The Village of Enterprise

The small community of Enterprise was located in the southern section of Section 1 of Oxford Township, Erie County, Ohio, just north of the Huron River, as seen below on a portion of an historic map from the website of the Erie County Auditor.

The 1896 Erie County Atlas featured a small map of the village of Enterprise, which is now in  an area of rural Oxford Township. The village is no longer in existence. Some of the individuals who resided in or near Enterprise in 1896 were W.H. Newton, Urban Livengood, P. Huber and H. Root.

According to the Erie County Cemetery Census, Before 1909, there is a graveyard in the woods near the former village of Enterprise (now on private property.)  Only one stone remains intact - that of Clarinda Sayer, wife of Jedediah Sayer, who died May 22, 1841, at age 55 years. Others who are reported to have been buried in the graveyard in the woods near Enterprise include Jedediah Sayer, died 1841; Capt. Charles Parker, died 1812; Ira Parker, died 1812; and Samuel Seymour, died 1812.  

An article in the November 24, 1947 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News provides some history about some of the events of 1812, in an interesting history of the Milan area. There was once a military blockhouse near Enterprise, at the former farm of Charles Parker. It was there that, it is said, Samuel Seymour was murdered by Native Americans in the fall of 1812. Though the Village of Enterprise no longer remains, it once was a lively small community in the heartland of northern Ohio.

William P. Chapman, Pioneer Settler of Sandusky

William Pendleton Chapman was born in 1808, the son of Timothy Chapman and Nancy Pendleton, who were natives of Rhode Island. In 1834, William P. Chapman married Eliza Cross Pendleton in New London, Connecticut. Shortly after they were married, Mr. and Mrs. Chapman moved to Sandusky, where Mr. Chapman was the proprietor of a forwarding and shipping business. By 1862, he was the treasurer of the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad. His name was listed in a Railway Directory in 1862.

While serving as treasurer of the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad, Mr. Chapman and his family were given several railroad passes from several different railroads.

       

Besides being a busy business man, Mr. Chapman was active in the Grace Episcopal Church, where he had served on the very first church vestry. When church records began being kept for Grace Episcopal Church, it was William P. Chapman who painstakingly wrote them by hand.

When the church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1885, Chapman, along with Rice Harper, wrote a history of the congregation, which was partially reprinted in Hewson Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio (Lewis Publishing Company, 1916.) 

By 1869 William P. Chapman had entered into the wholesale fish business with John Strickland. Mrs. Eliza Chapman died in 1891, and Mr. Chapman died in 1893. Both were buried in the family lot at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. 

To learn more about William P. Chapman and his extended family, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, which holds letters from the Chapman and Pendleton families dating from 1843 to 1870. 

Goosman Transfer Company

Men and women in a Goosman Transfer Co. carriage in 1901.

In the late 1800’s, George and Peter Goosman operated a hack line and a livery service on Wayne Street. The hack service was prepared to take passengers to any part of Sandusky for the fee of twenty five cents. The hacks were stationed at Sandusky’s railway depots when the trains arrived in town, to be ready to transport travelers to their destination. The Goosman brothers also ran a livery service and sold feed at their business. 

In 1886 the Sandusky City Directory listed Nicholas and Peter as the operators of the livery stable and omnibus line. According to the July 26, 1901 Sandusky Daily Star, N.G. and Peter Goosman had operated the Goosman Transfer Company for twenty-five years, and the business offered hack service, baggage transfer, livery service, and storage. The Star article concluded with, “They have made this business what it is, and their able, energetic spirit has been instilled into their assistants to such effect that the whole enterprise is as smooth-running and as perfectly conducted as any business can be.” Up to 70 horses could be boarded at Goosman Brothers. 

An article in the Julius Kahn-Gus Hill Theatrical Guide and Moving Picture Directory, from 1903, stated that the Goosman Transfer Co. in Sandusky had special rates for theatrical companies. By 1903, the Goosman brothers had purchased electrical grooming tools for more efficient grooming of the horses in the livery. And by 1919, the son of Nicholas Goosman, Louis E. Goosman, had taken over the business, now known as the Goosman Cartage and Storage Company. You can see the sign for the L.E. Goosman Cartage and Transfer Company in in the picture below. In the 1930 Sandusky City Directory, Louis E. Goosman listed his services as freight transfer and moving, with pianos and machinery a specialty. At that time the offices and warehouse were at 1208-1210 Maple Avenue.

Louis E. Goosman retired in 1953 as the owner of the Goosman Cartage and Storage Company after a half century in the business. At the time of his death in 1968, he was believed to have been the last living livery stable operator in the city of Sandusky.

(Edited for corrections, September 10, 2018.)

Cordelia Hitchcock Stone

Cordelia Hitchcock was born in the state of New York to Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Hitchock. The family moved to Sandusky, Ohio, when Cordelia was quite young. In 1845, Cordelia’s name was listed as one of the ladies who attended the Teachers’ Institute of 1845.

On  June 5, 1851, Cordelia Hitchcock married Walter F. Stone, a lawyer who later became  a Justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio. From 1871 to 1875, Mrs. Cordelia Hitchcock Stone served on the board of the Sandusky Library Association. Judge Stone died in California on December 23,1874, leaving behind his wife and three children. 

After her health began to decline, Mrs. Stone moved to Pomona, Tennessee in hopes of improving her condition. She passed away in Tennessee on January 9, 1887. Her remains were returned to Sandusky for burial in Oakland Cemetery. An obituary which appeared in the January 11, 1887 issue of the Sandusky Register said about Mrs. Stone, in part:  “She was a leader in all charitable movements, a devoted church member and a lady of the most refined tastes and of many accomplishments.” Mrs. Stone was survived by two daughters and a son.  Rev. Peeke of the Congregational Church officiated at her funeral. 

Fathers from Sandusky

There are thousands of historical photographs in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, and of course many of them include men who were fathers. Above is a picture showing Daniel Hoffman, Sr. and five of his sons as they were inducted into the Masonic lodge in 1904. 

Here is a portrait of former Judge Ulysses Thompson Curran. 

Judge Curran was judge of the Probate Division of Erie County Court of Common Pleas from 1899 to 1905, and he had served as superintendent of schools in Sandusky 1872 to 1880. He was the father of well-known artist Charles Courtney Curran.

Below is a picture of George Schade as a young man. Mr. Schade was the father of Julian Schade and Christine Schade Mylander, and the grandfather of George Mylander.

       

He was associated with the coal business in Sandusky, as well as the Schade Theatre, and served as a Sandusky City Commissioner for many years in the 1920s and 1930s.  

Pictured on the 1903 postcard below are Horatio Linn and his young daughter Gertrude.

              

Mr. Linn was an educator in Erie County in the 1890s,  and later he was a newspaper publisher in Cleveland, Tennessee. 

The Rev. George Hewson Peeke was the minister of the Congregational Church in Sandusky in the 1880s. He was the first clergyman in Sandusky to advocate for the prohibition of liquor. He and his wife Margaret were the parents of attorney and author Hewson L. Peeke.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the past residents of Sandusky and Erie County.

The Alvord & Peters Company

The Alvord & Peters Company was formed in 1898 to engage in job printing. The map of Sandusky pictured above was published by Alvord & Peters in 1898. In 1904 this company was incorporated by A.J. Peters, F.E. Alvord, and Cornelius Nielsen. Prior to incorporating, Alvord and Peters had acquired the Sandusky newspaper known as the Star. In 1904, the company also acquired the Journal, and the two newspapers were merged, to form the Sandusky Star Journal.

While the Sandusky Register was known as a newspaper with Republican views, the Sandusky Star Journal promoted Democratic  politics. 

In 1914, Alvord & Peters published Sandusky High School’s Victory Song, which was written by Lloyd Weninger.

A new building was built for the Star Journal in the early 1920s.

Albert James Peters  died in 1929, at the age of 59. 

After the death of A. J. Peters, Mr. F. E. Alvord severed ties with the Alvord & Peters Company. Records on file at the Ohio Secretary of State indicate that the Alvord & Peters Company went out of existence in November of 1929. The Sandusky Register is now housed in the building that had originally been built for the Sandusky Star Journal. 

Former Fire Stations at Market and Lawrence Streets

The first fire station at the corner of West Market and Lawrence Streets was built about 1873. For many years this station was known as Fire House Number 2. The large iron numeral that was on the building is now a part of the historical collections of the Follett House Museum. You can see the numeral 2 over the door in the picture above.

A new fire station opened in November of 1915 at West Market and Lawrence Streets, at the site of the former station.  Some of the stone from the old city hall on Market Street, which had been partially destroyed in a fire, was used in the building of the new station, helping to offset construction costs.  H.C. Millot was the architect for the new fire station, and Schnurr and Walsh Brothers were the contractors. The city greenhouse loaned flowers from the greenhouse for its grand opening. You can read all about the opening of the new fire station in the Sandusky Register of February 26, 1915.

      

Mound Photographers took this picture of the fire station at the northwest corner of Market and Lawrence in June, 1944. In the picture, from left to right, are: A. Boesch, W. Herb, L. Seitz, G. Rehfuss, Capt., S. Bickley, electrician, Wilson McLaughlin, Fire Chief, C. Owen, assistant chief, L. Speir, Lieut., W. Collumb, C. Keller, Lieut., A. Hansen, and M. Johnson. Chief Wilson McLaughlin was well known and respected in the city of Sandusky. He had a long career with the Sandusky Fire Department, from 1919 to 1959.  In 1945, Chief McLaughlin was awarded the second annual award of the Sandusky Safety Council.

An article in the February 27, 1945 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News reported that “Chief McLaughlin has given of himself without thought of renumeration or recognition and contributed mightily to the success of our campaign to make Sandusky and Erie County a safe place in which to live and work.”  The former fire station at Market and Lawrence Streets no longer serves as a fire station, since the opening of the new Sandusky Fire Station at 600 West Market Street in 2002. It is now privately owned. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about the history of the Sandusky Fire Department.

Vintage Postcards from Hotels at Cedar Point

According to the book Cedar Point: the Queen of American Watering Places, by David W. and Diane DeMali Francis, the White House hotel was the second hotel at the Cedar Point resort. The smaller Bay Shore hotel had been constructed in 1899, and was used as a boarding house after the White House hotel opened in 1901 with fifty-five rooms. By 1903, the White House hotel expanded to one hundred twenty-five rooms. At the same time, cottages were available for rent at Cedar Point. In 1915, the White House hotel was expanded again, and became known as the Cedars Hotel.

        

The Cedars Hotel had seven sections that were connected by walkways. Here is a postcard that features a “cozy corner” of the Cedars:

 

Today, part of the former Cedars Hotel serves as employee housing. 

The Hotel Breakers opened in 1905, and remains as an important part of Cedar Point today.

          

The original lobby of the Breakers featured chandeliers and stained glass windows created by Tiffany artists.  You can read about the renovations made to Hotel Breakers in 2015 in an article from the Sandusky Register from May 4, 2015. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the rich history of Cedar Point.

People Living in Non-Traditional Homes Described in U.S. Census Records

When searching for ancestors in United States Census records, you may find them residing in a location other than a traditional family home. Since 1888, many U.S. Veterans have made their home at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, now known as the Ohio Veterans Home. Below is a portion of the 1910 Census Page for this Home, in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. In these listings, you find the person’s name, place of birth, and occupation, and information about where their parents were born.

For many years, the Children’s Home provided a home for children in Erie County whose parents could not adequately provide for them.

Census records enumerated in 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 list the residents of the Erie County Children’s Home on the day of the enumeration. Some of the residents of the Home are listed below in the 1920 U.S. Census. Listings include staff members, as well as the names of  the children for whom they cared.

In 1930, Sheriff John W. Taylor and his family lived at the Erie County Jail, which now is a part of the Sandusky Library. The Census shows John W. Parker, occupation Sheriff, along with his wife and three children. The names of the prisoners residing at the Erie County Jail at the time of the 1930 Census enumeration are provided on the next page.

Other types of facilities that included in the U.S. Census are hospitals, mental institutions, boarding schools, county homes, convents and monasteries, just to name a few. Don’t give up on finding your ancestor in the Census, if they do not turn where you expect to find them. In nineteenth century census records, teenagers and young adults often worked as farm hands or domestic employees, and were enumerated with the families who provided them with a home.

Early Transportation in Sandusky had Horse Power

In the 1820s  mail was delivered to Sandusky by the mail stage. Passengers, as well as the U.S. mail, were transported from Sandusky to Norwalk, Mansfield, Mount Vernon and on to Columbus and then back again. Of course, since Ohio was known as the Gateway State, many families traveled by horse and covered wagons through Ohio as they made their way to the west. People who traveled to Sandusky could board a steamer to several different port cities along the Great Lakes. 

Pioneer Sandusky residents recognized the importance of railroad transportation, and showed interest in railway lines being developed in Sandusky as early as 1826. Ground was broken for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad in 1835; it began running from Sandusky to Bellevue in 1838, with trains pulled by the Sandusky Locomotive, the first locomotive with a steam whistle. Rail transportation made it easier for people to travel longer distances, and enabled the shipping of products, which in turn boosted local economies. 

In 1882 the first intra-city transportation route was begun by Charles and William H. Gilcher. It was known as the "herdic lines." Horse drawn passenger vehicles took people along three different local routes. The first route operated from the West House downtown to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway depot on the south side of town. The second route traveled from the West House to Oakland Cemetery. The third route was an east-west route from the city’s waterworks to Tiffin and Mills Streets. The Sandusky Railway was  the first street railway in Sandusky. It was begun in 1883 by L.D. Alcott, and featured fourteen-passenger side-seat cars that were pulled by two-horse teams. The route was double tracked, and went from the West House to the depot on North Depot Street, and back to the West House. You can see several people gathered around Sandusky’s first streetcar in the picture below, taken in 1883 by W.A. Bishop.

    

J.O. Moss purchased the Sandusky Railway in 1885, and organized more lines across the city.  An article in the November 27, 1947 Twin Anniversary Edition of the Sandusky Register Star News,  reported that the first electric streetcar operated in Sandusky in 1889 from Scott Street to the Soldiers’ Home, and linked with a spur track from Hayes Avenue. The Peoples Electric Railway Line was built in 1890, with financial support mainly from Sandusky residents. The charter of the Sandusky, Milan and Huron Electric Railway, later the Sandusky, Milan and Norwalk Electric Railway, was applied for in 1892. The line began operating in May of 1893 and connected with the local Sandusky lines.

Eventually all the local streetcar lines were absorbed by the Lake Shore Electric Railway, which was replaced by bus service in the late 1930s. 

As automobiles became more popular, more area residents began to drive their own vehicles instead of relying on public transportation.

However, public transportation is once again available to Sandusky residents as well as visitors to the area aboard the Sandusky Transit System, which operates three lines in the immediate Sandusky area. Sandusky’s Amtrak station operates out of the depot originally built for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. Several area boat lines also provide service to Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Islands. You can read more about the history of transportation in Sandusky, Ohio in the book Sandusky’s Yesterdays, by Charles E. Frohman.