Map of Sandusky, Circa 1915

This map of Sandusky was printed about 1915, through the courtesy of the American Banking and Trust Company in Sandusky, Ohio. An ad attached to the map was sponsored by F.A. Purdy, who was the manager of the Sandusky Buick Company at that time.

The words “Proposed Park” appear at the site of what we now know as Battery Park. An article in the June 16, 1914 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that two thousands loads of dirt had recently been taken over to the proposed park area as fill. Plans were in place for shade trees to be planted in 1915. Sandusky City Service Director J.J. Molter stated that Battery Park would one day be a “beauty spot” of the city. This 1956 aerial view of Battery Park shows the layout of the park along Sandusky Bay.

In the 1915 map, there were docks along the waterfront for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Cedar Point, and the B and O Railroad. The old water works was still standing on Meigs Street, approximately where Sandusky’s municipal building is now. The areas between Fifth Street and Cleveland Rd., as well as between Cleveland Road and Milan Road were relatively undeveloped at this time. This postcard from the Perry Centennial in 1913 provides us with a festive view of Columbus Avenue in Sandusky a couple years before the map was printed.

Aerial View of Dutch Lane and Cove

Photographer and pilot Thomas Root took this aerial view of Dutch Lane and the surrounding area on June 7, 1959.  You can still see the railroad bridge in the upper right hand portion of the photo. The 1896 Erie County Atlas also shows the bridge on the map, as they lead to the B and O Railroad docks on Sandusky’s waterfront. The same tracks and bridge were in use by a number of different railways leading into downtown Sandusky since 1853, and remained in use until the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Click here to see this area as it appears on Google maps. The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center’s Tom Root Aerial Photograph Collection features several area photographs taken by Tom Root between 1949 and 2000.

Otto H. Schell, First Swim Coach of Sandusky High School

From 1928 to 1936, Otto H. Schell was the swimming coach at Sandusky High School. Mr. Schell can be seen the far left of the top row in the picture above of the SHS swimming team from the 1930 Fram. Besides coaching the Sandusky High School swim teams during the school year, Coach Schell supervised public playgrounds and beaches during the summer months. He sponsored swimming and diving championships at Battery Park in the 1930s.

In August of 1934, Otto H. Schell coached swimmer Florence Brushaber as she attempted to swim from Ontario, Canada to Cedar Point, Ohio, a distance of 32 miles. Florence stopped swimming after covering 14 miles, and was taken aboard a Coast Guard cutter. She had become numb and sick from the tossing waves. In July of 1934, Florence swam from Kelleys Island to Cedar Point, covering a distance of nine miles in a little over five hours. 

An article in the July 14, 1936 issue of the Sandusky Register highlighted Mr. Schell’s accomplishments while in Sandusky. The article read in part: “Coach Otto H. Schell, Sandusky High School swimming instructor, who has done much to promote public aquatic events over a period of eight years here, and recognized as one of Ohio’s foremost authorities on water sports and Red Cross Life Saving, will not return here this fall, it was announced Monday.” Coach Schell had met with almost immediate success when he became the swimming coach at Sandusky High School. During dual meets, Coach Schell’s teams won 21 of 37 contests. He was engaged in competitive swimming for many years before coming to Sandusky. Below is a medal that he earned at the Cleveland Swimming Carnival in 1922.

From 1938 until 1948, Otto H. Schell served as the superintendent of the Erie County Children’s Home in Sandusky. He retired from that position due to ill health. He died in 1952 and was buried at the Oak Hill Burial Park in Lakeland, Florida. His descendants donated several photographs and news clippings about Mr. Schell’s many years of participation in water sports. To see these items, inquire at the Reference Services desk at the Sandusky Library.

Winter Fun at Battery Park

People of all ages enjoyed sledding and skating at Battery Park during the winter of 1954.

Circa 1940:



View these and hundreds of other vintage photographs at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.