Beebe Tavern Comes Down – August 1941

Beebe Tavern Circa 1820
(From the book "Reminiscences of Elyria")

Here's an interesting article that quietly captured the end of an era in Lorain County: the demolition of the Beebe Tavern in Elyria. The article ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal on August 8, 1941. It's kind of sad that the building could not be saved.

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WORKMEN START TEARING DOWN OLD LANDMARK
One-Time Beebe Tavern Condemed; Other News Briefs
(By Staff Correspondent)

ELYRIA – Workers started this morning to tear down the old Beebe Tavern, a frame structure at Broad and E. Bridge-sts used as a stage coach inn during the early days of this city's history. The property is owned by Fred Jackson, Cleveland.

The house had been condemned by Fire Chief W. N. Bates. The original deadline was advanced to Aug.1 by Bates at Jackson's request. A movement to move the house to the rear of the property, renovate it and establish a city museum was started here among older residents but failed.

Two other properties in the city are also being removed. They are a two-story frame house on Chapel-st, owned by Harvey Winckles, Elyria, which has been sold to a LaGrange resident and will be removed there, and a vacant two-car cement block garage at Lake-av and Oak-st, owned by the Columbia Refining Co.

Fire Chief Bates has requested the state fire marshal to issue orders against two other properties, at the end of Northrup-st and at 327 Lodi-st, both owned by out-of-town persons. Both are in bad condition with taxes delinquent, Bates said. Owners could not be located, bates said, altho he has searched for them several years.

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To learn more about the Beebe Tavern and early Elyria history, be sure to visit this link and download a copy of Reminiscences of Elyria (1900) by Mrs. Mary Beebe Hall on the archive.org site, courtesy of the Lorain County Historical Society. The Beebe Tavern material begins on Page 10.

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Here's a photo from the Arcadia book Elyria by William L. Bird and Robert R. Ebert on Behalf of the Lorain County Historical Society showing the Beebe Tavern before it was finally torn down.