Old Ridgeville Part 3

This article, written by Doris Terrell Mills, is the final chapter of a three part series published in the Chronicle Telegram newspaper in celebration of our city’s 150th anniversary.  Citizens reading this all those years ago wouldn’t believe the many changes our city has undergone in the 62 years since this article was written!

In emigrating to the new country the pioneers did not leave behind them the New England habits in which they had been trained.  The first Sunday after the arrival, May 15, 1810, a religious service was held.  Joel Terrell conducted the service, which consisted of reading a portion of scripture, a prayer and singing of psalms to which David Beebe pitched the tunes.

Very few of the early settlers were members of a church and a church organization was not formed until 12 years later, but during all this time Sabbath services were regularly held.  The meetings were first held at the dwelling of inhabitants and later at the school house at the center.

In 1817 when settlers first came to Elyria, they came to Ridgeville to Sabbath services.

The first church was organized Dec. 20, 1822 in the barn of Joseph Humphrey, as the school house was too small to accommodate the crowd.  The organization was called “The First Presbyterian Church of Ridgeville” and was composed of six members.  The membership was increased to ten the following Sunday.

The church, however, was never very prosperous.  They struggled along under adverse conditions for years and finally almost ceased to exist.  In 1842, a Rev. White came as minister and from that time the church improved.  His ordination was held in the orchard of Levi Terrell, presently the Dr. P. L. Morgan property. [today the blue house across from the Old Town Hall]

The first log meeting house was built on the site where the Town Hall now stands.  Later a frame building was erected where the Congregational Church stands and in June 1873 work was commenced on the present brick church.  It was dedicated Jan. 12, 1876 and had cost $10,244.14.  The church had previously been named at the meeting called for that purpose “The First Congregational Church of Ridgeville”.  There were 47 members at this time.  Officers were men remembered by many of us at the present day- Charles Rogers, T. Winckles, LeRoy Race, Edward Ames, and Job Lickorish.

The Methodist Church at Fields (then known as Briggs Corners) was formed in 1825.  There were seven members.  The meetings were held first in a log house of William Blain and later in the frame school house.  A circuit preacher officiated once in two weeks.  A church building was erected in 1859.

About 1875 eight or nine members were expelled from the church for non-attendance, and they, with a few others, organized into a class know as “Free Methodists”.  They met at the schoolhouse and at the home of Henry Dickson until the erection of a house of worship in 1876.

St. Peters Catholic Church was formed in February, 1875.  It had a membership of 45.  A church was erected at the center in the fall and winter of the same year.  This church burned in the early 1900’s and then services were held in their school house, which had been built in 1910.  The present church was built in 1922 and 1923.

The township was organized in 1813 at Terrell Tavern.  There were only 15 voters in the settlement and they were all present. The first officers were Willis Terrell, clerk; David Beebe Sr., Icabod Terrell, and Joel Terrell, trustees; David Beebe, Jr. and John Reading, Constables; and Joel Terrell, Justice of the Peace.

Township business was conducted here and there until 1882, when the Town Hall was built as a place to serve this purpose, with a second floor auditorium for social events.  This building is still being used for the purpose and will be used to conduct village business from now on.

The first Post Office was established in 1813 with Moses Eldred as postmaster.  He kept the office in his own home.  Later, one was established at Shawville on the New York Central Railroad and one at Fields.  The latter two were abolished when rural free delivery came into existence, and only the one at the center of town was retained.

The industries have been many and varied, but the most important to the pioneers were the grist mills and saw mills.  There were several of these built between 1819 and 1850.  The Herrick Mill built in 1859 was a button factory by day and a mill by night.  The Moore [sic] Chair Factory was established in 1853 with a capital of $750.  They manufactured wooden chairs, settees and round-cornered bed steads.  The chairs were delivered to Cleveland by  wagon.  By 1876 six thousand chairs were made in nine days.  They employed 70 persons.  Many of these chairs and beds are still being used in this community.  The Moores, in another building, manufactured an implement known as the “Griffith Land Leveler”.  These buildings stood where the Gest Greenhouse is today. [just west of the Old Town Hall today]

There were also cheese factories and cider mills but they all went out of existence with the turn of the century.  One cheese factory built by Jackson and Eldred made a specialty of Cheshire cheese and shipped it directly to England.  This building still stands on Rt. 76 just north of Rt. 10. [and is still standing on the renamed Route- #83 just north of Route 10]

The maple trees that shade our highway through the center of Ridgeville were planted by our forefathers in 1821, but due to the elements and man they are fast disappearing.

The Cleveland Southwestern Railroad Co. laid tracks through Ridgeville in 1895.  This furnished transportation service to Cleveland, Elyria, Norwalk and Oberlin until 1931 when the service was discontinued.  Before this service was discontinued, a bus line was started between Cleveland and Elyria by Henry Hall of Elyria.  The first buses were open touring cars.  There were replaced by sedans and then small sized buses.  This company changed hands several times but is now owned and operated by the Greyhound Bus Lines.

The New York Central Railroad passes through Ridgeville and has for many years.  Shawville Station was maintained for many years but was abandoned several years ago.

And now just 150 years from the time that Oliver Terrell, Icabod Terrell and David Beebe exchanged their New England farms for Ohio territory, we have become a village, with a population of somewhat over 7,000 people.  The pioneers had many problems but the people of today have many problems also, and so do the officials of our newly organized village.  Problems such as zoning, building codes, allotments, water at a rate that people can afford, overcrowded school buildings and many others.