HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY OHIOBy Aldrich Lewis Cass
Published 1889
HISTORY OF KELLYS ISLAND.
Lake Erie lying east of the west line of the Western Reserve. These were Cunningham, the Bass or Put-in-Bay Islands. After a long and bitter contest the matter was compromised in such a way that this island remained a part of the Western Reserve, but was not to be considered a part of the fire-lands. The earliest official record of what is known as Kelley’s Island, was when township No. 5 was drawn, in the division among themselves, of the Connecticut Land Company’s purchase, which covered the whole of the reserve, and was divided by lot among them. When a township of lesser value was drawn something else was thrown in, and thus when township No. 5 was drawn Cunningham’s Island, thought to be of little value, was added and divided among the thirteen owners.
Of all the history prior to this time there are relics and traces of Indian life that form conclusive evidence that different tribes lived here for a time, and were then driven off and banished. Near the residence of Mr. Addison Kelley have been found arrow-heads, broken pipes, implements and other articles of rude workmanship, that point to a time when a large village existed on the earth work, which must have enclosed seven acres of land. It would be difficult to find a locality so full of prehistoric interest as this of Kelley’s Island, and the present owners are cordial in their efforts to assist all in the work of search of forgotten history. The writer well remembers the cordial welcome extended on a hot summer’s day, and the bits of history gleaned from Mr.Kelley, as he showed relic after relic that had been found on his land. Perhaps no object of interest however, equals the “ Inscription Rock,” on the south shore of the island in Lake Erie, just east of the steamboat landing. It is of great value and perhaps greater interest than anything of the kind in the country. The following description of this wonderful rock is from the pen of Mr. Kelley: “The rock is thirty two feet in length, twenty one in breadth, and eleven feet above the water. It is part of the same stratification as the island from which it has been separated by lake action. The top presents a smooth, polished surface, like all the limestone of this section when the soil is removed, suggesting the idea of glacial action. Upon this surface the inscriptions are cut, the figures and devices are deeply graven in the rock.”
Its symbols are readily interpreted. Human figures, smoking groups and scenes of daily life, portray negotiations, tribe councils and turmoils that tell a story of bygone times, of changes in Indian history, and tragic scenes of thrilling interest. The occupation of this section of country by the Eries, the coming of the Wyandots, the final triumph of the Iroquois, are all there. The rock has been visited by thousands and is already becoming worn.
There are several other rocks that tell of the rude skill of these natives; many of them covered with saucer-like depressions, worn there by the process of manufacturing stone hatchets or flesh knives, of which great numbers have been found. In the year 1851 drawings of the inscriptions of the large rock were made by Colonel Eastman, United States Army, who was detailed by the government to examine them. Copies of them were sent to Shimgvank, a learned Indian, who was well versed in pictography, by whom they were deciphered and translated, but the translation is too long to give in this article.
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This interpreter, after careful investigation of the subject, decided that they related to affairs of which he knew nothing, but that belonged to the time after the whites had become acquainted with the Indians of Lake Erie. One of the strongest proofs of this was a symbol of a hat which appeared three times, but that they had not yet seen fire arms he thought conclusive from the fact that there were no representations of any to be seen. When it is remembered that the general opinion is that the Iroquois first received guns from the Dutch at Albany, in 1614, and that the Lake Indians did not receive them from the French until some years later, it is easily seen that the date of these inscriptions cannot be earlier than 1625. From this time until the present century the history of this island is a blank.
In 1808 a Frenchman, by the name of Cunningham, settled upon the island, and for a quarter of a century after it was known by his name. He traded with the Indians, buying from them maple sugar, skins, etc., and giving them in exchange blankets, trinkets, and probably whisky. He built a rude cabin and here he lived until 1812. The fate of this man is uncertain, but it is generally supposed that he left because of the opening of the war, and was killed in the skirmishes with the Indians and British. During the war General Harrison kept a guard stationed at the west point of the island, for the purpose of watching the movements of the enemy on the lake. The guards’ camp occupied a clearing made by a Frenchman, whose name was Bebo, in 1810. He had come with a man named Poschile, and each made a clearing. That of Bebo was a little to the north of Carpenter’s maple grove. Poschile’s was near the present site of Kelley’s upper wharf Both of these men died some years since, but a few years ago the stakes were still standing that marked his boundaries.
The battle of Lake Erie was a notable event of history, and the preparations for it were made in the little harbor on the south side of Kelley’s Island. Here Perry lay with his fleet, and here he received on board the thirty six Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky volunteers from Harrison’s army ; and here he was visited by General Harrison and his aids, Cass and McArthur, to talk over and plan the coming battles, which were destined to result so gloriously to our country, and close the war.
From 1812 to 1818 it is not known that there were any white settlers on Kelley’s Island. During the latter year a man named Killam, with his family and one or two men, came here and built a cabin and remained until 1820. It was at this time that the first steamboat was built on the lake, and called Walk-on-the- Water.A sail-boat also made short trips between Sandusky and the island to meet the steamboat, which could not go to Sandusky every trip, and received her passengers from Venice and Sandusky in this way. Walk-on-the-Water was wrecked October 19, 1820. During these two years Killam was employed to supply the fuel for the boat, and this had to be cut and boated out to the steamboat. It was red cedar, which was very abundant in this locality. After the wrecking of the Walk-on-the-Water, this business was stopped, and Killam left the island in 1820. From that time until 1826 there were no permanent residents here. About this time a couple of men employed by Killam to get out wood, continued their work from time to time, and one of them is connected with the history of the island from the Point which bears his name. Barnum’s Point is on the east end of the island, and carries with it the memory of these times, when these two men became enemies, and Barnumkilled Grunmet, who was standing to shoot him. It was decided that the act was done in self defense, and Barnum moved away from this section of the country.
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In 1826 Elisha Ellis and Peter Shook obtained contracts for two pieces of land, and Ellis proceeded to build a house on his into which his wife and himself moved.
Shook went away and never returned to the island, and in 1828 Henry Ellithorpe went there to begin stock raising. During the winter of 1828-9 the only inhabitants of this township were Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Mr. Ellithorpe and Frank Saunders,who worked for Ellis. In December, 1830, Henry Ellithorpe was married in Sandusky to Elizabeth Neal, and took her home on the ice, taking along six head of cattle. He built a house of cedar on the bank of the lake, and here was born October 6, 1832, the first white child, a son, and named George Ellithorpe.
Of 2,888 acres of land, comprising this island, only six acres were cleared in 1833, when Datus Kelley and his brother Irad visited it with a view to purchasing land and going into the cedar business. Before this, however. Captain Ransom, of Sandusky, and Burr Higgins had had an interview with the agents of the principal owners of Cunningham’s Island, but this resulted in a disappointment and the purchase was not effected. The first purchase of lands was effected on the 20th day of August, 1833, and consisted of a contract made by the attorney of John A. and Mary Rockwell, and Alfred E. Perkins, for 1,444 acres, or almost one half the total area of the island; for this they paid $2,167.35, or dollar and a half an acre. Other purchases followed, and in the autumn of that year a double log house was built for a boarding house. During the following winter the present wood dock was commenced, and by the next spring was sufficiently finished to afford a landing to steamboats, and the business of wooding was begun.
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Up to the year 1837 this had been a part of the township of Danbury, and was included in Huron county. That year, however, a change was made, and Erie county was created and Kelley’s Island was set off as a part of it. The Legislature in 1840 enacted a law that all that tract known as Cunningham’s Island, situated on the south side of Lake Erie, be constituted a township, to be known as "Kelley’s Island.”
On the 6th of March, 1840, was passed an act creating the county of Ottawa, which should include within its boundaries the new island townships of Kelley’s Island and Van Rensselaer. The first election for organization as a township was in April,1840. There were fifteen votes polled, and in May an election was held for county officers.
As the population increased and its business was entirely with Sandusky, its connection with Ottawa county became very irksome, and a determination was formed to effect a separation and be reinstated in Erie county. In February, 1845, Legislature passed a law to that effect, so that in the short space of seven years Kelley’s Island formed a part of two townships and four counties, and of the four children of Mr. Addison Kelley, born in the same house, no two were natives of the same township or county.
When Messrs. Irad and Datus Kelley had purchased the island, they found several squatters with a little improvement here and there. These they proceeded to buy off, and generally did so with little trouble. There was one man, however, not so readily dispossessed he claimed to have purchased his tract and refused to give it up without being forced to do so by the law. The result, though expensive, and costing, it is said, as much as the purchase of the island, was beneficial in many ways, for it proved that the Kelleys titles could not be set aside.
After Mr. Kelley built the docks, he turned his attention to the matter of education and built a school house. This was done entirely at his own and his brother’s expense. It was the first frame building ever erected on the island, and has since been used as a cooper and blacksmith shop. It is the first building north of the present residence of George Kelley.
Mr. Kelley was a natural reformer. He believed that no place could grow, or community prosper, without a basis of substantial qualities ; and these were, in his estimation, education, frugality, and temperance. Having provided a school house he next proceeded to offer a reward or bonus to his men (in addition to their regular pay) for dispensing with intoxicants. There are men still living who date all their success to the encouragement afforded them at that time by the precepts and example of Mr. Kelley.
At this time Mr. Kelley had not moved here, but spent half of every year here. In 1836 Mr. D. Kelley resolved to make his permanent residence on the island, and moved his family into a small log house situated where Mr. George Kelley’s house now stands. In 1838 he built a frame house, where he continued to reside until he built the old part of what is now known as the Island House. At this time there were twelve families on the island, which, with the men who boarded in them, constituted the entire population of Kelley’s Island fifty years ago.
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Quarrying stone, getting out cedar posts, chopping steamboat wood, etc., was the business carried on at that time. All the money made heretofore had been made by stone or cedar, but after 1836 steamboat wood formed the largest item of trade. There could be no farming carried on until the land was cleared, hence it became necessary to offer such inducements that the steamboats would stop for wood. This effected two things, clearing the land and opening communication with the ports on the lake. Not only was Mr. Kelley the pioneer of education and civilization on the island, but his son, Mr.Addison Kelley, who is still living, furnished the model for the first boat that was built here. It was not like other boats, but was intended to weather the storms of all seasons. It was launched early in 1839 and named Number One. She proved herself worthy her title when she outlived the worst gale ever known here, in which the schooner Helen Mar was lost with all on board. This boat was so constructed as to right herself in all positions. Her keel was an oak plank, seventeen inches in depth and four inches thick, with an iron shoe on the bottom of it that weighed nearly a ton.
The growth of Kelley’s Island has been almost phenomenal. No sooner had the Kelleys become its owners than they commenced a series of improvements, and proceeded to put their lands in market at fair prices. The earliest purchasers directly from D. and J. Kelley, were Addison Kelley, John Titus, James Hamilton, Julius Kelley, Horace Kelley, J. E. Woodford, G. C. Huntington, Patrick Martin, Bernard McGettigan, S. S. Dwelle and James Estes, most of whom are still occupying portions of the land they purchased. Instead of one there are five good school buildings. A stone building with lot donated and built by Datus and Sara Kelley, is open to public services of all profitable kinds. There are four churches; each of these support their own minister, and have regular services. And more prominent than any of these buildings is the Island House, a fine summer hotel built in 1874, and destroyed by fire in 1877, and subsequently rebuilt, and is one of the attractive features of a visit to Kelley’s Island. It was originally the property of Addison Kelley, who sold it to Messrs. Colby, Hickox and Matson of Mansfield. It has since changed hands, and in 1874 was elegantly fitted up by its new proprietor, Jacob Rush. It is 224 feet by 40, three stories high, with grounds elegantly laid out, and all the accessories of a delightful summer resort.
There has been a phenomenal health fulnesson this island ever since its first settlement. Doctors and lawyers have found but little to do there, and for many years Mrs. D. Kelley was the main reliance in all cases of sickness. Although the population has increased rapidly, and Kelley’s Island is now in perfect cultivation carrying on several branches of trade, and attracting large numbers of visitors yearly, it has never lost its individuality as the home of the Kelleys. With the exception of Julius Kelley, the entire family of Datus Kelley, his sons, their wives and families ; his daughters, their husbands and children have been residents of the island. In 1847 George Kelley, eldest son of I. Kelley, moved on with his family.
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The history of Kelley’s Island could not be written without a special mention of the different steamboats that have helped in her march toward civilization. Since 1839 the main reliance had Number one, which after a few years of hard and faithful service was pronounced unseaworthy, and plans were formed to build a successor. The possibility of using steam was discussed, but no one thought it could be done. While the decision was not yet made, the matter was decided in a most unexpected manner in 1846. In the spring of that year Mr. Addison Kelley had occasion to go Venice on Number one. The vessel was in a poor condition, and the weather stormy. He concluded it was not safe to return until the storm abated, and in the evening strolled into the office of H. N. Fish, and while discussing the limited means of communication between the Island and the outer world, Mr. Fish suggested that a small steamboat might be built, by which they could go and come as they chose. Mr. Kelley saw the advantage of this, but stated that they were not able to do this; whereupon Mr. Fishpromised them a liberal sum as a loan, to be paid for in transportation, and also promised the business of carrying the wheat from Fre- mont, if they would build a boat of sufficient capacity. On Mr. Kelley’s return home he laid the matter before Mr. D. Kelley, who must be the principal stockholder. He took hold of the matter at once, and in less than one week from the time of its first suggestion, the steamboat known as the Islander, was under process of construction. She was a decided success, and did her work well for years, but was at length superseded by the Island Queen in 1853. She was commanded by Captain Orr, and sold in 1866. When she was built she was thought to be too large for the service, but eventually proved to small. She was finally captured by the rebels and sunk in 1864. She was recovered in a few days, comparatively uninjured, and two years later. her owners and some others formed a company and purchased the steamer Evening Star. The Star was a new boat of three hundred and forty tons, with a beautiful model low pressure beam-engine, and cost $45,000, with an additional $1,000 for fitting her up. Her speed was fine, and her carrying capacity unequalled at that time, often carrying on an excursion twelve hundred passengers. Her captains were successively Captain Magle, Kirby and Brown. She was sold in 1872 with the Reindeer, and since that time the islanders have owned no steamboats.
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In glancing over the statistics of 1863, it is amusing to note the entries, showing the still primitive condition of Kelley’s Island; Domestic imports nothing whatever except building materials and family supplies. Foreign imports, none.
Exports, coastwise.
Red cedar, 714 cords $4,291
Limestone, 390 cords 780
Steamboat wood, 3,248 cords 4,102
Corn, wheat and pork 2,000
1,083
Steamboats and Vessels:
One steamboat, 80 tons $5,000
One sail-boat 150
Number of men employed on same 7
Population, 1849 180
1863 600
Not only did Mr. D. Kelley build the first school house, give the first impetus toward thrift, temperance and success on the island, but he started grape growing, which has since become such an important industry here and else where. In the year 1846 the value of grapes sold by D. Kelley did not exceed five dollars. In 1861 the value of the grape crop was $51,080 from one hundred and twenty eight acres. This does not give a fair average per acre, as many of the vines were bearing for the first time. When it is remembered that the first vine was set out in 1842 by Mr. D. Kelley, who had brought cuttings from his old home in Rockport, the advance is marked and more than satisfactory. In 1844 the first Catawbas were planted from cuttings obtained from Judge Ely of Elyria. Mr Carpenter bought a farm on the west end of the Island, and commenced setting out vines until in two or three years he had more vines than any of the older settlers. There was no thought at this time of making them into wine, for the thought had been advanced and believed that no wine could be made from these grapes that would keep. The demand for grapes steadily increased, and in 1855 it was much easier to sell them at ten cents a pound than it had been nine years before at five.
As late as 1854 there was comparatively a small amount of land put in grapes, and this was done by old settlers. The first move in the direction of increasing the number of producers was made in this year, when some intelligent Germans, who had come from the wine districts of the old world, found employment on the Island. They began to see the possibilities of the future, and desired to buy land for grape culture. Five acres were bought of Mr. Addison Kelley for fifty dollars an acre, and when he was remonstrated with on the exorbitant price at which he valued his land, he replied that he should sell the next higher, and would only sell five acres to the same individual. Within a few days he sold five acres for sixty dollars an acre, and from that to seventy five, one hundred and one hundred and twenty five was quickly reached. The grape fever became more wide-spread, and as yet there were no checks to the progress of the interest, for rot, late frosts and other evils were unknown for eighteen years. In 1862, after a successful beginning, the rot appeared for the first time.
At this date, 1888, of the original Kelleys there are still living many of their direct descendants on the Island that bears their name, but the surroundings are very unlike those that were known to their ancestors. The entire Island is now in the most perfect cultivation, and as the boat stops at the landing, and the visitors are met by the hospitable inhabitants, gay in boating attire, and waiting with private carriages to drive to their homes, amid luxuriant vineyards and beautiful homes, one can scarcely believe that all this beauty has been the work of half a century and where elegant homes now abound, the wigwam of the savage formerly stood. Among all the islands of Lake Erie none is more beautiful than Kelley’s Island.