What
you already know |  | | Grand
Lake St. Marys has served as a recreational and economic hub, as well
as a natural wildlife habitat, for more than 160 years.
Ohio's
Other Great Lake has a storied history that is not only fascinating to
the hundreds of thousands it directly serves, but also of great
significance to the history of the United
States and the entire the world. You might know, for example,
that:
And
these aren't the only stories to come from Grand Lake St. Marys.
Indeed, hundreds of thousands of people have their own Grand
Lake St. Marys stories, a few of whom have recorded some of the lake's
historical highlights - and lowlights - for us to enjoy today.
Much of the lakes's past has undoubtedly been lost to time,
but there remain a few stories grand enough to retell here.
How many of them do you know? |
|  | The
birth of Grand Lake St. Marys | | | 
Grand Lake
St. Marys East Bank/Circa 1890s. Photo from George
Neargarder's collection
|
 | How big was Grand Lake St. Marys?
Grand Lake St. Marys was dug from 1837 to 1845
and originally held 17,000 acres of water. It held over 12
billion cubic feet of water, was approximately nine miles long by three
miles wide, and had over 52 miles of shoreline |
| Hard work, little pay.
Irish
and German settlers hand-dug the lake from a swampy prairie.
The pay? Thirty cents and a jigger of whiskey a
day. The whiskey was to fend off malaria and to "increase
morale" |
| The middle of the canal. Grand
Lake St. Marys supplied the Miami and Eric Canal with north-flowing
water (Loramie Summit, near New Bremen, is the highest point along the
canal. All water north of Loramie summit flows north, and all
water south accordingly flows south) |
| Cheap shipping. The
construction of the canal and its reservoirs significantly lowered
freight charges. For example, the cost to ship a bushel of
wheat 100 miles dropped from one dollar to fifteen cents | | What did it cost to dig the lake?
Total cost to dig the lake? About
$600,000. In today's money? Over $12 million.
And estimating current costs to clear trees and soil at
approximately $30,000/acre, if the project were undertaken today it
would cost well over half a billion dollars | | The lake was almost filled in! The
railroad revolution of the late 1800s, along with the Great Flood of
1913, spelled the end of the Miami and Erie Canal. And Grand
Lake St. Marys almost went with it. Many people, including
Ohio's attorney general, felt the lake would be more valuable as corn
fields and should be filled in. However, a local faction
convinced legislature to retain the lake, citing the benefits of
moisture to combat draughts, increase health, and provide water for
nearby farmland. Profit potential was also mentioned | | No more commercial fishing.
Commercial fishing was once a major enterprise on Grand Lake
St. Marys - at least until 1884, when limits were placed on the number
of fish one could remove from state waters | | First tourists. Up
until 1890, 75% of the lake's shoreline was timberland and was dotted
with sportsmen's lodges and professional guides who would take tourists
hunting, fishing, and sightseeing on the world's largest artifical
lake.
The railroads might have ended the canal, but they also
brought an economic boon to Grand Lake St. Marys as the preferred
method of travel for these money-spending sportsmen | | A slice of Vegas. Many
visitors of the late 1800s -early 1900s period would take shuttle boats
to GLSM's islands to enjoy a picnic and other recreation. One
island was even reported to be a resort complete with "gambling,
liquor, and rouge-cheeked girls." | | Less work, more play. In
1915 the state of Ohio determined that with the canal no longer in use,
Grand Lake St. Marys would be repurposed as a public recreation and
pleasure resort area. It has since served in this capacity -
as a recreational hub - for the vast majority of its existence |
|
Click here to visit our Grand
Lake St. Marys History Photo Gallery!
Click
here for the full history
of Grand Lake St. Marys!
|
| | The
oil under Grand Lake St. Marys |  | | | |
Gordon
State Park | |
| 
Gordon State
Park Custer Cars and boardwalk. Photo from George
Neargarder's collection
|
| A major attraction on the banks
of Grand Lake St. Marys.
Gordon State Park was built on 13 acres in what is now Villa Nova and
operated from 1924 to 1933, attracting hundreds of thousands of
visitors from all over the country in its nine years. The
amusement park attracted 45,000 visitors over Fourth of July weekend in
1926
|
| It was like Cedar Point, only
smaller. Gordon
State Park featured everything you would expect from an amusement park:
miniature railroad, pony tracks, crazy house, custer cars,
the
Old Mill Coaster, a merry-go-round, a 60-foot ferris wheel, and Devil's
Backbone, a 90-foot high 2,500-foot long wooden rollercoaster that was
the second largest in Ohio at the time. Other attractions
included the Mary Jane, a boat tour of Grand Lake St. Marys; speed boat
rides, and concessions that were mostly locally-owned and therefore
helped bolster the local economy
|
| Dance, dance dance!
The highlight of Gordon State Park was the dance pavillion, a
300
by 50 foot facility known alternately as "The Pier" and "The Palace."
It could accommodate hundreds of people and routinely brought
in large acts from all over the region and country
|
| A terrible trifecto.
Sadly, Gordon State Park suffered two fires that burned down
the
dance hall and Devil's Backbone. No cause was ever found for
the
first, and the second fire burned down a smaller, second dance hall
built after the first burned down. Add to the fires a
devastating
tornado and the Great Depression, and Gordon State Park ceased to exist
in 1933. Stil, the once-thriving amusement park demonstrates
what
could be done with a little land, a great attraction, and some savvy
marketing.
|
Click
here to see more photos!
Click here for the full history
of Gordon State Park! |
|
Terrorist
attack! | |
| 
A
photograph of the East Bank Bulkhead near St. Marys depicting the gates
after a dynamite explosion threatened to drain Grand Lake St. Marys.
Notice the tattered wooden gates in the center and the
onlookers
on the left. Photo from George
Neargarder's collection
|
| Explosion!
On August 22, 1904, an
attempt was made to drain Grand Lake St. Marys by dynamiting the gates
of the East Bank Bulkhead near St. Marys. The explosion
tattered
the gates, but not enough to release over 17,000 acres of water |
| St. Marys nearly wiped from the
map! As you'll recall, many were proponents of
returning the lake to farmland. Newspaper accounts at the
time surmised that the dynamiters were trying to do just that after the
state passed legislation to reinforce the banks and retain Grand Lake
St. Marys.
Interestingly, it was believed
that the plotters
had targeted the bulkhead so that the water would flow down the feeder
channel, into the canal, and ultimately into the St. Marys River -
sparing St. Marys from devastating flooding. Had they
tunneled into the East Bank and sparked the dynamite there, it was
stated that St. Marys would have been wiped from the map. Had
they placed the dynamite down between the gate posts, the plan might
have succeeded. Instead they placed the dynamite on top of
the stone walls.
|
| Blast felt nine miles away.
Shockwaves from the blast traveled nine miles through the
water and rattled Celina, but was not felt one mile away in St. Marys.
On the east side of the lake, only the closest to the blast
felt and heard it - and it even wrecked a two-story house located
just 50 yards away. Incredibly, the family within survived.
| | State investigation failed. Despite
the state's vow to hunt down and capture the perpetrators, no one was
ever indicted for the crime. | | Click here to read the rest of
the story! |
| |
A
lake divided | |
| 
| A
response from Celina's Daily Standard to St. Marys' The Evening Leader
during the war over the proper name of Grand Lake St. Marys. Photo from
George
Neargarder's collection
| What's
in a name? For decades the local lake community
has battled over the official name of Grand Lake St. Marys - so much so
that The Evening Leader even once threatened to sue The Daily Standard
over the matter! |
| A war of words.
The lake has been called Lake Mercer, Lake St. Marys, Mercer
Reservoir, Grand Reservoir, Grand Lake, Lake Celina, and, of course,
Grand Lake St. Marys.
| | The
original name? The lake was originally called
Lake Mercer, or the Mercer Reservoir. At that time Auglaize
County (on the east side of the lake today) did not exist.
St. Marys was in Mercer County, and served as the County
Seat. In 1848, Auglaize County was carved out of Mercer and
Allen counties. | | And the winner is...
The argument was so famous that Ohio Magazine even ran a
feature about it, titled "A Lake Divided." After decades of
debate, the moniker Grand Lake St. Marys was officially recognized by
the U.S. Geographic Survey and the State of Ohio. |
Visit
our Grand Lake St. Marys History Photo Gallery!
|
|
The
hoedag | |
| 
| | Newspaper
excerpt of the Hoedag. Photo from George
Neargarder's collection
| Lake monster!
The Hoedag, a monster that reportedly lives in Grand Lake St.
Marys, was first "reported" in 1912 |
| What does it look like? The
beast was said to be the target of many fruitless hunting expeditions,
and is 3/4 the size of an elephant, posseses a serpentine body with a
back hump, chicken-like feet, a green eye on the forehead and a red eye
on the long tail, and is covered with hair and feathers.
|
| What does it eat?
The Hoedag's diet supposedly consists of the farm dogs that
once ventured into her native cattail habitat, frightened humans (she
has been linked to several human disappearances), and her favorite
food, pumpkin pie | | What does it sound like? The
Terrible Hoedag makes a moaning sound, like a mix between the call of a
yahoo bird and the whinee of a horse; and has also been heard cackling
and screaming when amused. It is believed that the Hoedag is
lonely and starved for affection |
Learn
more about the Hoedag in our photo gallery! |
|
More
amazing lake facts! | |
| 
Photo from George
Neargarder's collection |
| Wild Bill and Annie Oakley, too.
The Celina Chautauqua resort, located near present-day
Mercelina Park, was once trumpeted as the "finest pleasure resort in
Ohio." The resort featured many entertainers, drama,
theologians, impersonators, humorists, and choral groups - and was once
visited by Wild Bill's Wild West Show, including Annie Oakley |
| Locals V. The State. When
the lake was being dug, many on the north and south sides who had given
up their land for it claimed they had not been compensated by the
state. What's more, residents on the west side complained
that overflowed water, which stood at a few inches deep, would bring
disease.
In 1843 a small group petitioned
the state to compensate landowners and to drain the extra water.
They were told by the Board of Public Works in Piqua, Ohio,
to "Help yourselves if you can." When the group then
threatened to cut into the west bank and drain the water themselves,
they were told that the Piqua guard would "be with you and rout you on
that day."
Four days later, the group made a cut
into the west bank to drain the water. The act resulted in 34
arrests, including those of the county officers, sheriff, judges,
clerks, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, farmers, merchants, and
private citizens.
Despite the fact that
the damage cost the state more than $17,000 to repair, the Grand Jury
refused to indict those arrested and the matter was settled.
|
| Bridging the lake. There
was once a proposal to build two bridges, or causeways, across GLSM
from the north to the south side. See the proposed bridges on
a map |
| |
Grand
Lake St. Marys, Now and in the Future |
| | 
| | What is Grand Lake St. Marys
today? Where will it be tomorrow? Though
the reservoir was initially intended to be a northbound water supply
for the Miami and Erie Canal, it only served in that capacity for 15 of
its more than 160-year existence. The majority of the time -
and officially since 1915 - Grand Lake St. Marys has been designated as
public property set aside for pleasure and recreation.
|
| Wildlife haven. The
lake
has also served as a natural wildlife habitat, and is on the major
migration routes of several migratory birds and even Monarch
butterflies. The waters are home to crappie, bass, bluegill,
walley, catfish and perch.
Grand Lake St.
Marys is for flora and fauna, tourists and business, boaters and
hunters/fishers, and lovers, friends, and family. But Ohio's
Great Lake is also threatened, and the safety, welfare, and economic
stability of the lake community are jeopardized. Today we
have touched on the rich and fascinating history of Grand Lake St.
Marys. Over the following weeks we will take a close look at
the factors that threaten to destroy the lake and what needs to be done
to prevent it. |
| The future of Grand Lake St.
Marys depends on you.
Yesterday, Grand Lake St.
Marys was indeed the grandest of them all. Today it is in
trouble. What tomorrow
brings is unknown.
We can do
nothing and allow the lake to meet its end. Or, we can work
together to return Grand Lake St. Marys to its former glory and power
as a famous recreation hub and thriving economic boon. You
can start by downloading your Personal Action Plan. |
** The Lake Improvement
Association extends a grateful thank you to George Neargarder, who lent
his valuable time, expertise, and materials for the History of Grand
Lake St. Marys. ** |
| | | |
