Life in Lorain Through the Eyes of the Press: 1818-1869 and 1870-1910

Lovers of local history – especially those who particularly enjoy reading newspaper clippings from Lorain’s earliest days – are in for a special treat. 

A brand new digital book entitled BLACK RIVER CHARLESTON LORAIN - Through the Eyes of the Press is now being made available to the public FREE to anyone that would like to download it. (The download links are at the bottom of this post.)

It’s a collection of historic newspaper articles compiled and transcribed by historian Paula Shorf that shine a light on what life was like for Lorain’s early settlers. Part 1 covers the years 1818-1869. Part 2 covers 1870-1910.

You’ve heard of Paula before on this blog. She was one of the collaborators of the excellent book Lorain - The Real Photo Postcards of Willis Leiter. In fact, Matthew Weisman, one of her fellow authors on the Leiter book, designed her new book.

So why did Paula compile this book?

As Paula notes in the book’s Introduction, "I became interested in Lorain history while putting together a book on the history of my family. Years before, my grandmother had given me an envelope of old Lorain postcards. I came across them while working on the Family Tree and was amazed to see Lorain at the turn of the 20th Century. I wanted to know more about my hometown. 

"What better way to learn about a city’s history than reading the newspapers of the time? Since so many newspapers were online, this was the method I used to study the people and events of my hometown of Lorain. Online access is important to many researchers of history, but especially so for me since I live in California. I started transcribing and copying articles in the year 2000 and found it fascinating. I still do.

Detail of Charleston 1840 Map From the Book

"Now, twenty years later, I have hundreds of pages of articles and a much better understanding of the history of “The City of Lilacs” – Lorain." 

Paula added, "A very special thank you to Matt Weisman, who suggested the articles be made available to other researchers. He spent many hours on the design of this book, as well as contributing articles about the boats built at Lorain. 

"On page 25, you will find several beautiful maps of Black River and Charleston that were created by Matt, using older area maps as his model. The maps provide a detailed look-back to what Lorain was like in its earliest years.”

It’s terrific that Paula is making her research available in PDF format. The document can be a valuable research resource, as it can be scanned for a specific name or topic.

For example, typing ‘Gilmore’ in the search box finds every page in the book that includes that word, allowing the researcher quick access.

But there’s a handy index at the back of the book as well.

Anyway, get yourself a nice cup of coffee or snack and get ready for some interesting reading. Download your copy of BLACK RIVER CHARLESTON LORAIN - Through the Eyes of the Press. 

Part 1 (1818-1869) can be downloaded here; Part 2 (1870-1910) here.