A North Ridgeville man, born in 1827, was a topic of conversation at the Ohio General Assembly a few months ago, and the story of this man also includes…..a fish.  Many a fisherman tells tales of his many conquests in the fishing world, but this one is quite different.  Here is the story of this man and his fish:

Jay Terrell was the grandson of some of our original founders- Icabod and Rhoda Terrell.  He was born in 1827, the son of Harry and Annis Terrell, who also lived here in Ridgeville.  In 1848 Jay married Etna Park, a native of Avon, and in 1863 they bought 55 acres of land on the shores of Lake Erie in Sheffield Village and proceeded to build a hotel.  This was to be a grand hotel- not the usual overnight stop but a resort hotel.  Ten years  later the Lake Breeze Hotel opened.  It was the first hotel built in Sheffield and included a number of amenities not usually found in the area- including a number of private cottages and pleasure boats for use by guests.  It was situated on the shore of Lake Erie near the present day Lake Breeze Road and in later years another 70 acres of woods were added to the property for game hunting.  Visitors from all over were welcomed by Mr. Terrell and an 1875 newspaper stated “the Lake Breeze House on the Lake Shore is fast becoming a favorite summer resort for foreign visitors”.

Jay was an avid fossil hunter and enjoyed his hobby by searching the lake shore and the shale cliffs along the shore for signs of prehistoric marine life.  He made many important discoveries through the years and in the late 1860s he discovered armored plates of an ancient fish near his location.  Knowing these could be significant, the fossils were given to Dr. John Newberry of the Ohio Geological Survey.  In 1874 Dr. Newberry published a paper on the fossils-naming the new species Dinichthys terrelli.  It was determined that this fossil was of a fish from the Devonian Period, 363 million years ago!  In the Devonian period our area was part of a large land mass 800 miles south of the equator and covered by a subtropical sea.  As the earth changed and the continents split apart our area shifted north and at some point this giant fish became extinct.

An 8 year old boy named Peter Bungart (1876-1949), who lived in the area of the Lake Breeze Hotel loved to follow Jay in his fossil hunting adventures, and soon, he too was hooked on fossil hunting.  In 1923 Peter became a paleontologist at the newly formed Cleveland Museum of Natural History. One of his greatest accomplishments in the field was reconstructing the shale specimens Jay had found into the armored head of the Dinichthys terrelli.  Some thirty years later, then curator, Dr. David Dunkle did considerable research on this species and later the genus name was changed to Dunkleosteus in his honor, but the species name remained terrelli in honor of Jay Terrell.

Dunkleosteus is believed to have ruled the water in which it inhabited.  It had no teeth, but it’s jaw had self-sharpening protrusions that were capable of a great bite force- similar to today’s alligators.  It is believed the fish could grow to about 28 feet long and could weigh up to four tons!  Sadly, only the bony plates of the head have been found to this date.  It’s believed the body was soft tissue to aid in maneuvering through the water, and so the body decomposed leaving behind only the armored head.  Because of this, reconstructions of the fish are largely based on similar fish of this size and of the same time period.

The Museum of Natural History in Cleveland currently houses various specimens found in this area including some found between 1965 and 1967 during the construction of Interstate 71 when it passed through the Big Creek Valley.  Other specimens have been found worldwide, but Jay Terrell’s  specimen remains the most complete ever found.  The most famous specimens of the Dunkleosteus are currently displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and there are full size models of the fish at both the Sheffield Lake City Hall and the Rocky River Nature Center.

On Wednesday, November 18, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly passed SB 123, a bill declaring Dunkleosteus terrelli the State Fossil Fish.  Sonia Winner, President and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History stated, “Today, as the governor signs this bill into law, this designation will serve to inspire those with a budding interest in Ohio history, paleontology, marine biology and other fields.  It will put Ohio on the map as one of the few states represented by a scientifically significant fossil fish.”  She later added, “A special thanks goes out to the President of the Senate Larry Obhof, Speaker of the House, Bob Cupp, and Senators Matt Dolan and Nathan Manning, who sponsored the bill along with 35 Senate and House co-sponsors, as well as to the leaders in the Ohio General Assembly who used their voices to promote the wonders of  science and nature.  In a world that is rapidly evolving, it is now more vital than ever to advocate for  STEM literacy in any way possible.”

Among the individuals who testified in support of SB 123 before the Senate and House Committees were Chief Wildlife Officer and Museum Ambassador Harvey Webster and Museum board members Frances “Fran” Buchholzer and Dr. Bill Hlavin.  They were joined by Mike Angle and Mark Peter, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Bree Obhof, a young paleontology enthusiast and daughter of Senate President Larry Obhof.

“It’s a great story.  It’s an Ohio story.  It’s a Cleveland Museum of Natural History story.” says Webster.  “And Dunk– as the Museum affectionately calls Dunkleosteus– is the most impressive fish ever to have lived.”

And to think it all started with a boy from Ridgeville and his love of history!!

Lake Breeze House

Jay Terrell’s Dunkleosteus

**Here’s an interesting side note: one of Jay and Etna’s son’s, Elah, became an architect and designed many important buildings including our own beloved Old Town Hall!