SEVEN LEAVE PA. TO MAKE HOMES HERE
Berlin
Township, originally named Eldridge was settled around
1808. At that time Erie County was a part of Huron County.
The first white settler was a man by the name of John
Dunbar, who came from New York and settled in the eastern part of the
township.
In 1808, seven men set sail from the mouth, of Walnut
Creek in Pennsylvania. There were John Hoak, John McLaughlin,
George Miller, Nathanial Burdue, Benjamin Pratt, Richie and
Howard. They launched a large but crude boat loaded with
provisions, farming tools, and thirty barrels of whiskey. During
the trip on the lake, they encountered rough weather and had to throw
the whiskey overboard to save the boat. When the storm subsided,
they again loaded the whiskey on the boat and continued on their
way.
They landed at the mouth of the Huron River and after
digging out a sand bar came up into what is now Milan township and
settled there for the summer. They planted a field of corn and
hoed it. They left an Indian to guard it and returned to
Pennsylvania to get their families. When they returned they
decided to come east to this township because of the flooding
conditions along the Huron River.
John Haok's family and the McLaughlin family settled along
the western edge of the township. The McLaughlin (now Laughlin)
family is still located there and the Hoak farm was still in that
family until the 1960's.
In 1812, John Hoak went to Canada where he found fruit
trees, pears, cherry, and apple which he brought back and planted on
his farm. This was the beginning of the fruit industry in this
area. As late as 1950, one of the pear trees, which he had
planted, was still alive.
Mrs. John Hoak was a true pioneer woman and an excellent
horsewoman. She would ride from her home to Perrysburg, a
distance of 75 miles, alone through the wilderness in one day and
return the next.
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS PROVIDED FOR
During
the years from 1809 to 1812 a number of families came to the area but
all except four families left to go back east because of the
hostilities in the area during the War of 1812. They returned
after the war and built a log school in the western part of the
township. Then in 1818, a school was built on the Burdue
farm. It was a building 16' x 20' made of logs of all lengths and
using "shake" for the roof. The teacher, Thomas Stevens received
ten dollars a month in work or produce.
In 1873, the Central School District erected the high
school building for $13,000. This stood on the present school
ground and was used until it was torn down in 1958. By 1889 there
were ten school houses in the township. Four of these are still
standing at their original locations. Three of them have been
built into homes and the fourth was used as a grain drier by the
Tillinghast family. Two other school houses have been moved and
are used as farm buildings.
NEW CHURCHES REPLACE HOME MEETINGS
The
first church to be formed was the Methodist. Methodist meetings were
held in homes as early as 1812. In 1839, a church was built east
of what is now Andress Road on the State Road (Route 113). In
1850, one was built in the western part of the township and was later
used as a school. The present Methodist Church was built in 1870.
|
The Baptist Church dates back to 1819. After
the church was closed, the building was moved and used as a feed mill
for a good many years. The building is still standing.
The Congregational Church was established in 1823.
The services were held in the old log school on East Main Street until
a church was built at the present location. In 1847, that
building was moved and the main part of the present building was built.
VARIETY OF EARLY INDUSTRIES BEGINS
Berlin
Heights had had a few industries. The leading one being the
Berlin Fruit Box Company established in 1854 by T.B. Hine and Asa F.
Page. It started as a barrel making and sorghum business.
In 1858, the business was sold to Samuel Patterson.
Quarrying of sandstone was another industry. The
first quarry was opened by Joshua Phillips on Humm Road. The
quarry supplied the general demand of the community. Even then no
one knew that just a mile north lay one of the richest sandstone
quarries in the country. It was up to a young man by the name of
George Baillie to discover and open it. Mr. Baillie came to
Berlin Heights from Canada with all his worldly possessions on his back
and he made enough money from the quarry to build the largest and most
imposing mansion in the township.
A railroad was built from the quarry down to the main
railroad (the present Penn Central). In 1878 more than 400
carloads of stone were shipped out mostly to New York City.
Another industry was the making of cider and
vinegar. At one time, there were four cider mills in the township.
TWO PROMINENT AUTHORS RESIDE HERE
Two
authors were a part of the history of Berlin township. One was
James Oliver Curwood, who lived on Church Road and went to school at
Ogontz. Some of his books told of his experiences around Ogontz
and Berlin Heights, but some of the people who went to school with him
didn't always agree with his accounts. Curwood was not a native
of this area but he did receive his schooling here in the township.
The author Hudson Tuttle was born and lived his entire
life on the same farm, "The Walnut Grove Farm" located on Chapin
Road. He was one of the leading spiritualists of the English
speaking world and he wrote a number of books on the subject. He
also published the books at the "Hudson Tuttle Publishing Company"
which was located at his home. He was so well known that he
received a letter from Europe with the simple address, Hudson Tuttle,
United States of America. In addition to his spiritualism, he
wrote many articles on the history of this area. His wife, Emma
Rood Tuttle was a great lover of nature and a very humane person.
As well as her work as a humanitarian, she helped her husband with his
spiritual writings.
Two of the Tuttle's three children lived to an old
age. Their only son Carl, was one of the leading doctors in town
during the early part of the century. His home was the large
brick home on West Main Street. Dr. Tuttle was also a noted
taxidermist. Tuttle's daughter, Claire Tuttle Yearance was an
actress and traveled with a road show.
|
DOCTOR DEVELOPS
SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
Another
person who was well known in his day, but now forgotten was Dr. Noah
Hill who lived on West Main Street. Dr. Noah Hill performed the
first successful cataract operation in the United States. Dr.
Noah Hill's brother Dr. William Hill also practiced medicine in Berlin
Heights. His home was the large brick home later owned by Dr.
Tuttle.
CONTINUOUS CHANGES IN BUSINESS AREA
The business district has burned on
both sided of the street during the years.
There were two banks in town during the early part of the
century.
Around 1880, William Henry Hine established The Berlin Heights Banking
Company which also had branches in Huron and Wakeman. This bank
was
later renamed the Firelands Community Bank.
The other bank, the Citizens Banking Company was
established by
George Baillie, who owned the quarry. The bank was located in the
building now used by the library.
At one time, there were seven saloons in town.
There was a large three story hotel on the northeast
corner of Lake Street and Main Street. This hotel, the Davis
House, burned during the 1880's. Later the Lake View Hotel was
built on the southwest corner of Main and South Streets. This was
torn down to build the gas station. There was a third hotel just
west of the Lake View Hotel. It was the Lambert Hotel.
Other businesses have come and gone through the
years. There was a blind man, Eldon Pearl, who made brooms.
He sold his brooms in Berlin Heights and neighboring towns. The
blacksmith shop was at the east end of town. The building next to
it housed the town newspaper, The Berlin Call. This paper was
printed until about 1950. Another paper, The Saturday Budget was
printed at the turn of the century.
There was a bandstand on the Congregational Church lawn
where concerts were held on Saturday Nights during the summer.
The bandstand was torn down about 1925.
The center of the social life in town was the Town
Hall. There were community plays, school entertainments, Farmer's
Insitutes, graduations, and many other activities held there. The
school fair held in October was another source of entertainment.
Two interurban lines ran through the town. One came
down South Street from Norwalk, turned at the light and went East
through town. It went off through the fields just east of
Memorial Drive going to Florence and Birmingham and east. This
was officially the "Cleveland and Southwest" but was more commonly
known as the Green Line because of the color of the cars.
The other line, the "Lake Shore Electric Company". known
as the Yellow Line because of their yellow cars went through Berlin
Heights just west of the houses on South Street and crossed West Main
Street where there was a depot. It then went north along route 61
to the lake shore where it connected with the line from Cleveland to
Toledo at Ceylon Junction.
There have been many changes in the community since its
beginning but it still remains an important producer of fruit and
vegetables plus other farm products.
Lawrence Johns
|
