance) that made it require a new foundation. <br><br>
This house is of a style not often seen in greater Cleveland – and for that reason, it’s especially interesting. The I.T. Frary photograph collection at the Ohio Historical Society contains a couple similar structures. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5814665429/" title="House, North of Wellington, Ohio. 1923. by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5108/5814665429_730ab56fe8.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="House, North of Wellington, Ohio. 1923."></a><br><small>House, North of Wellington, Ohio. 1923. Print 1755, a photograph by I.T. Frary, in the collections of the Ohio Historical Society. [19566 State Route 58, Wellington, OH.]</small><br>
This one features a front porch. The house on Barber Avenue might have had one – it’s impossible to know without getting inside the structure. (Note that the front windows on this house appear to have been replaced with much wider ones than would have been original, likely in the early 20th century.)<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5688652589/" title="2612 - House by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5262/5688652589_18616c1e6c.jpg" width="500" height="323" alt="2612 - House"></a><br><small>2612 - House. Between Shalersville and Freedom, Ohio. 1926. A photograph by I.T. Frary. Scanned from a photocopy of an original in the I.T. Frary Audiovisual Collection at the Ohio Historical Society. </small><br>
Another, seen here, lacks a porch, but instead has a small awning, which is likely original. The lattice work on it, however, is not. Such awnings were often lost, as they, like all porches, tend to deteriorate more quickly than the rest of the houses that they are attached to. One would have to remove the vinyl siding on the house on Barber to determine if such an awning existed originally.<br><br>
To get a better idea as to just how old the house might be, I turned to the 1881 Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6896028820/" title="Plate 19, 1881 Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7243/6896028820_e6b72ba4d1.jpg" width="500" height="406" alt="Plate 19, 1881 Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio"></a><br><small><a href="http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4014coll24/id/44/show/21" rel="nofollow">Detail of Plate 19, 1881 Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio</a>. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small> <br>
The house should be approximately where the bright green box is – but there’s nothing there. Further, there aren’t any other obviously square houses nearby that might have been moved here.<br><br>
<iframe width="500" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=41.475922,-81.702254&hl=en&sll=41.475884,-81.70234&sspn=0.001506,0.002736&t=h&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=19&ie=UTF8&ll=41.476054,-81.7022&spn=0.002813,0.005364&z=17&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=41.475922,-81.702254&hl=en&sll=41.475884,-81.70234&sspn=0.001506,0.002736&t=h&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=19&ie=UTF8&ll=41.476054,-81.7022&spn=0.002813,0.005364&z=17&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br>
To better illustrate the landscape, here’s a map showing the same approximate area now. <br><br>
Where was this house moved from? What other stories does it tell? They’re worth investigating – especially if said investigation involves historic photos or removal of the existing vinyl siding.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-28500733887433884302012-03-27T11:22:00.000-04:002012-03-27T11:22:27.140-04:00Wade Park and the Layout of University Circle<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4645424598/" title="Glidden House by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4006/4645424598_3395e4c5b2.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Glidden House"></a><br>
<small>Glidden House (built 1909). 1901 Ford Drive.</small><br><br>
When I look at the buildings that make up the area we now call University Circle, I tend to assume that the area was laid out and built in the 1900s and 1910s. Indeed, save for some buildings on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, there aren't any structures built much before this time. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4639485277/" title="Western Reserve Historical Society by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3519/4639485277_27e4db1f51.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Western Reserve Historical Society"></a><br><br>
The houses that haven't been replaced by newer buildings tend toward grand mansions - like the Hay-McKinney House - one of the structures occupied by the Western Reserve Historical Society. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4645417782/" title="IMGP2409 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3400/4645417782_d4e227f2aa_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMGP2409"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4644802019/" title="Hawken School by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4006/4644802019_d7340bb7f4_m.jpg" width="240" height="166" alt="Hawken School"></a><br><br>
Even the (relatively) smaller houses, like this pair on Magnolia Drive, seem quite suited to the flow of the boulevards. <br><br>
Imagine my surprise when I learned that a good portion of the roads we use today were laid out a good 30 years before these houses were built. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/7020957897/" title="Ward 17 north by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7219/7020957897_4bef85538a.jpg" width="500" height="142" alt="Ward 17 north"></a><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6874845438/" title="Ward 17 south by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/6874845438_54084f403f_z.jpg" width="481" height="640" alt="Ward 17 south"></a><br>
<small>Details of the 1874 D.J. Lake <i>Atlas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio</i>, used courtesy of <a href="http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4014coll24/id/502">Cleveland Public Library</a>.</small><br><br>
Jeptha Wade began developing his farm into a park (<a href="http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WP">Wade Park</a>) in the early 1870s. These details show the layout of the roads within the park as they were in 1874. The map is bounded by Euclid Avenue on the south, East 105th Street on the west, East 115th Street on the east, and Ashbury Avenue on the north. Note how similar the layout of these roads remain to the streets present in the University Circle area today. Perhaps they're part of the reason why the area has managed to retain something of a park-like presence.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-6126308281469845392012-03-14T09:00:00.000-04:002012-03-14T09:00:14.238-04:00The Edwards Family Obelisk<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6830702247/" title="Edwards by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6830702247_afb5031c94.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Edwards"></a><br>
For a while, I've wondered about this grave marker in East Cleveland Township Cemetery. It appears to have been made in the 1830s or 1840s. The style is one that I've occasionally seen in advertisements from the period, but rarely in person. <br><br>
It marks the graves of several members of the Edwards family:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6830703557/" title="Edwards by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6830703557_9d9e5a27a0.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Edwards"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6830704777/" title="Edwards by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6830704777_1e2ee05f92.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Edwards"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6539500795/" title="Edwards, Adanijah and Polly by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6539500795_d7db2f5604.jpg" width="261" height="500" alt="Edwards, Adanijah and Polly"></a><br>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/3835381372/" title="Rodolphus Edwards, Jr. house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2441/3835381372_53605c6569.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Rodolphus Edwards, Jr. house"></a><br>
Rudolphus is best known as a surveyor for the Connecticut Land Company. He later had a tavern on Woodhill Road at Buckeye. His son, Rudolphus, Jr., built this house at 10701 Buckeye Road, in about 1840. I covered it <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2009/11/rodolphus-edwards-house.html">in some detail</a> a while back - and hope to provide some additional coverage in the near future. <br><br>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5198901762/" title="? [Edwards family plot] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4131/5198901762_77f890fb02.jpg" width="361" height="500" alt="? [Edwards family plot]"></a><br>
The Edwards family plot at East Cleveland Township Cemetery also includes two more traditional markers. One, I cannot read - it appears to date from between about 1820-1840. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5198902350/" title="Edwards, Adonijah by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4151/5198902350_794d4a8140.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Edwards, Adonijah"></a><br>
The other is a recent marker, for Revolutionary War veteran Adonijah Edwards. <br><br>
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Why does this bug me so? The marker appears to date a couple decades before the cemetery opened, and is in rather good condition for the age. Further, it's of a style that I don't usually see around here. There's clearly a story - but what? Finally, Wickham (<i>Pioneer Families of Cleveland</i>, p. 37-38) provides the answer.
<blockquote>All the members of the Edwards family who died in Cleveland were buried in a small cemetery in the rear of the old Congregational church, north-west corner of Euclid Avenue and Doan [now East 105th] Street. It was then called the East Cleveland burying-ground. The entrance was from Doan Street. The largest and the finest monument in it, and, eventually, the last one, was that of the Edwards family, and, finally, when all the bodies had been removed from the cemetery, this, with other Edwards grave-stones, remained standing until the old church was razed. A big bank building stands on the site of the little church, and part of the cemetery is covered by another towering edifice.</blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508066367/" title="Currier, Sarah by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6508066367_5273444c2c.jpg" width="368" height="500" alt="Currier, Sarah"></a><br>
But one similar marker comes to mind in the area - that of Sarah Currier, in First Presbyterian Churchyard, in East Cleveland. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508072717/" title="Currier, Sarah [top of marker] by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6508072717_a5e69288f6.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Currier, Sarah [top of marker]"></a><br>
It isn't as grand - it lacks the obelisk of the Edwards marker - and further, the capital, shown here, was knocked off at some point.
<hr>
The Edwards marker remains a grand monument to the family. Try to imagine it in a little cemetery at the northwest corner of Euclid and East 105th Street.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-77971877426181750252012-03-07T12:42:00.000-05:002012-03-07T12:42:01.276-05:00From Early House to Milk HouseI’ve been working on editing a history of the Parks family, who came to the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland in 1834. It’s a wonderful manuscript - full of all sorts of personal details and anecdotes that you simply don’t find in most family histories. <br><br>
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004b3729b693b44ef729&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=41.564601,-81.59121&spn=0.011238,0.018239&z=15&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004b3729b693b44ef729&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=41.564601,-81.59121&spn=0.011238,0.018239&z=15&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Parks property</a> in a larger map</small><br><br>
The Parks family farm, purchased in 1834, is indicated in this map in blue. It is bounded on the east by East 140th Street, on the south by Kuhlman Avenue, on the west by a diagonal that continues from the end of Eaglesmere to the lake shore, and on the north by Lake Erie. The farm, all told, was about 200 acres.<br><br>
There’s a passage in the manuscript that really caught my attention.
<blockquote>They found later that the previous owner, a Colonel [John] Gardner and his family had nearly died there of chills and fever. Grandfather held the view, then common, that the disease was caused by a miasma that rose from the water and earth after nightfall and for many years the children were carefully herded into the house as it grew dusk. Anyhow, none of the family ever had a touch of it.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Perhaps that was because Grandfather's first act was to dog a big ditch right through the farm to the Lake; next he built a new house. The little old one was always used for a milk house.</blockquote>
The milk house is noted by the jug of milk in the map above - right next to the site of the 1834 house. <br><br>
I was a bit skeptical as to Gardner’s involvement with the property. I hadn’t heard accounts of property being rented - but research shows that it was not uncommon. In fact, evidence points to some very good reasons why John Gardner might have built the small, likely one-room house for his family on this piece of property rented from Henry Coit. <br><br>
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Achsa Sherwin was born December 28, 1789, in Winchenden, Massachusetts, the fifth of Ahimaz and Hannah Swan Sherwin’s ten children. She married John Gardner (born about 1789) on October 30, 1808, in Hartland, Vermont.<br><br>
A decade after her marriage, Achsa’s parents moved to Cleveland. The account is described in Wickham’s <i>Pioneer Families of Cleveland</i> (p. 200-201).
<blockquote>On the morning of a bitter winter day in February, 1818, a large sleigh drawn by two farm horses moved briskly in a south-western direction from Middlebury, Vermont, a town but a few miles east of the New York state line, and about half-way between lakes Champlain and George.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The seat of this sleigh was occupied by Ahimaz Sherwin, Jr., 26 years of age, his young wife Hannah Swan Sherwin, and their little daughter Lucy but a few months old. The back of the sleigh was piled high with household furniture, bedding, and clothing. The family had started in mid-winter on a ride of 500 miles, at least half of which led through a trackless wilderness. But, aside from the weather, traveling at this time of year was far easier than through the summer months. A sleigh moved over the snow more smoothly and with less jolting than a wagon, also over ice-bound lakes and rivers that otherwise would have to be forded or avoided.
The sleighing was excellent all the way, but the weather very severe; the thermometer for ten days of the trip was below zero. Their food and shelter for the night was ever uncertain, and a source of anxiety, for it depended upon little country taverns, or upon the hospitality of isolated farm-houses. It is ever a mystery to the woman of today how a mother managed to care for a babe and keep it warm on such a long, cold journey. The case of little Lucy Sherwin was not exceptional. Hundreds of very young children accompanied their parents to the wilds of Ohio when the journey was undertaken in the winter or early spring with the frost yet in the air, and snow still covering the ground. Furthermore, instances have been given where the pioneer party waited for an expected addition of a little stranger in a family, and then started on a trip two weeks after its arrival.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The Sherwins made the distance between Buffalo and Dunkirk on the frozen shores of Lake Erie, and, early in the evening of one day, their sleigh broke through the ice, thoroughly drenching its occupants. With their clothes frozen upon them, they had to continue their journey until a place was reached in which they could spend the night.
The deep-seated cold that resulted from this mishap eventually undermined the constitution of the intrepid wife and mother, and although she lived several years after reaching Cleveland she never was again well, and died leaving three young children.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The journey ended March 1st - 18 days from the time it was started. No accommodation for them and their horses could be secured in the small village of Cleveland, and they had to turn around again and go back as far as Job Doan's tavern at Doan's Corners.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Luckily for Mr. Sherwin, Richard Blinn had begun to build a new house on his farm south of Doan's Corners, and on the road to Newburgh. He hired Mr. Sherwin to do the carpenter work on it, the Sherwins, meanwhile, living with the Blinn family. By the last of August, the house was finished, and the wages due Mr. Sherwin enabled him to return to Vermont and bring on his parents to share his pioneer home. </blockquote>
Within a year or two, Achsa and John Gardner followed them west. (One of their children, Nelson Harvey Gardner, was born October 21, 1816, in Hartland, Vermont, fixing their residence in that place. By the time of the 1820 US Census, they were living in Cleveland.)<br><br>
Gardner didn’t own any real estate in Cleveland until 1828, indicating that he either rented or lived with family or friends prior to that date, when he made a purchase on Seneca Street in downtown Cleveland (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 182812270001). He did not occupy the property immediately, as his family is still listed in Euclid Township in the 1830 US Census.<br><br>
The Gardner family lived in this location while John Gardner operated a store on the east corner of Euclid Avenue and Noble Road. <br><br>
Historic advertisements, included in <i>Annals of Cleveland</i> help illuminate the nature of the store and the sorts of things one would be able to buy in a village like this in the 1820s. They also help to show what sorts of things the residents of this area needed (or wanted).
<blockquote>June 4, 1824; adv:3/4 - John Gardner, has just opened a store in the town of Euclid, in the building formerly occupied as a store by E. Murray, Esq., deceased, consisting of a small but well assorted collection of Dry Goods, Groceries, and Hardware, which he will sell at reduced prices, for cash or approved country Produce. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Sept. 10, 1824; adv: 5/4 - Euclid Store. The subscriber has just received from two miles beyond the Eastward, a small but handsome assortment of Dry Goods, consisting of almost every article used in families, together with a good assortment of Groceries, of the first rate, and warranted. Also Codfish, Mackina Trout, of superior quality, Iron, Steel, Nails, Window Glass, 8 by 10 and 7 by 9, Soal and Upper Leather, Morocco Skins, With a variety of other articles, too numerous to mention - which will be exchanged for most kinds of Produce.
Ashes will be taken in payment, if delivered at the ashery formerly occupied by Seth Doan, Esq. J. Gardner. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Dec. 9, 1825 ; adv: 3/5 - Euclid Store. J. Gardner. Has just received, and keeps constantly on hand, a general assortment of New Goods, consisting of Broadcloths, Cassimeres, Satinetts, Bombazetts, Calicoes, Chintzes, Cambrics, Plain and Figured Linos, Boot Muslins, Silk, Crapes, Velvets, Cotton and Worsted Vestings, Ratinetts, Salisbury & Plain Flannels, Silk and Cotton Flag Handkerchiefs, Tartan and Caroline Plaids, Cotton Ginghams and Checks, Cotton cloths, Cotton Yarn and Candlewicking, Men's coarse Boots and Shoes, School Books of all sort, New York Hats, Groceries, Crockery, Glass & Hardware, Iron. English Blister'd & Cast Steel, Drugs and Medicine, Paints and Dye·Stuffs, and other articles too numerous to mention. All the above articles are warranted to be of the first quality. He also pledges himself to sell as cheap as can be purchased in the country. Gentlemen and Ladies are requested to call and examine for themselves.
Most kinds of Produce taken in payment.
N. B. He also wishes to purchase a quantity of Black Salts, for part cash will be paid. Likewise, a quantity of dried Deerskins.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6717898607/" title="First Presbyterian Church by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6717898607_b3f7a37faf.jpg" width="413" height="500" alt="First Presbyterian Church"></a><br>
<small>From <i>Spiritual Pioneers; The Life & Times of First Presbyterian Church of East Cleveland, Ohio</i> by Melinda Ule-Grohol, page 194.</small>
<blockquote>Nov. 5, 1829; adv: 3/5 - For Rent. The subscriber offers for rent his Store and Store House in Euclid Township, a few rods west of the Presbyterian meeting house; he has built an addition to his Store, which makes it very large and convenient for a country Store. It is situated in a pleasant country for mercantile business which he will rent very reasonable; apply to the subscriber on the premises.
John Gardner, Euclid. </blockquote>
It’s unclear when Gardner’s store closed. The establishment reopened in 1830.
<blockquote>Nov. 11, 1830; adv:3/3 - Euclid New Store. New Goods at the lowest Cleaveland prices. H. Foote & Co. Have just opened a new store at the stand known as the Gardner store in the Town of Euclid where they have for sale a first rate assortment of Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardware, and Crockery.</blockquote>
Within a couple years, Gardner opened a similar business in Cleveland. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5198904062/" title="Gardner, Achsa by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4113/5198904062_2be6394c50.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Gardner, Achsa"></a><br><br>
Achsa Sherwin Gardner died in 1847, and was buried in East Cleveland Township Cemetery.<br><br>
<hr>
All six members of the Gardner family lived in what was likely a one-room house - on later maps, it shows up as less than half the size of the house with two rooms on each floor built by Sheldon Parks. From these cramped quarters, John Gardner travelled two and half miles each day to his store. <br><br>
This is telling of the conditions endured by the early settlers to the region. It also illustrates that a path between the location on Euclid Avenue and the Parks farm was present at the time that they moved here, in 1834, providing a connection between their farm and the village.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-48502914426267175402012-02-15T09:21:00.001-05:002012-02-15T09:40:12.657-05:00The Thorp - Page Sawmill<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6876897137/" title="Detail, East Cleveland Township by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6876897137_a22f768d1b.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="Detail, East Cleveland Township"></a><br />
<small>A detail from the 1858 Hopkins Map of Cuyahoga County. Used courtesy of <a href="http://railsandtrails.com/Maps/Hopkins1858Cuyahoga/index.htm" rel="nofollow">Rails and Trails</a>, original courtesy of the <a href="http://www.bedfordohiohistory.org/" rel="nofollow">Bedford Historical Society</a>. Annotations by the author.</small><br />
In 1837, two farmers, both residents of Cleveland, purchased a small, oddly shaped parcel of land (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 183904200003). The $250 purchase netted them 8.27 acres, with Coit Road on one side, and Nine Mile Creek running down the middle of it. The property, outlined here in green, was about a quarter mile south of St. Clair Avenue. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5887964169/" title="The Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6022/5887964169_abeb0984b7.jpg" width="500" height="299" alt="The Luster Tannery"></a><br />
You may recall Nine Mile Creek as the source of water for <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/search/label/Luster%20Tannery">the Luster Tannery</a> (16360 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland), about a mile upstream. The structure, built for tanning leather in the 1850s, is a major early industrial landmark. The Luster property is outlined in light blue <br />
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The two men who purchased the land, Cornelius Thorp and Isaac Page, both lived in the area. Cornelius, at the time, was 30 years old, and was married, with three or four children. Isaac was a few years older, also married and the father of at least a couple children. <br />
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Both had farms of a decent size - Isaac Page's amounted to 62 acres, while Cornelius Thorp's farm was about 40 acres. <br />
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Why, then, did they purchase the land? <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6876964087/" title="Detail, 1903 USGS Topographic Map by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6876964087_edd3c76bcd.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="Detail, 1903 USGS Topographic Map"></a><br />
This detail of a 1903 USGS topographical map, covering about the same area as the one used to open this story, helps illustrate why. Note that Nine Mile Creek seems to enter a ravine at about the point where the sawmill is located (to the left of the "k" in "Creek"). Perhaps there was even a falls. Whatever the case, there would probably have been significant water power at the site.<br />
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Water power was very important in the early to mid 19th cenutry - other than steam engines and manual labor, it was the only way one could power anything. Even on a tiny creek, a small dam could store up enough water to power a mill for a couple hours a day. <br />
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To take advantage of the water power, a sawmill was built on the site, as illustrated in the 1858 map that I lead with. When was it built? I haven't been able to locate any information relating to that. One might suspect that construction began soon after the purchase, unless they bought the land speculatively. <br />
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Thorp and Page probably operated the mill part-time - the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Censuses list their occupations as "farmer". It was quite common at the time to do other work to supplement farm income, so this does not seem strange. However, as of 1860, Isaac's son, Isaac Morris (or Maurice) Page lists his occupation as "sawmill" - perhaps running the business full time. A decade later, however, he is listed again as a farmer.<br />
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There is only one other sawmill pictured in East Cleveland township on the 1858 Hopkins map - a steam driven one on Shaw Brook, operated by Henry Coit, shown in the far left of the detail above. This suggests relatively little competition in the immediate area.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6830675395/" title="Page by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6830675395_dd3a666124.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Page"></a><br />
The grave of Isaac Page (the father) is marked by this obelisk, in East Cleveland Township Cemetery. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508086193/" title="Thorp by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6508086193_cf9eef5901.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Thorp"></a><br />
A small obelisk, mostly buried, marks the Thorp family plot at First Presbyterian Churchyard, in East Cleveland. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508080967/" title="Thorp, Mary by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6508080967_9f9f5f573e.jpg" width="288" height="500" alt="Thorp, Mary"></a><br />
The only name visible is that of Cornelius's daughter, Mary. It'll be worth digging up the fallen obelisk and replacing it on its mount, to see if the names of other family members are noted. <br />
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These weren't the only mills in the immediate area - there were more in Euclid, as detailed in <a href="http://bluestoneheights.org/bsh/?page_id=5091">Mills & Salt</a>, on Bluestone Heights. Still, this example represents an interesting piece of our early industrial history.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-2426913757537911522012-02-13T15:49:00.000-05:002012-02-13T15:49:32.100-05:00Would you believe that this grand East Cleveland home is still standing!?<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6726225291/" title="Fred Welton house painted by daughter Mary by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6726225291_9f97790654.jpg" width="500" height="349" alt="Fred Welton house painted by daughter Mary"></a><br />
<small><i>Fred Welton house painted by daughter Mary</i>. From Ellen Loughry Price, <i>History of East Cleveland</i>, page 21.</small><br />
<br />
I didn't. <br />
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Recently, I've been doing a fair amount of research into East Cleveland in the 19th century. Part of it is because of a book that I'm doing on the Parks family (builders of <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/search/label/Leonard%20Parks%20residence">this house</a>). More, however, it's because I'm realizing how much interesting history there is in East Cleveland - and how little work has been done to uncover it. Tons of great stories seem to be revealed in the structures still standing, most of them just off Euclid Avenue. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6760292707/" title="Built circa 1850? by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6760292707_b791c19213_m.jpg" width="240" height="159" alt="Built circa 1850?"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6790038733/" title="IMGP8564 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6790038733_bb55cae6af_m.jpg" width="240" height="176" alt="IMGP8564"></a><br />
Take this pair of houses at 1710 and 1704 Collamer - both moved to this site in the early 20th century. The one on the left (1710 Collamer) has a grand doorway, and appears to have been built in the 1850s. The one on the right (1704 Collamer) is a shorter, post and beam structure, with vertical plank sheathing - something that one usually only sees in much earlier buildings. Both are the subject of continuing research. <br />
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Why are they so exciting? Because they're good-sized structures, likely built on a major road (Euclid Avenue), with considerable historic detail. And nothing has been written about them! (As interesting as the old standards may be, it's always more compelling, for me, to be uncovering something new.) These are but a sample of what awaits. <br />
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When I first saw <i>Fred Welton house painted by daughter Mary</i>, I was sure that the house was gone - even though Ellen Loughry Price didn't provide any details as to where it might have been located. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6870289031/" title="Birge / Welton house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6870289031_2e82143e26.jpg" width="500" height="359" alt="Birge / Welton house"></a><br />
When I first saw it, on January 25, from an angle similar to this one, it didn't even catch my attention enough to warrant stopping the car. There was something about it that seemed not quite right, but I couldn't put my finger on what that something was - I assumed it was just the odd habits of the builder or architect - or those who had added onto it over time. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6870294967/" title="Birge / Welton house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6870294967_3824e1d28d.jpg" width="500" height="384" alt="Birge / Welton house"></a><br />
The roofline, seen here from Euclid Avenue, suggests that the house was built in the 1890s or 1900s - or perhaps the 1910s. But, again, there's something that isn't quite right. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6870278365/" title="Front Door, Birge / Welton house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6870278365_1f0c45ed0f.jpg" width="351" height="500" alt="Front Door, Birge / Welton house"></a><br />
<br />
Then I saw this doorway, at what is now the back of the house, facing a gas station and Euclid Avenue. It screams "1850s" (or perhaps a little earlier). The door itself appears original. The spaces between the pairs of columns have small windows (sidelights), which have been painted over. This is also the case for the set of windows over the doorway, the transom. It's quite unusual to see them present, and in this good of condition - I can't think of another extant example of this quality in Cleveland or an inner-ring suburb.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/5814671567/" title="Doorway, Mesopotamia, Ohio. 1924. by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2061/5814671567_d58f388f8f.jpg" width="286" height="500" alt="Doorway, Mesopotamia, Ohio. 1924."></a><br />
<small><i>Doorway, Mesopotamia, Ohio</i>. 1924. Photograph by I.T. Frary. Print 2142 in the I.T. Frary Audiovisual collection of the Ohio Historical Society.</small><br />
The doorway is of a style common in the better houses of the period - it's quite similar to this one, in Mesopotamia, Ohio - though I think the one on our subject house is slightly better proportioned to the structure as a whole. <br />
<br />
I took a few more photographs, with the intent of seeing what more I could learn. It was only once I was back at the computer, and I found the name of the property owner on a historic map, that I made the connection with the painting above. <br />
<br />
The house was built on the north corner of Euclid Avenue and Shaw Avenue, in East Cleveland, Ohio. The current address is 15314 Welton Drive, East Cleveland, Ohio.<br />
<br />
<b>When was this house built, and by whom?</b><br />
<br />
Lasell Birge, a farmer, purchased the land that the house would be built on at auction, for $5,0000, in 1851 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185105220001). It was being sold by the estate of John Shaw, for whom Shaw High School is named.<br />
<br />
I haven't been able to learn much of anything about Birge. He was born in Connecticut in about 1811 and married Rebecca Birge, a Vermonter (born about 1820), before moving to Ohio, in or before 1839, the year of the birth of their first child, Cornelius. He may have been living in Palmyra, Ohio, in 1840. Their other children included Eliza (born about 1847); Catherine (born about 1850); and Elizabeth (born about 1855) (1840-1870 U.S. Census).<br />
<br />
By 1850, the family was living in East Cleveland. They show up there in the 1860 US Census as well, where they're listed as having real estate worth $10,000.<br />
<br />
He seems to have been relatively well off, as, just two years later, he was able to purchase another significant parcel, on Euclid Avenue, near what is now East 105th Street, with one John Welch, for $3,500 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185304050004).<br />
<br />
It seems most likely that Lasell Birge built the house by 1860. It's almost certain that it was present by 1864, when he sold the property to Frederick J. Welton (or Wilton). The property, then down to just 5 acres, was sold for a sum of $4200 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 186412190004). If we're to accept another property transfer from Birge to Welton, earlier in the year, of a nearby parcel, as representative of the value of the land in that vicinity, the house was worth about $3,750. (The parcel, ten acres, sold for $875 - $87.50 / acre (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 186408290007)).<br />
<br />
Frederick Wilton, a farmer, was born about 1799 in Connecticut. He would have been about 65 when he purchased the house with his wife, Minerva, born about 1818, in Vermont. As of 1870, they had four children living with them in this house: Mary (born about 1845); Frank (born about 1850); James (born about 1850); and Sarah, born about 1856 (1870 U.S. Census).<br />
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Little else has been written about Welton. A death notice (Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>, February 29, 1872, page 3) describes him as a "well known citizen" and continues, noting that he "died at his residence at Collamer this morning after a short illness. Mr. Welton has resided at Collamer about 15 years, coming from Burton, Geauga County. He has always been a liberal man, a kind friend and a good neighbor. Mr. Welton was born in Connecticut and emigrated to Geauga County in the year 1832."<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6871438205/" title="Frederick J. Welton property by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7056/6871438205_30effa4a48.jpg" width="343" height="329" alt="Frederick J. Welton property"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a plate from the 1898 Flynn <i>Atlas of the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio</i>. Used courtesy of <a href="http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4014coll24/id/1488">Cleveland Public Library</a>.</small><br />
In 1898, the grounds included our subject house, shown here in red, and two other residences, immediately under the word "Welton", facing Shaw Avenue. A driveway provided access to the property, both from Shaw Avenue and From Euclid Avenue, on the right. In addition to a carriage house, there was some sort of other small outbuilding. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6871511723/" title="Welton property in 1913 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6871511723_a8a6caac92.jpg" width="500" height="354" alt="Welton property in 1913"></a><br />
<small>Detail, 1913 Sanborn fire insurance atlas for Cleveland, Ohio. Volume 8, plate 53. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.</small><br />
Fifteen years later, the same property shows considerable change. (Our subject house is immediately to the right of the word "Wilton" in "Wilton Drive".) Three houses have been built in front of the Birge / Welton house. Richmond Place cuts along the border of the Richmond property, and Wilton Drive runs right behind the house. Several other structures have been built on (or moved to) the five acre parcel. <br />
<br />
It was by this time that the house acquired the Wilton Drive address.<br />
<br />
<b>But what of the house as it is today?</b><br />
<br />
There are two obvious differences between the historic painting of the house and the structure as it stands today. The roof was replaced, likely due to differences in taste, between about 1890 and 1915. This was not uncommon. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6870279389/" title="Birge / Welton house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6870279389_80ec836068.jpg" width="338" height="500" alt="Birge / Welton house"></a><br />
The other obvious difference is the porch, now missing. The stone foundation of the porch remains. It's not common to see the entire floor of the porch be stone - more often, you'd just have stone supports for the columns, with the remainder of the floor constructed from wood. This choice of materials is likely the only reason for the floor of the porch to have survived. <br />
<br />
If we look at the outline in the paint where the porch roof attached to the house, the outline of a curved bracket is visible, suggesting something of the style of the columns supporting it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6870282643/" title="Birge / Welton house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6870282643_57b1e82c2c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Birge / Welton house"></a><br />
There is much more to be learned in the history of this grand 1850s house - a subject that I hope to deal with in greater depth in future posts. Perhaps you know the owner - or perhaps you know where the painting that I led with is located. <br />
<br />
I'm still just surprised that a structure with such interesting history was sitting here, right in front of my nose!Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-59780635181096732852012-02-03T12:04:00.001-05:002012-02-03T16:04:39.073-05:00URGENT! Langston Hughes House is Being "Demolished"<b><big><big>UPDATE</big></big> (4:00 pm, February 3, 2012) The situation is not completely as I understood it to be - and I apologize for the confusion. The porch is going to be rebuilt - it was removed due to the failure of the foundation. The woodwork is still all being removed, to be replaced with identical - it's an issue of lead abatement - and it is still in the dumpster. There will be an in-depth follow-up on Monday.</b><br />
<br />
Langston Hughes, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, had his first works published while a student at Cleveland's Central High School. At this time (his sophomore and junior years) he lived alone, in the attic of 2266 East 86th Street, in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood. <br />
<br />
When I learned that the house had been forclosed upon and was sitting vacant, back in 2009, I worked to <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/search/label/Langston%20Hughes">bring public attention to the structure</a>. These efforts resulted in coverage on National Public Radio's <i>All Things Considered</i> and in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>. The structure was made a <a href="http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/landlist.php?first=L">designated Cleveland Landmark</a>. All these efforts led to Fairfax Renaissance assuming ownership and management of the rehabilitation, with the intent of offering it to a low to moderate income family at a reasonable mortgage - an idea solution. <br />
<br />
Progress was being made. The plans for the renovation were approved by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6430787511/in/set-72157621560866600">it looked as though</a> things were proceeding well.<br />
<br />
Then, yesterday, I drove by the house, and was shocked at what I saw. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6808592201/" title="Langston Hughes house - under renovation by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6808592201_be61866930.jpg" width="430" height="500" alt="Langston Hughes house - under renovation"></a><br />
A look through the window openings this morning confirmed my worst fears: the house had been <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812028587/in/set-72157621560866600">gutted to the studs</a>, with all traces of the original building material, save for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4151797120/in/set-72157621560866600">the staircase</a>, gone. Where has it gone? Likely to the two large dumpsters, full to the brim, in the vacant lot next door. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812365991/" title="119-30-066 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6812365991_19493858f3.jpg" width="489" height="500" alt="119-30-066"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the Cuyahoga County Archives.</small><br />
The most obvious loss is the front porch, which was original to the house. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812379575/" title="Langston Hughes residence by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6812379575_f68f8c4391.jpg" width="500" height="413" alt="Langston Hughes residence"></a><br />
Most of the components of the porch remained, in good condition, when I last photographed the house. It was to be repaired, not removed - and I'm sure that the Landmarks Commission will do whatever is necessary to ensure that it is rebuilt. The staff of the commission will be meeting with Fairfax Renaissance next week to discuss replacement window options, and the porch will be addressed at that time. Of course, it will be much harder to do this if the lumber that made up the porch is in the aforementioned dumpsters, which I fear will be emptied soon. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812439171/" title="Langston Hughes house - living room by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6812439171_b680fa35d8.jpg" width="500" height="342" alt="Langston Hughes house - living room"></a><br />
Unfortunately, the jurisdiction of the Landmarks Commission is limited to the exterior. Original doors, crown moulding, and trim, shown here, have all been removed. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812455959/" title="Langston Hughes house - stairs by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6812455959_a8a64814dd.jpg" width="500" height="354" alt="Langston Hughes house - stairs"></a><br />
Note how nicely the crown moulding and trim around the doorway complements the stairs - the only remaining bit of original woodwork - and imagine what pictures might have hung from the integral picture rail. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812469847/" title="Langston Hughes house - den and living room by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6812469847_9928ea7a18.jpg" width="329" height="500" alt="Langston Hughes house - den and living room"></a><br />
The trim and the doors here, too, are gone. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812486327/" title="Hot air vent, Langston Hughes house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6812486327_a5fd49639c_m.jpg" width="222" height="240" alt="Hot air vent, Langston Hughes house"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6812498931/" title="Gas light fixture, Langston Hughes house by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6812498931_c9ab6a3ae6_m.jpg" width="179" height="240" alt="Gas light fixture, Langston Hughes house"></a><br />
And then there are the little things, the furnace hot air vent and the remains of an old, disused gas light fixture - these are the details make a house unique. <br />
<br />
<b>What can you do?</b><br />
<br />
My primary concern - is that the fabric that makes this house special will be lost, and most likely soon - as the dumpsters look due to be emptied. <br />
<br />
How much use do the barely accessible spaces in your attic get? Very little, most likely. They seem, to me, the perfect place to store historic building materials until their importance can be realized. <br />
<br />
Got some free time this weekend? Consider visiting the site. Ask the construction workers present for permission to remove some of this significant historic material from the dumpsters. <u>With their permission</u>, take it home. Make note that it came from this house, so that you or someone else will be able to return it here when more sensible minds prevail.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-83115768626752162392012-01-31T11:08:00.000-05:002012-01-31T11:08:43.352-05:00Wait, this Art Deco skyscraper was in Cleveland?!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684815183/" title="Cuyahoga County Criminal Courts Building by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6684815183_6aa964895b.jpg" width="388" height="500" alt="Cuyahoga County Criminal Courts Building"></a><br />
<small>Cuyahoga County Criminal Court Building, July 1936. Created by the staff of the Ohio Federal Writers' Project. Image used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/u?/p267401coll34,4833" rel="nofollow">Ohio Historical Society</a>.</small><br />
<br />
When I first came across photographs of this building, in the documention collected by the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historica American Buildings Survey</a>, I was sure that the caption was wrong. A building like this, in Cleveland? Surely I would have heard something about it. Surely I would have been able to find some mention of it, somewhere.<br />
<br />
A brief search was fruitless. Surely, a building of this stature and of this significance within the criminal justice system would have merited some mention or record, somewhere. (Note: a recent search reveals <a href="http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4014coll18/id/1590">a photograph in the collections of Cleveland Public Library</a>.)<br />
<br />
As a result, the building didn't stick in my mind - I assumed it had to be somewhere other than Cleveland. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684596409/" title="01 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6684596409_8112d3c60b.jpg" width="500" height="485" alt="01"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>.</small><br />
<br />
A recent reinspection of the photographs forced me to accept that this building was, in fact, in Cleveland. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684596673/" title="06 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6684596673_9e66d1408c.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt="06"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>.</small><br />
<br />
Note the text over the front door; "Cuyahoga County Criminial Courts Building". <br />
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The structure, designed by Cleveland architects Warner and Mitchell, was completed in 1931. It was located at 1560 East 21st Street.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684596705/" title="07 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6684596705_4912051ed7.jpg" width="500" height="392" alt="07"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>.</small><br />
<br />
These photographs were likely taken close to the date of demolition, in the 1990s. Even then, the building retained much ornament and architectural detail.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684596941/" title="10 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6684596941_e5e1a5e192.jpg" width="394" height="500" alt="10"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>.</small><br />
<br />
This level of detail continued inside. While the space shows considerable decay, the original grandeur is clearly visible.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6684597085/" title="12 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6684597085_15a2738e27.jpg" width="500" height="393" alt="12"></a><br />
<small>Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>.</small><br />
<br />
This level of detail continued into the courtrooms, which somehow remained mostly unchanged for decades.<br />
<br />
The building was replaced, leading to the decay of this structure. The <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.oh1816">Historic American Buildings Survey</a> has more photographs - it's worth taking a look.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-11072702434576966312012-01-20T11:43:00.000-05:002012-01-20T11:43:54.424-05:00Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6673225275/" title="Cleveland School of the Arts by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6673225275_e5cc6b090e.jpg" width="424" height="500" alt="Cleveland School of the Arts"></a><br />
<br />
With so much discussion of late regarding the demolition of historic Cleveland schools - most notably, of <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/sunpostherald/index.ssf/2012/01/cleveland_landmarks_commission.html">John Marshall High School</a> and of the <a href="http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs038/1100744676862/archive/1109037154742.html">Cleveland School of the Arts</a> - it seems worthwhile to look at <i>why</i> these buildings are being demolished. <br />
<br />
I recently obtained a copy of <i><a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B07N4aOTHMjWNDNjMTNhOWMtNDI1ZC00MjgxLWI1MWEtNjMxNWI5NDg4ZDNl">Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study</a></i>, a report created by the Cleveland Restoration Society in 2006. Although the cost and population estimates have both changed since that date, the general numbers as well as the conclusions remain valid and worth taking a look at. In fact, if you care at all about preserving historic schools anywhere in Ohio, this is essential reading. <br />
<br />
To quote the introduction to the document: <br />
<blockquote>The Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) undertook the Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study as a means to better understand the guidelines used by the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), the state agency in Ohio that oversees and funds school building projects. Our goal was to examine four historic school buildings currently scheduled for demolition in the Cleveland Municipal School District Facilities Master Plan to determine if these buildings could be renovated to meet current educational standards and still receive full funding from OSFC.</blockquote><br />
The four schools covered: William Cullen Bryant; Albert Bushnell Hart; Audubon; and Robert Fulton, are evaluated in detail, with illustrations of their merits and liabilities. Full architectural renderings, including floor plans of existing and proposed conditions are provided. <br />
<br />
A few surprises caught my attention:<ul><li>Demolition and environmental abatement costs are not included in the the OSFC's replacement costs.<br />
<li>The OSFC's estimates of the square footage of the buildings is higher (in once case, considerably higher) than the actual square footage, resulting in the OSFC estimating rehab costs to be considerably higher than they should be. How much higher?<ul><li>34% (William Cullen Bryant)<br />
<li>11% (Albert Bushnell Hart)<br />
<li>8% (Audubon)<br />
<li>23% (Robert Fulton)<br />
</ul></ul><br />
The CRS sums up the findings of the report far better than I can, so I'll quote them directly: <blockquote>These proposed design solutions demonstrate that historic school buildings can be successfully renovated to meet 21st century standards and to provide a high level of educational adequacy. We can preserve these neighborhood landmarks and not only have<br />
schools that are just as good as new, but better than new because of the materials, craftsmanship, and artistry that have been handed down to us<br />
that we could not afford to replicate today. Not only can be have facilities that are better than new, we can save significant resources by<br />
preserving older buildings. The Cleveland Municipal School District can save $17.1 million dollars by preserving the four buildings presented<br />
in this study. We hope this cost savings will convince district administrators to reconsider using renovation and new additions as an alternative to replacing many of the City’s significant historic school buildings.</blockquote><br />
Please, take a look at the <i><a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B07N4aOTHMjWNDNjMTNhOWMtNDI1ZC00MjgxLWI1MWEtNjMxNWI5NDg4ZDNl">Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study</a></i> - if we're to preserve these historic buildings, we need to understand the financial issues behind their repair or replacement.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-37011799345401813652012-01-17T09:35:00.000-05:002012-01-17T09:35:32.259-05:00Guest Post: The Isaac Warren House, Part 2<big><big>by Judy MacKeigan</big></big><br />
<br />
[Note: see the first part of the story of this significant early Lakewood house in <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/07/isaac-warren-house.html">The Isaac Warren House</a>.]<br />
<br />
As the “official” family historian I have been given boxes of family papers, photos, and ephemera. Among these items is a black photo album, typical of the early 20th century, containing wonderful photos of my husband’s grandmother, Emma Blanck MacKeigan, her parents, Charles Blanck and Anna Meister Blanck, and assorted friends and family.<br />
<br />
Several photos show the family both outside and inside their Rockport Township (later Lakewood) home. I had been trying to find this house by using census records and deeds, but the address that I had was somewhat puzzling. In 1910 the Blancks were listed in the Federal Census at what appears to be 2270 Alger Rd. Although the house number is blurred and difficult to read, the street name is clear. I have spent time driving up and down Alger, hoping to find the address, but to no avail. Thinking that the address may have changed I kept my eyes open for the house, but still no luck. I began to think that the section of Alger that the house stood on had been obliterated by I-90. <br />
<br />
Last week I decided to take a closer look at the neighborhood via the wonderful maps on the <a href="http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/index.php/cdm">Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery</a>. On the G. M. Hopkins Cuyahoga County plat map of 1914 I found a brick house on the corner of Fisher (now Lakewood Hts. Blvd.) and what was marked as Warren Rd. That section of Warren, however, shows up as Alger on other maps, so I was sure it was the correct house.<br />
<br />
I knew I had found the family home because of another clue found on that 1914 map. The owner of the land that the house stood on was listed as H. Johnson. According to a 1917 deed a woman named Henrietta Johnson had left land to Anna Blanck. I had puzzled for years as to who this woman was, how she fit into the family and why bequeathed this land to Anna. The 1910 census lists Charles Blanck as head of household who rented the house, but Henrietta was listed as a boarder. In reality, of course, she was the owner of the house where the Blancks lived as renters. <br />
Enter Christopher Busta-Peck’s wonderful Cleveland Area History blog. After finding the 1914 map I put the words Johnson + Fisher Rd. in a search engine. One of the hits was the <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/07/isaac-warren-house.html">Isaac Warren House post</a> made by Christoper in July of 2010. Clicking on the link I was amazed to find the same house that is pictured in our photo album prominently featured. <br />
<br />
As I read through the post this paragraph jumped out at me: <i>“The only daughter of Rebecca, who for many years was regarded as mentally unbalanced due to a siege of scarlet fever, fell heir to all the Warren acreage. She was finally judged sane and left her estate to the Warren family, after giving a large slice to a German housekeeper who had cared for her in her last days.”</i> I realized that the “German housekeeper” was my husband’s great grandmother, Anna Blanck. <br />
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I still don’t know how the Blancks came to live in the house and take care of Henrietta. They owned land a little bit east of the Johnson land, and Charles Blanck was a chemist/pharmacist by trade. They had a fairly well to do middle-class lifestyle and I’m not sure Anna would have termed herself a “German housekeeper.” <br />
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I also can’t shed any light on the mystery of when or how the house disappeared. My father-in-law passed away several years ago, his mother, Emma, died in 1977, just three years after my wedding. And I would not have thought to ask her about the house anyway at that time of my life! The land left to the Blanck family by Henrietta was behind the old Warren house. They built a home on the land facing Lakewood Hts. Blvd. Anna then sold the land and house to her daughter Emma and her husband, Angus Stewart MacKeigan. My father in law was born and raised in that “new” house, and it still stands there today. But, of course, it does not hold the significance that the old Isaac Warren home had. I am hoping the “moved house” theory is correct and someone locates the lost house that holds so much history for both my family personally, as well as the greater community.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6708206119/" title="Emma Blanck and unknown friend, circa 1915 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6708206119_df50d23493.jpg" width="320" height="500" alt="Emma Blanck and unknown friend, circa 1915"></a><br />
Emma Blanck and unknown friend outside the Warren House, circa 1915.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6701111697/" title="Anna Meister Blanck by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6701111697_783b4f7144.jpg" width="280" height="500" alt="Anna Meister Blanck"></a><br />
Anna Meister Blanck, in the dining room of the Warren house.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6701112219/" title="Emma Blanck by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6701112219_75fcdc6d47.jpg" width="283" height="500" alt="Emma Blanck"></a><br />
Emma Blanck, in the dining room of the Warren house.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6701112499/" title="Charles and Anna Blanck, Henrietta Johnson (presumably) by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6701112499_6df200c4b0.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="Charles and Anna Blanck, Henrietta Johnson (presumably)"></a><br />
Charles and Anna Blanck and Henrietta Johnson (presumably).<br />
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<hr>I want to thank Judy MacKeigan for sharing these family photographs, and for providing us more insight into this part of our history. If you have photographs or other materials that might provide further insight into the stories covered here, please contact ClevelandAreaHistory@gmail.comChristopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-31274332635331966632012-01-06T11:12:00.000-05:002012-01-06T11:12:49.141-05:00Envisioning a Village, 150 Years Ago<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4968002005/" title="Village of Wellington by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img alt="Village of Wellington" height="379px" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4128/4968002005_8c08475d54.jpg" width="500px" /></a><br />
<small><i>Village of Wellington</i>, a painting by Archibald Willard, 1857. Image used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/u?/p267401coll36,23184" rel="nofollow">Herrick Memorial Library and Ohio Memory</a>.</small><br />
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One of the hard parts of illustrating the history of this area prior to the advent of color photography is obtaining compelling images to help tell the story. While black and white photographs can provide an excellent record, works in color are, to my eyes, much more attention-grabbing. They make me feel like I'm actually there.<br />
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I came across this painting ages ago - I'm not sure how I managed to forget about it. The canvas, painted by Archibald Willard in 1857, depicts the village of Wellington, in Lorain County.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6647508961/" title="The Spirit of '76 by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img alt="The Spirit of '76" height="500px" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6647508961_bcae22d869.jpg" width="409px" /></a><br />
<small><i>The Spirit of '76</i>, a painting by Archibald Willard, 1916. <br />
Image used courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ohiomemory.org/u?/p267401coll36,20831" rel="nofollow">Herrick Memorial Library and Ohio Memory</a>.</small><br />
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Archibald Willard, a native of northeast Ohio, is best known for the patriotic painting, <i>The Spirit of '76</i>, which he painted several versions of - the first being for the 1876 Columbian Exposition.<br />
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Willard's painting of Wellington illustrates a view of a city that still resembled a New England village, with rows of houses and a couple churches facing a central green. His vantage point was from the corner of Magyar Street, looking north on Main Street. <br />
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Wellington retains the village green, and some of the structures shown in the painting. Large trees now growing on the green prevent one from attempting to capture the same angle today. <br />
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Archibald Willard's rendering provides a way to visualize the historic appearance other town centers throughout the region.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140721014134558960.post-75625918556418140632011-12-14T15:29:00.000-05:002011-12-14T15:29:01.336-05:00Inside Our Most Important Early Industrial Landmark<big><big>The Luster Tannery</big></big><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/4467028457/" title="Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4057/4467028457_9293fb06ea.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Luster Tannery"></a><br />
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In March of 2010, I provided a detailed history of <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/03/luster-tannery.html">the Luster Tannery</a>, a finely-crafted stone building at 16360 Euclid Avenue. The structure, built circa 1850, was used for tanning animal hides into leather. Samuel Luster chose this location to built the tannery because of the proximity to Nine Mile Creek, which he divereted to provide the water needed for the tanning vats in the basement. <br />
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The building is especially large, given the time it was built - about 4400 square feet - twice as large (or more) than any stone building (churches excepted) this old in Cleveland or any of the immediately surrounding communities. It was surely a major landmark when built - and today, represents an important landmark of the transition between an agricultural and industrial economy. It is, quite simply, the most important unrecognized 19th century structure in Cuyahoga County.<br />
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<hr>When I first <a href="http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2010/03/luster-tannery.html">wrote about it</a>, I noted that the building seemed abandoned, and that the back taxes, now more than $30,000, were the biggest obstacle to doing anything with the property. <br />
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The biggest obstacle <i>I</i> faced, however, was that I had no idea as to the interior condition of the property. What did it look like? What historic details remained? How could this information help me to better illuminate this significant piece of our history?<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6507914075/" title="First floor, front room, Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6507914075_abd22dabe5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="First floor, front room, Luster Tannery"></a><br />
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A couple of <i>Cleveland Area History</i> readers did a considerable amount of legwork and tracked down the owner of the property and obtained the owner's permission to go inside. Further, these colleagues found someone with a key to the building!<br />
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I'd been waiting for this day for ages. I knew that the tannery itself would reveal all sorts of heretofore details, and that the clues present would help explain so many unanswered questions. The way the basement was built would help reveal the path of the diverted stream. Perhaps the tanning vats, too difficult to remove, would still be present!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508001219/" title="Structural detail, attic, Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6508001219_b78a93c4a8.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="Structural detail, attic, Luster Tannery"></a><br />
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My quest for historic detail took me to the attic. Here, part of the original structure was revealed - in the form of a beam cut out to make for more storage space. This was not an isolated case - it was done to most of the beams supporting the roof. Said beams were replaced with lighter-weight lumber, which, with one exception (where there was a leak)seemed to be holding up well. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508013347/" title="Structural detail, attic, Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6508013347_b2d50ef105.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Structural detail, attic, Luster Tannery"></a><br />
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Other structural details were revealed here - though I'm not sure quite what they mean. <br />
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Astute readers will notice that I haven't talked much about the rest of the interior. That's because, while I have <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=44495293@N00&q=luster%20tannery%20interior">plenty of photographs</a>, there really isn't much to see. The interior has been remodeled so many times that much of the historic detail has been obliterated. Even the ceiling joists on the first and second floors are replacements. <br />
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The basement, which I had such high hopes for, is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6508027523/">covered with concrete block</a>. Elsewhere, walls are covered by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6507980031/in/photostream">paneling</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6507977169/in/photostream/">drywall</a>, concealing some part of the story. <br />
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In some ways, the lack of remaining detail might be seen as an asset - as one might make it serve any number of uses without loss of historic material. That said, I'm sure that, underneath the various remodelings, there's original material that will help tell the story of the Luster Tannery - and whoever does the demolition will need to be sensitive to this. <br />
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This building could be repurposed in any number number of ways while retaining its historic presence. <br />
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<hr><iframe width="500" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004b404916a8f4a5e91f&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=41.545569,-81.56523&spn=0.001405,0.002682&z=18&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202421754016880598596.0004b404916a8f4a5e91f&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=41.545569,-81.56523&spn=0.001405,0.002682&z=18&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">The Luster Tannery</a> in a larger map</small><br />
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This map may help to illustrate the landscape as it was in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6510794077/in/set-72157623714737964/">1926</a>. In red there's the Luster Tannery, on the parcels currently owned by Immaculate Dry Cleaning. In blue, one can see Nine Mile Creek, coming down from the Heights and then heading under Euclid Avenue. (At an unknown date, but before 1950, Nine Mile Creek was put into a culvert and covered with fill.)<br />
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Nine Mile Creek was not a tiny stream. If the scale on the Sanborn fire insurance maps I've utized is correct (and I have no reason to believe it isn't - they're generally quite accurate), it was a good 20+ feet wide. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/6507885893/" title="Detail of concrete block wing, Luster Tannery by Christopher Busta-Peck, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6507885893_40802d6dce.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Detail of concrete block wing, Luster Tannery"></a><br />
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Try to imagine the tannery itself as it might have been then. The first floor would have had a row of windows, just like the second floor. And below the first floor, there would have been another story! This basement, half exposed on the hillside, is where the tanning vats would have been located. The stream would have been diverted through the wall at one point and out at another. This structure is probably all still present - it's just covered by dirt and fill.<br />
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<hr>Here's my vision: A new owner could obtain the tannery, at very low cost, through the Cuyahoga County Land Bank. He or she would replace the roof and gutters and remove the additions to the structure, as they are now quite deteriorated. <br />
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Over time, as they became available, he or she could obtain the other parcels that make up this block, bordered by Euclid, Hillsboro, and Belvoir - an acre all told. After removing the existing structures on the other parcels, the new owner could remove the fill that's been added over the years, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylighting_(streams)">daylighting</a> Nine Mile Creek and revealing the hidden parts of the tannery.<br />
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You'd have a historic structure and the recreation of a historic landscape - it's an intresting vision. Further, you'd be almost next door to the most impressive early cemetery in the city or any of the inner-ring suburbs - <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethe/sets/72157627709474520/">First Presbyterian (Nelaview)</a>. Surely some benefit could come from the proximity between the cemetery and this industrial landmark.Christopher Busta-Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15428701548572867797noreply@blogger.com3