Huron in Erie County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Old Meeker Farm
⎯⎯⎯
Old Homestead-on-the-Lake

Old Meeker Farm side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 6, 2019

1. Old Meeker Farm side of marker

Inscription. In 1837 Aaron Wright Meeker received 160 acres of Lots 26 and 32 from his parents Stephen and Polly Meeker, who originally came to the Firelands from Vermont. Heavily forested, A. W. cut the trees by hand to build a farm on what would become Huron Township’s most valuable tract of land. In 1959 he built The Old Homestead for his family, which still stands today. Upon his death in 1896 his daughters Metta Breckenridge and Hannah Stein inherited the farm and embarked upon separate land development ventures that would turn the old Meeker farm into an area of summer cottages and resort beaches, Chaska Beach in 1925 and Old Homestead in 1927. In Old Homestead, the streets are named in honor of the Native Americans who once claimed the area before the 1805 Treaty of Fort Industry.

Old Homestead-on-the-Lake was established on August 7, 1927 when the Old Homestead Beach Association was granted ownership of Harbor View Beach, Mansell Beach, tennis courts, and two parks from R. A. Breckenridge, trustee for owner Metta Breckenridge. The former lake front farm area, noted for having one of the finest beaches on

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Lake Erie and once owned by Aaron Wright Meeker, became a site primarily for summer cottages in the spring of 1922 when Greenleaf Realty began selling lots. The original entrance served as Stop 22½ for the Lake Shore Electric and serves today as a reminder when Huron became a vacation destination, which forever changed the village.

Erected 2006 by Huron Historical Society, Old Homestead Beach Association and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 26-22.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Parks & Recreational Areas • Political Subdivisions • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical date for this entry is August 7, 1927.

Location. 41° 23.344′ N, 82° 32.49′ W. Marker is in Huron, Ohio, in Erie County. It is on Ottawa Road (U.S. 6) east of Berlin Road, on the right when traveling west. It can be reached from the corner of Ottawa Road and Tecumseh Place. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Huron OH 44839, United States of America.

Old Homestead-on-the-Lake side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 6, 2019

2. Old Homestead-on-the-Lake side of marker

Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in 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 walking distance of this marker: The Legacy of the Huron Docks (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named The Legacy of the Huron Docks (approx. ¾ mile away); John Baptiste Flemmond (approx. ¾ mile away); The Wright House and the Underground Railroad / Old Main Street (approx. ¾ mile away); The War of 1812 (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Legacy of the Huron Docks (approx. ¾ mile away); Huron Lighthouses / Huron’s Maritime History (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Legacy of the Huron Docks (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huron.

Additional commentary.
1.

Old Meeker Farm / Old Homestead-on-the-Lake Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 6, 2019

3. Old Meeker Farm / Old Homestead-on-the-Lake Marker

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Company
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lake Shore Electric operated fast passenger service between Cleveland and Toledo, stopping at Huron and, when Old Homestead-on-the-Lake was built, also here, where this marker has been erected. “Fast” was relative to the era, compared with steamship service and primitive automobiles running on narrow, rutted and muddy roads. The Lake Shore Electric was faster than the steam-powered railroads that paralleled its route. “Fast” was about 30 miles an hour, including station stops. The 49 mile ride from Cleveland was about an hour and 45 minutes. From Toledo the 71 mile ride was two and a half hours.

Eight trains a day in each direction made the run between Cleveland and Toledo, an additional eight trains in each direction made shorter runs. Residents could catch any of those 32 trains for a quick ride to the post office in Huron or a 30 minute ride to Sandusky for a fancy department store lunch or restaurant dinner, and the train was the perfect way to get to Cedar Point amusement park, just two stops west.

By 1938 the automobile

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had won and the Lake Shore Electric ceased service to Huron before the 1938 summer season began.

— Submitted October 24, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2019. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 815 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 24, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.

Old Meeker Farm⎯⎯⎯Old Homestead-on-the-Lake

Old Meeker Farm
⎯⎯⎯
Old Homestead-on-the-Lake