USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > Erie > Erie; a guide to the city and county > Part 9
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Many birds inhabit Erie County's forests and cities. The English spar- row, which remains all winter, the migratory robins, bluebirds and finches, every type of songbird, warbler, thrush, and ground sparrow is present, as well as predatory hawks, crows, and blackbirds. Game birds, quail, pheasant, woodcock, grouse, and snipe live in the swales and shrubbery. Ducks and geese stop in their long flights to rest and feed in the lakes and ponds.
Wild animals include mink, muskrat, opossum, coon, skunk, rabbit, squirrel, weasel, and an occasional fox. Two small herds of deer inhabit the county, one in Conneaut Township and one in Peninsula State Park.
The streams abound in bass, muskellunge, trout, pike, perch, and the less desirable carp, sucker, and bullhead.
The county, exclusive of the city of Erie, is primarily agricultural. Although there are several large factories in the various boroughs, most of the communities are agricultural-Girard and Springfield are known for potatoes; Waterford for dairies and cabbage; and North East for grapes and cherries. Many acres of Concord grape lands and cherry orchards lie along the county's shore line.
Moisture from Lake Erie moderates the climate so that the region is little troubled by early frosts. Grapes, melons, cherries, apples, berries of
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various kinds, as well as virtually all vegetables, are grown abundantly. In recent years tomatoes have become a large crop.
South of the lake shore plain dairying and general farming are the chief agricultural pursuits. Cereal grains, hay, corn, potatoes, cabbage, and maple sugar products are raised in large quantities. Erie cabbage is especially fine and abundant. Poultry raising is a recent but highly profitable in- dustry. Erie County ranks sixth in the State in the production of cabbage, peaches, and apples.
An important activity is the culture of grapes, which in Erie County are largely of the Concord variety. Vineyards border the highways in eastern Erie County, where hundreds of acres are given over to them. Grapes grow well all along the lake, but are most abundant in Harbor- creek and North East Townships. Before the depression of 1929, grape lands brought high prices.
Catawba grapes are a very old crop, some vineyards having been planted as early as 1857. But intensive grape cultivation did not begin in this region until 1866, when Concords became the favorite variety. In 1935 Erie County had approximately 7,000 acres or 7,384,089 grape vines under cultivation.
The price of Erie grapes has ranged from $20 to $100 a ton. Because of this erratic price range, the acreage in recent years has been reduced about 20 per cent. Grapes are shipped throughout the United States, and even to Europe in recent years, but large percentages of the crop is now being processed in the county. Grape juice is the chief product in the county, but some of the crop goes to wineries in New York.
The growing of other fruit is extensive, especially on the lake shore plain. Approximately 4,700 acres are devoted to apple trees, 5,100 to peaches, 1,165 to cherries, and about 500 acres to plums.
In 1935 Erie County had 71,158 acres in hay, 23,312 in oats, 4,235 in winter wheat, and 9,080 in potatoes. While the potato acreage has de- creased somewhat in recent years, the yield is higher, because of better seed and methods of production. According to the 1930 census, there were 6,926 acres in buckwheat, 1,712 in rye, and 568 in barley.
About 1,500 acres along the lake front and extending across the county are devoted to truck farming. Erie County potatoes and cabbage are usually marketed in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Sweet corn is another quantity product.
There were 41,984 head of cattle (of which 24,490 were milch cows), 8,555 horses, 6,909 hogs, and 3,334 sheep in the county on January I, 1935, an average year.
There are only about half as many horses in the county as there were 15 years ago, the auto and truck having supplanted them. The total value
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of Erie County's livestock is approximately $2,500,000; livestock products, including dairy, poultry, and wool, amount to an additional $2,500,000. The value of all farm lands is approximately $25,000,000, including build- ings. There are 5,386 farms, with average value of $4,663. The total acreage of farmland in the county is 403,563, with an average individual farm of 74.9 acres.
GOVERNMENT
The chief instrument of government in Erie County is a board of three commissioners elected by the people. The commissioners appoint certain minor officials, assess and levy county taxes, appropriate county funds, initiate building and road projects, and administer all elections.
There are 22 townships in Erie County. Lawrence Park, the only first- class township, is governed by five commissioners elected by the people. They appoint a solicitor, an engineer, police officers, and other employees. All the other townships of the county are of the second class. They are governed by a board of three supervisors. Other officials are one township assessor, three auditors, and one tax collector. Schools in first and second- class townships are managed by an elected board of five directors, who are responsible to the county superintendent of schools.
There are three elected judges in Erie County courts. They preside over the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of Quarter Sessions, and Or- phans Court. Other elected officials of the county government are a county controller, a treasurer, a surveyor, a sheriff, a coroner, a district attorney, a prothonotary, a clerk of courts, a register of wills, a recorder of deeds, and two jury commissioners.
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ERIE COUNTY TOUR 1
Presque Isle Peninsula State Park
Erie to Peninsula State Park and return, State 5 and State 832, 22.2 m.
Paved throughout. Speed restricted to 25 m., 15 m. in Water Works Park reser- vation. Cars may not pass on the park highways.
W. from State St. on W. 12th St .; R. from W. 12 St. on Liberty Blvd .; L. from Liberty Blvd. on State 5; R. from State 5 on State 832.
F ROM the entrance of Waldameer Park, 4.3 m., a commercial amuse- ment center, the highway winds down a cliff overlooking Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Tall, slender trees form a canopy over the highway. A constant lake breeze sweeps the entire peninsula, cooling the flat, sun- swept beach.
At 4.7 m., near the "Neck," as the narrow approach to the Peninsula is called, is the SITE OF THE LAST INDIAN VILLAGE in Erie County. The now extinct Massassauga Indian tribe lived here. The remains of the Massassauga Hotel, a summer resort of the 1850's, are on the R., hidden by trees and underbrush.
Along the Neck, brief patches of Lake Erie are visible through the trees (L); R. is Presque Isle Bay. The area of woods, lily pads, and mud lying between the mainland and the Neck, (R), known as The Marshes, is a refuge for ducks and geese. Sandpipers race busily along the water's edge, and just off shore large and small mouth black bass lurk in shadows of root growth and water-soaked driftwood.
Willows, poplars, and other fast-growing trees have been planted on the Neck as protection against storm damage to the highway, once under constant threat of the lake washing a channel through to the bay during seasonal storms.
The BOUNDARY OF PRESQUE ISLE PENINSULA STATE PARK, 4.9 m., is just east of Edgewater Beach Restaurant.
The park, now occupying most of the peninsula acreage, was created
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by an Act of Assembly in 1921, making possible development of the area as a recreational center. A commission appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania administers the affairs of the park. Employed by the Park Commission are a police detail which patrols the park and a force of life- guards for the protection of bathers. Thousands visit the bathing beaches during the summer, and the peninsula is thronged on holidays and week- ends.
Bathing suits are not rented at any of the beaches.
At various points along the shore, a riprap makes bathing dangerous, and care must be taken along the unguarded beaches to avoid striking large, sharp-edged stones under the surface while diving.
Both the bay and lake afford good fishing. Many fine catches of black bass are taken from the bay. Perch, pike, catfish, and bullhead are caught in large numbers from the stone jetties and from the north pier, while a mile off the northeastern tip of the peninsula are the famous pike grounds which have given Erie a high rating in the fresh water fish industry.
In Peninsula State Park all animal as well as plant life is protected. Dogs must be on a leash.
The park is open from sunrise until midnight from June through September.
A bridle trail parallels the drive (R), for about 2 m.
Eastward of the entrance the peninsula gradually widens, forming a broad beach on the lake front (L), where picnic tables have been set for public use.
BEACH NO. 1, 5.3 m., (L), is the westernmost of the protected beaches. Lifeguards are on duty continuously during the summer. A bathhouse and a refreshment stand are situated at this beach between the highway and the water's edge.
POLICE BARRACKS, 5.6 m., (R), a newly constructed cottage of rust-colored shingles, is the headquarters of the park police. A first-aid station is maintained here.
The beach opposite the police station, though unguarded, is extensively used.
BEACH NO. 2, 6.0 m., (L), is equipped with a bathhouse and refresh- ment stand. This beach, one of the most popular on the peninsula, is favored by family parties. Tables and simple but serviceable cook stoves are provided for picnic lunches. There is a diving board on the break- water. Horseshoe courts are R. of the highway.
The LILY POND, 7.0 m., (R), is named for the yellow and white pond lilies along its shores. It is a breeding ground for bass, sunfish, and frogs. The narrow inlet leading from the bay is only a few yards in length and is crossed by the bridle path. A small rustic bridge arches over the sluggish
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little stream, making a scene with its flanking trees and bay background.
At 7.1 m., is a BASEBALL DIAMOND, (R). Amateur teams of Erie industrial plants use this field.
The highway here gradually leaves the lake shore and approaches the bay side. The bridle path crosses the road near the ball diamond and enters a forest, (L), through which it meanders for several miles.
Under the trees on the bay shore, 50 yards to the R., Commodore Perry's ship, NIAGARA, 7.4 m., lies patiently in her cradle, awaiting ac- tion of the State legislature to be restored. The hull, painted with creosote, looms darkly in the shadow of the trees. Devoid of decks or superstructure, the old craft presents a sad contrast to her famed record. An appropria- tion of $50,000 was passed in 1931 for rebuilding and repairing the Niagara, to preserve her as an historical relic. Before restoration work was begun, the money was diverted to relief purposes by the passage of the Talbot Act.
With the Lawrence and the Ariel, the Niagara had been constructed in Presque Isle Bay near the foot of present Cascade St. (see CITY TOUR 2). Capt. Daniel Dobbins, prominent Erie citizen, was commissioned by President Madison to start building a fleet powerful enough to cope with the British. Oliver Hazard Perry, a young Navy lieutenant, arrived in Erie on March 27, 1813, to take command. Ship carpenters were few, and timber had to be cut in the forests and used green. The Lawrence and the Niagara, each of 260 tons, were launched May 24. On August Ist, Perry received the troops he had awaited, and, after the heavy ships had been floated over the sand bar at the channel, the fleet set out for Sandusky, Ohio, on August 12.
The fleet arrived at Sandusky Bay on August 17 and awaited the arrival of Gen. William Henry Harrison, who was 27 miles distant with an army of 8,000 regulars, militia, and Indians. Perry was informed the enemy was short of provisions, and must engage the Americans to open the way to Long Point, opposite Erie, in Canada. The British naval force con- sisted of 502 men, commanded by Capt. Robert Barclay, who had served with Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar Bay. The British squadron consisted of six vessels and 63 guns.
The Americans numbered 490 men, nine vessels, and 54 guns.
At sunrise, September 10, the British fleet was sighted approaching Put-in-Bay. The American squadron cautiously maneuvered to inter- cept the British fleet. While the British were still 5 miles distant, Perry called the crew about him, raised the burgess on which were the famous words of Capt. James Lawrence, "Don't give up the Ship."
"My brave lads, the flag contains the last words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist it?" "Aye, aye, sir" was the ringing answer, and the blue
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and white flag soon was flying from the main masthead.
The two squadrons slowly neared each other, and at a distance of 11/2 miles a bugle call was heard aboard the Detroit, flagship of the British squadron. The ships sailed into battle formation. The slower sailing craft among the American vessels were out of their positions and the American line overspread the British by 1,000 feet.
In accordance with his plan to bring the British vessels to close range, Perry's flagship, the Lawrence, withheld fire until within canister shot of the Detroit. After two hours of fighting the Lawrence was a battered wreck, two-thirds of her crew killed or wounded, and Perry abandoned her and boarded the Niagara.
For two hours neither fleet gained a point. The wind had died down and the ships were becalmed. With a slight freshening of the breeze, Perry turned the Niagara's course toward the enemy's line. The British, still unable to gain steerage way, were compelled to sit idly by as the Niagara slipped between the Queen Charlotte, British ship of the line, and the Detroit, raking them both with grape and canister. So successful was Perry's strategy that the British fleet was soon forced to surrender.
The shattered Lawrence hoisted her flag amid feeble cheers on her deck. The British casualties had been 41 killed and 94 wounded; in the American fleet, 27 were killed and 96 wounded.
That day Perry wrote his famous message to General Harrison on the back of an old envelope.
Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.
Yours with great respect and esteem. O. H. Perry
Of the American ships which so jauntily sailed into battle, efforts have been made to preserve only one, the Niagara.
Within a few months of the arrival at Erie of the victorious fleet and its captives, the Lawrence was scuttled in Misery Bay, being no longer fit for service. The Niagara was made a receiving ship, but she too was soon sunk beside the Lawrence.
One hundred years from the time she was sunk, the Niagara was raised and rebuilt to take part in the 1913 Perry Centennial at Erie. She toured the lakes under sail and was returned to Erie. She passed from the hands of the State to the City of Erie, and was beached in Misery Bay, where she remained a short time before being pumped out and towed to the foot of State Street, at the public dock, where she was visited by thousands of sightseers. In 1931, the Niagara was taken to her present location on Presque Isle.
WATER WORKS PARK RESERVATION (175 acres owned by the
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Water Commission of the City of Erie,) and WATER WORKS BEACH are at 7.9 m. There is a large picnic ground with tables and seats to the R .; the bathing beach is to the L. At this beach clothing may be checked free of charge. There is a refreshment stand and a public telephone beside the roadway.
The beach is smooth and level, the water ranging from a few inches to several feet in depth. The formation of the lake floor along the penin- sula beaches is unusual, in that for several yards from the shore the water becomes about five feet in depth, then, at a distance of 20 yards or more from shore, sandbars parallel the shore and again lessen the depth.
At the eastern extremity of the Water Works Reservation the peninsula again broadens.
At 8.0 m., the highway forks to form the loop known as GOVERNOR FISHER DRIVE. This driveway leads along the lake beach, circles the peninsula and returns along the bay shore. A gray stone marker, com- memorating ex-Governor Fisher, to whom the loop was dedicated, stands at the entrance of this drive.
L. at the fork on the lake side.
The RED CROSS STATION, 8.1 m. (R), is open during the bathing season. Great oaks and maples, interspersed with hemlocks, form a wooded area (R). Among the trees are clumps of shrubbery and flowers and examples of almost every type of flora common to the region.
STONE JETTY BEACH, 8.4 m. (L), was named for the heavy stone jetty that slants out into the lake. The beach is fringed with trees under which are laid out attractive picnic grounds with stone fireplaces and rustic benches. There is a bathhouse and refreshment stand.
At 8.6 m., is the FOX POND (R), a protected preserve where hundreds of wild mallard duck have their nesting places. Mallards seldom permit close approach and at the slightest suggestion of danger take to the air. These wild fowl of the Fox Pond colony, however-their fear of hunters now allayed-noisily beg titbits from the throngs who gather at the rustic fence separating pond from road. Leaving the water they waddle to the fence and take food from the hands of visitors. Protected from hunters, they enjoy a life of ease and well-fed comfort; and never fail to excite the admiration of game lovers with their richly colored feathers and not unmusical clamor.
For nearly a mile the highway leads through a dense forest growth on one side, with the blue waters of the lake on the other, before reaching the PRESQUE ISLE LIGHTHOUSE, 9.3 m. (R), operated by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Lighthouses. The brick por- tion, including the square light tower, was built in 1871. The well-kept
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grounds about the buildings are surrounded by a white picket fence, and are tended by the lighthouse keeper's family.
In the log book kept by the present lighthouse keeper and his predeces- sors for more than 50 years, are graphic stories of the life of Lake Erie seamen. Made highly dramatic by extreme simplicity are the terse his- tories of shipwrecks and human suffering.
Life for the early lighthouse keeper and his family was one of isolation and loneliness. His supplies came weekly from the mainland by boat to Misery Bay, and were then packed on sturdy shoulders and carried two miles over a narrow path through the forest. There were no highways on the peninsula then, and few visitors called at the snug brick cottage.
The heaviest forest on the peninsula is to the rear of the lighthouse. Some of these great trees are the oldest in the county, and in this area are found some of the rarest specimens of plant life in northwestern Penn- sylvania. A certain variety of mocassin, a flower of the orchid family, little known in the western hemisphere, is found here, growing from dead logs and stumps partially buried in the ground. Indian pipe and wisteria are plentiful. Certain rare types of grasses have interested botanical stu- dents.
Once famous for cranberries, the peninsula attracted hundreds of pick- ers seeking the rich, red fruit, and was the scene of an annual celebration, Cranberry Day. With the exception of a few small patches along the walk running from Misery Bay to the lighthouse, cranberries are now gone.
Cranberry Day, the first Tuesday in October, was once one of the important annual festival days in Erie. Thousands of Erie's citizens packed picnic baskets and crossed the bay by boat to enter the cranberry marshes that were in the center of the peninsula directly opposite the Erie Public Dock. The cranberries were used in home made jams and jellies, and were occasionally marketed at the public market places. The State Legislature, in 1841, made Cranberry Day an Erie holiday. An Act of Assembly soberly decreed "that it shall be contrary to the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth and subversive of the good order of the community, as well as of the great State of Pennsylvania, for any person to pick cranberries on the peninsula between the first of July and the first Tuesday of October."
City Council, in order to halt a growing practice of poaching, passed an ordinance in 1865 providing that the right to harvest the cranberries be sold to the highest bidder, the successful bidder to be empowered to prosecute the cranberry poachers. The ordinance proved to be ineffec- tive inasmuch no provision was made for enforcement. The poachers devised long handled rakes to comb the vines, thus stripping the cran-
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berry bushes bare of fruit. The successful bidder was thus defrauded of the benefits of his franchise.
Council rescinded the monopoly ordinance after indignation meetings were held by Erie citizens who demanded the right to gather the cran- berries on the first Tuesday of October.
Cranberry Day, however, is no longer observed. Affected by a blight early in the 1900's, most of the cranberry bushes died and Cranberry Day became an empty occasion.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH BOTANICAL OBSERVA- TORY, 9.4 m., (R), is a small building located in an open field. Here students come in summer to study peninsula flora.
BEACH NO. 3, 10.9 m., (L), lies near the east end of the peninsula. It is wide and sandy, has a refreshment stand and bathhouse. Tables and benches, cook stoves and firewood are free to visitors. It is the longest patroled beach on the lake shore. Just beyond the refreshment stand the combined churches of Erie celebrate Easter services annually.
Two hundred yards L. of the highway is a GULL SANCTUARY. These gulls, or terns, flock in thousands on the sandy shore. They are a familiar sight as they wheel about over the water, diving for fish. The Park and Harbor Commission feeds them in winter.
THE FOGHORN, 11.0 m., (L), located half way between the road and the beach, is supported high on stiltlike steel columns. On foggy days and during the misty early morning hours when navigation is open from March until late December, the horn can be heard five to ten miles away. Every three minutes three great husky notes roar warning to ap- proaching craft that land is near and sandbars endanger the fog-blinded navigator.
At 11.3 m. is a junction with a cinder road.
Left on this road is THOMPSON'S BAY, 0.4 m. Many people with small children use this protected beach for picnics and bathing parties. The water is shallow, and is considered safer than the regular beaches.
THE COAST GUARD STATION, 1.0 m., (R), is a small reser- vation on the lake channel. The few houses are inhabited by members of the station and their families. The first United States Coast Guard Station on the peninsula was established about 1880, near the old foghorn on the north shore. In the early part of this century the sta- tion was moved to its present location. The station is manned by a crew of 15 regular seamen under the command of a boatswain's mate.
At 12.1 m., (R), a cement walk leaves the highway and traverses the peninsula to the lighthouse. The two-mile walk was built to facilitate the transporting of supplies to the lighthouse. It passes through some of the peninsula's heaviest thickets and stands of timber. Poison ivy should be avoided. Mosquitoes are also troublesome. Wildflowers are profuse during the spring and early summer.
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In this area are birds of every local kind, small animals, and a herd of 30 deer. Deer tracks are often seen on the soft banks of the lagoons, and occasionally the shy animals may be glimpsed through the underbrush. Mink, muskrats, and weasel are plentiful, as are raccoon, skunk, and opossum.
At 12.2 m., is the entrance to the LAGOONS and Captain Cook's Boat- house (rates soc an hour and up). The highway crosses the lagoons over a concrete bridge, from which is a view of the westward reaches curving around a wooded spit. The boathouse is to the R. The lagoons may be explored by boats and canoes.
The main waterway penetrates the peninsula more than five miles, swelling occasionally into ponds. There are four of these ponds between the entrance and Fox Pond, the last. The water is shallow, and the bottom is of soft mud. Along the shores and extending several feet, sometimes yards, into the water are dense growths of lily pads and reeds. Fishing is fair; catches consist of bullhead, suckers, carp, and various species of bass. Pickerel and muskellunge are sometimes taken.
During the early spring, redfin suckers and carp invade the lagoons in droves to spawn. Fishermen row their skiffs into the lagoons when the fish are so numerous that boatmen stun them with their oars and haul them into the boats. Some of the carp weigh as much as 50 pounds. Small boys wade into the water, grasp the huge fish by the tails and wrestle them through the mud to the banks.
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