Celebrate The History Of Lakewood Park
Any current resident of Lakewood, Ohio is familiar with the spacious park on Lake Erie which is the site of so many family and community events each year. Fewer, however, are aware of the various roles this piece of land has played in the history and development of the city. Lakewood Park has a rich history. First owned by a noteworthy early settler family, the parcel later became the home for a member of a renowned Cleveland family who hosted celebrated guests on this grand estate. Then it entered an extended period of civic use as a hospital annex, the center of Lakewood’s government, an educational asset and a public park. The evolution of the property reflects the changing settlement and development patterns found throughout Lakewood (formerly Rockport Township).
The Lakewood Historical Society will host a dedication ceremony on Thursday, September 8 at 5:30 p.m for an Ohio Historical Marker commemorating the fascinating history of Lakewood Park.
Early Rockport settler John Honam arrived in Rockport by 1830. Like most of his neighbors, Honam purchased a large farm that fronted on Detroit Avenue. Four years later, he built a house of local siltstone on what would become his 97 ½ acre farm that stretched from Detroit to Lake Erie, between what is now Belle (named for Honam’s daughter Isabella) and Cook Avenues.
Following Honam’s death in 1845, the property transferred to his daughter Isabella, wife of Orvis Hotchkiss. Widely regarded as a leader within the community, Orvis Hotchkiss operated several businesses on the property, including a tannery and a mill. Orvis Hotchkiss also received the contract to build the plank road on Detroit Road through the community. The family owned the house until 1897. This house is now the Oldest Stone House Museum, operated by the Lakewood Historical Society.
As the population of Rockport grew, so did the need for available land. Like many wealthy Cleveland businessmen in the late 19th-century, Robert Russell Rhodes looked west to Rockport for the location of his summer cottage. Rhodes purchased the northernmost portion of the Honam property.
Robert and Kate Rhodes' greatest refuge from the demands of busy business and social activities was their lovely lakefront estate, called “The Hickories.” Rhodes built his summer “cottage” in 1881 which, after three additions, became a 3-storey mansion. By 1890, they used “The Hickories” as their primary residence.
The Hickories was, according to local historian Margaret Manor Butler, “a rendezvous of celebrated company, where gathered on many occasions all members of the Rhodes and Hanna families and close friends, among them the McKinleys, the Garfields, the Sims, the Barretts and the Nicholsons.” The property included gardens, winding drives, creeks, bridges, a gazebo, a natural forest, numerous benches and other amenities.
Throughout most of the 1890s and into the new century, Robert, his wife Kate, their son William Castle Rhodes and daughter-in-law Myra, all lived on the Lakewood estate. Robert Rhodes died in 1916, leaving over $1.5 million to 26 local institutions.
From the late 1890s until 1930, Lakewood saw an incredible boom in residential and community building to serve the needs of this increased population. The City of Lakewood grew along with the population, as did the need for increased services and public spaces. After the death of Robert Rhodes, the City purchased his former estate for use as a public park, spending $215,000.
The reaction to this deal was covered favorably in the local press. An article in the Lakewood Press entitled, Surpassing Beauty of Rhodes Estate gave a vivid description of the estate as it looked in 1918, waxing poetic about stately elms, fruit and flowering trees, and a decorative pagoda that stood over the cliff at the back of the property. “Beautiful is no name for it, nor grand, it is the Westminster Abbey of Lakewood, the cathedral of the vicinity, a memorial to Rhodes.”
The City of Lakewood took official possession of the estate on the Fourth of July, 1918. However, although the park opened to the public in 1918, the City of Lakewood’s planned conversion of the Rhodes house into a new City Hall was delayed. The home was initially used as a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers returning from World War I. Then, when the influenza epidemic struck Lakewood, the local government quickly expanded the use of the residence into a supplementary hospital for flu victims. By 1920, the immediate crisis of the flu pandemic had passed and the soldiers were re-established back into civilian life. In January, the local government converted the Rhodes house into its new City Hall.
Up to 47 employees worked in the converted mansion until 1959. The building was torn down on December 10, 1959 following the completion of the new City Hall on Detroit Avenue (still in use to this day.) The only structural remnant of the Robert Rhodes estate is the stone wall, which still includes the inscription “The Hickories.”
In the florid prose of the day, the Lakewood Press published the following prediction upon the dedication of Lakewood Park in 1918: “It needs no prophet to predict that many years hence, sons and grandsons of the men now active in this celebration will go to Lakewood Park for similar celebrations.” This prophecy has truly come to pass.
Lakewood Park, one of the largest lake front parks in Ohio, remains a hub of activity. Each decade has seen improvements that reflect the changing needs and interests of the community, including a swimming pool, tennis courts, picnic shelters, a heritage garden, an indoor pavilion and, most recently, a skateboard park. Lakewood residents still gather to play sports, hear music, enjoy fireworks and watch movies in the park.
The piece of land that is now Lakewood Park has a rich history. From an early settler farm to a grand Lake Avenue estate to a community asset, the land reflects the changing land use and community development of Lakewood over the past two centuries. Join the Lakewood Historical Society as we celebrate this history during the Ohio Historic Marker dedication ceremony on September 8 at 7 p.m.