Kelleys Island History Blog

by Leslie Korenko I recently met with Randy Edwards who is a freelance writer doing research for an article on island quarries for Twine Line (Ohio Sea Grant's print magazine). https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/products/twineline After exchanging several emails, Randy visited Kelleys Island on December 20 to tour the museum and explore our quarry displays. He brought a long list of questions. One item that intrigued him was a nicely detailed article in our display, “The Shays of Kelleys Island” (The Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company’s Kelleys Island operations) by Lee Rainey. This article appeared in the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine, December 1986. It is a treasure trove of information about the early days of quarrying here. Because it contains so much great information about such an important part of our history and was so well researched – we scanned it and shared it with him and now with you. There are some great photos here. We particularly like the long shot ...

ISLANDERS ATTEND A NEW YEAR'S EVE DANCE AND A WEDDING JANUARY 1861 - A. S. Kelley reported   “New Year’s Day. Pleasant. Had lottery at the Store, Henry Worden drew first prize, bbl flour. Chas. Nelson also had lottery at Himmeleins. Dance at the Island House last night, 28 couples.” This dance was described in detail by another writer. “We more than half made up our minds to stay in our sanctum and let the Senior go to dance the old year out and the New Year in; but valor got the upper hand of discretion. [ The Editors of this issue of the Islander were M. K. Holbrook (Senior) and E. Huntington (Junior). ] So we finally concluded to go also inasmuch as we had heard all about the wedding and as how the happy pair would be there. [ Homer Woodford and Rosetta Moore were married on December 30. ] A New Year’s dance and wedding celebration was held at the Island House and a lottery was held at The Store on the Corner the next day. Then too, we were reliably informed that a go...

THE OTHER INSCRIPTION ROCK ON THE NORTH SHORE By Leslie Korenko We all know that our Inscription Rock on the south shore is world famous, but it seems everyone is suddenly interested in the OTHER inscription rock, which was located in the North Bay near the State Park beach, half way between the boat launch and the swamp. The results of a monumental task, the chronicling of Indian antiquities, was published in 1853. It was an extensive discourse on Indians published by Henry P. Schoolcraft and illustrated by S. Eastman, Capt. U. S. Army. The publication was entitled Information Respecting the History Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Collected and Prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs per act of Congress of March 3rd, 1847 . There were five very substantial volumes published between 1853 and 1856. Parts two and three made mention of the pictographs on Kelley’s Island and the history of the Indians in this area. Schoolcraft’s...

A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS – 1868  ON KELLEYS ISLAND By Leslie Korenko, author of Kelleys Island 1866-1871 The Lodge, Suffrage & Baseball   There were many traditions celebrated on Halloween. Most were of Celtic, Scottish or English origins and reflected the heritage of Kelleys Island residents. Hallowe’en was traditionally a time for marriage divination. One custom was for country girls to be blindfolded and then led into a field where they were supposed to pull the first cabbage they could find. If the cabbage head had a lot of dirt attached to the roots, their future husband would be wealthy while a cabbage with a close white head meant an old husband. Eating the cabbage would reveal his nature - bitter or sweet! The ladies brought the cabbages home and hung them above the door; perhaps to attract that perfect mate. Apples played a role too. The theory was that if an apple was peeled in one long continuous strip, and the peeling thrown backwards ove...

  THIS ISLAND’S STONE FENCES By Leslie Korenko author of Kelleys Island - The Courageous, Poignant, and Often Quirky Lives of Island Pioneers. So what is the story about these walls which snake across the Island, looking like historic beasts? THE RUMORS Recently we had three queries about our stone fences. The first was a belief that they had been built by the WPA.   President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the WPA with an executive order on May 6, 1935. It was part of his New Deal plan to lift the country out of the Great Depression by reforming the financial system and restoring the economy to pre-Depression levels. In 1939 it was renamed the Work Projects Administration which employed mostly unskilled men to carry out public works infrastructure projects. They built more than 4,000 new school buildings, erected 130 new hospitals, laid roughly 9,000 miles of storm drains and sanitary sewer l...

  THE ISLAND’S TELEGRAPH CABLE (PART 2) LONGEST FRESH WATER SUB-MARINE TELEGRAPH CABLE IN THE WORLD By Leslie Korenko Heralded as the ‘Longest Fresh Water Sub-Marine Telegraph Cable in the World ,’ the Island’s telegraph cable was laid on Saturday, June 19, 1875 and received extensive coverage in the press. “ Laying of the Longest Fresh Water Sub-Marine Telegraph Cable in the World. - On Saturday the sub-marine telegraph   cable between Kelley’s Island and Marblehead   was laid. The operation was witnessed by a large number of people from this city and the Islands. The Gazelle   took the cable on board here and proceeded to Put-in-Bay , touching at Kelley’s Island. She returned to the latter place about half-past 1 o’clock that afternoon and went directly to Marblehead, where one of the shore ends of the cable was made fast. The Gazelle carried the cable to the Island. While the Gazelle   was at Marblehead   the Mystic   arrived, having on board...

  AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE 1920 EPIDEMIC OF INFLUENZA IN AN ISOLATED RURAL COMMUNITY. During the influenza epidemic of 1920, this incredibly detailed study was done on the Island. It was the perfect place since it was isolated in the winter with minimal exposure, making it easy to trace origins and transmittal rates. There are loads of charts and graphs and the goal of interviewing everyone on the Island was fully accomplished. In all, 53% of the population contracted influenza and two died. The study also give us a really good picture of the Island during the winter of 1919/20.   Here are some of the highlights as the study reports on the possible sources of the influenza, provides detailed tracing of how people were exposed, lists the measures taken to treat the illness, and evaluates how effective was immunity for those who contracted influenza in 1918. Population - During the influenza epidemic of January and February, 1920, there were 689 persons upon the isl...

It seems like every few years, there is a flood of questions about the statue of Mary located on Titus Road. Rumors abound! One person heard it was created in honor of Island fishermen - a fisherman's shrine if you will. Another was sure it was a memorial to a young couple who died in a car accident at the spot on their wedding day.  These, and the others, are all quite romantic, but unfortunately, not true.  Several years ago, the best history of the statue appeared in our local newspaper, Kelleys Life (the March/April 2012) edition. So, in answer to all those questions, and thanks to Kelleys Life, here is the real story about the Statue of Virgin Mary that we all love so well. By the way, you read several years' worth of Kelleys Life on the museum website - just click on Island Newspapers. (https://www.kelleysislandhistorical.org/kelleys-life-newspaper.html)

WHAT IS THAT BIG BUILDING AT THE STATE PARK? By Leslie Korenko This is one of the TOP 10 questions that we get asked at the history museum and on Facebook. That was the North Side quarry crusher. Late in 2018, the State Park cleared the trees and brush from around this structure, revealing it for the first time in many years. As a result, people are asking “What is that big cement thing at the State Park?” While there are several great pictures in the quarry section of the museum that tell a more detailed story about this structure and the various quarry operations on the Island, here is a little history about this particular building. The right side of the building was the steam plant that powered the entire operation. The left side was the crusher building and stone storage bins. Railroad cars would back up through a hole in the upper part of the building and tip stone down into the crusher, which was located in the corner where the two structures meet. You can still see the co...

FINALLY - our gift shop will be open this weekend (Sat & Sunday from 12-4). So stop by and say HI! We have so much new stuff.

Check out our new video - This is a great opportunity to see what we are all about. There is a little bit about each of our standing exhibits, a look back at some of our more popular one-year only displays (Island electricity, Bathing Beauties, A Kelleys Island Kitchen, and commercial fishing exhibits).  Tour the Kelleys Island History Museum (2019)

Memorial Day 2020 is behind us and the impact of COVID-19 on this day was keenly felt on the Island. In the past, upwards of 200 people would show up at the cemetery to show their respect to those who fell protecting our freedom and our country. They had speeches, bike races, and parades. Ceremonies today are a bit more low-key.  On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1895. This was the Spanish-American War. The list of island men volunteering include William C. Upp, who had already enlisted in Co. B and was awaiting orders, Edwin L. Upp, Thomas Keating, William Blatt, Andrew Boker and Frederick Hess. Here is how they celebrated  MEMORIAL DAY – 1898 “In the midst of the excitement of the present war comes Memorial Day, the day when we decorate the graves of the boys in blue who died in the...