Bay View Wine Company

According to records on file with the Ohio Secretary of State, the Bay View Wine Company was incorporated on February 23, 1905. The plant was on the 300 block of Putnam Street, and the office was at 807 Water Street. The officers of the company in 1908 were Allen H. Porter, president; James A. Sawyer, vice president; and Jacob Bookerman, treasurer. By 1915, Mr. Sawyer was the president of the company, which produced native wines, champagnes, and brandies, and dealt in a variety of liquors and whiskies. One of the wines compounded at the Bay View Wine Company was the Golden Eagle Brand, promoted on the top of this receipt from 1909.

An advertisement from the September 13, 1905 issue of the Star Journal stated that the Bay View Wine Company was the resident agent for Green River, “the whisky without a headache.” At this time the company also sold unfermented grape juice for fifty cents a quart. In 1911, the company sold Olden English Ale for $1.75 a case.

By January of 1919, the Bay View Wine Company had dissolved. During Prohibition, Sweet Valley Products produced non-alcoholic beverages at the Putnam Street plant. The site is now occupied by Amvets Post No.17.  Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the historic wineries in Sandusky and the Lake Erie Islands region.

A Military History of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Franklin Sawyer

During the Civil War, Franklin Sawyer was the commanding officer of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry from May of 1862 until the unit was mustered out. A prominent lawyer from Norwalk, he achieved the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. Mr. Sawyer wrote a book about his unit, called A Military History of the Eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. It was published in 1881 by Fairbanks and Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

A copy of this military history, donated by Hattie Bretz, is housed in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The book originally belonged to Hattie’s father, William Bretz, who served in Co. E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry. A reprint of this book, with additional photographs, was published by the Blue Acorn Press in 1994. This edition of Franklin Sawyer’s books is found in the Local History and Genealogy collection in Reference Services.

General Sawyer tells about the Eighth Ohio’s participation in many battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. During the Battle of Antietam, a barn on a nearby farm was used as an operating room. Wounded and dying men covered the ground around the barn. Sandusky native Horace Harper Bill, who was then with Company K, died at Antietam. In the author’s preface, Franklin Sawyer stated, “There were many individual acts of bravery and fortitude, on the part of both officers and men.”

Many men from Sandusky and Erie County were in Company E of the Ohio Eighth Volunteer Infantry. Sawyer’s book lists the names of all the officers and soldiers in each company. The unit’s chaplain, Rev. Lyman N. Freeman, had served as rector of Grace Church in Sandusky from 1845 to 1850. Zenas W. Barker, Jr., the son of the former Mayor of Sandusky, died at Oakland, Virginia on August 28, 1861. Wells W. Miller, who was a Captain in the Ohio Eighth Infantry, went on to serve as Ohio’s Secretary of Agriculture. To read many more details about the Eighth Ohio, visit the Sandusky Library to view this historic accounting of the unit.

After the war Franklin Sawyer was elected to the Ohio legislature. He died in Norwalk, Ohio on August 22, 1892. Reunions of the Veterans of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were held for several years. A reunion was held at the Dixie restaurant in Sandusky on September 18, 1922. According to the Sandusky Star Journal of August 7, 1922, four of the former soldiers of Company E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were living in Sandusky. Their names were E.E. Warren, William Braby, Charles Chapman and Romeo Foster.

Picnickers at Cedar Point in the Early Years

A group of family and friends gathered for this group photograph while at a picnic at Cedar Point in the 1890s. It was probably taken in a photo studio on the park grounds. The names of the individuals in the picture were listed on notes with the original item. In the first row are: Lee A. Woolsey, Jessie Anthony, Louise Alvord and Charles Schuck. In the second row are: Frank Sawyer, Ida Woolsey, Minnie Sawyer, Martha Anthony, and M. Scranton. In the third row are:  Jessie Jay, J.L. Anthony, Elsie K. and Lydia Scranton. After looking through several genealogical databases and obituaries, we have determined that Ida Woolsey, Minnie Sawyer, Martha Anthony, and J.L. Anthony are all children of Lorenzo Dow Anthony, the first commandant of the Sandusky Yacht Club. Most likely the individuals not related to members of the Anthony family are close family friends. Though this picture is not of perfect quality, it is interesting to see a group of people gathered together from an era long ago.

The picture above (taken circa 1906) probably represents a typical picnic scene at Cedar Point during that era. The people in this photo are unidentified.

A Wading Party at Bay Point

On October 1, 1916, a group of Sandusky residents had a picnic on the Sand Beach at Bay Point, in Ottawa County, Ohio. Below is a key which identifies the people in the picture.

Willard A. Bishop was a longtime Sandusky photographer. Phil Beery was a broker in Sandusky for over twenty years. Among the group were four sisters: Martha Anthony Brewer, Ida Anthony Woolsey, Jessie E. Anthony, and Minnie Sawyer, all daughters of pioneer Sandusky residents Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Dow Anthony. At the time of this gathering the Sandusky Bay Bridge had not yet been built, so it is likely that the group traveled from Sandusky to Bay Point aboard a steamer. Ferries traveled back and forth between Sandusky and Bay Point, where a rail connection to Toledo was available.

The London Open Light Séance

On at least two occasions a demonstration of the London Open Light Séance took place in Sandusky. On October 18, 1903, Dr. Amos Wayne appeared at the Neilson Opera House. His demonstration included spirit slate writing, a table rising, and a display of the hands of faces of spirits. (At least that is what his advertisement claimed.)

C. M. Sawyer and his “company of wonderful mediums” visited Sandusky’s Grand Opera House on the evening of October 13, 1907. Dr. Sawyer is reported to have conduced séances in England, Austria, and France.

From 1906 throughout the 1920’s, Harry Houdini and others debunked several acts involving mediums as being fraudulent.