On the Trail of Trailer Parks – Part 1

Lakeshore Mobile Home Park (mentioned here on the blog last week) wasn’t the only trailer park located along that stretch of West Erie Avenue between Leavitt Road and the undercut. It was the last surviving one, but at one time that area was a real hotbed of trailer-related businesses.

Vintage city directories and phone books at the Lorain Public Library provide a nice timeline of how it all happened.

The 1947 Lorain phone book has one of the earliest listings of a trailer park. During that time period, they were apparently catering to tourists, as the phone book category was “Tourist & Trailer Camps.” The modern motel didn’t really exist as a concept yet; cabins and tourist homes were much more common.

1947 listing

Most of the listings seemed to be in the Vermilion area, including Cask Villa and Moat’s Cabins. The only place listed in Lorain was Hialeah Tourist Court at Stop 108 (near today's Lake Shore Colonial Apartments).

Here’s the 1948 phone book listing. By this time, Anchor Lodge Hotel in Lorain was open, and two trailer parks joined Hialeah Tourist Court at Stop 108: Lakeview Trailer Park and Lake Erie Trailer Ville (which advertised overnight and permanent guests).

1948 listing

The 1950 phone book is still heavy with tourist camps, but a few more trailer parks appear, including Wiemels Beach Trailer Park at Stop 107 (near the Elyria Water Works on West Erie Avenue today). 

1950 listing

By the time of the 1953 phone book, Robby’s Lakeside Trailer Park and Kelly’s Beach Trailer Park were also listed at Stop 108. Lake Shore Trailer Court (the trailer park that I wrote about last week) was listed at Stop 104. Trailer courts also were popping up in other non-tourist areas of Lorain, including Broadway at W. 36th Street.

Here’s the 1953 phone book listing. Note that the heading is now “Tourist & Trailer Parks."

1953 listing

The 1953 phone book also included categories for “Trailers – House & Utility” which listed companies that would sell you one. One of the companies was Thornburg Trailer Sales at Stop 108.

As the 1950s progressed, new trailer parks advertised in the telephone directory. The 1956 edition included listings for Ted’s Trailer Haven at Stop 111 1/2 and Carl Johnson Trailer Court & Restaurant at Stop 112. Note that Cask Villa had changed hands.