John C. Zollinger, Civil War Veteran, Businessman, Humanitarian

According to the October 28, 1924 issue of the Sandusky Register, John C. Zollinger was one of the oldest native born Sandusky residents at the time of his death at age 82 in 1924. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Zollinger, both natives of Germany. 

As a young man, he worked in the dry goods business, first for Everett Cooke and Company, and later for C.E. and G.A. Cooke. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Zollinger enlisted in Company G of the 65th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During the war, he took part in many engagements, including battles at Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River, Missionary Ridge, as well as the siege of Atlanta. After the war’s end, Mr. Zollinger was reenlisted and served as an officer with a regiment that was sent to Texas. Hewson Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio stated that he achieved his commission as captain; the 1890 Census of United States Union Veterans lists his highest rank as Full Quartermaster. 

After the war, in September 1866, he married Paulina Lerch. 

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Zollinger had many different occupations and civic interests. In 1880, the U.S. Census listed him as a merchant. Later he was in a partnership with Frederick Ohlemacher in the lime business. In the late 1890s, he was in the fish business with Louis Adolph. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Zollinger were very active in the Erie County Humane Society. A resolution from the Erie County Humane Society, which appeared in the Sandusky Star Journal of January 22, 1925, read in part, about Mr. Zollinger, “Nothing stirred him so deeply as cruelty to either to persons or animals, and he was ever ready to help protect the defenseless and helpless. Mr. and Mrs. Zollinger not only devoted much of their lives to the work of the society, but gave in addition thereto thousands of dollars for its support, although they were in very moderate circumstances.” 

For several years, Mr. Zollinger served as president of the Castalia Trout Club. In 1893, he presented 44 adult brook trout from the Castalia Trout Club to J.J. Stranahan, superintendent of the United States Fish Commission at the Put in Bay station, for the purpose of being placed in the Fish and Fisheries Exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 

In 1875, he was the master of the Science Lodge, No. 50, F.and A.M. When the Science Lodge celebrated its centennial, John C. Zollinger was the oldest living past master, and he gave reminiscences at the celebration.

Sandusky Star Journal, October 18, 1919

On October 26, 1924, John C. Zollinger died after a lengthy illness. The Sandusky Register published a lengthy obituary in the October 28, 1924 issue. He was survived three sisters and two brothers. Mrs. Paulina (Lerch) Zollinger had passed away in 1904. Funeral services for Mr. Zollinger were held at the Masonic Temple in Sandusky, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

Daniel Kunz, German Immigrant and Business Owner

Daniel Kunz (sometimes spelled Kuntz) was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1845 to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Kunz. He emigrated to the United States as a youngster. In 1866, he married Christine Gilcher, the daughter of Peter Gilcher, a pioneer settler of Sandusky also of German descent. By 1867, he was working as a barber in Sandusky on Water Street (between Columbus Ave. and Jackson St), where he also operated a bath house. 

Lime kilns were prominent along the Sandusky waterfront in the 19th century

In 1878 Daniel Kunz began a new business venture when he built lime kilns at the foot of Hancock Street. A steam barge was named for him in 1888, built in Sandusky by Savord and Ratti. By 1890 Mr. Kunz had several business ventures underway. He was president of the Lake Erie Coal and Transit Company, president of the Point Marblehead Lime Company, and he was a partner in Kunz and Johnson, stone dealers. 

In 1900 he purchased property that had been occupied by the National House hotel at the northwest corner of Market and Wayne Streets. He had the hotel razed, and built a multi-story brick building. At the street level was commercial property with large glass windows that would be home to the Cohn's department store for many years. On the upper floors were apartments that could be reached by either stairs or an elevator. Each apartment was modern, with hot and hot running water, steam heat, and a gas range in each kitchen. The Kunz block can be seen below on the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, across from the Lea block, which is still there today.

Mr. Kunz was president of the Home Savings and Loan Company of Sandusky in 1903. After his wife died, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, to make his home with his daughter. 

In April, 1935 the Sandusky Masonic Bulletin, edited by Dr. C.H. Merz, announced that Mr. Kunz had recently celebrated his 90th birthday. At the time of his death in 1938, he was the oldest living member of Perseverance Lodge, 329, F. & A.M. He had been prominent on Masonic circles for several years. Mr. Kunz was survived by a son, three daughters, and several grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Graveside funeral services were conducted by Rev. Donald Wonders, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Plaque Honoring Sandusky’s Pioneers

 You might have driven past this monument many times and not noticed it, but it deserves recognition. It is a tribute to the founders of Sandusky.

On June 25, 1937 members of the Martha Pitkin Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution unveiled a plaque honoring several of Sandusky’s pioneer citizens at the triangular park located between Huron Avenue, Wayne, and East Adams Streets. The bronze plaque, created by A. J. Balconi, was placed on a three ton boulder at the park.

Names on the top portion of the plaque include the founders of Sandusky:  Zalmon Wildman, Isaac Mills, and George Hoadley. On the bottom portion are the names of the nine men who directed the incorporation of Sandusky as a city in 1824. They were: Dr. George Anderson, Aaron C. Corbet, Cyrus W. Marsh, Alexander Clemons, Eleutheros Cooke, John Wheeler, William Townsend, William Kelly, and Moors Farwell, who served as Sandusky’s first mayor. Several of these men were Masons; an article in a 1937 issue of the Sandusky Masonic Bulletin recognized them and the construction and dedication of the monument

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the pioneer residents of Sandusky, Ohio. And be sure to stop and visit the monument in the park sometime.

Eighty-First Annual Assembly of the Grand Lodge of Ohio

Nielsen Opera House

On October 15 and 16, 1890, the 81^st Annual Assembly of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio convened in Sandusky, Ohio. The opening meeting was held at the Opera House, where Grand Master Leander Burdick gave the address. Masonic groups from all over the world sent greetings to the Ohio lodge members. Several committee reports were given, and officers were elected. During the evening hours, Lodge officers, members, and ladies were invited to a reception at the newly-built Sandusky Masonic Temple. Mr. W. G. Mellish gave a speech, and entertainment was provided by the Masonic Quartette and the Opera House Orchestra.

Sandusky Masonic Temple

Nearly 500 members attended the banquet on October 15, held at the Sloane House.

That same evening the Masonic Veterans Association of Ohio met at the Odd Fellows Hall in Sandusky. During their time in Sandusky, lodge members were invited to go fishing. Local lodge members arranged for boats and fishing tackle to be available to all visiting lodge members. 

You can read about the 81^st Annual Assembly of the Grand Lodge of Ohio in the October 16, 1890 issue of the Sandusky Register, available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Fathers from Sandusky

There are thousands of historical photographs in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, and of course many of them include men who were fathers. Above is a picture showing Daniel Hoffman, Sr. and five of his sons as they were inducted into the Masonic lodge in 1904. 

Here is a portrait of former Judge Ulysses Thompson Curran. 

Judge Curran was judge of the Probate Division of Erie County Court of Common Pleas from 1899 to 1905, and he had served as superintendent of schools in Sandusky 1872 to 1880. He was the father of well-known artist Charles Courtney Curran.

Below is a picture of George Schade as a young man. Mr. Schade was the father of Julian Schade and Christine Schade Mylander, and the grandfather of George Mylander.

       

He was associated with the coal business in Sandusky, as well as the Schade Theatre, and served as a Sandusky City Commissioner for many years in the 1920s and 1930s.  

Pictured on the 1903 postcard below are Horatio Linn and his young daughter Gertrude.

              

Mr. Linn was an educator in Erie County in the 1890s,  and later he was a newspaper publisher in Cleveland, Tennessee. 

The Rev. George Hewson Peeke was the minister of the Congregational Church in Sandusky in the 1880s. He was the first clergyman in Sandusky to advocate for the prohibition of liquor. He and his wife Margaret were the parents of attorney and author Hewson L. Peeke.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the past residents of Sandusky and Erie County.

Dedication of the Progressive Masonic Temple

On July 15, 1945 the Progressive Masonic Temple, home of Progress Lodge No. 85 F. and A.M., was dedicated. The building, located at 2012 Columbus Avenue, was purchased on May 29, 1944, and was remodeled and redecorated for lodge purposes.

The Progress Lodge No. 85 F. and A.M. began in the 1920s in Sandusky, and was said to be Sandusky’s oldest African American fraternal organization at the time of the dedication of the lodge building. The group met in 1945 on the first and third Monday of the month. In April of 1969, Charles Alexander and Clarence A. Carman were honored with a testimonial banquet; they were the only living charter members of the Progress Lodge 85 F. and A.M. in the spring of 1969. The building located at 2012 Columbus Avenue is now home to the New St. John Masonic Lodge, No. 192.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read about the formation of the first African American Lodge in Sandusky in the November 20, 1921 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, available on microfilm.

Sandusky’s Masonic Temple

In the picture above, hundreds of people have gathered for the laying of the cornerstone for the Masonic Temple, located at 302 Wayne Street, on June 24, 1889. Ellie Damm wrote in Treasure by the Bay that Sandusky’s Masonic building was made of buff sandstone and blue limestone, and built in the Second Romanesque-Revival style. H.C. Lindsay of Zanesville was the architect, and Adam Feick and Brothers were the builders.

The Science Lodge No. 50 F & AM was established in Sandusky in 1818. The first master of the lodge, Hector Kilbourne, platted the city of Sandusky in the pattern of the Masonic emblem. Former museum curator Helen Hansen holds a copy of the original plat map in this image.

In 1940, the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce had its offices in the street level of the Masonic Temple.

A fire damaged the roof and top floors of the Masonic Temple in January of 1943.

A view of the Sanduksy Masonic Temple in 1983 shows how the building was redesigned after the fire, with changes to the roof and removal of two towers:

Sandusky physician Dr. Charles Hope Merz was an outstanding Masonic scholar who wrote several Masonic books, and served as editor of the Masonic Bulletin in Sandusky for nearly twenty eight years. Guild Masonry in the Making, by Dr. Merz, is available full text at Google Books. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view several copies of The Sandusky Masonic Bulletin from the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Daniel Hoffman and Family Businesses

Beginning as Hoffman Coal and Milling Co., the Hoffman Coal Company served the Sandusky area for sixty-five years. In the 1890 city directory, Daniel Hoffman advertised as a dealer in coal and wood at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets. Later he also sold feed and grain. Daniel’s sons Charles J. and William H. Hoffman took over the business when Daniel retired. Brothers Fred and Daniel Hoffman, Jr. were also associated with the family coal business through the years. Charles and William Hoffman also owned the Electric Glass Cleaner Company in Sandusky.

Below, we see Daniel Hoffman, Sr. with his five sons, at their Masonic induction ceremony.
Charles J. Hoffman obtained a patent in 1901 for an elevating truck. The Sandusky Evening Star of August 31, 1903 stated that the handy combination truck is said to be a fine device, “combining all the requirements of elevator, store, mill and warehouse trucks.” This truck is featured prominently in an advertisement for his company, in the 1903 publication What (which also features stereotypes of the era).
The patent for this truck can be viewed online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The Hoffman family was well known in the Sandusky area. Charles J. Hoffman ran an ice cream and sandwich shop on Scott Street in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The figure “Puck” was located at this site. (You can see views of the shop with Puck on the roof, along with images of the Hoffman Coal Company, at a site operated by a private collector here.) Carlyle Hoffman grandson of Daniel Hoffman, Sr, was a lawyer with the Veterans Administration in Cleveland for many years, and granddaughter Dr. Kathryn E. Hoffman was a physician and surgeon in Cleveland.

Visit the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library to learn more about early area residents.