North Ridgeville Review The Community That Cares
Courtesy North Ridgeville Historical Society, northridgevillehistoricalsociety.com
School History
Today finds us digging into some school history. The first school here in town was built in about 1814 at the center of town- near the corner of Center Ridge and Avon Belden Rd. It was a log building, 18’x22’ and had a large window at one end and a stone fireplace at the other. Students sat on wooden benches likely near the window to complete their work. Because of the use of fire in the wooden building, this structure was destroyed by fire in 1817. A similar building was erected across the street and education of the youth continued. Teachers at this time were paid $1-$2 per week by the families of the students, which might be farm produce or labor given by the family of each student.
In 1821 our town was divided into two districts and two buildings were constructed. The eastern end schoolhouse was believed to be the first frame -built school structure in town, and possibly in the county as well. In 1821 the state of Ohio passed the first general school act which allowed townships to set up school districts and in 1825 the County Commissioner was given authority to levy taxes for maintaining these buildings. Our township was eventually divided into ten schoolhouse districts each with its own school. Some districts were called shared sub districts, meaning students could come from neighboring townships, such as the District #9 Schoolhouse on Jaycox Road, which was shared with Avon. Each year a count was taken of each district, to determine the number of students ages 5 to 15 and 16 to 21. In 1855 the Jaycox School had 23 males and 23 females. Imagine 46 students of varying ages in one classroom! There were 457 students in the entire system that year.
In the early years the only subjects taught were writing, spelling and arithmetic. Arithmetic was only taught to the boys, as it was considered a “waste of time” for girls to learn this subject. Early textbooks used were Webster’s Spelling book and the Bible. In the 1860s schoolbooks were selected and purchased to be used in all the township schools. In 1838 it was determined by the state legislature that the township clerk would become the school superintendent, the county auditor became the county superintendent and a state superintendent was appointed to head the schools in Ohio. In April of 1853 a township Board of Education was established under the new Ohio School Law. Each school district was charged with electing a board from community members to make decisions for the district and hire the necessary staff to run their schools.
The first school levy was announced in 1867, for the purpose of raising $5000 to build a centralized school. It did not pass.
We are very fortunate to have an example of the one room schools as a public museum- the District #9 schoolhouse on Jaycox Rd. Built in 1859, it was used until 1924 when the centralized school was opened. This building was purchased by a local family to use as a farm storage building, and was donated to the Historical Society in 1988. The building is open for tours the last Sunday of each month seasonally, from May to October. The next open house is Sunday, June 30th from 2-5, and you can see for yourself how education has changed over the years. The Schoolhouse is located at 5064 Jaycox Rd. -near the Mills Rd. end. There is no admission charge, however donations are always welcome. On-site parking is limited, but nearby side street parking is available.
Route 83 – Center Road
Most of us have traveled down the road we call “83”- sometimes multiple times a day! Today we’ll explore some of the history of the northern end of 83- from Center Ridge north to the Avon city line.
In the beginning the main north south road through town was called Center Road. The southern half (Center Ridge and south) was sometimes called Station Road because it went past the Shawville railroad station, which was an active part of our town from about 1850-1940. At some time it became Avon Belden Wooster Road signifying it would take one from Avon to Belden to Wooster. When automobiles and trucks became more common, Center Road became State Route #76, and eventually area folks just shortened it to Avon Belden or “76”. In 1972 it was changed to Route #83- being it is a north/south road and it had been decided those roads should be odd numbers, with even numbers traveling east/west. Pretty confusing! Today we call it “83” or Avon Belden.
In 1896 there were only 13 houses on the north end of Avon Belden Road. Many landowners were farmers and some of their surnames were Lehman, Diederich, or Terrell, but the largest landowner at that time was Peter Meyer, who had 101 acres.
Peter Meyer was born in Bavaria in 1844 and traveled to America with his family two years later. The ship they sailed departed from France and took 48 days to reach the New York Harbor. The family settled in Ridgeville Twp- Peter’s parents, Andrew and Mary Catherine lived here until 1871, when they moved to Elyria. Peter fought in the Civil War from 1862-1865 as part of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded at Gettysburg, but returned home and in 1872 married Katherine Stauder and they would be blessed with 12 children. Area German Catholic families decided to start a fund to build their own church and St. Peter Church would open in 1875- named for the Patron Saint, Peter, in honor of Peter Meyer, who gave $50- the largest donation. This first St. Peter Church was built on Avon Belden Rd. – just south of Center Ridge on the west side, but this church burned in 1914, and would eventually be replaced in 1923 at the current location.
Peter and Katherine built a large Victorian home in 1901, which still stands on the west side of the road and is admired by many. Peter died in 1930 and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery.
Avon Belden Road
Today we will explore the south end of Avon Belden Road- from Center Ridge to the southerly line of town.
The corner of Center Ridge and Avon Belden was considered the center of town and many businesses were located in this area. Traveling south, on the west side of the road, near the center was the original St. Peter Church. It was a beautiful wooden structure, built in 1875, but sadly was destroyed by fire in 1914. There was a Catholic School next door to the church that would later be replaced on Center Ridge by the current church. The 1857 map shows a button factory in that same area and across the street- near where the Middle School used to stand there was a greenhouse in the late 1800s, but this doesn’t seem to have been in existence for very long. Bainbridge Road did not extend to Avon Belden until the mid 1970s, and the area that would become South Central Park was heavily wooded. The ponds there were from the building of the turnpike overpasses in the 1950s and in the 1960s science classes from the Middle School went on field trips to examine the wildlife and aquatic features there.
In the 1800s The Shaw family owned many acres of land around the railroad tracks and for 45 years Zimri Shaw was the station master at what would become Shawville Railroad Station. Oddly enough, modern day maps and google maps still designate Shawville or Ridgeville station, although there hasn’t been a station there since the 1940s. Traveling south one would have to drive over the railroad tracks until it was decided an overpass was needed. Many of us spent time waiting for the trains to clear the tracks to reach our destination on the other side! From 1853 to the 1940s the railroad station was a vital part of our town. One-room school students who had completed 8th grade here in town could ride the train to Elyria to further their education at Elyria High school, one of the few high schools in the area. Farmers used the railroad to transport their goods into Cleveland or points west. Passengers could travel via the train as well, and, at one time a small village grew along the tracks including a hotel, store and post office. The railroad workers were able to live onsite in bunkhouses and it was a thriving community. Once automobiles became more common railroad usage dropped and the station was closed in 1947.
The northeast corner of Avon Belden and Chestnut Ridge was home to one of our District schools- Joint Sub- District #10, which was shared with students from Eaton as well as our own area students. This school was a brick one-room building with a distinctive bell tower, and it was abandoned in 1923, when the new centralized school was opened. It was torn down in the 1950s and became a service station.
Just north of Lorain Road one could find the Excelsior Cheese Factory on the east side of the road- a brick building that is still in existence. Built in 1871 to replace an earlier building that had burned down, the company was operated by Frances and William Eldred, along with men named Adams and Jackson. Area farmers supplied the milk needed and the cheese made was Cheshire cheese which was enjoyed locally and exported to England. Francis Eldred owned over 75 acres of land on both sides of the street – on the east side extending from the township line to Chestnut Ridge. The home of Francis Eldred still stands on Lorain Road just east of the corner on the north side- a stately white colonial.
To be continued in next month’s North Ridgeville Review.
