Volunteer Bay – Part 3

The current sign at the eastern approach to Volunteer Bay

Volunteer Bay enjoyed regular mentions in the Sandusky Register over the years, in a column entitled, “Soldiers’ Home” with news about the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Sandusky.

This April 5, 1938 column notes that the United Spanish War Veterans were celebrating their 40th Anniversary that year. Volunteer Bay is mentioned as the location for an upcoming Corn Roast and Picnic sponsored by the Booster Association.

A few months later, this ‘Soldiers’ Home’ column from the August 4th Sandusky Register notes an upcoming Booster picnic dinner on August 14th at Volunteer Bay, “where the Spanish American War Veterans have a summer colony with splendid beach for swimming and boating.”

That Corn Roast received another plug in the August 12, 1938 Sandusky Register.

Apparently it was possible for Volunteer Bay owners to sell their summer cottages to the general public, judging from this ad that ran in the Sandusky Register on August 16, 1940.

With the passing of many years and apparent difficulty in locating some Spanish War Veterans and/or their heirs, the lawyers for the Spanish War Veteran Association filed a ‘quiet title suit’ in August 1948. (My understanding is that this type of lawsuit is used to “quiet” or remove a claim in order to clarify ownership of the property.)

This official legal notice appeared in the Sandusky Register on August 23, 1948. The top portion (below) is a roll call of the various people and/or their heirs that the Spanish War Veterans Association had been unable to locate.

The balance of the notice provides a nice legal description of the property, including a mention of the former owners (John M. Johnson and his wife). The legal notice also defines how and where the Lake Shore Electric Railway and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad crossed the property.

This portion of a vintage drawing from the Erie County Tax Map website shows Lot No. 33 in Vermilion Township, where the Spanish American Veterans property is located. The ROAD indicated is Lake Road; the dotted line immediately below it is the path of the Lake Shore Electric Railway.

There is still an old Lake Shore Electric passenger shelter on the Volunteer Bay grounds, decorated with the old Stop number (137).

For a well-written historical account of the various Lake Shore Electric Railway stops associated with this area (including the Shore Inn indicated on the map), visit this page on Drew Penfield’s Lake Shore Rail Maps website.

Next: A 1950s look at Volunteer Bay