Lewis and Dwelle, Grocers

 

From the 1870s through the 1890s, the Lewis and Dwelle grocery store did business at the northeast corner of East Water Street and Columbus Avenue. In 1873 the address was 158 Water Street. By 1880 the street number had changed to 643 Water Street. The proprietors of the store were Lucius W. Lewis and Benjamin F. Dwelle. You can see the building in this 1876 image below, which was taken during the Independence Day celebration in downtown Sandusky. At this time, A.C. Platt had his photographic studio in the upper level of the building.

You can see the location of the grocery store at 643 Water Street in this view from an 1886 Sanborn Map. Railroad Street is now known as Shoreline Drive.

After the death of Lucius W. Lewis in 1889, his son W.L. Lewis took over his father's role in the grocery store. In 1895 the business was known as  Post, Lewis, Radcliffe & Dwelle. By 1896, W.L. Lewis was the sole proprietor. After his retirement, Benjamin Dwelle moved to Port Clinton, where he died in 1903 at age 85.

In Treasure by the Bay, Ellie Damm wrote that this spot was one of the prime locations for commercial property in Sandusky, because people congregated in the square nearby to meet trains or boats. The original building featured a rounded dormer along the roof line, and had a façade that was built in the Romanesque style. The building today has been substantially altered from its original form. From 1919 through the 1950s, the Moose Lodge was at this location. A multi-page advertisement in the October 20, 1938 issue of the Sandusky Register invited area residents to the newly renovated Moose Lodge. The building, which is now 101 East Water Street, is presently occupied by the Landmark Kitchen & Bar.

Stereograph Cards of the Lake Erie Islands, by A.C. Platt

A.C. Platt was a popular photographer in Sandusky, Ohio in the 1870s and 1880s. The stereograph image above shows the A.C. Platt photographic art gallery and party room at Put in Bay. Platt produced a series of stereographic views of scenes on the Lake Erie Islands.

Here is a stereograph card of the well-known Round House at Put in Bay:

While we do not know whose house is pictured, here is a view of the inside of a home at Put in Bay:

In Coewell’s (or possibly Crowell’s) Billiard hall, several gentlemen appear to be enjoying beverages, before they play pool:

The Atlantic Billiard Hall is featured in this stereograph card:

An article from the July 9, 1873 issue of the Sandusky Register reported on the opening of the Atlantic Billiard Hall. A transcription of the article reads:

On Put in Bay

Among the new attractions this year on Put-in-Bay is the new Atlantic Billiard Hall in Doller's new building. Mr. Fred Gill, the proprietor, has fitted up the room in an elegant and tasty manner. The main room is 50x100 feet, and contains six of Brunswick, Balke and Co.'s splendid billiard tables, finished in superb style, and provided with Phelan's patent cushions, than which there are no better made. There is a pocket table for ball pool, and also one for pin pool. Mr. Gill has taken great pains to make his establishment au attractive place, one which ladies can visit with propriety and never have occasion to regret it. We are of the opinion and earnestly trust that Mr. Gill will have a successful season, for he is of a very obliging disposition, and exerts himself to the utmost to please his patrons. In addition to his billiard room, he has fitted up a ladies parlor, where ladies can go and enjoy themselves sipping lemonades or cobblers to their heart's content, without fear of molestation. In a few days Mr. Gill will have another entrance to his place, on the south side, for the especial accommodation of ladies and their escorts. He has stocked his bar with the choicest of wines, liquors and cigars, and what is better does not charge exorbitant prices for anything. A visit to the Atlantic Billiard Hall will convince any one that what we have said is strictly true, and we can assure them that Mr. Gill, who is a courteous gentleman, will strive to make them feel at home. Give him a call when you are on Put-in-Bay.

"Mystery Photos" Taken by H.J. Epler

The photographs below were taken by photographer H.J. Epler in Sandusky, Ohio. Unfortunately we are not sure of the identity of these two individuals. All we know is that H. J. Epler took photographs of the men in Sandusky sometime between 1869 and 1873.

In the 1869 Sandusky City Directory, Harry J. Epler was listed as a photographer. He worked for A.C. Platt. In 1873 H.J. Epler was working on his own as a photographer. His studio was located at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Streets in downtown Sandusky.

Erie County Probate Court records show that H.J. Epler married H. L. Agard on June 25, 1872. Helen L. Agard’s  father, Dr. Aurelius Homer Agard, was a well known physician in Sandusky, Ohio from 1856 to 1875, when he moved to California.

According to the book Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900, from 1876 to 1880, Harry J. Epler worked with Edwin J. Howard in the Akron area. By 1900, H. J. Epler was living with his wife Helen and their two children Charlotte and Don in Saratoga Springs, New York. City directories there, published in 1888 and 1892, list Harrison J. Epler as a photographer with Thomas J. Arnold in Saratoga Springs. Census, vital records, and directories have listed  H. J. Epler’s first name as Henry, Harry, or Harrison. Records from Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs indicate that Harrison J. Epler died in 1909, and his wife, Helen Agard Epler died in 1931. They are both buried in the East Hillside section of Greenridge Cemetery.

Platt's Cemetery Stereographs

An article appearing in the May 20, 1875 issue of the Sandusky Register read:

Those who neglect to have stereographs of their cemetery lots taken while Mr. Platt is on the grounds will regret it when they see the beautiful pictures he is taking. Notice at Mr. Platt’s gallery some taken last week of Mr. Pitt Cooke’s and Mrs. Judge Caldwell’s grounds.

In 1875 A.C. Platt operated a photographic studio at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street in downtown Sandusky. Mr. Platt created a series of stereographic images that featured tombstones at Oakland Cemetery. The image above is a stereograph taken of the Townsend family lot in Block 9 of the cemetery. During the cholera epidemic in Sandusky in 1849, pioneer Sanduskian William T. Townsend, his wife Maria Lamson Townsend, their daughter Sarah, and a sister of Mrs. Townsend, all died from cholera between July 23 and July 31, 1849.

1879 Fair of the Erie County Agricultural Society

According to the Premium List for the Fair, the twenty-first annual fair of the Erie County Agricultural Society was held in Erie County at the Fairgrounds from September 23 to September 26, 1879.

Entries in the Annual Premium List provided the amount of cash awards to be given to residents of Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa and Huron Counties who competed at the Fair in a wide variety of categories, including livestock, farm implements, manufacturers’ products, fruits, vegetables, handmade clothing, quilting, embroidery, photography, and flower arranging. In the Educational Department, students and teachers were awarded diplomas for excelling in such fields as spelling, reading, attendance, and record keeping. Scattered throughout the Premium List are advertisements from local companies.

The Adams’ Buckeye Land Roller was manufactured by the Sandusky Tool Company at the time of the 1879 Fair. This particular piece of equipment was known for its durability, though simple in design.

The Sandusky Register provided excellent coverage of the activities at the Fair. A large article on page 4 of the September 26, 1879 paper reported on the events of September 25, when it was estimated that fifteen thousand people attended the Fair.

On Thursday, there were horse races held at the Fairgrounds, as well as several teams that competed in a Hook and Ladder Tournament. John Krupp, who exhibited several pieces of furniture, also had on display a burglar-proof air-tight grave vault which was designed for protection against grave robbers.

At the fair, William Dilger had a display of plants that included an orange tree, a rare philodendron and a bridal bouquet of rare beauty. Photographer A.C. Platt featured a life size crayon portrait of President Hayes and Dr. I.B. Massey in his exhibit. D.C. Richmond stated that at the 1879 fair was the largest and best display of apples he had ever seen at any fair. Henry Lange, a grape grower from Kelleys Island, showed fair visitors a five foot stem of Concord grapes which contained over sixty bunches of grapes. During the wheat binding competition, local businessman J.A. Hosmer attempted to place a live pig inside a hot air balloon. It turned out that the young pig became too restless, so it was removed from the balloon. It was decided instead to place business cards from area merchants, as well as a copy of the Sandusky Register and a publication from the Erie County Agricultural Society inside the hot air balloon. Fair crowds grew excited as the hot air balloon headed to the north, toward the Marblehead peninsula. To read much more about the exciting 1879 Fair, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center where you will find decades of local newspapers on microfilm, dating back to 1822.

Stereograph Cards by A.C. Platt

Stereographs are a pair of nearly identical images that give a three dimensional effect when viewed through a device called a stereoscope. Several stereographic cards are found in the collections of the Sandusky Library and the Follett House Museum. Above is a stereograph card of the Erie County Courthouse created by Sandusky photographer A.C. Platt, probably around 1876. A group of stereographs created by Mr. Platt were donated to the Sandusky Library by Mrs. John H. Jacques. The cards originally belonged to her father, Willis Merry. Mrs. Jacques was a direct descendant of Ebenezer Merry, a pioneer settler of the Firelands. A view of Sandusky High School and the old academy building can be seen in the stereograph card below. The academy building was used as a courthouse prior to the construction of the Erie County Courthouse in 1875. It was torn down in 1884.

This view of downtown Sandusky was taken from the upper level of the Erie County Courthouse. The steeples of the Congregational Church, then in Washington Park, are visible. This church was demolished in 1896, and a new church was built at the northwest corner of Columbus Avenue and Jefferson Street. In the background, you can see a portion of the Cedar Point peninsula

     In 1875, the first city water works was under construction, at Meigs and Washington Streets. Here you see construction scaffolding around the standpipe. If you look closely, you can see men at the top of the scaffolding.

Below is a view of the Sandusky’s waterfront in the early 1880s. The vessel Chief Justice Waite is partially obscured by an unidentified ship in Sandusky Bay.

   

Thanks to A.C. Platt’s stereograph cards, we can get a sense of what life was like in Sandusky in a bygone era.

Photograph Album of Sandusky High School Graduates, Class of 1902

In 1902, C. W. Platt had a photographic studio at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street in downtown Sandusky, which had been started by his father, A.C. Platt. C. W. Platt’s daughter Winifed H. Platt and her future husband Edward C. Schnaitter were both graduates of Sandusky High’s Class of 1902.

Miriam and Oliver Rinderle donated a photo album to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center which features individual portraits of each of the graduating seniors from the Sandusky High School class of 1902.

Unfortunately only four of the students’ pictures were identified in the album.  They are:

W. Leroy Slate

Alice Judson

Norma Zistel

and Frank Prout, who would later become Superintendent of Sandusky City Schools, from 1921 to 1939, and would serve as President of Bowling Green State University from 1939 to 1951.

Two African American young women graduated from Sandusky High School in 1902: Emeline Gilkeson and Iona Scott.

Other noteworthy students from Sandusky High’s class of 1902 were Dr. Walter Rieger, a physician who resided in Cleveland, and Mary Klingbiel, who became a nun and observed fifty years as a parochial educator in northern Ohio schools in 1957. After entering the Notre Dame order, Mary was known as Sister Mary Josephine. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view these and other vintage photographs of residents of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Interior Views of the John C. Kinney Home

Around 1884, prominent Sandusky photographer C.W. Platt took two photographs of a bay window at the home of John C. and Amelia (Clara) Kinney’s home at 710 Wayne Street in Sandusky. The Kinney home represented the decorating style of the Victorian era, which was noted for a great deal of ornamentation in the interior rooms of homes. An article in the January-February 2005 issue of the Old House Journal entitled “Bringing the Outdoors In,” stated that Victorians felt that bringing elements of nature indoors was important for health and emotional well-being. Indoor potted plants and climbing vines were very popular in the nineteenth century. Another view of the Kinney home shows a birdcage and family portraits. Even the pattern of the floor is ornate.

From 1866 until 1879, John C. Kinney was associated with the publishing of the Sandusky Journal newspaper. After his health began to fail, he took a position as a court stenographer. On February 1, 1888, John C. Kinney died at the age of 58. His funeral took place at his home at 710 Wayne Street. Burial was at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

A View of Meigs Street and the East Waterfront in 1876

In about 1876 photographer A.C. Platt created a series of stereoscopic views of the region, which he called The Isles of Lake Erie. Pictured above is a view on Sandusky which features Meigs Street and the waterfront. Sandusky resident Leroy Hinkey created a key to this image.

Sycamore School can be seen at the top right of the picture. Louis Zistel’s aquarium and boat livery are numbers 2 and 3 in the picture, adjacent to the Atlantic Gardens, also owned by Mr. Zistel. Two ice houses and residences, and several Sandusky businesses can also be seen in the picture. We are fortunate that Leroy Hinkey had the foresight to allow future Sandusky residents to have of a better understanding of life in Sandusky in a time gone by.

Frank "Casey" Casserly

On December 29, 1890, Frank J. Casserly was born in Sandusky, Ohio, to Michael and Julia Casserly, who were both natives of Ireland. Frank Casserly was the manager of the Shamrocks baseball team in Sandusky in the 1910’s. The picture above is a portion of the 1914 championship team photo. Below is a postcard of the Shamrocks team, though Baldy Platt appears to be wearing a jersey from the Sandusky Tool Company team.

Front row: Walter Wendt, Whitey Metzgar, Manager Frank “Casey” Casserly, George Kimball and Elmer Brengardner

Back row: Butch Eckler, George Dahm, Walter Appel, Norm Troike, team secretary-treasurer, Alde Broderson, Gordon Osgood, Baldy Platt, and Roy Kerber

An article in the August 26, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal referred to Manager Casserly as “the Connie Mack of Sandusky.” In the 1930’s he managed the Eagles baseball team, and he coached area football teams as well. In the Spring of 1935, Frank Casserly was struck by an automobile, and was hospitalized for several weeks. The Eagles sponsored a benefit to help with his medical expenses. In the 1940’s and early 1950’s, he was a popular bartender at Stone’s Grill and Jax Bar on Columbus Avenue.

On November 20, 1954, Frank J. “Casey” Casserly died after a lengthy illness. At the time of his death he was secretary-treasurer of the Bartenders Local No. 804. He was past president of the Eagles Lodge. Mr. Casserly was survived by his wife Minnie, and two daughters, Nancy and Julia. Charles J. Andres Sons’ was in charge of funeral arrangements, and burial was at St. Joseph Cemetery.

Stereographic Image of Downtown Sandusky

A.C. Platt created this stereograph card between 1877 and 1888. The photographer was looking north down Columbus Avenue toward Sandusky Bay. The former residence of Eleutheros Cooke can be seen at its original location at the northwest corner of Washington Row and Columbus Avenue. (Erie County offices are now at this location, which has a present day address of 247 Columbus Avenue.) Following the death of Mrs. Eleutheros Cooke in 1878, Rush Sloane acquired the Cooke home. Rush Sloane hired Jacob Biehl to take down the Cooke house and rebuild it at 1415 Columbus Avenue, as a wedding gift to Thomas M. Sloane and Sarah Cooke.

The Customs House and Post Office were located at the southwest corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street, where a parking garage stands today. You can see the station of the United States Signal Service on top of the West House which overlooks Sandusky Bay. James R. Davies had an insurance real estate business at 222 Columbus Avenue, adjacent to the Cooke block on the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Many other Sandusky businesses, banks, and public halls are also pictured on this image. Leroy Hinkey donated a collection of several stereographs and photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Hand Tinted Prints by C.W. Platt

Clayton Winfield Platt was the son of prominent Sandusky photographer A.C. Platt. Upon the death of his father in 1883, C.W. Platt took over his photographic gallery at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street. A.C. Platt had a fondness for the natural beauty of the Lake Erie Islands area, according to an article by Merlin D. Wolcott in volume 34 of the Inland Seas. It seems that C.W. Platt also enjoyed capturing scenes of the Lake Erie Islands area.

Several hand tinted matted prints of scenes from the Lake Erie Islands area were donated to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center by Allene Schnaitter, granddaughter of C. W. Platt.

The print below features the shoreline of Kelleys Island.

The steamer Lakeside is seen out on Lake Erie.

The Marblehead Lighthouse is a favorite destination for visitors and local residents.

A news article in the August 18, 1903 issue of the Sandusky Evening Star reported that C.W. Platt had sold his business to his former employee, C.G. Wildenthaler, due to declining health. C. W. Platt passed away in Cleveland, Ohio on January 4, 1914. He was buried in Oberlin, Ohio.