Lange Brothers' Harness Shop

In 1873, Adolph P. Lange was working as a harness maker for C. V. Wagner in Sandusky, Ohio. By 1878 Adolph P. Lange and his brother F.R. Lange were operating the Lange Brothers Harness Shop on Jackson Street. Pictured above are Adolph P. Lange (left) and his brother in law. (House numbers in Sandusky changed in 1880 and in 1915, but in 1900 the address of the Lange Brothers’ business was 122 Jackson Street.) In the early part of the twentieth century, shoes were also sold at the Lange Brothers Harness Shop. A popular line of shoes at the Lange Brothers shop was the “Wear U Well” brand. The Lange Brothers harness shop was in operation until the mid 1920’s.

Both Adolph P. Lange and F. R. Lange died in 1926. Adolph’s son, Norbert Adolph Lange, was a chemistry professor who is known for writing the classic text Handbook of Chemistry. In 1959 Dr. Norbert A. Lange and his wife, Marion Cleaveland Lange translated Dr. Von Schulenburg’s book Sandusky Einst und Jetzt into English. The title in English is Sandusky Then and Now. This valuable local history resource provides information about Sandusky’s earliest settlers of German descent.

Dr. Norbert A. and Marion Cleaveland Lange were also the generous donors of the Lange Trust, which provides for “The promotion of cultural and educational enterprises in the City of Sandusky, Ohio, and the adjacent area within Erie County, Ohio.”