Here’s another one of those “What might have been” scenarios that I post when I find them.
While looking at old newspaper microfilm at the library, I’ve seen a few instances over the years where the idea of Sheffield Lake becoming part of Lorain was floated – only to crash like a lead balloon time and time again. Sheffield Lake is a unique place (I lived there almost twenty years) and I can see why its residents like things just the way they are.
That’s why I was surprised to see the article below, in which some Sheffield Village residents were hoping to become Lorainites, against the wishes of their village government. The article appeared in the Journal on October 6, 1971.
As the article notes, “Sheffield Village is determined to keep 850 acres on its west side from being annexed to Lorain and the people in the village who asked for the annexation are equally determined to see it go through.
“In May of this year nine residents of the village signed a petition for the “detachment and annexation of land in Sheffield Village to the City of Lorain.” The area bounds the Norfolk and Western tracks almost to Harris Road and bypass Barr School and several residents at Colorado. It runs to the Lorain border on the west.
“The property is largely vacant with some farm land. The area includes the Club Carousel and the Breezewood, Romanoff Electric, Van Wagnen School Bus Service and the Cotton Club Bottling Company.
“In early September the Lorain County Commissioners voted 2-1 to permit the annexation. That allowed Sheffield Village 60 days to file a lawsuit in Common Pleas Court to oppose the annexation. After 60 days it will go to Lorain City Council where they will decide to accept or reject the petition.”
The residents that were in favor of the annexation were hoping to get better services, including garbage collection and storm sewers. Sheffield Village didn’t want to lose the tax revenue from the businesses located in the annexation area.
Although ultimately it didn’t happen, the proposal seemed to make sense in some ways. The land was largely undeveloped, so there weren’t a lot of residents involved. On the other hand, though, Lorain was probably too big already, and unprepared to handle even more streets that would need plowing, patrolling and sewers.
Today, fifty years after the article, the land in the annexation area doesn’t seem to have changed much, except for the addition of residents in some areas. It’s still a no-man’s land, an area to drive through on the way to somewhere else.
4 comments:
Amen, leave us alone!!
That's a pretty quite area.And I can see why the residents like it like that,instead of all the scroungey,loud music playing,ticky tacky house,garbage yard unrespecting renters of Lorain messing it all up.I agree with the above Anonymous poster wanting to be left alone.People just want to come home frome a days work and live in peace.And not have a bunch of people making noise by playing their music loud.Or having a noisy motorcycle.Or having a bunch of kids screaming.Or dumping their trash in the street.Or having cars come and go all the time due to illegal drug activity.Etc.And like you said,Lorain can't even take care of the streets that it has now,much less a few more miles of pothole infested roads to deal with.I'll take a quiet no-mans land over the alternative no questions asked.
Sheffield Lake is every bit as much of a dump as Lorain is. Everything the previous post listed is in Sheffield as well. Abandoned shopping centers and bowling alleys, condemned public swimming pools. You name it, they got it too.
I'm sorry, but I and my family love living in Lorain. Yes, you have your obnoxious losers, but overall I find Lorainites are mostly friendly and pleasant. I've lived in four smaller towns over my long life (Vermilion, Norwalk, Monroeville and Elyria)and dealt with rude down-right mean/crazy and nasty neighbors/police/businesses. Have had my homes vandalized and my wife's life threatened in these previous places. The noise and hustle and bustle of a city that is making a remarkable come-back is music to my ears! I work six days a week forty miles from my home, and on my drive back I get such a warm nostalgic feeling of being exactly where I belong when I get to the Lorain border. I grew up in Lorain in the sixties, even worked at USS for three years (big lay offs in '82),so I have a history here. Moving back here ten years ago to a beautiful neighborhood and historic city has been a joy that I'm grateful to experience.
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