Volunteer Bay – Part 1

Summer is rapidly winding down, so let’s head out to Vacationland for a few days.

The blog has already spent some time in Beulah Beach this summer; how about another jaunt down U. S. Highway 6 to Volunteer Bay?

Volunteer Bay is another one of those blink-and-you-miss-it places on West Lake Road, west of Vermilion. For many years, I have driven by the small lakefront park with the ancient cannon and big white “VB” letters, wondering, “What was that all about?”

To find out, let’s first consult my copy of Lake Erie Vacationland in Ohio – Revisiting a 1941 Travel Guide to the Sandusky Bay Region. It includes a brief entry: “Only members and their guests have the use of the SPANISH-AMERICAN VETERANS’ CAMP, 5.5 m., a summer camp (R) with cottages, a clubhouse, and a bathing beach.

Much like the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry bought land in Sheffield Lake for use as a summer camp for their Civil War veterans reunions, the Spanish War Veterans Association of Cleveland, Ohio had their summer camp and private community at Volunteer Bay. Over the years, cottages originally built for use in the summer have become year-round residences.

Tomorrow, we’ll get into Volunteer Bay's early history.