Cotillion Soiree Held in 1850

At the top of the invitation to the Cotillion Soiree held on December 11, 1850 at the Townsend House in Sandusky is a portion of a poem by Milton.  It reads:

Come, and trip it as you go,

On the light fantastic toe.

(From this poem, to “trip the light fantastic” became a way of describing dancing.)  

The Townsend House, which opened in the 1840s, was at the northwest corner of Market and Decatur Streets.

A young Rush R. Sloane was one of the floor managers of the Cotillion Soiree. He would later go on to build the Sloane House hotel, and serve as Mayor of Sandusky. He was also known for his bold abolitionist views and actions during the time of the Underground Railroad.

image from the Internet Archive

Other floor managers of the Soiree were: John W. Wetherell and G.J. Francisco. Honorary managers were Ebenezer B. Sadler, E.S. Flint, Pitt Cooke, J.G. Camp, Jr., J.E. Follett, and Theodore Hosmer. These were some of the earliest and best known pioneer residents of Sandusky. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research to learn more about the history of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Festival of the Flower Queen

On Tuesday evening, August 14, 1860, a performance of the Festival of the Flower Queen was held at Norman Hall, under the direction of Professor A.B. Chase of Cleveland, Ohio; he had directed productions of the same play in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1858, and in Cleveland in 1859.

The musical performance featured seventy five young ladies from the Sandusky area, all appearing in beautiful costumes which represented different flowers. Featured performers were: Josephine Chapman, Sarah Parish, Kate Burton, Sarah Monroe, Amelia Brainard, Nettie Wetherell, Alice Hard, Fanny Barney, Alice Porter, Jennie McGee, Lina Mills, Kate Monroe, and Miss Sallie Reber. The theme of the musical was that the flowers were meeting in a dell in order to choose their queen. A recluse, played by Professor Chase, was discontented with life. In song, the flowers told the recluse about love and duty, and by end of the performance he was ready to return to society among his fellow creatures.

The August 15, 1860 issue of the Sandusky Daily Commercial Register reported that the performance at Norman Hall was a “a most decided success in every way.” The article stated that the Daisy, who was played by Sallie Reber, was coaxed into an encore song; she would later go on to be a popular performer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in New York. 

The Graduating Class of Sandusky High School, 1872

Pictured above are several members of Sandusky High School’s graduating class of 1872. In the front row are: Lula Hayes; Sarah Lawler; Charles McLouth and Antonia Springer. In the middle row are: Hattie Miller; Frank Barker; Emma Hages; Robert Walsh and Eunice Williams. In the back row are: Ella Rayl ; Alex Camp; Emma Alder; Hattie Keech; Henry Moore; Laura Wetherell; Alice Kinney and Ella Kelham. 

By 1876, Ella Kelham was an elementary school teacher for Sandusky City Schools. Frank Barker became the city clerk of Sandusky, and he married Laura Cooke, the niece of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. (Barker Street in Sandusky was named for Frank Barker’s ancestors.) Hattie Keech was the daughter of Sandusky businessman and philanthropist, C.C. Keech. She would go on to marry Edmund H. Zurhorst, who was very active in politics in Sandusky. Alice Kinney was the daughter of newspaper publisher J.C. Kinney, and Alex Camp’s ancestors were instrumental in the founding of the city of Sandusky. These students were all born before the Civil War, and most lived well into the twentieth century.  They saw many changes in technology in their lifetimes. 

To see more historical photographs from Sandusky and Erie County, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, on the lower level of the Sandusky Library.

The Former Home of W.W. Wetherell

Razed in 1997, the building that once stood at 507 Wayne Street had many different purposes throughout the many years of its existence. William W. Wetherell, the former proprietor of the Fulton Car Works built this red brick house about 1850. The Fulton Car Works was a business which manufactured wooden railroad cars for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad and other railroads. W.W. Wetherell was an early church leader and a strong opponent of slavery. He served as Mayor of Sandusky in the mid-1840s and was City Clerk in his later years; he died on March 4, 1884 at the age of 72, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery. 

The Samuel Butler family lived here from about 1859 to 1876. George A. Marsh lived here through the rest of the 1890s. After Mrs. Marsh died in 1905, the house became the home of the H.W. Parsons family. Mr. Parsons was with the American Banking and Trust Company, and the Vim Motor Company. 

From about 1910 through the mid-1930s, the property at 507 Wayne Street was the property of the Sunyendeand Club, a men’s social club made up of prominent Sandusky residents.

From 1939 and into the early 1940s, the International School of Art leased this property. In an article that appeared in the April 30, 1977 issue of the Sandusky Register, a former Sandusky resident recalled her memories of the School of Art. She said that Elma Pratt filled the rooms with wall hangings, ceramics and art objects from all over the world. At the same time Elmer Frank taught music classes to a number of students. In the early days of the Sandusky Choral Society, the group rehearsed in the ballroom upstairs. In 1944, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Sharpe operated a nursing home in the building. Through the years, several different nursing homes were in business here. The building at 507 Wayne Street was razed on April 30, 1977.