If you have ever wondered why there’s a Mound Elementary School and a Mound Avenue in the Slavic Village neighborhood, it’s because Cleveland was once home to a series of mounds and the Native American cultures that built them. When most people think of the mound builders, Cleveland probably is not the first place that comes to mind. However, geologist Charles Whittlesey discovered a series of mounds in and around the city. One of the peoples who occupied the ancient future site of Cleveland is named the Whittlesey culture after the man who discovered and documented their artifacts.
Charles Whittlesey was born in 1808 in Southington, Connecticut, and moved to Tallmadge, Ohio, in 1813. He was also a West Point graduate in 1831. After returning to Ohio, Whittlesey also contributed to many publications on several different topics. Whittlesey served as the editor for the Cleveland Herald in 1836 and 1837 and continued thereafter to publish material on the early history of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Valley, and other parts of Ohio. Those topics are just a few he wrote about in his more than 200 books and articles published during his career. Whittlesey accomplished many firsts in the history of Native American and Ohio geology. He conducted the first geological survey in Ohio during the late 1830s before becoming the official assistant geologist for Ohio in 1837. He also conducted geological surveys for over 20 years in states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Mississippi where he focused on Native American earthworks. During his Ohio survey, Whittlesey discovered numerous earthworks and found large iron and coal deposits that would help develop the state.
Charles Whittlesey is not only known for his discovery of new Native American earthworks; he is also known for his Civil War service. During the war, he helped plan and construct fortifications for the U.S. Army in Ohio and Kentucky. He was selected for the task because of his extensive knowledge of geological features and ancient fortifications. In addition to building fortifications, he also was appointed to serve as an escort for President-elect Abraham Lincoln, who would go on to be the sixteenth President of the United States in 1861.
Whittlesey was a large asset to the war effort as he built fortifications, served the future president, and fought in the war. He fought in both the Battle of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. In addition to fighting in the war, he was also the assistant quartermaster general for Ohio troops while he engineered fortifications for Cincinnati, Ohio. Whittlesey eventually resigned from the army after the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. After he retired, he became a historian and moved back to Ohio in 1867. That same year, he was instrumental in founding the Western Reserve Historical Society, in which he served as president until 1885. But Whittlesey’s most notable legacy arguably his contributions to understanding the Native American culture which was named after him.
For over 14,000 years, prehistoric groups lived in Ohio, congregating around large bodies of water and other waterways. Many Native American cultures and practices have been a part of Ohio’s history. In Ohio, between 800 BCE and 1200 CE, the Woodland culture period flourished and was defined by several features: groups settling down into larger communities, large-scale agriculture, and mound building. Mounds were often used for burial practices but could also be used for gathering places or ceremonial rituals. However, none of the mounds discovered in Cleveland appeared to be designed for burial practices.
Archaeologists refer to the Late Woodland culture in northeast Ohio as the Whittlesey culture or Whittlesey tradition to acknowledge Charles Whittlesey, who documented many historical sites and mounds. The Whittlesey culture lived along the banks of rivers and brooks from Lake Erie to the Black River in Conneaut between about 1200 and 1640. Whittlesey discovered various mounds in what is now the Cleveland area. Thanks to his extensive documentation in books such as Ancient Earth Forts of the Cuyahoga Valley, Descriptions of Ancient Works in Ohio, Early History of Cleveland Ohio, and Ancient Mining on the Shores of Lake Superior, we have considerable insights into the Whittlesey culture's customs, art, and mounds.
Native American mounds that Whittlesey describes in the Cleveland area include Fort 1 Newburg, an earthwork he discovered in Cleveland near Harvard Grove Cemetery, and mounds near Public Square, Euclid and East 9th, Woodland Cemetery, Sawtell Avenue mound (now East 51st Street off Woodland Avenue), and on East 53rd Street.
The Sawtell Avenue mound measured 5 feet high, 40 feet long, and 25 feet wide. Whittlesey conducted a small-scale dig on this mound in 1870 along with partner Judge C.C. Baldwin where they both discovered copper artwork, clay tube pipes, and ornamental beads. The Slavic Village area mound was located along Mound Avenue near East 53rd Street. The mound inspired the name of both the street and Mound Public School, the precursor of today’s Mound Elementary School. The mound site was developed as a brick yard in the 1890s before being redeveloped as the school.
Unfortunately, not many of these mounds were preserved in the Cleveland area except for places such as the Lyman Site, located in the Lake Metroparks system, where Whittlesey documented and surveyed the area documenting earthworks of around 8 feet high. However, few saw these Native American discoveries as significant during the 19th century, which is why no efforts were made to preserve, protect, or interpret the mounds or their culture until much later. Any local interest in the Whittlesey culture and its mounds was overshadowed by the growing city and development of real estate. By the time Whittlesey was documenting earthworks in the 1830s, most of the Cleveland mounds were gone. An exception was the one on Sawtell Avenue, for it stood on land then owned by A. Freese, who told Whittlesey the mound was "one of the ornaments on his grounds," and he "did not wish to have it demolished." Even the much larger and more elaborate mounds located in Chillicothe, Ohio, were not studied until the early 1920s, when Mound City Group National Monument was established in 1923. From there, ancient Ohio mounds began to gain popularity, as the Chillicothe mounds attracted more federal investment in preservation and interpretation when the National Park Service redesignated the site as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park in 1992.
Charles Whittlesey’s legacy lives on in many ways today in the Cleveland area and across Ohio areas. He provided one of the first geological surveys of the state in which he documented many ancient mounds, served in the Civil War, and helped create the Western Reserve Historical Society. Even though most of the Cleveland area mounds were flattened for urban development, they still live on in Ohio’s history, including in place names like Mound Avenue. Next time you find yourself in Cleveland, stop and look, you might see remembrance of the once great ancient mounds.
]]>The small, two and half story, red brick building lying in the shadow of the long-abandoned Richmond Bros. complex on East 55th Street is not exactly welcoming. The building sits on a weed-filled lawn behind a small parking lot, surrounded by a barbed-wire-topped chain link fence. The windows are covered and the small sign above the doorway can barely be made out from the street. Security cameras are prominently placed and focused on the entrance of the building. An unassuming passerby may well wonder what sort of nefarious deeds are occurring there that warrant such secrecy and security. Well, none, actually—other than some rather aggressive digging, setting and spiking. It happens to be the hall of the Cleveland East Side Turners, Northeast Ohio’s most popular volleyball club.
Like its building, the history behind the East Side Turners would surprise many unknowing passersby. Turners is an Americanization of Turnverein, a gymnastics movement started in 1811 by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in the Germanic lands of Central Europe. Jahn was a nationalist who wanted a united Germany, but, above all, he believed proper exercise would propel the Germanic people to preeminence in the region. Seen by some as an eccentric outcast with xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and militaristic tendencies bent on improving the Germanic race, it is not hard to understand why some historians have drawn parallels between Jahn and a later German with a similar worldview and mindset—Adolph Hitler. Jahn was exiled during Clemons von Metternich’s anti-liberalism crusade in 1819, becoming a mere figurehead as his Turnverein evolved into a more inclusive group. After the Germanic Revolutions of 1848 the organization was disbanded and its leaders arrested, which led many members to seek new lives with greater freedom and economic opportunity in the United States.
The Cleveland Turnverein was the fourth formed in the U.S. behind Cincinnati, Boston, and Philadelphia. Established in 1850, the members initially met at Welch & Frank’s—a local, German-run shop, while practicing their gymnastic exercises in Bellevue Garden on Central Avenue near what would later become the Gateway complex. Membership grew as Germans continued to flock to the Cleveland area in the mid-19th century, until the Civil War intervened. The Turnverein members tended to be staunch abolitionists and the entire Cleveland Turnverein joined the Union Army en masse in 1861. Their initial three-month enlistment created the 150-man, Company K of the 7th Ohio Volunteers—the first all-German unit from Cleveland. Most members immediately reenlisted in the same regiment after this first stint, and the unit fought bravely at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Chattanooga. One Turnverein member from the original Company K, Dr. Charles Hartmann, instead joined the illustrious 107th Ohio Infantry as the regimental surgeon. At Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, he entered the fray in an attempt to rally the troops and prevent the regiment from being routed. However, he was gunned down by advancing Confederate troops, and became the only surgeon killed in battle during the war.
As German-American soldiers made their way home after the war and attempted to reunite the Turnverein, difficulties arose and the social club splintered. In 1867, a west side group began meeting at the Free German School auditorium on Mechanic Street (now West 38th). Another faction stationed on the near east side of downtown started calling themselves the Germania Turnverein in 1876, initially meeting at a hall on Woodland Avenue before building Germania Hall on Erie Street (East 9th) a dozen years later. Yet another group, calling themselves the Turnverein Vonvaerts, formed in 1890, and in 1893 they built the red-brick hall on the corner of Willson Avenue (East 55th) and Harlem Street. The Germania Turnverein merged with the Vonvaerts in 1908 and the combined clubs have since remained at that location in the shadow of the Richmond Bros. building.
The athletic emphasis of the Cleveland Turnverein was reestablished after World War I and they regularly held large, public gymnastic displays. Men and women would engage in elaborate demonstrations that showcased their agility and strength at public venues in front of enormous crowds—a kind of forerunner to today’s Cirque du Soleil. One prominent member, Dr. Karl Zapp, was an early and loud advocate for instituting physical education classes in school curricula. It is through his early efforts that American children have enjoyed the benefits, or torments, of gym classes since the 1920s. The Turnverein was also instrumental in popularizing bowling throughout the United States as a form of recreational exercise.
Aside from brave Civil War medics, various lithe gymnasts and physical education proponents, many illustrious Clevelanders have been members of the Cleveland Turnverein. Ernst Mueller was one of Cleveland’s most successful brewers, founding the very popular Cleveland Home Brewing Co, and serving as President of the enormous Cleveland-Sandusky Brewing Corp. The architect Theodore Schmitt was responsible for many public structures throughout Cleveland, including the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, the Joseph & Feiss Building, and the Euclid Avenue Temple, among many others. His father Jacob was Chief of Police for the city, and when he died in 1893, his obituary in the Cleveland Plain Dealer claimed that he was “better known than any other one man in the city.” Although the Turnverein concentrated on athletics, and gymnastics in particular, it also served as a German social club for the city’s large and influential German population, and many of its members were prominent citizens.
The World Wars brought certain prejudices, and German-Americans during this time sought to distance themselves from purely Germanic associations and better assimilate into American life. To this end, the Turnverein began referring to itself simply as the more acceptably American sounding--American Turners. By 1941, the Turnverein Vonvaerts had become the Cleveland East Side Turners.
As the enthusiasm waned for public displays of gymnastics, the East Side Turners eventually transformed into an organization running popular volleyball leagues and tournaments. The outlying structures of the property on East 55th Street, which once included a separate meeting hall and a large kitchen facility, eventually were lost until only the gymnasium remained. Although this lone building in a corner of the resurgent St. Clair-Superior neighborhood may look foreboding, volleyball enthusiasts of every nationality are warmly welcomed here. Like the convoluted history of its ancestral gymnastics club, the nondescript brick building that is home to today’s Cleveland East Side Turners is far more interesting, and less frightening, than it seems at first glance.
]]>Originally founded as Trinity Church in Old Brooklyn in 1816, Trinity remained a west side congregation until 1826, when church leaders decided to relocate to the east side of the Cuyahoga River near Public Square. At that time a number of families who attended Trinity chose not to follow the church eastward and instead held services informally before establishing their own church, St. John's Episcopal Church, in 1834. Founding members of St. John's included Ohio City pioneers Josiah Barber and George Lord Chapman, along with prominent architect Hezekiah Eldredge, who was responsible for overseeing the construction of the new church building. Under Eldredge's direction, construction commenced on July 2, 1836, with Bishop Charles McIlvaine laying the cornerstone on Church Avenue near West 26th Street.
It has been widely reported that St. John's served as a stop—it was dubbed "Station Hope"— on the Underground Railroad in the years leading up to the Civil War. According to these reports, slaves hid in the church's bell tower and watched for signals from the lake telling them that it was safe to embark on the final leg of their journey towards freedom. Leaving the church, runaways would venture to the lakeshore where they boarded steamships bound for Canada. However, some doubt is cast on these claims since they are not definitively documented and because on the national level the Episcopal Church was one of the few Protestant denominations that did not split between North and South over the issue of slavery. If the church did not take an abolitionist stance, it begs the question of who aided the fugitives. Perhaps it was founding member and longtime vestryman George Lord Chapman, who was friends with outspoken abolitionist John A. Foote along with fellow church founder and "colonizationist" Josiah Barber. Or it may have been Chapman's wife Eliza. Equally involved in the church, she was described as a woman whose "whole life had been one of active beneficence. For the poor, the sick, and needy, the orphan, the friendless her heart poured out its sympathy and love in words and works which made her beloved as falls to the lot of but few." While the church's official position regarding slavery may have been one of indifference, it does not seem likely that individuals such as the Chapmans would have been able to ignore moral issues of secular nature like slavery, a notion supported by the many reports of St. John's Underground Railroad involvement.
The Civil War years at St. John's were highlighted most notably by the marriage of prominent Cleveland politician Marcus Hanna to Charlotte Rhodes in 1864. Soon after the close of the Civil War, however, disaster struck St. John's, with fire consuming much of the church's wooden interior. Initially believed to be caused by the heater located in the basement, further investigation determined that an act of arson caused the blaze. The tragedy proved to be a blessing in many ways though, as it provided an opportunity to expand the church to accommodate an ever-increasing number of parishioners.
In 1871 longtime minister Lewis Burton resigned as rector of St. John's to lead the two missions that St. John's had spawned, All Saints and St. Mark's. Burton had held the position for twenty-four years prior to his departure, and the following year Marcus Hanna became a vestryman of the church, serving for thirty-one years until 1903, a span which included the appearance of President William McKinley as his guest on at least one occasion for services. Through the Great Depression and World War II, St. John's remained a pillar on the Near West Side, and then in 1953 a tornado devastated the church, causing significant damage to the east wall and roof. Around this time the Inner City Protestant Parish emerged as an interdenominational church, sharing the space in St. John's for a number of years before eventually being absorbed by the Episcopal congregation.
By the 1980s, the nearly 150-year-old building was showing signs of deterioration, and a $100,000 renovation project was required in order to keep it operational. At present however, St. John's is closed, with services last taking place there in December 2007. As the oldest and arguably most structurally unique religious edifice in the city of Cleveland, St. John's is not only a sight to behold but remains a place whose connection to the Underground Railroad, however ill-defined, continues to excite great public interest.
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]]>Starting in the 1880s, many cities and towns across the country began creating monuments and memorials in order to honor those who gave their lives During the Civil War. Willoughby was one such place. The G.A.R Post #74 of Willoughby, also known as the A.Y. Anston Post, decided to build this monument. This fraternal group of local Union Army Veterans appointed George W. Clement as head of the building committee that would oversee construction. Willoughby Civil War Monument is located in downtown Willoughby, Ohio at the intersection of River Road, Euclid Avenue, and Erie Street. It pays tribute to the 160 Willoughby men who served in the Civil War.
This monument was created to honor those local Union soldiers who lost their lives fighting for liberty. Therefore, Clement and the building committee took care in the contractor. They held a competition, and in March 1885 they accepted the design of Carabelli & Braggini. Joseph Carabelli was the primary sculptor. The total cost of the monument was billed at $1400.
The 18-foot-high Willoughby Civil War monument, hewn from Richmond Granite, consists of a three-tiered stage and column that is 12 feet tall and topped by a statue of a 6-foot-tall soldier standing at "parade-rest." Inscribed on the second tier are the four names of famous battles: Perryville, Chickamauga, Wilderness, and Antietam. Each battle has its own side of the square base. These battles are significant for the city because each of these battles featured soldiers from Willoughby. Etched on the third level are the individual names of all 160 Willoughby Civil War soldiers. They are listed alphabetically around each side of the monument. Extending from the third base is a shaft that is four feet high. The United States' coat of arms is carved into the north side of this pillar, meanwhile, on the west side, the artillery emblems of cannon and balls. Additionally, the south side of the pole includes a set of crossed anchors and crossed sabers, and finally, on the east side there is a representation of Fort Fisher. The Union soldier stands on top of the column.
The Willoughby Civil War Monument was dedicated on July 4, 1885, but the final addition to the monument was not made until July 4, 1901, when a 125-foot flagpole was raised. The dedication ceremony consisted of about six to eight thousand people. The most important addition came fifteen years later when the town's surviving Civil War veterans dedicated a ten-inch Columbiad cannon as an additional memorial to the monument area. The cannon has an interesting story. It was not a replica, but instead had great significance. The cannon came from Baltimore's Fort McHenry, which ties Willoughby and its role in the Civil War with the pivotal role that Fort McHenry played in another war, the War of 1812.
]]>Though the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway has since swallowed it up, Union Depot was a transportation hub for a century. Originally built in 1853, Union Depot unified the railroad stations into one area. Many passenger railroads passed through Union Depot, including the Cleveland-Erie-Buffalo, the Cleveland-Cincinnati-Columbus, the Cleveland-Pittsburgh, the Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit, and others. The depot itself consisted of wooden sheds that served as small stations for each railway. Union Depot cost over $75,000 to build, and stretched from Bank Street to Water Street (today's West 6th and West 9th Streets).
In 1864, Union Depot experienced a terrible fire and burned down. When it was rebuilt the following year, it became the largest terminal in the United States. The second Union Depot cost more than $475,000 and remained the largest building under one roof until the New York station exceeded it a few years later. Still, Union Depot remained the largest station between New York and the Mississippi and its centrality allowed Cleveland to prosper after the Civil War. The city kept growing in prominence and importance, and was known for its transportation systems that allowed travel to both the east and west.
During the 1900s, Union Depot became too small for the number of trains and passengers traveling to and through Cleveland. This problem was solved with the construction of the Cleveland Union Terminal on Public Square. Opened in 1930, the new station largely replaced Union Depot, and only the Pennsylvania Railroad continued to use Union Depot until September of 1953. The depot was eventually torn down in 1959.
Union Depot played an important role during the Civil War. Thousands of troops passed through the station on their way to basic training camps, such as Camp Dennison near Cincinnati. In December of 1863, Cleveland's Soldiers Aid Society built the Soldiers Home on the Union Depot pier to provide food, clothes, shelter, medical care, and a taste of home to war-weary soldiers. Over fifty thousand soldiers passed through the Soldiers Home and gratefully experienced Cleveland's hospitality.
President Lincoln traveled through Union Depot twice. The first time was during his inaugural tour on his way to Washington, and the second was after his death during his funeral procession from Washington to Springfield, Illinois. Both times Lincoln visited Cleveland, he was accompanied by a grand procession and parade. In 1861, Lincoln traveled from Cleveland to Pennsylvania on his way to Washington. During his funeral procession in 1865, Lincoln's funeral train traveled down the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati Railroad, stopping in cities along the way to his resting site in Springfield.
]]>Amid the busy streets of downtown Cleveland stands the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, built to honor the 10,000 Cuyahoga County residents who fought in the Civil War. Almost fifteen years after Major William J. Gleason first suggested the idea of honoring the bravery of these local Union soldiers, the monument was finally dedicated on July 4, 1894. This long anticipated event featured a parade over five miles long, an opening address made by William McKinley, performances by the Great Western Band, and children singing anthems of patriotism.
Despite all this enthusiasm, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument was subject of hostility throughout most of its planning. City authorities and a few citizens opposed the scheme to locate the monument in the southeast corner of Public Square, where it now stands. After numerous court battles, one of which went to the Supreme Court, and meetings to protest the building site, construction finally began at the location on August 25, 1891.
A committee of twelve former soldiers and sailors were in charge of the monument's planning. The monument was designed by architect Levi T. Scofield, but the entire Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument committee contributed with their ideas. The decision to have the monument be either a shaft or a memorial hall was put to a vote at a meeting of Camp Barnett Soldiers' and Sailors' Society. Because the votes were split, it was decided to include both styles in the design.
The total height of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument reaches to 125 feet. Atop the black Amherst stone column stands Lady Liberty in a defensive stance. The column itself is separated into sections by six bands that together contain the names of thirty of the most notable Civil War battles. A bastion fort with guns mounted in barbette connects the column to the monument's building. Surrounding the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument are four bronze statues symbolizing the principal branches of service: the Infantry, the Cavalry, the Navy, and the Artillery. During the planning, the building became a tablet room rather than the originally proposed memorial hall. Inside the building, which became a tablet room rather than the originally proposed memorial hall, the names of the 10,000 Cuyahoga county Union soldiers are carved in the marble walls. Above the tablets, on the east and west walls are the bronze busts of officers who were killed in action. Above the north side door is the bust of General James Barnett, and above the south side door is Captain Levi T. Scofield. The foundation of the column centers the room. On each of the four sides are bronze relief statues portraying the Beginning of the War in Ohio, The Emancipation of the Slave, the Northern Ohio Soldiers' Aid Society, Sanitary Commission, and Hospital Service Corps, and The End of the War.
In 2008, an extensive restoration began on the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument lasting two years and totaling two million dollars. Reopened to the public on June 4, 2010, this symbol of pride for the residents of Cuyahoga county can now be visited and appreciated year round.
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]]>On the evening of December 5, 1863, two thousand audience members at the Academy of Music enthusiastically applauded the acting of John Wilkes Booth. Little did they know that the actor who gave "his greatest performance" as Charles D'Moor in The Robbers would not be remembered for his acting talents, but instead live on in infamy for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Booth had appeared at the Academy of Music before starring in The Robbers. Other performers whose names became well known got their start on the same stage, such as John McCullough and Clara Morris.
The Academy of Music on Bank (now W. 6th) Street was one of the top American theaters of its time. Theater doors were opened for the first time on April 16, 1853 for the production of School for Scandal. The early days proved challenging, and two years later the theater was leased by John A. Ellsler to save it from financial ruin. It was under his rule that the theater had its heyday. "Uncle John" Ellsler started his stock company, one of the first American dramatic schools, at the Academy. It proved a great success. With the exception of some relatively brief absences, Ellsler's stock company provided Clevelanders with Shakespearean and popular entertainment for three decades. After the stock company system started to die, however, larger theater houses were built. Consequently, Cleveland's entertainment center shifted away from Bank Street and Ellsler decided to discontinue his lease for good. The Academy was then left in the hands of numerous managers, none of whom were able to regenerate the theater's previous success.
Although the Academy of Music's popularity was dwindling, it was restored to serve as a vaudeville house after being gutted by a fire on June 30, 1889. Just over three years later, the theater was completely destroyed by another fire but not rebuilt. Before the second fire on August 8, 1892, audiences would have sat beneath a china candle chandelier hung from the auditorium ceiling. The music resonating from the orchestra pit was played by students and was conducted by their teacher. Actors, comedians, and musicians performed their various talents on a downward sloped stage and were illuminated by gas footlights downstage. At the end of a night's show, a plush red curtain would drop, covering the entertainers and the stage.
]]>In 1863, John D. Rockefeller encouraged fellow business partner, M. B. Clark to agree to a decision which would eventually lead to the creation of the multimillion dollar company Standard Oil. The duo financed and joined with chemist Samuel Andrews in starting the oil refining business Andrews, Clark, and Co. Two years later, Rockefeller and Andrews bought out Clark's interest and became Rockefeller & Andrews. The company was just one of thirty oil refineries in Cleveland when it was first formed in 1865, but it soon became the largest through a merger with O.H. Payne, another largely successful oil refinery owner. The company went on to join with other area competitors or buy them out. With control of Cleveland's refineries, the Rockefeller & Andrews Company chartered the Standard Oil Company in 1870.
Standard Oil made Cleveland the center of American petroleum production. As a result, the city saw benefits in the form of both economics and humanitarianism. Rockefeller's company gave work to thousands, and Cleveland's wealth grew in relation to Standard Oil's expansion. Even during the Panic of 1873 Rockefeller continued to prosper. In fact, just six years later, he had control of 90 percent of America's oil. Rockefeller did not squander all of his wealth, but instead was well known for his generous but judicious charity to educational institutions, Baptist churches, the Children's Aid Society, hospitals, and the Women's Christian Temperance Movement to name only a few. Rockefeller also made several wise investments not related to oil, some of which are still visible in Cleveland. The oil tycoon was one of the large stockholders for Arcade, which opened in 1890 and still exists on Superior Avenue. On the corner of West 6th Street and West Superior Avenue stands the Rockefeller Building. The man after whom the building is named bought the Weddell House property in 1903 and turned it into the headquarters of lake interests.
John D. Rockefeller's successes and the subsequent imprints left on Cleveland because of them can be traced to three main factors. First, Rockefeller learned from childhood how to make wise business decisions. He was able to think ahead, see the success in budding industries, and use borrowing and lending to his advantage. Using these talents in his first business with M. B. Clark had given him a good reputation with Cleveland's primary lenders and helped him see the benefit of investing in oil refining. However, Rockefeller's brilliance in business may not have thrived to such a great extent had not the Civil War occurred during the inception of his career. The Civil War expedited Cleveland's economy, particularly in the steel and fabrics industries. Consequently, local bankers were able and willing to lend funds to Rockefeller for business purposes. The initial company M. B. Clark and Rockefeller formed in 1859 as produce commission merchants also saw an influx of business at wartime, and this also helped Rockefeller and Clark extend their business to oil. Third, Cleveland's excellent Lake Erie and railroad transportation made it possible for Rockefeller to easily bring in crude oil, transport his refined oil and expand Standard Oil.
]]>On June 14, 1853, Cleveland's mayor, city officials, clergy, and a few citizens gathered under a shady grove for the dedication of Woodland Cemetery. The flat but tree copious 60-acres used for the new burial ground had been purchased in 1851 and developed by Cleveland's city council to take the place of Erie Street Cemetery. Its name, decided one week before the dedication, originated from a poem about Cleveland by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell called "Pleasures of Hope." The ground was dug for the cemetery's first burial nine days after its dedication. Since then, Woodland has become the final resting place for everyone from the ordinary citizen to Ohio governors to war veterans.
Woodland's markers are just as varied as the people buried there, adding to the charm and interest of the cemetery. The gravestones are arranged in a rural cemetery style, using the landscape to determine their placement, and creating a park-like atmosphere. These and other features, such as a fountain, a chapel, and a stone gateway, made Woodland an attractive place for Clevelanders to visit. However, its popularity and location as a stop for Cleveland streetcars had also made it a convenient, but temporary, location for illegalities such as prostitution and cadaver hunting.
Two Soldiers' Lots for Civil War soldiers were purchased by the federal government in 1868. These lots do not contain all of the veterans buried in Woodland. Graves belonging to soldiers from every war since 1812, some unmarked, are scattered amongst the graves of civilians. There is even one Confederate soldier among them. Not surprisingly, Civil War soldiers outnumber the other veterans in the cemetery. Out of the 15,600 Cuyahoga County men who were eligible for service during the Civil War, more than 10,000 served in the military. Three monuments have long stood in the cemetery to honor these men: one for the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was erected in 1865; one for the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was built in 1872; and one recognizing the Grand Army of the Republic was built in 1909. Future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were in attendance at the dedication of the latter. In 2012, the cemetery added a fourth Civil War monument to honor the 86 black soldiers who are buried there.
Not all of the courageous individuals from that time have monuments or soldier burials at Woodland Cemetery. An example is Sara Lucy Bagby Johnson, a runaway slave who hid in Cleveland. When she was finally apprehended she became one of the last slaves to face charges under the Fugitive Slave Act. A headstone has just recently been given to Johnson, who before had been buried in an unmarked grave. Also buried there is Eliza Simmons Bryant who founded the Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People, and Ohio's first black state senator, John Patterson Green. While visiting and exploring Woodland Cemetery, one can stumble upon these and the graves of other famous politicians, inventors, and Cleveland pioneers.
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]]>On East 9th Street, enclosed by a 19th century iron fence and Gothic gateway, is the Erie Street Cemetery — the final resting place of some of Cleveland's most notable pioneers and combatants. Located right next door to Progressive Field, even the popular baseball stadium is easily forgotten once you find yourself surrounded by the many weathered gravestones. Although not all are marked, there are almost 8,000 burials in the cemetery, the oldest dating back to 1827. Scattered among the graves are monuments that have been constructed to honor some of the cemetery's more famous occupants. Some of these include Joseph L. Weatherly, founder and first president of the Board of Trade of Cleveland; Lorenzo Carter, community leader and the first permanent settler of Cleveland; and Chief Joc-O-Sot, chief of the Mesquakie tribe who fought in the Black Hawk War.
There are 168 veterans buried in the Erie Street Cemetery who participated in the Revolutionary War through the Spanish-American War. Ninety-eight of these men owe their veteran status to their participation in the Civil War. For example, General James Barnett was an officer in the Civil War and was on the commission for the construction of the Soldiers and Sailors' Monument. He has both a family grave site and a monument. Also buried among fellow Civil War veterans is Jabez W. Fitch, best known for having charge of Camp Taylor, he later served in the 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
Despite the many Cleveland pioneers and soldiers buried at Erie Street Cemetery, efforts were made to reclaim the land for other purposes in the early 20th century. Bodies were even removed to other cemeteries in the in order to make room for new streets. In 1915, the Pioneers' Memorial Association was formed and fought to keep the cemetery and all who remained there undisturbed. Since then efforts have been made to beautify the cemetery by groups like the Works Progress Administration and the Cleveland Grays. Today some markers are worn or broken to the point of being indecipherable, but the graves of numerous dignitaries and veterans can still be found.
]]>On November 24, 1862, in what was then University Heights and now is Tremont, Governor David Tod ascended a large hill to be greeted by a 15-gun salute from the 20th Ohio Independent Battery. The governor was here to inspect Camp Cleveland—the largest of Cleveland’s six Civil War training camps and the only one in operation after 1861. Although the 20th had only been at Camp Cleveland for about a month, other regiments had occupied the camp as early as August, 1862. In fact, just three weeks before Governor Tod arrived, 8,100 men were stationed there. By the war’s end more than 15,000 soldiers (five percent of the troops raised in Ohio) had trained at Camp Cleveland.
Other Civil War training camps—Taylor (E. 30th and Woodlawn), Wade (occupying a part of what became Camp Cleveland), Brown (Euclid and East 46th), Wood (E. 37th and Woodland) and Tod (also along Woodland)—were launched at the beginning of the war, but all closed in late 1861. There were no camps in the area until Camp Cleveland opened in July 1862—once the reality of a long, bloody war became apparent.
Camp Cleveland was distinctive in many ways: Situated on 35.5 acres owned by real estate developer Silas Stone, Camp Cleveland enjoyed an elevated but exceptionally flat location, ample clean water, and primarily wooden structures rather than tents. It was close to the river and easily accessible to Cleveland’s west side, downtown and (by travelling through the Flats) the east side. Recruitment for the camp was done at a variety of downtown locations as well as in a barn on Auburn Avenue, about a mile south of the Camp.
Camp Cleveland’s borders comprised Hershel (now West 5th Street) on the east, University Street (now West 7th Street) on the west, Railway Avenue (now University Road) on the north, and South Street (now Marquardt Avenue) on the south. A small salient west of University Street (West 7th) and south of Franklin Street (now Jefferson Avenue) contained buildings for the camp staff: two for the commandant, three for quartermaster’s stores and a stable.
Walking around Camp Cleveland on the day of his visit, Governor Tod would have seen scores of buildings used for privates’ quarters. Behind these were officers’ barracks. On the eastern side of the camp were six buildings occupied by artillery troops. An arsenal was located in the center of the camp. Other structures included a guardhouse and a chapel. Natural springs and a well supplied the camp’s drinking water.
Barracks were made of unfinished pine wood and were 20 feet wide and 60 feet long, held 32 men and had a stove for heating. Soldiers slept on un-planed wooden bunks, using straw for mattresses and knapsacks for pillows. Meals were brought into the barracks and dished out to each man. A typical evening meal consisted of meat, vegetables, soup and bread. Coffee was drawn by dipping cups into a large kettle. Milk, butter and sugar were rarely available. Troops had to stand while eating due to a lack of barracks furniture. Shelves were used as tables.
In their leisure time, soldiers received visitors, wrote letters, attended worship services, held picnics, listened to music and ventured into Cleveland to frequent the city’s many taverns, see the sights or have photographs taken. Bands often came to Camp Cleveland to entertain the troops. Street vendors sold souvenirs and photographers set up shop to take pictures of soldiers in their new uniforms. “Base-ball” games were played on the parade grounds.
To serve the camp, the U.S. General Hospital Cleveland (USGHC) was built at what is now the southeast corner of West 5th Street and Jefferson Avenue. The 3.76-acre complex consisted of a main building (300 feet long, oriented north to south along Herschel Street), a half-dozen wards and myriad detached buildings. At the crest of the ridge overlooking the Flats was Ward I: the Pest-House (contagious disease ward). Close by was the morgue. Other structures included an office and forage house; a stable and stable sheds; and a mess house. A hospital reading room was open from 8:30 AM to tattoo. On the wall was a sign declaring . . .
• No card playing, loud talk or disorderly conduct.
• Smoking is permitted but spitting on the floor is forbidden.
• No whittling on tables or benches.
• No papers or books may be taken out of the room without special permission of the chaplain.
Ill and wounded soldiers headed for the Camp Cleveland hospital would generally arrive by train at Cleveland’s Union Depot, where they would be transported by various means—private citizens, omnibus hacks (carriages), volunteers from the Ladies’ Aid Society—to the hospital. Throughout the war, more than 3,000 sick and injured soldiers were treated at USGHC. Most deaths at the hospital were due to disease—primarily malaria, typhoid, diarrhea and measles. One man died of liquor poisoning and another slit his throat rather than undergo an amputation without anesthesia. Only six died from wounds received in battle.
As the war came to an end, more than 11,000 troops made their final stop at Camp Cleveland to be paid and discharged (“mustered out”) before returning home.
In July, 1865, Camp Cleveland was closed and disassembled, with the property returned to its lessor, Silas Stone, who sold it to a group of investors. The land subsequently was surveyed and divided into building lots. Many of the barracks were sold to private individuals and, although it has never been researched, several likely ended up as tool sheds or chicken coops on properties scattered around the city. Camp equipment and government property were sold at public auction. The hospital closed in late summer, with remaining patients sent to Camp Dennison General Hospital near Cincinnati. By October, the Camp Cleveland barracks, hospital and prison had been razed.
In 1896 (Cleveland’s centennial) Pelton park was renamed Lincoln Park to honor both the president and the memory of Camp Cleveland. In October, 2003, the State of Ohio placed a historical marker near the site of the original Camp Cleveland. A dedication program was held, with participation by the 19th OVA Reenactment Battery and the Cleveland Grays Color Guard.
]]>On May 30, 1893, patriotic melodies of the Grand Army Band of Canton could be heard coming from the corner of Bolivar Street and Prospect Avenue as an exciting celebration was taking place — the laying of the new Grays Armory cornerstone. Grays Armory was to be the new location of weaponry and drilling procedures for the Cleveland Grays, a local volunteer militia group who had served Cleveland and the country since 1837 and would continue to do so until World War I. The Grays did find their home here, but Grays Armory was also host to many other civic and social events including military balls, a performance by the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1902, the first performance of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1917, a speech by William Howard Taft in 1916, and multiple appearances by William McKinley.
The history of the Cleveland Grays makes their headquarters all the more interesting. Sixty-five men formed themselves into a City Guard Unit on February 22, 1837, and the color of their uniforms later inspired their name. The Cleveland Grays' primary purpose was to protect the city from disturbances and riots, but they were involved in many other Cleveland events as well. According to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on May 26, 1893, "Probably no public event of importance has occurred since [the time they were organized] but the Grays were participants. . . . every monument and public improvement in Cleveland they have assisted in dedicating . . ."
The public also depended on the Grays for peace and order. For example, in 1852 the gun squad put an end to a two day riot at Cleveland's Medical College. These nine Grays were then organized into the Cleveland Light Artillery. The local artillery militia and the rest of the Grays would soon be summoning their bravery in conflicts outside of Cleveland.
At the beginning of the Civil War, the local militia stood fast to their motto Semper Paratus, meaning "always prepared." On April 14, 1861, the Cleveland Grays left Cleveland as the first company to respond to the call for Union soldiers. They served as Company E, 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the 84th OVI, and as Company A, 150th OVI in 1863. While serving in these regiments, the Cleveland Grays took part in the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, the defense of Washington D.C. during the Confederate's Valley Campaigns of 1864, and other skirmishes. Following the Civil War, the Grays went on to serve their country in the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Expedition in 1916, and World War I. Although amendments to the Militia Act of 1903 prevented the Grays from serving in other conflicts as a local militia group, they continued their organization up until the 1990s as a "Businessmen's Camp."
Part of Grays Armory now serves as a museum. Probably the most salient item on display is the first cannon captured by the Union in the Civil War. The cannon's first Cleveland home was in Public Square, where it would fire after each Union victory. A few of the features the armory was designed with are a 140' shooting range in the basement, an equipment room with lockers and a place for arms, a drill room, a billiard room, and a banquet hall. The large sandstone building is filled with relics of the Cleveland Grays' deeds and services.
]]>Walking down Woodland Avenue in the spring of 1861, you would have come across a row of bayonet armed soldiers guarding Camp Taylor, a Civil War training facility for Union soldiers. It would have been hard to imagine judging from their stern faces and disciplined demeanors that these men had only been in training for a few weeks. Before they had answered Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteer soldiers, the men who occupied Camp Taylor had had occupations such as dry good clerks or blacksmiths.
Ohio Governor William Dennison ordered Camp Taylor to be formed in order to expedite soldier training and infantry organization. General J. W. Fitch took charge and Cleveland's old fairgrounds served as its location. There is some discrepancy as to the exact whereabouts of the camp. Secondary sources place Camp Taylor at Woodland Avenue and East 30th Street, whereas primary sources place it at Woodland and Forest Street. Forest Street no longer exists but can be located on nineteenth century maps. Cleveland Historical chooses to use the latter location.
On April 22, 1861, the new recruits began to arrive at the makeshift military camp. The new soldiers, ranging in age from 17 to 40, were from Sandusky, Toledo, Medina, Tiffin, and other northern Ohio regions. By May 2, sixty companies had marched to Cleveland, making the total number of soldiers who learned to perform company and squad drills on the Camp Taylor grounds about 5,000.
Despite the speed at which Camp Taylor was formed, it was so well organized and run with such a strict discipline that observers overlooked that many soldiers were without uniforms. The soldiers would practice drills for six hours a day, perform their duties with "dignity and respect by silence and soldierly bearing," and report to Headquarters for divine service at five each evening. Tents and two of the halls on the old fair grounds were used for soldiers' barracks. The other two halls were used for dining. The dining halls were equipped with a total of nine large stoves. One was a full thirteen feet long. One hundred seventy-five cooks and waiters and sixteen dishwashers worked in the dining halls to feed the thousands of soldiers. To make three meals a day, the cooks went through 6,000 pounds of bread, 3,500 pounds of fresh beef, 14 barrels of corned beef, 10 barrels of pork, 3,700 pounds of potatoes, and 4 barrels of coffee.
As quickly as Camp Taylor filled with new soldiers, it was emptied of trained infantrymen. On May 2, the 8th Ohio Infantry, which was formed at Camp Taylor and consisting of 10 companies and 837 men, left Cleveland for further training at Camp Dennison. Many of the three-month recruits that made up the 8th regiment re-enlisted for three years. In this manner, men who had trained at Camp Taylor fought at Gettysburg as a part of General George B. McClellan's army.
On May 5, the 7th Ohio Infantry followed their campmates toward Camp Dennison. Also like the 8th regiment, most of the 7th re-enlisted as three-year recruits. This regiment fought at such famous battles as Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Chattanooga. The 13th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 107th regiments were also formed at Camp Taylor, but by May 31 they had left and the camp only had 27 men including staff. On June 2, six weeks after it was formed, orders were given to discontinue Camp Taylor because it had efficiently served its purpose. The camp was revived in the late summer however, after it became apparent that the war was not going to be as short as expected. The camp was finally and permanently shut down in October, 1861.
]]>The Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio grew out of Cleveland's Ladies' Aid Society's efforts to assist soldiers serving in the Civil War. The parent organization of the Soldiers' Aid Society was the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which was established by the federal government in June 1861 to provide aid and medical care for Union soldiers throughout the North. Before this occurred, however, the Ladies' Aid Society (1861-1865) was organized by Rebecca Rouse, only five days after President Lincoln's first call for troops to fight in the Civil War in April 1861. This small group of Cleveland women from various churches met on April 20 and organized a "blanket raid" by collecting blankets and quilts for soldiers being mustered at Camp Taylor in Cleveland. The officers of the organization were Rebecca Rouse, who served as the president, Mrs. John Shelley and Mrs. William Melhinch, who served as vice-presidents, Mary Clark Brayton, secretary, and Ellen F. Terry, treasurer. The Ladies Aid Society merged with several other of Cleveland's charitable groups in October 1861 to form the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio.
The Cleveland Branch of the Soldiers' Aid Society was located at 95 Bank (West 6th) Street and served as a model for the creation of smaller aid societies in other towns and villages. It was the first permanently organized branch of the U.S. commission and the first to enter the field. The organization, financed mainly by private donations, cared for the sick and wounded, provided ambulance and hospital service, asked for clothing and medical supplies, and sent food to soldiers in the field throughout the Civil War. Rebecca herself frequently visited military hospitals at the front. She also helped organize a "sanitary fair" in 1864 to raise funds to help soldiers. The Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair was widely advertised and held in a temporary building in Public Square. Single admission to the fair was $.25 and over $100,000 was raised. For a few years after the end of the Civil War, the organization helped returning soldiers find employment and file benefits claims. The Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio finally closed in 1868.
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]]>While no actual Civil War battles took place in Northeast Ohio, the role that its men played in the war was still a significant one. The 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which is better know as the 7th OVI, was a heroic group of men from all over Northeast Ohio who served proudly in the American Civil War. The 7th OVI was initially composed of 1800 men in 10 companies and was in fact only one of a number of infantry units composed of men from the state of Ohio. Indeed, when President Lincoln called on troops to join the war effort in April of 1862, there were enough volunteers from across Ohio to fill the entire quota of 75,000!
Most men from the 7th OVI were true Cleveland boys with a strong spirit to fight for the Union. These were men of culture and good social status, including clergymen, students, teachers, bankers, farmers, and mechanics. When the 7th Ohio was called into service on April 30, 1861 Colonel E.B. Tyler was chosen to lead the infantry. The 7th Ohio mustered at Camp Taylor in Cleveland, located near what is now East 30th and Woodland Avenue. The troops then were moved to Camp Dennison near Cincinnati to receive further training, weapons, and uniforms. It was here that most of the 7th signed up for three years of service to defend the Union. After their service began, they headed out to West Virginia on June 26, 1861.
When Colonel E. B. Tyler was promoted to General, William R. Creighton, with whom the history of the Seventh is identified, took over as Colonel of the 7th OVI. Creighton was part of the old Cleveland Light Guard militia unit which formed the nucleus of what became the 7th OVI. He led the 7th through many famous battles such as Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg before he lost his life in the Battle of Ringgold, Atlanta on November 27, 1863. On that same day, Creighton's Lieutentant Colonel, Orrin J. Crane, also lost his life. Both Creighton and Crane always led their men into battle showing great courage and valor.
After Creighton and Crane lost their lives, the 7th headed south to aid in the Atlanta campaign. Before the campaign began, however, the 7th Ohio was pulled from action at the front because their enlistment time had expired. Those who wanted to continue to fight for the Union joined the 5th Ohio. The rest of the regiment was mustered out, with its men paid and discharged at Camp Cleveland on July 8, 1864.
A war historian wrote of the 7th regiment that "[a]ll in all, considering the number of its battles, its marches, its losses, its conduct in action, it may be safely said that not a single regiment in the United States gained more lasting honor or deserved better of its country than the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry." The unit lost 10 officers and 174 men to hostile action and 2 officers and 87 men to disease. The memory of the 7th OVI, however, will live forever in marbled monuments around the country. One such monument can be found in Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland, where both Creighton and Crane are buried.
]]>In 1890, you would have encountered a large circular room called the Cyclorama tucked away off the lobby of the Lennox Building, located on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Erie Street (now East 9th). In the nineteenth century, cycloramas were popular mass entertainment in the era before film. Viewers would stand in the center of a cylindrical room, often on an elevated platform, surrounded by a panoramic painting of a scene. A cyclorama's canvas ranged anywhere from 25 to 50 feet in height and about 382 feet long. Lights would focus on parts of the scene as actors gave dramatic narrations of the story.
Americans showed only mild interest in this form of entertainment until "The Battle of Gettysburg" cyclorama opened on October 22, 1883, in Chicago. Construction on the Cleveland Cyclorama began in April 1886 after cycloramas of Civil War battles proved to be hugely popular in Chicago, New York, Boston, and other large cities. Eager to cash in on the financial success, Cleveland capitalists put forth the twenty thousand dollars necessary to build the Cyclorama and employ artists to paint the enormous panoramic canvases.
On November 6, 1886, the Cleveland Cyclorama opened with "The Battle of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain." Not all of the cyclorama shows in Cleveland were of Civil War battles, however. In August 1890, management went a different direction and began showing "Jerusalem on the Day of the Crucifixion."
In the mid-1890s the public began to lose interest in the Cyclorama. "The Battle of Gettysburg" was the last of the shows featured at Cleveland's Cyclorama before its doors were permanently closed on January 3, 1895. A year later, the Cyclorama space was used for a bicycle-riding school. The Lennox Building was later torn down in 1921 and replaced in 1924 by the Union Trust Building.
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