Tale of the Firelands

Editor's note: This story originally published in the August 2023 edition of Sandusky Living Magazine. If you would like to purchase a magazine copy, please call 419-502-2130 while supplies last. For residents and visitors of Erie County and its surrounding areas, it has provided a wealth of beauty to those who step foot here. The Sandusky area has a storied history, a place where people have for centuries lived, worked and played. While the region's history is too vast to cover fully in this space, here's a snippet of some of the biggest happenings since the region's founding. The beginnings What people know today as Sandusky, Perkins and Bay View was land that the state of Connecticut gave to those who suffered property loss following the Revolutionary War. This loss of land, caused by fires, led to the area becoming known as the "Firelands." Ron Davidson, special collections librarian at the Sandusky Library, and other local officials credit the Revolutionary War as a source of abundant growth for the area. "Following the war, settlers found that the Firelands region carried many valuable natural resources," Davidson said. "Other natural resources, including limestone, nearby forests, and the abundant waters of Lake Erie, inspired a variety of industries." In 1816, Sandusky was initially known as Portland Township. It was first identified as Sandusky City in 1817 and officially platted and recorded as the city of Sandusky in 1818; the city was incorporated in 1824. Fast forward to 1846, Sandusky experienced rapid growth with a population — which was then in the thousands of residents. Perkins Township and Sandusky have remained separate since the Firelands townships were platted in 1808. Perkins Township was founded in 1809 but did not have any recorded residents until 1812. The name of the Township derives from the Honorable Elias Perkins, a resident of New London, Connecticut, who was the largest landowner within the township at its founding. Like Perkins Township, Sandusky and Bay View, the original owners and inhabitants of the land were Native Americans, not settlers from Connecticut. Following America's victory in the Revolutionary War, a treaty was concluded in 1785 despite major pushback between the native tribes and settlers in 1805. Settlers purchased the Native American portion of the land title. During this time frame, Bay View was situated in what we now know as Margaretta Township. The first known pioneer known in Margaretta Township was from Vermont and came to the area in the spring of 1810. The village of Bay View wasn't officially developed until the 1920s. Tragedy struck Sandusky in the mid-19th century, when an outbreak of cholera killed close to 380 people in 1849. There were other outbreaks, albeit less severe, in 1852 and 1854. Hundreds of victims were buried in the Cholera Cemetery on Harrison Street. An industrial revolution Sandusky grew quickly. By 1846, more than 3,000 people called Sandusky home. This sharp increase in population and economic growth benefited Sandusky; soon, the city became a hub for various industries. At various points in Sandusky's history, "the region has been a major lumber port, a site of multiple stone quarries, one of the nation's leading lakes fisheries, early aeronautics and the home of innovative manufacturing companies." Sandusky is home to where cardboard was invented in the former paper industrial district near downtown — which was home to the Hinde & Dauch manufactory. The workforce here was well-suited to the industrial revolution as it progressed and, in the 1940s, the bearings plant then known as New Departure opened in Perkins Township. At one point, it employed about 5,000 workers. A Ford motor company plant was built on Tiffin Avenue — on the site now home to Ventra. Other similar support manufacturing facilities for the automotive industry located in the Sandusky area. Sandusky's geographic location on Lake Erie also led to a bustling ice harvesting industry. Before the discovery of electricity and refrigeration, people relied heavily on ice harvesting to keep food cold and fresh. Sandusky ice was in great demand in the 1880s, as it was in good supply and was up to 20 inches thick. During this period, shipping hundreds of tons of ice brought great profit to the railroads that transported it, with big cities like Cincinnati and Columbus purchasing large quantities of Sandusky ice. Sandusky was also well-known for its shipbuilding — chief among them, Lyman Boat Works and its vessels of the same name, which have become an icon of Lake Erie's maritime history. How it is today Lake Erie remains critical to Sandusky, even if some of its related industries have declined or ceased to exist. The Sandusky area remains highly active in the freshwater fishing industry and the lake is a massive recreational tourist attraction each year. For the city, tourism has gradually taken over as the primary driver of Sandusky's economy and its state and national reputation. That's thanks in large part to Cedar Point. What began in 1870 as a summertime picnic beach — it didn't get a roller coaster until the Switchback Railway sprung up in 1892 — blossomed into one of the world's foremost amusement parks, with roller coasters known to hardcore ride enthusiasts and casual parkgoers alike. The park receives millions of visitors every year. Cedar Point notwithstanding, Sandusky has made large strides in promoting tourism, a recent example being the redevelopment of the Jackson Street Pier. The pier has quickly become the premier site for events in the city — played host to a highly successful series of concerts along with the Ironman triathlon, in addition to many others. An offshoot of Sandusky's rise in tourism is Perkins Township's rise in retail. Present-day Perkins Township's economy is similar to Sandusky's as it carries many large retailers, restaurants, hotels and resorts. These attractions include the Sandusky Mall and large waterparks — Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts. When Perkins was still relatively new, its primary source of economic growth came from the manufacturing and selling of bricks, as the region was known to have a good source of clay within the area. Sources: Sandusky Library, clevelandmemory.org, Ohio History Central