What Inspired Charles E. Frohman to Remain in His Hometown

 

Charles E. Frohman was a noted local historian and author. He wrote several books about Sandusky and Erie County, and the Lake Erie Islands region. He also authored local history articles in historical journals. Throughout his adult life, Mr. Frohman collected items of historical significance, and was considered an authority on the history of Sandusky, Ohio. The Charles E. Frohman index to the Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star Journal is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to know more about the history of Sandusky. While the original 3 x 5 cards of the index are on file at the R.B. Hayes Presidential Library, a microfilmed copy is available at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. It was while browsing through the Frohman index that this bit of information was located, which provides us with the reason Charles E. Frohman stated he wished to work in his home town.

It turns out that while he was in law school at Yale, Charles E. Frohman worked as an assistant to T.T. Morgan, then the treasurer of Good Samaritan Hospital. In earlier years, Mr. Morgan had been the president of the Brown Clutch Company.

 

Mr. Frohman said that he heard T.T. Morgan remark, “Too few Sandusky young men gave their home town a chance, but located elsewhere.”

That remark caused Frohman to turn his application in to the Sandusky law firm of King, Ramsey, Flynn and Pyle. On July 28, 1926, he was hired as an associate in the firm. Sandusky, Ohio is fortunate to claim both T.T. Morgan and Charles E. Frohman as past residents of Sandusky. Both men made significant contributions to the history of their community. While the bulk of the Charles E. Frohman collections were given to the R.B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums, several books by Mr. Frohman are available at the Sandusky Library.

Brown Clutch Company and Brown Industries

Though it is no longer in business, for many years the Brown Clutch Company, later Brown Industries, played an important role in several different lines of manufacturing. The Brown Clutch Company of Elyria, Ohio began doing business in Sandusky in 1907. It was located at the site of the former Dunbar Manufacturing facility at what is now 1737 Camp Street, where the Sandusky Automobile Company had been in business from 1902 to 1904. In the early years of the automobile industry, the Brown clutch was widely respected as a very reliable clutch, which allowed for the starting of a gasoline engine without moving all the machinery that was attached to the engine.

Later the company also manufactured gears for motorboats. 

T.T. Morgan was the general manager in 1908, and he became president of the company in 1913.

Under his leadership, the Brown Clutch Company grew from a small business to a manufacturing facility that was known all over the United States for its excellent workmanship. 

This is a view of the fly wheel with pulley, made by the Brown Clutch Company in the 1920s:

 

In the 1930s, the Brown Clutch Company became known as Brown Industries. After Oliver Rinderle, Sr. took over management, the company concentrated on foundry and pattern shop production. During World War II, over half of the production of  Brown Industries was devoted to heavy gasoline and diesel engine manifolds and cylinder heads, for use in tanks, trucks, cranes, shovels, marine unites, and many other motor-powered units which were valuable to the war effort. 

Brown Industries merged with the Sterling Foundry Company in 1972.  Today J & V Pallets is in operation at the site of the former Brown Industries. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view a 1922 catalog from the former Brown Clutch Company.

Mystery Image: Washington Park as it Never Was

We recently received a donation of a drawing of Washington Park from an out-of-town collector who has never been in Sandusky. She thought it would be an interesting item for our collections, showing a view of the city from 1921. It certainly is an interesting view -- but it is a scene that never existed in reality.

The image shows a slightly elevated view of Washington Park, from Wayne Street, down Washington Street. We can see several landmarks that were familiar to residents in 1921: on the left is Sandusky High School, with its top floor still there; beyond that we see the Erie County Courthouse as it looked before its remodeling in the 1930s; on the right is the Kingsbury Block, the Sloane House Hotel, Odd Fellows Hall, and the Presbyterian Church.

The strange part of this drawing is in the center of the picture: We see Washington Street as a boulevard, with landscaped medians and a monument at the center of the intersection with Jackson Street. Of course, this plan was never built, but what is the story behind its creation? What we do know about this drawing is that the donor found it in a photo album that was originally owned by Jessie A. Spieker-Fritz, who lived on Camp Street in Sandusky. The 1923 city directory says that she was a secretary for the Brown Clutch Company. This would help to explain how she came to have a copy of this drawing: In the lower right corner of the image, we see that the drawing was designed by T.T. Morgan and drawn by Charles Hottmann; Morgan was the president of the Brown Clutch Company and Hottmann was a superintendent there.

As to why the picture was drawn and why the plan was not implemented, those questions are still mysteries. Was Morgan part of a planning committee for the city, or were he and Hottmann simply interested citizens with an idea? Was this plan ever formally considered by the city? Further research is needed to find the answers.

Viewing this image raises another question for me: You notice in the background the monument in the intersection, most likely intended as a civic monument or war memorial. Have you noticed that in nearly every city or town in Ohio (and, it seems, in most American communities settled in the 19th century), there is a major civic monument in a prominent public square, sometimes several, usually built in the 19th century or early 20th century? Have you noticed that there is no grand civic monument from that time in Sandusky? (Some monuments have been built downtown in recent years of course.) Why did early Sanduskians not follow the trend of most communities of the time, and build a great war memorial or other monument? Any thoughts?