Olmsted Township near Berea in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The “Big Quarry”
The photograph looks north to the buildings on East Bridge Street, which constituted the northern boundary of Berea’s sandstone quarries around 1895. The photographer stood approximately where you are standing.
“Gradually the water came, first a little pool, then it rose higher and higher, until at last the workmen gathered up their tools an left the water to fill to the brim this basin they had made in the earth, until that place formerly so full of busy sounds was nothing but a quiet, blue body of water, glimmering in the sunlight.” Anna M. Nokes. “The Big Quarry,” 1895 (Nokes was a Baldwin University student.)
Erected 1998 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Berea Historical Society, City of Berea, The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 16-18.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.
Location. 41° 21.925′ N, 81° 51.099′ W. Marker is near Berea, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in Olmsted Township. It is on Berea Commons south of East Bridge Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Berea OH 44017, 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 walking distance of this marker: Berea Sandstone Quarries / The “Big” Quarry (here, next to this marker); The Berea Triangle (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); U.S.S. Maine Memorial (about 600 feet away); Albert E. Baesel (about 600 feet away); Berea Veterans Honor Roll (about 600 feet away); Berea And Middleburg Township World War Honor Roll (about 600 feet away); First Congregational United Church of Christ of Berea (about 600 feet away); Civil War Memorial (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berea.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 9, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 14, 2007, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. This page has been viewed 3,187 times since then and 67 times this year. Last updated on March 7, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
