In the nineteenth century, northeastern Ohio was often referred to as the Manx capital of North America. Thousands of immigrants from the Isle of Man came to the area during that time to farm Ohio's rich soils. This photograph shows a large group of Manx immigrants and Manx-Americans enjoying a picnic at Cottage Grove Lake in Summit County on August 18, 1886. The annual picnic at Cottage Grove Lake had been a popular event for northeast Ohio's Manx population since at least as early as1850.
