The John Rice Miner House

A daguerreotype image taken around 1876

The home at the southeast corner of Fulton and Washington Streets in Sandusky, Ohio, was built in 1868 in the Italianate style. In the 1870s and 1880s, the family of John Rice Miner resided here. Mr. Miner was a vice president of the Sandusky Wheel Company. The address of this home prior to 1915 was 934 Washington Street. By the late 1890s, Mr. and Mrs. Miner had moved to Fresno County, California.

Through the years, the house was sometimes a private residence, with an apartment upstairs, but often it was home to a variety of businesses. In the early 1900s, the Gilbert Harris family lived in the house. When Mr. Gilbert died in 1905, the Sandusky Register featured an obituary of the prominent businessman.

In 1937 Dr. James D. Lea had his “optical parlors” at what by then was 618 West Washington Street.

From about 1942 through 1973, Brownworth’s Furniture was in business on the site. In this advertisement from the May 7, 1953 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News, it appears that Philco radios were a popular item at the business.

The Darr Chiropractic office was in the house for much of the decade of the 1990s. In more recent years, a legal office has been in operation at 618 West Washington Street. Here is a recent view of the former home of John Rice Miner:

From Google Maps

Visit the Sandusky Library to learn more about the residents of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Marriage of Mr. Albert Brownworth and Miss Theresa Casper

This ornate marriage certificate was issued to Albert Brownworth and Theresa Casper on August 12, 1903. The couple was united in marriage at St. Mary’s Church in Sandusky, Ohio by the Rev. Joseph S. Widmann. Several verses of scripture are found on the certificate, and at the bottom of the certificate is a phrase often used in marriage vows, “What therefor God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”  

An article in the August 12, 1903 issue of the Sandusky Evening Star reported that Albert Brownworth and Theresa Casper were married at 7:30 in the morning. Theresa was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Casper of 519 McDonough Street. She wore a gown of white mousseline de soie and carried a white prayer book. She was attended by Miss Louise Casper. Mr. Jacob Casper served as best man. A dinner was held in honor of the newlyweds on the evening of August 12, for relatives, close friends, and guests visiting from out of town. 

Albert Brownworth worked in the transportation industry for over fifty years. He was superintendent of equipment for the Lake Shore Electric Railway and the Lake Shore Coach Company. Mr. Brownworth died on June 8, 1962, and he was buried at Calvary Cemetery. Mrs. Theresa Brownworth passed away in October of 1967, at the age of 89. 

While we do not have a wedding picture of the happy couple, below is a picture of Albert Brownworth while he was at work. He is the man in the center of the picture.

Sandusky High Schools Girls Basketball Team of 1922

These young ladies were on the Sandusky High School girls basketball team during the academic year 1921-1922. In the back are: Hyacinth Brownworth, Ruth Thom, and Coach, Mrs. Carl Mackey. In the front are; Elsie Hofer, Betty Grulich, Ruth Laux, Vesta Dwelle, and Alyne Wiedenhaefer. All the members of the team earned a letter at an assembly held at Sandusky High School in March of 1922.

Hyacinth Brownworth, later Mrs. John Rheinegger, served as the Clerk of the Board of
Education of the Sandusky City Schools for several years. In 1957 Hyacinth Rheinegger was honored at a dinner party for “the meticulous and efficient way” she ran her office. Several school officials, past and present, attended the dinner at the Rockwell Springs Trout Club in her honor.

 

Holiday Dinner for Lake Shore Electric Railway Employees

The trainmen of the Lake Shore Electric Railway had a holiday dinner in a car barn in Fremont, Ohio on January 2, 1917. The only person identified is Joe Brownworth, the first person on the left. Elmer A. Whitney was the photographer. The Lake Shore Electric Railway was an interurban railway that ran between Cleveland and Toledo. It operated between 1901 and 1938, and was often called the streetcar.

For many years the Sandusky ticket office for the Lake Shore Electric Railway was in the Stone block at the southeast corner of Market Street and Columbus Avenue.

The Sandusky Library carries several books about the Lake Shore Electric Railway, including two authored by Harry Christiansen, and one by Herbert H. Harwood, Jr. and Robert S. Korach.