Shaker Heights in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Horseshoe Lake

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, August 18, 2008

1. Horseshoe Lake Marker

Inscription. In 1822, Ralph Russell, a Connecticut pioneer who had settled in Warrensville Township ten years earlier, founded the North Union Shaker Community. The Shakers created Horseshoe Lake in 1852 when they built a dam across Doan Brook and harnessed its waterpower to operate a woolen mill near Lee Road and South Park Boulevard. The community disbanded in 1889; its 1,366 acres were eventually sold to a real estate syndicate from Buffalo, New York, the Shaker Heights Land Company. In 1896, this group deeded the Shaker Lakes Parklands to the City of Cleveland to preserve the green space in perpetuity. Ten years later, the Van Sweringen Company began to develop Shaker Heights Village as a Garden City suburb where William J. Van Aken served as mayor from 1915 until 1950. In the 1960s local residents successfully fought the proposed Clark Freeway, saving Horseshoe Lake and the Parklands from destruction.

Erected 2003 by the Van Aken Family / the City of Shaker Heights, the Shaker Historical Society and the Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 67-18.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers •

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Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Communal and Utopian Societies, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1822.

Location. 41° 28.948′ N, 81° 33.67′ W. Marker is in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is on South Park Boulevard 0.2 miles east of Lee Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cleveland OH 44120, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland,

on the Lake Erie Shore,

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Village Garden Club (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Jacob Russell (about 700 feet away); Site of Center Family (approx. 0.2 miles away); Shaker Gate Posts (approx. ¼ mile away); East Family (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Shaker Parklands / The Nature Center at Shaker Lake (approx. 0.8 miles away); Van Sweringen Demonstration House (approx. 1.1 miles away); a different marker also named Van Sweringen Demonstration House (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shaker Heights.

Marker and path to Horseshoe Lake Dam image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, August 18, 2008

2. Marker and path to Horseshoe Lake Dam

Horseshoe Lake image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, August 18, 2008

3. Horseshoe Lake

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 6, 2024

4. Horseshoe Lake Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,078 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 18, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 4. submitted on December 4, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.