March 3, 1837 - This Day In History... A Tale of Two Cities, Cleveland-style

I married a west-sider. After meeting at The Ohio State University, my then-boyfriend always said, “Yep, I’m from Cleveland. Where the west side is the best side, and the east is the least”. He always said it with a wry grin, and being a Columbus-ite myself, I didn’t really understand the significance of his words. Fast forward to just over 15 years later, when we were looking for a place to live in the Northeast Ohio area. I found some lovely homes in Shaker Heights, Solon, University Heights, etc. and was quite excited. When shown these, he responded with a furrowed brow and remarked, “I’m not even sure they would allow me to live on the east side. We better stay west of the river.” I thought he was kidding. The east suburbs are lovely, full of beautiful historic homes, sweeping lawns, brick and stone and some gorgeous family neighborhoods.

Cleveland in 1835

Now, those of you reading this who have lived here for some time are smiling right now. But newbies like myself thought he might be a bit crazy. When pressed further, I learned that there was an old joke that you needed a special “pass” to cross back and forth over the Cuyahoga River. Once you lived east or west, you tended to stay that way, and do your business (including your career) pretty much on that “side”. To a girl who grew up in circular Columbus, this mentality was pretty foreign.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that there had actually been a Cleveland ‘civil war’ of sorts! It appears that these east v. west roots ran inordinately deep: way back to 1836, in fact.

You see, the Columbus Street Bridge was the first permanent bridge over the Cuyahoga River. It was built in the spring of 1836 to the tune of $15,000 and was, in part, financed by the Mayor of Cleveland at the time, John W. Willey. It promoted the commercial development of Cleveland but at the expense of Ohio City. 
 

Columbus Street Bridge - 1837

The bridge was 200 feet long, 33 feet wide and 24 feet high, with a draw at the center allowing ships to pass. Travelers could now bypass Ohio City entirely, including the old floating bridge there that was owned jointly by Cleveland and Ohio City. When they saw their trade diverted to Cleveland, Ohio City residents boycotted the new bridge.

The westsiders obviously objected on the grounds that the people from Brooklyn, Elyria, and the countryside, would go over to Cleveland by the new route, instead of passing down into Ohio City, for their trading. This meant a direct loss, as each year brought hundreds of teams in, from the south and west, loaded with wheat, flour, corn, pork, etc. – not to mention the loads of goods that were carried away in return.

To make matters worse, at the direction of a cunning Mayor Willey and his financial partner Mr. Clark, the Cleveland City Council ordered that their half of the Ohio City-Cleveland floating bridge be destroyed. It was done in the dark of night, and when the westsiders awoke to a rising sun, they saw their direct communication and commerce to Cleveland utterly destroyed. They realized that to reach any point of Cleveland at all, they would be forced to travel south and use the hated Columbus Street Bridge.

To say they retaliated is a bit of an understatement. They tried (in vain) to powder explode one end of the new bridge. A group of 1,000 Ohio City volunteers began digging deep ditches at both ends of the bridge, making it impossible for horses and wagons to reach the structure. But the westsiders were still unsatisfied with this and took to using guns, crowbars, axes, and other weapons to finish off the bridge. In the midst of all this, their rallying cry could be heard: “Two bridges, or none!”

Mayor John. W. Willey

Well, the Cleveland eastsiders quickly caught wind of this, and a militia armed with rifles as well as the old cannon used during July 4^th celebrations were brought to defend the new bridge. When Mayor Willey stepped up to try to calm the situation, he was blasted with stones thrown by the westsiders. The Ohio City residents began tearing up the bridge planks and threw them in the river. Meanwhile, Old Deacon House slipped over to the east side and disabled the antique cannon. But gunfire was exchanged and approximately eight men were injured.

Eventually, some may say amends were made and Ohio City was annexed by the City of Cleveland in 1854. So, there you have it. A deep-seated, longstanding rift between the people who flank either side of the Cuyahoga.

Which brings me to two wonderful Northeast Ohio associations which I’d like to highlight: The Cuyahoga West and Cuyahoga East chapters of the Ohio Genealogical Society. These two fine groups of genealogists do not merely serve just their sides of the Cuyahoga. It's clear that they cheerfully exchange the information that benefits all of us who are interested in family history. Please visit their websites for a treasure trove of material, or attend one of their monthly meetings. Use whichever bridge you like.

21st February: This Day In Cleveland's History: Completion of the Columbus/Cleveland Railroad

On this date in 1851, there was a huge celebration in Cleveland over the completion of the Cleveland/Columbus/Cincinnati railroad.  Governor Wood, the General Assembly and other prominent officials celebrated the completion of the Cleveland/Columbus portion by boarding a grand excursion train with 425 other passengers in a torrential downpour in Columbus.  The party headed to Cleveland, and returned to Columbus after a day's layover.  By 1868, the Cincinnati portion was complete.

On their way up, they stopped in Shelby for lunch, and State Librarian John Greiner was hoisted onto a table, where he began to sing a song just written for the occasion - Mr. Baker of the Senate chimed in as they sang:

            We hail from the city, the Capital City,
            We left in the storm and the rain;
            The cannon did thunder, the people
            did wonder
            To see pious folks "on a train."

            The ironhorse snorted, he puffed and he started,
            And such a long tail as he bore!
            And put for the city that grows in the woods,
            The city upon the Lake Shore.

The next day, swarms of Clevelanders saw the party off - amid similar fanfare.  Eventually, the line included Cincinnati, and cross-state travel was easily made from the southern shores of the Ohio River to our Great Lake Erie.

But what about our Ohio railroad that preceded the 3C line?  The Underground Railroad was well underway in our state by 1810.  Some members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) all across the north were known to help runaway slaves as early as the 1780s.  But Ohio - and Cleveland in particular - was a critical part of this history.  Because the US Constitution, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 permitted slave owners to reclaim their runaway slaves, even if the African Americans had moved to a free state, enslaved and fleeing African Americans were forced to make it into Canada to be safe. 

The Cleveland "station" on the slaves' journey was code-named "Hope".  It was their last stop before Canada.  While there are places all around northeast Ohio you can still visit where slaves hid and were aided, one of the most famous stops was right here on Euclid Avenue (known as Buffalo Road then) - where they would be hidden in freedman John Bell's barbershop before boarding a boat for Canada.

COZAD-BATES HOUSE

Other stories of heroism and humanity abound throughout Greater Cleveland and northeast Ohio from the years leading up to the Civil War. The Cozad-Bates house is further testimony to this history.  The beautiful Italianate home, originally lived in by Justus Cozad, and once a stop on the railway to freedom for so many, now sits in the heart of Cleveland’s cultural and intellectual district in University Circle. The Cozads and their neighbors, the Fords (well documented "conductors" on the Underground Railroad), owned much of the land now occupied by Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Museum of Art, the Botanical Gardens, The Natural History Museum, University Hospital and Severance Hall.  

What stories do YOUR Ohio pre-civil war ancestors tell?  Were they conductors? Slaves making their way to freedom? Providers? Writers? Activists?

There is a remarkable group of men and women right here in northeast Ohio who can help you find your way through these questions.  The African American Genealogical Society was founded over 20 years ago and stays true to their original mission.  Find them, their records and their good work here: http://www.aagsclev.org .

Oh, and by the way - Justus Cozad? - he was, ironically, a general superintendent and chief engineer for that very railroad company I mentioned earlier.

14th February: This Day In Cleveland's History ...sort of.

The Valentine's Day Massacre conjures up images of gangster-era Chicago, and stories of legendary Chicago mobsters, Bugs Moran and Al Capone.  But how many remember or even know Cleveland's connection to this infamous event in US history?  Find it below...

On February 14, 1929, the country witnessed the culmination of the Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran war when four men dressed as police officers entered Bugs's headquarters - lined seven of Moran's men up against the wall and and sprayed them with gunfire, killing all.

After surviving a 1,000 bullett riddling of a hotel where he and his henchmen were having lunch, and having learned of a $50,000 bounty on his head - Capone had reached his limit with Moran and ordered the hit.  He was vacationing in Florida at the time.  The only reason Moran wasn't included in the massacre was his tardiness, and good sense, not to walk in when he saw the fake officers entering his building, to conduct what he thought was a raid.

In the end, Al Capone was brought down by Eliot Ness - who was hired that very same year as a special agent by the US Department of Justice to head the Prohibition bureau in Chicago, with the express purpose of investigating and harassing Capone.  After infiltrating the underworld in Chicago with his group of loyal agents, termed "The Untouchables" for their inability to be bribed, Ness and his men gathered enough evidence to send Capone to prison for income-tax evasion.

After Prohibition, Ness worked for the US Treasury as a liquor tax agent - and was assigned to Cleveland, Ohio in 1934.  In December 1935, the Mayor of Cleveland hired him as the City's Safety Director - putting him in charge of the local fire and police departments.  He transferred later for a time to Washington DC, then back to Cleveland for an unsuccessful campaign as mayor in 1947.  Sometime after his death in 1957, his ashes were spread over a pond at Lake View Cemetery here in Cleveland.

Lake View is a treasure-trove for genealogists and the casual historian alike.  Stunningly beautiful, it also boasts an incredible resource for today's family historian - an online, easily searched database for everyone buried or memorialized there.  You may access it at: http://www.webcemeteries.com/lakeviewcemetery/search.asp

In addition to President James A. Garfield - the 20th President of the United States, Lake View is the final resting place of John D. Rockefeller, Carl B. Stokes, members of President Lincoln's cabinet, Civil War generals and Revolutionary War soldiers, not to mention twenty-two Cleveland mayors.  On memorials throughout the cemetery, names like Winton, Sherwin, Morgan, Grasselli, Hughes, Mather, Severance, Bolton, Cushing, Carabelli, Hanna, Crile, Glidden, Blossom, and Brush, all synonymous with Cleveland history, can be seen.

Do you have ties to this history-rich cemetery?  Should you plan a visit, don't forget to see The Jeptha H. Wade Memorial Chapel - designed by none other than Louis Comfort Tiffany himself.