Leezen Tavern, Lower Sandusky (Fremont) Ohio

 In 1818, Calvin* Leezen (born 1800) and his wife Clarinda (born 1796) left Genesee County, New York and set out for Lower Sandusky (now Fremont, Ohio.)  In 1819, the couple sold their remaining 150 acres in Allegany County, New York, deciding to settle permanently in Lower Sandusky and build a tavern.

Taverns often symbolized the village itself  and its stage of development.  They frequently were the "heartbeat" of the community,  sometimes functioning as the post office, schoolhouse, polling place, and militia headquarters.  

Leezen purchased a quarter acre lot for $50 from Cyrus Hulburd, one of the original proprietors of the Two-Mile Square Reserve. The tavern he built lay on Front Street between Garrison and Croghan. Pioneers described "it as a low half story frame building which stood back from the street with a yard in front." The Leezen tavern featured a barn, stable, outbuildings, kitchen, common room, and bedrooms.  Generally these early taverns served as the family home as well. The Leezen children included: Martin**, Susan, Clarissa, and Elizabeth.   

The raw frontier brought a variety of patrons: land speculators, trappers, surveyors, lawyers, and pioneer families, known as "movers," who hoped to acquire the last of Ohio's cheap government land.  

In these early years, local historian Lucy Keeler wrote that 30 log cabins and ten or twelve brick or frame structures were scattered amid the dense forest. Tavern owners were often as rough and wild as the wilderness they inhabited. Gambling, card playing, heavy drinking, cock fights, and brawling were common.

Some tavern owners were particular about their boarders. Frequently they refused "movers," believing they were generally thieves.  Not so with the Leezens. Court records show that Calvin was indicted at the spring term of court for selling whiskey to the Indians.   Almeron Sands was charged with assault and battery on Calvin.. 

Judge Justice recalled several mysterious deaths that occurred at the tavern. A land speculator had come "west" with a large amount of money.  He became  sick while staying with the Leezens and  suddenly died. His money was distributed among  several of the townspeople.  A short time later his wife came searching for him.  She too put up at the Leezen tavern where she took sick and died. She was buried beside her husband in the lot where St. Ann's Catholic Church was later built. Both were  reinterred at the Whittlesey Cemetery. Not long after a stranger named Howard died while playing cards at the tavern. 

All was not well between Clarinda and Calvin. A notice published  by Calvin in the "Sandusky Clarion" on July 31st 1827 that his wife had left him. Without her help, it appears Calvin decided to rent out his tavern to David Day.  On August 22, 1827 the two had a contract drawn up in which Day would run the tavern, but would keep Calvin in "victuals" and board him for $1.00 per week.  On the first of November 1828, Day would pay Calvin $140. 

Unfortunately Calvin Leezen died on June 22, 1828, long before the contract ended.  It appears that Clarinda returned to the tavern as she was indicted by a grand jury for poisoning Calvin.  Prosecutor Rudolphus Dickinson  charged her with murder, claiming she had put white arsenic in his "water gruel" and "chicken soup" on the 10th and 12th of June. Calvin lingered til the 22nd of June when he died.  He was buried in the Whittlesey Cemetery.  

Judge Justice claimed there was a "strong desire" to convict Clarinda, but in her defense she stated she had only treated  Calvin's ulcerated leg with the arsenic. The jury failed to find her guilty.

Clarinda moved to Bradner where she lived with daughter Eliza who had married Samuel Biggerstaff shortly before her father's death. Clarinda died there in 1852.  She is buried in the Chestnut Ridge Cemetery.  In the estate settlement, the tavern was sold to the well respected Loveland family who many early settlers remember with fondness.

*Calvin was sometimes referred to John Calvin

**Martin was sometimes referred as Martin Luther 

Mouse Island, Lake Erie, For Sale

Mouse Island, Lake Erie

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums

This photo of Mouse Island in western Lake Erie was part of the Platt Studios Collection preserved by the late Charles E.  Frohman at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums.  The island was owned by President Hayes and his descendants until it was sold in 1966.  As of July of this year, the seven-acre island is once again for sale.  You can see it on Zillow

To read more about Mouse Island's history and the Hayes family,  see my 2015 blog post researched among the Hayes family documents and photographs.

Mass Baptism at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

 Mass Baptism at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, 1922

Ernst Niebergall Photograph Collection

This photograph of the mass baptism in Lake Erie is part of the Ernst Niebergall Collection preserved by the late Charles E. Frohman  at the Rutherford B Hayes Library and Museums.  It is dated 1919, but according to the Watch Tower History of the Jehovah's Witness International Bible School Association, it was one of the photographs taken during the nine-day convention held at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, from September 5th through the 13th in 1922.

The baptism in Lake Erie of some 200 delegates took place on September 6th at sunrise during an open-air, praise and prayer service. The baptism was conducted by the vice president of the association Pastor C. A. Wise of Indianapolis. Participants waded into Lake Erie where volunteers assisted with their immersion. More than 6,000 onlookers attended the baptism. 

More than 10,000 delegates from the U.S., Canada, and Europe gathered to hear talks given simultaneously in 11 different languages.  The Breakers Hotel was packed to "overflowing." Cedar Point management housed attendees in other buildings on the grounds.

                                       

Brother Joseph F. Rutherford speaking in the Coliseum

 

According to the history, the high point of the convention took place on the 8th when some 8,000 people gathered in the Coliseum to hear Brother Rutherford's famous speech "The Kingdom" which urged delegates to "advertise the King and the Kingdom." The audience was "electrified" when a banner above the stage was unfurled and proclaimed those very words.

At this convention a resolution was passed to oppose war, revolution, anarchy, and violence in any form. Members opposed WWI and would do so again during WWII.  It was not until 1946 and 1953 Supreme Court cases exempted members from military service

The convention was filmed, but it has never been located.

 

The Kline Block, Fremont, Ohio

 

Kline Block, 200-202 E. State St, Fremont, Ohio

Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums

Henry Kline constructed this building in 1893. It was considered one of the finest business structures in Fremont, Ohio.  It was  located on the northeast corner of East State Street and Sandusky Avenue.  The versatile Mr. Kline is said to have run successful  plumbing, sand, pork packing, and wholesale liquor businesses.  The ornate gazebo on the roof was an east side landmark where at one time the Agerman Band played music on Saturday nights to the delight of listeners on park benches below.  The Kline family lived in the fine Victorian house at the right.  The photograph was taken in the 1890s.

     

William McKinley, 25th U.S. President

William McKinley, 25th President

 President Donald Trump has given high praise to 25th President  William McKinley. McKinley's policies on high tariffs and territorial expansion have attracted President Trump's interest. In a recent AP article, Associate Professor of History Kevin Kern at the University of Akron, does not "think there has been as much interest in William McKinley in at least a century in terms of the kind of public consciousness." It was in1928 when his portrait appeared on the $500 bill!

Born in Niles, Ohio in 1843, William McKinley served in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War where he met and fought beside his mentor Rutherford B Hayes. Following the war, he lived in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. 

Saxton-McKinley House
National First Ladies Historic Site, Canton, Ohio

National Park Service

Elected to the U.S. Congress in 1876, McKinley regarded the protective tariff  as a means of bringing prosperity to the nation. The U.S. was just beginning to develop its industrial might, unlike today's global economy. The McKinley Tariff of 1890 was highly controversial, leading to his Congressional defeat after seven terms.

Ohioans elected McKinley its governor in 1891 and again in 1893.  In 1896, the Republican Party chose McKinley as its candidate for the U.S. Presidency. After the famous "front porch campaign," he took office during a deep depression. He  championed "sound money," protective tariffs, and territorial expansion. 

Statue of William McKinley outside Lucas County Courthouse
Toledo, Ohio

Creative Commons

The Republic of Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900. Spain, in its peace settlement following the Spanish-American War, gave up to the U. S. its colonies: Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.  The U.S. Army controlled Cuba until 1902.

McKinley's second term was cut short when he was shot by Leo Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 in Buffalo,  New York. He died eight days later.

McKinley Monument and Final Resting Place, Canton, Ohio

National Historic Landmark

The McKinley Presidential Library and Museum offers a greater understanding of his protective tariff and territorial expansion policies. Professor Kern believes McKinley was beginning to change his views on tariffs in a speech he gave the day before he was assassinated.

  

President McKinley shot at Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, N. Y.

Library of Congress

The Hayes Presidential Library and Museum contains more information about McKinley during his Civil War service in the 23rd Ohio when President Hayes was his commander. 

Fremont, Ohio Opera House

Fremont Ohio Opera House

Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums

 

In 1891 the Fremont Opera House opened to much fanfare.  The structure, located at West State and Arch Streets, replaced many smaller and cruder entertainment venues. Buffalo Bill of Wild West fame and magician Harry Houdini were among the national celebrities to perform at Fremont. 

With the coming of movie theaters, radio, and television, the old Opera House gradually declined. In its final days, it served as an Army Navy store before being razed in 1958 to make room for the Liberty National Bank. This photograph was taken in 1898. 

Elmore Manufacturing Company

 

Introduction

The Elmore Manufacturing Company began manufacturing bicycles   in Elmore, Ohio in  1892. The company relocated to Clyde, Ohio where it operated from 1893 to 1912. Automobile manufacturing began in 1898. The cars featured 2-cycle valveless engines. The Pathfinder won an endurance race from New York to St. Louis, and was exhibited at the World's Fair. Elmores were also used as taxi cabs.   At the height of its operation, the company made nearly 1,200 cars a year. In 1909, the owners sold the company to General Motors, which later moved it to Detroit, and eventually stopped production of the Elmore cars.

Pathfinder, St. Louis Exposition 1904

First Elmore Car  

Elmore Car 1905

                                                   

            Elmore Car 1906

Elmore Taxis

From Bicycles to Automobiles

The founder, Harmon Becker, moved to Elmore, Ohio in 1869 with his wife and four children. He established a sawmill and stave factory on the banks of the Portage River.  Becker and his sons, James and Burton, began manufacturing bicycles in Elmore 1892.

Looking for more spacious quarters to produce the Elmore bicycles, the Beckers in 1893 purchased an empty organ factory in Clyde, Ohio. The Elmore Manufacturing Company was located at 51 Amanda Street in Clyde from 1893 to 1912. From an operation that employed 50 workers and produced 500 bicycles in 1892, the new Clyde plant was able to manufacture 1,500 bicycles in 1898 with 80 employees.

Elmore Manufacturing Company, Clyde, Ohio

Not willing to sell their business to the American Bicycle Company, a trust, the Beckers quit making bicycles in 1897, and began to concentrate their energies on automobiles. The following year the Beckers began the construction of a two-cycle motor, and had a car on the road by early 1900.  By February 1 of that year, the very first Elmore car had been assembled with the  second following three months later. In 1902 the Beckers introduced a horizontal-type motor, changing the design in 1903 to a two-cylinder engine.

As production increased at the Clyde plant, more than 200 workers were employed, producing an average four cars per day.  On October 28, 1908, the Becker brothers incorporated the Elmore Manufacturing Company under the laws of the state of Ohio.  Nearly a year  later, James and Burton Becker, who had earlier bought out their father's interest in the car business, sold the company to General Motors on November 25, 1909 for a reported one million dollars. Burton A, Becker was to continue as the firm's general manager.

From Clyde,  Ohio to Detroit, Michigan

The year following the sale, GM spent $600,000 on an addition to the Elmore plant. At the height of its operation, the Elmore plant had nearly 500 employees who produced 1,100 to 1,200 cars each year.  The sudden resignation of Burton Becker in 1911 prompted General Motors to relocate the Elmore headquarters in Detroit. Later that year General Motors without notice closed the Elmore car works in Clyde, shipping all the factory's machinery to Detroit. The 1912 production was to include the following car line: Torpedo Roadster, Light Torpedo, and a five-passenger touring car.

In 1912 the "Fremont Daily News" reported that the former Elmore plant was to be sold to the Clyde Motor Company.  Although Krebs Commercial Cars and later Clydesdale Trucks  operated out of the old Elmore plant, both were only assembly jobs.  The depression of 1929 ended forever automobile production in Clyde, except for steering wheel parts made by the J.M. Machine Shop. With the dismantling of the Elmore car factory, no further Elmore cars were ever produced.

A version of this post first appeared on the Sandusky-County-Scrapbook that is no longer featured on the Internet.