Lorain Journal Front Page – October 4, 1954

 

Seventy years ago, this was the front page of the Lorain Journal on October 4, 1954.

There was a lot going on; some big local stories, as well as some tragic occurrences elsewhere.

Besides the fact that it was the eve of the christening of the George M. Humphrey (which I wrote about here), the big news was the purchase of some lakefront property by the village of Sheffield Lake.

As the story notes, "The village has purchased 409 feet of lake frontage for use as a public beach, recreation area and municipal buildings, Mayor Sidney Jordan announced today. The property cost the village $35,000.

"Added to 500 feet of adjacent property already owned by the village, the property, known as the Lewis estate, gives the village 909 feet of lake frontage.

"Mayor Jordan said the village has been trying for four years to purchase the property. The land is at the foot of Rt. 301."

(Back then, State Route 301 followed Lake Breeze Road, instead of Abbe Road as it does now.)

I wrote about the D. D. Lewis estate back on this two-part post, "Dr. B. W. Donaldson's Lake Breeze Memories, Part 1 and Part 2." D. D. Lewis was a Superintendent of the Johnson Steel Company. He purchased the old Lake Breeze House for use as a personal summer home and to entertain guests.

Elsewhere on the page, another major news item was the anticipated announcement of the construction of the Cedar Point Causeway across Sandusky Bay. It would become the preferred way for guests to access the popular amusement park. (I wrote about the Cedar Point Causeway, along with the Chausee, back on this post with a Part 1 and 2.)

I found the story about the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station dairy farm out by Castalia kind of interesting. Here's a photo of it on the page 2 continuation of the front page story.

I thought it would be cool to take a drive out that way and grab a 'now' photo of the barn. Its location on Wahl Road west of Castalia put it very near the community of Crystal Rock, which I had visited before. So I did a little 'drive by' research on Google Maps. Certainly a 200 x 60 barn would be easy to find in an aerial view.

Unfortunately, despite 'driving' back and forth on Wahl Road, I couldn't find it. I consulted Dennis Thompson's Vintage Aerial website but came up short there as well.

Finally, I found it on the Historic Aerials website. There it was in the 1957 aerial (below).

It was in the 1969 view as well.

You know what's coming, of course. By the early 2000s, it was gone – under water.

It's now part of the Willow Point Wildlife Area.

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Here's a 1972 aerial view of the farm, courtesy of the Vintage Aerial website.