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-ISO7 .- 11
HISTORY
OF
LORAIN COUNTY
OHIO.
WITH
ILLUSTRATIONS & BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF
SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS,
PHILADELPHIA :
WILLIAMS BROTHERS.
-1879 .-
PRESS OF LEADER PRINTING COMPANY, CLEVELAND, O.
F 497 . L86H6
-
1
1
WEST FALLS EAST FALLS.
COURT HOUSE FRONT
AT THE CONFLUENCE OF EAST & WEST BRANCH BLACK RIVER
EAST BRANCH AT LAKE SHORE RY VIADUCT. SCENES IN AND AROUND ELYRIA, OHIO.
664 2718
01/2
6
PREFATORY NOTE.
IN the preparation of this History, accuracy has been the aim of the publishers. They have endeavored to confine themselves within the limits of ascertained facts and reliable data. and while they have not published every item of history belonging to the county of Lorain, all that is really important is given, and that which is published may be regarded as authentic.
Gentlemen of experience, as writers, have assisted the anthor in the production of this book : and it is believed that the subjects, which each writer has severally dealt with, have been treated with care and thoroughness. In the general history department, A. G. RIDDLE, of Washington, D. C., contributed the chapter on "Pioneer Life:" JAY TERRELL, the "Geology" and "Fossil Fishes:" P. 11. BOYNTON, the " Bar of Lorain County ;" GEORGE G. WASHBURN, the " Press of Lorain County:" R. BAKER, the " Lorain Agricultural Society." The history of " Elyria" was mainly prepared by Dr. L. D. GRISWOLD; that of " Russia," including "Oberlin," by Rev. HENRY MATSON; that of " Wellington," by Hon. J. H. DICKSON, while Mrs. NESBETT contributed the greater part of " Grafton." To the pen of President FAIRCHILD, the publishers are indebted, in the main, for the history of " Brownhehn," and the biography of "Father Keep." They are also under obligations to many others who have aided them greatly in collecting and furnishing data for this history.
The publishers feel that they have done the work, they undertook to do, faithfully; and while the book may not be found entirely free from blemishes, they are confident that none of a serions character will be discovered.
Ilitherto the publishers have had their county histories published in Philadelphia, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & Co., but this volume is from the press of the LEADER PRINTING COMPANY, Cleveland, who have done themselves credit by the high degree of typographical excellence shown in the printing of this book. Every inhabitant of the Western Reserve has cause for congratulation in the fact,-of which this History of Lorain County is proof,-that Cleveland is able to maintain successful rivalry with Philadelphia, New York and Boston, in the publication of books whose beauty of typography is of the highest standard attained by the " art preservative."
CONTENTS.
HISTORICAL.
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY.
PAGE
I .- Discovery
Columbia
147
II .- The Connectient Western Reserve .
10
III .- The Connecticut Land Company
13
IV .- Physical Features .
18
Eaton
199
V .- Fossil Fish, and Where they are Found
30
Black River
207
VI .- The Mound-Builderx
32
Brownhelm
217
VII .- The Indians .
33
Henrietta
236
VIII .- The Moravian Missions
37
Carlisle
245
IX .- Pioneer Life .
38
Sheffield
250
X .- Civil Organization
41
Grafton
255
XI .- Civil List
43
Avon .
271
XII .- The Bar of Lorain County
45
Huntington
278
XIII .- The Press of Lorain County
55
Rochester
284
XIV .-- Lorain Agricultural Society
68
Camden
289
XV .- Lorain in the Rebellion
77
Penfield
298
XVI .- Roster of Soldiers .
90
Lagrange
308
Brighton
317
Amherst
325
Wellington .
347
ERRATA .
373
Pittsfield
367
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Seenes in and around Elyria ( Frontispiece )
facing Title
Portraits of M. W. Pond and Wife
facing 143
Residence of Martin W. Pond .
143
Dentition of Dinichthys Terrelli (Front View )
30
..
(Side View ] 31
ELYRIA.
Residence of A. Beebe, Sr.
between 104, 105
.. Edwin Hall .
.. 104, 105
.. A. Beebe, Jr.
104, 105
Beebe Ilouse
104, 105
Tavern, opened in 1820, by A. Beebe, Sr.
104, 105
Portraits of Artemas Beebe and Wife
104, 105
Portrait of N. B. Gates
facing 108
Wm. HI. Tucker
..
I12
.. Iral A. Webster
113
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
.. 115
Portrait of Elizur G. Johnson
.. 118
Judge John C. HIale
between 118, 119
Residence of Geo. G. Washburn, Esq.
faeing 123
Union Hall Clothing House
..
123
Portrait of Dr. E. C. Perry
between 130, 131
Residence of C. L. Freeman facing 169
Portraits of C. L. Freeman and Wife 169
Portrait of Sylvester Hart . between IS4, IS5
Homestead of Mrs. R. B. Hart . .. 184, 185
Portraits of Mrs. Relief B. and Miss E. C. Hart .. 184, 185
Portrait of John Keep (steel)
facing 192
Residence of Charles Bassett
between 196, 197
Dr. L. D. Griswold
138
..
W. A. Braman .
140
R. E. Braman
..
140
.. E. D. Holbrook
..
I41
.. Wm. W. Aldrich
..
141
E. P. Haines
.. 141
Residence of Lemuel Abbey
facing 199
L. C. Kelsey
141
Portraits of Ebenezer Abbey and Wife
199
..
=
Portrait of Hon. Stevenson Burke (steel ) .
144
Houston H. Poppleton (steel) . between 146, 147
COLUMBIA.
Portraits of Ransom Bronson and Wife
between 156, 157
Portrait of Jesse Eddy 156, 157
RIDGEVILLE.
Congregational Church and Centre Cemetery facing 157
Portrait of Harry Terrell . 159
Residence of Mark Humphrey . 160
160
Portraits of Mark Humphrey and Wife N. II. Hinekley and Wife 162
Residence of E. W. Hinckley 162
N. T. Meach . 164
C. L. Sexton . 167
Portrait of Richard Blain .
168
RUSSIA.
Dr. Chas. F. Cushing
.. 130, 131
Frederick S. Reefy .
facing 131
C. A. Ely (steel)
between 134, 135
Residence of Mrs. C. A. Ely
.. 134, 135
Elyria Library Building .
136
Portrait of Hon. P. Bliss (steel)
facing 137
Portraits of Charles Bassett and Wife
196, 197
Residence of Lott Parsons .
+4 196, 197
Portraits of Lott Parsons and Wife .. 196, 197
EATON.
HISTORY OF THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF LORAIN COUNTY.
PAGE
CHAPTER
Elyria 103
157
Ridgeville .
Russia
169
5
PAGE
Outline Map of Lorain County .
6
CONTENTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Portraits of Lemuel Abbey and Wife .
facing 199
Residence of John Roach .
Oel Darkec .
205
Portraits of Del Durkee and Wife
205
Portrait of William H. Phillips .
206
.. Dr. T. B. Dailey
277
HUNTINGTON.
Residence of Abram Holland .
facing 253
Portraits of Abram Holland and Wife
253
ROCHESTER.
Portraits of Roswell B. Boice and Wife
facing 2×4
CAMDEN.
Residence of John Rose, Kipton
facing
297
Portraits of John and Lucinda Rose .
207
PENFIELD.
Residence of William W. Penfield
facing 298 Portraits of Truman Penfield and Wife
298
Elisha and Sally Sheldon
300
Residence of Elisha Sheldon 300
the late Beri Andrews .
302
Portraits of Leri and Amy S. Andrews
Orrin Starr and Wife
305
Residence of Orrin Starr
Street Goodyear
307
Portraits of Street Goodyear and Wife
= 307
LAGRANGE.
Residence of Dr. E. D. Merriam facing 308 30S Portraits of Dr. E. D. Merriam and Wife .
Roman and Amanda Freeman between 310, 311
E. H. Sanders and Wife
310, 311
Residence of E. H. Sanders
Boman Freeman
310, 311
¥ Allen Sanders
:
312. 313
Delos M. Sanders
312, 313
Portraits of Allen Sanders and Wife
.. Delos M. Sanders and Wife
312, 313
Residence of “
Portrait of Nathan P. Johnson .
..
316
BRIGHTON.
Residence of James Whipple .
facing 320
Portraits of Leonard H. Loveland and Wife
323
AMIIERST.
Residence of Capt. Samuel Flint between 226, 227
C. Bailey facing 325
Portraits of Curtis and Lovina Bailey
325
Residence of J. J. Rice, and Foundry of J. J. Rice & Co. between 326, 327
Portraits of J. J. Rice and Wife 326. 327
Residence of Emeline Cook 326, 327
Portraits of L. R. Cook and Wife 326, 327
Samuel and Jane Kendeigh 328, 329
Residence of Samuel Kendeigh .
.. 328, 329
Late Residence of Geo. Dudley .
328, 329
Residence of Casper Dute .
330, 331
Portraits of Casper Dute and Wife
.. 330, 331
Residence of Captain E. P. Frink 330, 331
Portraits of Captain E. P. and Aarilla Frink ‹. 330, 331
George and Adaline L. Bryant 332, 333
John J. and Cecilia Kendeigh .. 332, 333
336, 337 Views of Clough Stone Co.'s Quarries (double page) Portrait of Henry Warner . facing 338
Baxter Clough .
341
Residences of Edwin, C. H., and T. L. Snow
6. 272
A. A. Crosse, M.D. .
342
Residence of G. W. and W. O. Iturst
.. 274
PAGE
Portraits of William and Lucina Ilurst facing 274
276
Joseph Schwartz
..
BLACK RIVER.
Portrait of Conrad Reid
facing 208
Residence of E. Gregg
..
216
BROWNHIELM.
Residence of George G. Morse . between 218, 219
Portraits of George G. Morse and Wife
218, 219
Portrait of Anna Ray Morse
218. 219
Elisha Peck (deceased) 220, 221
6. Colonel E. F. Peek and Wife
220,221
Residence of E. F. Peek 220, 221
.. Solomon Whittlesey, 1824
facing 222
Portrait of Solomon Whittlesey .
.. 222
Residence of Cyrus L. Whittlesey
222
Portraits of William Sayles and Wife
between 224, 225
Portrait of Mrs. Sarah C. Sayles (deceased)
224, 225
Residence of William Sayles
224, 225
.. Chester A. Cooley .
226, 227
Portraits of Chester A. Cooley and Wife
226, 227
Residence of W. H. Cooley
226, 227
Portrait of W. II. Cooley . 226, 227
.. Leonard Bradley facing 228
Portraits of George, Catharine, and Maria B. Wells
233
The Amherst Mill
.. 234
Residence of John Il. Hey mann 234
Portraits of John H. Heymann and Wife . ..
234
CARLISLE.
Residence of the Heirs of David Bennett .
facing 245
Portraits of David and Jane Bennett .
245
Residence of Lorenzo Clark
246
Portrait of William Patterson
between 248, 249
.. Chauncey Prindle .. 248, 249
SHEFFIELD.
Residence of L. F. Parks .
facing 250
Portraits of L. F. Parks and Wife
250
Residence of the late Geo. B. Crehore
.. 252
Portraits of Geo. Crehore and Wife .
..
252
Erastus Hecock and Wife
between 254, 255
" Zopher Irish and Wife
..
254, 255
Portrait of Isaac Burrell
254, 255
Jonathan C. Bennett
254, 255
GRAFTON.
Residence of Henry B. Rawson .
facing 250
Portrait. of H. B. and Grindall Rawson
256
B. S. Corning and Wife .
between 258, 259
Birthplace of Duke Mennell, Yorkshire, Eng.
260. 261
Residence of 4 Grafton, Mich.
260, 261
Portraits of Crispin and Dake Mennell
260, 261
Residence of A. W. Nichols (double page)
264, 265
Portraits of A. W. Nichols and Wife .
264,265
Birthplace of A. W. Nichols, York, N. Y. .
264, 265
Residence of Dr. C. B. Knowlton
facing 266
Portrait of ..
Mrs. Ifarriet I. Nesbett
* 268
Portraits of Stephen H. and Margaret R. Brown
facing 270
AVON.
Portrait of Edwin Snow
facing
272
Portraits of Jacob Hildebrand and Wife
.6 346
200
Portrait of Albin Stickney
E. G. Moon
.. 277
312. 313
R. B. Munro and Wife
facing 314
314
.. 310, 311
302
305
266
7
ILLUSTRATIONS.
WELLINGTON.
PAGE
Residence of D. L. Wadsworth .
facing 347
Portraits of Roswell and Jane Smith
facing 361
James Sheldon
between 348, 349
.. Selden Hall and Wife 361
S. D. Bacon . 348, 349
Portrait of Abner Loveland 46
361
Portraits of Silas and Lydia Miller 4. 364
Residence of Silas Miller . 364
Residence of Homer Mason facing 350
and Portrait of J. H. Dickson
353
Carriage Manufactory of T. Doland .
: 354
Residence of B. B. Herrick
356
Portraits of Lawton Wadsworth and Wife
between 358, 359
Residence of J. T. Carter .
facing 368
BIOGRAPHICAL.
PAGE
PAGE
Ebenezer Lane
45
Lemuel Abbey
204
Elijah Parker
15
Oel Durkee .
205
Reuben Mussey .
45
William H. Phillips, Esq.
206
- Woolsey Welles .
46
John Roach
206
Frederick Whittlesey .
46
Conrad Reid
facing 208
S. J. Andrews
46
Ebenezer Gregg .
.216
Edward S. Hamlin
47
C'apt. Samuel L. Flint
216
Horace D. Clark
47
George G. Morse
between 218, 219
Joel Tiffany
47
Col. E. F. Peck .
.. 220, 221
Albert A. Bliss
48
Chester A. Cooley
226, 227
Judson D. Benediet
48
Leonard Bradley
facing 228
Philemon Bliss .
49
Deacon George Wells .
233
Wm. F. Lockwood
49
Solomon Whittlesey
233
Sylvester Bagg .
50
William Sayles .
234
John M. Vincent
51
John H. Ifeymann
234
Lionel A. Sheldon
51
Henry Brown .
234
Artemas Beebe, Sr.
between 104, 105
Rev. Alfred HI. Betts .
235
Nahum B. Gates
facing 108
William Patterson
between 248, 249
William II. Tucker
112
Chauncey Prindie
248, 249
Iral A. Webster .
I13
Erastus Ilecock .
254, 255
Elizur G. Johnson
..
118
B. S. Corning
258, 259
Judge John C. Hale
between 118, 119
Crispin and Duke Mennell
260, 261
Judge W. W. Boynton
118, 119
Mrs. Harriet I. Nesbett
26S
Edwin C. Perry, M.D.
130,131
Grindall Rawson
269
Charles F. Cushing, M.D. .
130, 131
IIenry B. Rawson
269
Frederick S. Reefy
facing 131
Allen W. Nichols
269
Charles A. Ely .
134
Dr. C. B. Knowlton
270
Hon. Philemon Bliss .
137
Stephen H. Brown
facing 270
Dr. Luther D. Griswold Wm. A. Braman
facing 140
William Ilurst
276
Ransom E. Braman
140
Joseph Schwartz.
276
Dr. L. C. Kelsey
141
Albin Stickney
facing 276
William W. Aldrich
141
Elbridge G. Moon
277
Martin W. Pond
143
Dr. Truman B. Dailey
277
lIon. Stevenson Burke
144
Abram Holland .
283
Elwood P. Haines
145
Roswell B. Boice
facing 284
' Edwin D. Holbrook
146
John Rose .
297
Hlouston H. Poppleton
between 146, 147
Truman Penfield
305
David Bennett .
facing
147
Elisha Sheldon
305
Ransom Bronson
between 156, 157
Beri Andrews
306
Jesse Eddy .
156, 157
Orrin Starr .
306
Ilarry Terrell
facing 159
Street Goodyear and Family
307
C. Lester Sexton
167
Nathan P. Johnson
facing 316
Richard Blain
168
E. D. Merriam, M.D. .
316
Sylvester Hart
between 184, 185
R. B. Munro
317
Charles G. Finney
190
James Whipple .
322
Rev. James II. Fairebild
191
Leonard HI. Loveland
323
John Keep .
192
Selden Ilall, Sr. .
323
Samuel Matthews
196
Samuel Kendeigh
between 328, 329
Charles Bassett .
196
George Bryant .
332, 333
Lott Parsons
197
John J. Kendeigh
332, 333
Luther Freeman .
198
Henry Warner .
facing 338
.
.
138
Edwin Snow
276
..
348, 349
Portraits of James Sheldon and Wife
S. D. Bacon and Wife
348, 349
W. H. H. Sutliff
366
Portraits of W. II. H. Sntliff and Wife
.. 366
PITTSFIELD.
PAGE
" Evergreen IFill," Residence of F. S. Wadsworth between 358, 359
..
CONTENTS.
S
CONTENTS.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
PAGE
PAGE
Baxter Clough
341
Sereno D. Bacon .
360
Asnhel A. Crosse .
342
Abner Loveland, Jr ..
361
Curtis Bailoy
343
Roswell Smith
361
Joseph and J. J. Rice
344
Homer Mason and Family .
363
Lewis Rodman Cook .
341
James Shelden
. . 363
Casper Dute
345
Silas Miller
. 364
Capt. E. P. Frink
345
Bert B. Ilerrick
. 365
IIon. J. Il. Dickson
facing 353
Dr. John W. Houghton
. 366
Lawton Wadsworth
between 358, 359
Wm. II. H. Sutliff
. 366
Francis S. Wadsworth
359
R. J. Robinson
.
366
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BROWNTELY
HISTORY
OF
LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.
BY W. W. WILLIAMS.
CHAPTER I. DISCOVERY.
THE year 986 signalizes the first visitation of white men to the New World. Then it was that Herjulfson, a Norse navigator, in sailing from Iceland to Green- land. was driven by a storm to the coast of Labrador, or, as some historians claim, to that of Newfoundland. The uninviting character of the coasts of the new land deterred him from landing. What Herjulfson first saw, it was reserved for other discoverers to expore. The Norsemen returned to Greenland, and there re- lated wonderful stories of the land they had seen, but made no further attempts at discovery.
Fifteen years later Lief Erickson, a brave and daring Icelandic captain, with mind inflamed with the fabu- lous accounts of his brother Norseman, resolved to extend the discovery of Herjulfson, and in the year 1001 set foot upon the shore of Labrador. He directed his course southwest along the coast, and finding the country pleasant and attractive extended his explora- tions, and finally reached the territory embraced within the present State of Massachusetts, where he and his companions remained one year. They pro- ceeded along the coast bordering upon Long Island Sound, and it is claimed that the persevering band even found their way to New York harbor.
That this early discovery of American soil may not be deemed a myth, we will say, that while until recently historians have been incredulous, they now almost universally concede the fact; and by way of trustworthy information we quote from Humboldt's "Cosmos." as follows: "We are here on historical ground. By the critical and highly praiseworthy efforts of Professor Rafn and the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Copenhagen, the sagas and documents in regard to the expedition of the Norsemen to New- foundland, Nova Scotia, and Vinland, have been pub- lished and satisfactorily commented upon. The dis- covery of the northern part of America by the Norse- men cannot be disputed. The length of the voyage, the direction in which they sailed, the time of the sun's
rising and setting, are accurately given. While the Caliphate of Bagdad was still flourishing America was discovered, about the year 1001, by Lief, the son of Eric the Red, at the latitude of forty-one and a half degrees north."
Nor did the explorations of these intrepid Icelanders cease with the expedition of Erickson and his compan- ions, but in the following year-1002 -Thorwald Erickson, brother to Lief, stimulated with a desire to see the new and beautiful country, made a voyage to the coast of Maine. He is said to have ended his days in the vicinity of the present town of Fall River, Massachusetts. In 1005 still another brother, Thorstein Erickson, with a band of adventurers, made a similar voyage, and was followed in 1007 by Thor- finn Karlsefne, a celebrated mariner, who sailed southward along the coast as far as Virginia.
The Norsemen must be regarded as a band of roving adventurers, who effected no settlements, and of whose discoveries but few important records have been preserved. The enthusiasm which the first dis- coverers excited gradnally subsided, and as there were no spoils in the wilderness which might fall prey to the Norse freebooters and pirates, further occupancy of the country was not attempted. The shadows which had been for a moment dispelled began to (larken over the shores of the New World, and the curtain was not again lifted for nearly five hundred years. Then came the achievement of Columbus, in the year 1492. Born of a holy faith and an inflexible purpose, it was the greatest maritime enterprise in the history of the world. Hle touched upon an island subsequently called San Salvador, and planting there the banner of Castile, formally claimed possession of the land in the name of Isabella, Queen of Spain. Marvelous were the results of discovery and explora- tion which followed. England and France vie with Spain and with each other for the mastery in the New World. The Spanish nation, led on by an insatiable thirst for gold, pushed forward her explorations in America with such energy and spirit that in less than fifty years from the time of the great discovery of
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HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.
Columbus, she had explored and laid claim to nearly one-half of the present territory of the United States, Her adventurers had visited the present. States and Territories of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana. Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, the Indian Territory. Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Uiah, Arizona, No- vada and California.
France likewise made large acquisitions of Ameri- can soil, though of later date. The discoveries and explorations of James Cartier, of the patriotic De Monts, of Samuel Champlain. of Marquette, of Joliet, and of the gallant La Salle, secured to France, before the close of the Sixteenth century. claims to North American territory greater than those of any other European power. At the time referred to. her sovereignty in America embraced Newfoundland. Acadia, Nova Scotia. Hudson's Bay, all the Canadas, more than half of Mame, Vermont, and New York, the whole valley of the Mississippi- including its eastern tributaries-the great chain of lakes at the north and Texas at the south, as far as to the Rio Bravo del Norte.
England's dominions in America lay along the Atlantic seaboard. The thirteen original colonies skirting the Atlantic from Florida to the verge of Nova Scotia were the planting of the English people, and constituted that nation's possessions up to the time of the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. By virtue of this treaty England obtained large concessions of territory from France. The entire possessions of the Bay of Hudson and its borders; of Newfoundland. subject to the rights of France in its fisheries; and all of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, according to its ancient. boundaries, passed from the dominion of France to that of England. And now the strife in America for the possession of colonial monopolies and territorial sovereignty was confined to these two great powers. France still maintained her claim to much the larger extent of territory, but her population, scattered over this immense area, numbered only eleven thousand two hundred and forty-nine persons in 1688, while that of the English colonies in the same year exceeded two hundred thousand. A contest of fifty years' duration between these two great powers for territo- rial acquisition in America followed, resulting in the Treaty of Paris, in 1263, by virtue of which France lost and England gained the whole country between the Allegheny mountains and the Father of Waters. except a small fract lying at the month of the great river. The valley of the Ohio, for whose special conquest a seven years' war had been bogum, thus passed to the possession of Britain.
Strangely enough, for the success of this under- taking the English nation was mainly indebted to the very hero, who, a few years later, as Commander-in- Chief of the American armies, was engaged in wresting it-in common with the territory of the whole country-from British rule, in order to transfer it to the free people who should make for humanity a
new existence in America. In less than a decade the dominions which England took from France were in turn taken from her, and the United States of America obtained a place among the nations of the world, and undertook the glorious work of filling a territorial continent with commonwealths.
CHAPTER II.
* THE CONNECTICUT WESTERN RESERVE.
THE Western Reserve of Connecticut lies between the parallels of 41" and 42" 2' of north latitude. com- meneing with the western boundary line of Pennsyl- vania, and extending thence one hundred and twenty miles westward. The entire tract embraces an area of seven thousand four hundred and forty square miles. nearly one-third of which is water. If the whole were land, there would be four million seven hundred and sixty-one thousand six hundred acres. It is composed of the connties of Ashtabula. Trumbull. Portage, Geauga. Lake, Cuyahoga, Medina, Lorain, Huron, Erio, Summit (except the townships of Franklin and Green), the two northern tiers of townships in Ma- honing, the townships of Sullivan, Troy, and Ruggles, in Ashland, and several islands lying north of San- dusky, including Kelly's and Put-in-Bay. This is the land portion of the Reserve. The portion consisting of water lies between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the forty-second degree of north latitude, and is bounded on the east and west by the same parallels of longitude that form the east and west boundaries of the land portion.
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