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HISTORY ON THE CLEVELAND’S HESSLER COURT By Dianne Timblin

hen you Millennia later and half a world away, turn the wood appeared in colonial North Wcorner onto America. Corduroy roads, named for the Hessler Court, just off cotton cloth because of its similarly ridged the Case Western appearance, provided a means of crossing Reserve University particularly muddy or swampy areas.2 In campus, the first thing a few cases, the swampy ground itself has you notice is the allowed vestiges of these roads to remain sound. Or more accu- in place for examination centuries later. In rately, the lack of it, especially when you April 2008, for example, the remains of a turn onto Hessler Court from Hessler corduroy-style log road dating to 1684 Road, the -paved that runs per- were uncovered in Annapolis, Maryland.3 pendicular to it. Over the decades, the brick Canadians were first to experiment with street has buckled and cracked, and using sawed plank surfaces and in the although the brickwork remains pic- 1830s became the first North Americans turesque, the ride is bumpy and loud. to begin systematically installing plank Hessler Court, however, the last remain- roads. Residents of Onondaga County, ing wood block road in Cleveland, remains New York, liked what they saw their smooth and quiet, serving as a reminder neighbors doing and in the 1840s followed of one reason wood block paving became suit with their own.4 Planking helped a popular option on urban in the make rural American roads more pass- latter half of the nineteenth century. This able, particularly in wet weather, but ulti- block-long wood-paved road is typical for mately proved costly, since the planks its time—in location, appearance, and typically had to be replaced every four to paving style in particular—falling into a five years rather than the eight to ten years

long tradition of wood paving that dates investors originally expected. Rural resi- COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR at least as far back as the second century dents resisted paying for road con- Owing to the neoclassical and bungalow B.C.E. struction and maintenance, and even with character of the homes on Hessler Road The earliest known remains of a wood tolls it was difficult for investors to see a and the wood block paving on Hessler road were excavated at Corlea Bog in return on their money.5 Court, neighborhood residents persuaded County Longford, Ireland. Uncovered by Passability was also a major concern the City of Cleveland to designate the area archaeologist Barry Raftery in the 1980s, for city dwellers. Wood roads such as as a historic district in 1975, the first such the wood road spanned the bog, con- Cleveland’s Hessler Court became an designation in the city. necting two points of high ground, and urban staple, first in the form of planking dates to 148 B.C.E. The construction relied and later in two distinct stages of wood primarily on halved oak trunks laid out as block construction. Stone block pavements doned after 1856 or 1857.”6 Planking as a paired parallel “runners” across which were more common overall but expensive paving practice continued longer in north- “sleepers,” like railroad ties, were laid per- to build and proved noisy in an era of iron ern Wisconsin and Michigan as well as in pendicularly, the timbers joined with pegs horseshoes and steel-rimmed carriage and New and the Pacific Northwest, and mortises. The sleepers are spaced wagon wheels. Several U.S. cities, includ- where the availability of lumber made it closely together, and the flat surfaces of ing Cleveland, began experimenting with viable for several more decades.7 the logs typically face up. Without the plank roads. But those roads typically did In Boston, Samuel Nicholson built a wood road, the bog would have been not live up to the seven years of durabil- road using his patented wood block pavers impassable for many months of the year. ity that had been predicted for pine or the in 1866. The pine was soaked in creosote Evidence of another, apparently Bronze ten to twelve expected for oak. In fact, one and cut into blocks three to four inches Age trackway beneath the one excavated historian found that “many plank pave- wide, six to fourteen inches long, and six by Raftery further implies the road’s value. ments disintegrated in two years. No new inches deep. Nicholson’s techniques were The bog itself is responsible for preserv- plank roads were started after 1854 in quickly imitated by competitors, and the ing the evidence of both roads, since the Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, or Iowa, use of wood block paving took hold in served to embalm the timbers.1 and most of the existing roads were aban- northern U.S. cities such as New York,

FOREST HISTORY TODAY | SPRING 2008 51 they soon decayed, while the sank into ruts and holes.”9 Further dam- aging the reputation of Nicholson’s tech- nique was the prevailing view that the pavement contributed to the spread of the 1871 Chicago fire; the highly flammable streets, constructed as they were with cre- osote-soaked wood, served as an acceler- ant instead of a firebreak.10 Hessler Court Hessler House Despite the problems, wood block paving remained appealing for its quiet- ness and affordability, and municipal exper- iments with it continued from the 1880s into the early 1900s. Eventually, wood block pavers injected—not just soaked— with creosote came into favor. Paving with these blocks began as early as 1873, when a road built with creosoted southern pine was constructed in Galveston, Texas. The U.S. Forest Service reported in 1908 that “the success of the modern wood block pavement” had several causes: “The wood is carefully selected, both as to kind and

COURTESY OF CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY IMAGE COLLECTIONS quality; it is cut accurately into rectangu- The Hessler House sits at the north corner of Hessler Road and Hessler Court, the last lar blocks, is put through seasoning remaining wood block paved street in the city. The two roads first appeared on maps in 1908; processes, and is preserved from decay, this map is from 1914, the same year that Emery Hessler completed purchasing land along with creosote” to reduce water absorption Hessler Court. Subsequently, Hessler Road was extended past his house, which was relocated and “consequent expansion and contrac- from Bellflower Road in 1916. tion of the pavement.” When the blocks were laid tightly, with the grain vertical, over a solid foundation of -con- Newark, , and—once again— weather. The blocks also rotted rapidly, , the joints were waterproof and Cleveland. The abundance of timber with a normal maximum use of six years maintenance became relatively easy.11 made wood block paving an affordable and a reported life of only two years in Hessler Court was platted toward the end option, and thus popular. Washington, D.C.”8 Multiple factors con- of this latter phase of wood block paving Like wood plank paving, however, tributed to the pavement’s failure rate. The and may represent the very last portion of Nicholson pavement failed to live up to its wood was generally not selected with three waves of wood paving in Cleveland. early promise, and in the 1870s it was care, with soft woods like white pine often Making roadways reliably passable was abandoned, for several reasons. Nicholson used. The wide joints allowed water to clearly a high priority in the Forest City. blocks were “slippery when wet or fouled seep in and be absorbed by the blocks, The city council authorized street plank- by mud from unpaved streets, and they with the result that the blocks would swell ing to begin in 1840—before sewers were offered poor traction on steep grades. The and heave. Compounding these problems, dug (1853), reservoirs were established wood absorbed horse urine and excre- “the foundation was usually of untreated (1846), or gas lines were run (1849).12 The ment and sweated putrid fluid in hot planks, laid directly upon earth, so that city started planking the streets four to five

U.S. FOREST SERVICE PHOTO, FOREST HISTORY SOCIETY PHOTO COLLECTION

Samuel Nicholson’s patented paving technique quickly fell out of favor because he spaced the blocks too far apart and because “the foundation was usually of untreated planks, laid directly upon earth, so that they soon decayed, while the pavement sank into ruts and holes.” This cross section shows the plan used by the Hale Pavement Company of Staunton, Virginia, in the 1880s.

52 FOREST HISTORY TODAY | SPRING 2008 accompanied it, had a direct impact on the neighborhood where Hessler Court is located. As the city grew eastward, Euclid , situated one city block southeast of Hessler Road, became known after 1889 as “the showcase of America.” Wade Park, adjacent to Euclid, was the first large park in the city.15 Hessler Court, therefore, was positioned in a fashionable neighborhood, where the aesthetics and sound quality of the road might have been given greater consideration. Hessler Court’s wood blocks can, in fact, tell us something about the nature of the neighborhood at the time of its paving. The same is true of Hessler Road COURTESY OF CHRIS M. WORRELL

COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR and its light-duty brick paving. Thorough- fares with heavy traffic called for granite Looking northwest up Hessler Court while standing on Hessler Road. The house at right is the blocks, heavy , or iron or steel Hessler House (see inset), which fronts onto Hessler Road. Originally it sat on Bellflower squares. Materials such as thin granite, Road, but was moved in 1916 by Emery Hessler to this location. light bricks, and blocks composed of , , iron, or steel were years after New York City and one year century brought so much growth to reserved for residential streets with lower after London began paving with wood.13 Cleveland that in 1880 there were 975 traffic levels. Wood paving was used where As wood block paving became widely pre- streets, 183 avenues, and 113 , alleys, quietness was desired most: “near hospi- ferred over planking, Cleveland followed and places, plus 5 roads. Despite the sig- tals, schools, churches, and public build- suit, and by 1870 the city had 83⁄4 miles of nificant drawbacks of Medina ings like court houses where street noise wood block paving. (By comparison, pavement, which jarred carriage riders was especially bothersome and in con- records for the same year show that both physically and aurally, so prevalent gested streets with heavy traffic.”16 Or, of Cleveland had 101⁄2 miles of stone pave- was the trend to pave with stone that some course, where a private owner preferred ment.) However, in keeping once again residents urged the city to forgo paving the and could afford to install wood block with national paving trends, the city remaining dirt roads altogether so that they pavement. replaced its wooden pavements during the might drive without “shaking our bones Today, Hessler Court serves as a one- 1880s with Medina sandstone.14 over the stones.” Cleveland’s expansion in way outlet for Hessler Road, a cozy enclave In fact, the latter half of the nineteenth the late 1800s, and the myriad changes that that includes a mix of college students and

FOREST HISTORY TODAY | SPRING 2008 53 COURTESY OF STEVEN ANDERSON Where Hessler Road’s brick construction meets Hessler Court’s wood pavers, one can immediately see why the wood block paving would offer a quieter and smoother ride. The visible grain in the wood blocks indicates the road was not constructed using the Nicholson technique.

long-term residents. The combined neigh- Places in March 1973. But the history of from Frank and Minnie Smith and others, borhood of Hessler Court and Hessler Hessler Court nonetheless retains some to create a tract bounded by Bellflower Road blends an Old World feel (thanks to mystery. The details of its origin and con- Road on the north, Euclid Avenue on the Tudor revival and neoclassical architecture) struction are unclear, leaving us with some south, Drive on the west side, and with an artistic and scholarly vibe. In the questions: How did it get its name? When East 115th Street on the east side. In 1911, early twentieth century, however, Hessler was it built? And given the life expectancy he sold land along Hessler Road back to Road, which is only two blocks long, was of most wood pavement, why has it sur- Frank Smith with the understanding that a fashionable address, and the wood paving vived so long? houses could be built on it for no less than of Hessler Court would have provided an The street name might have derived $3,000 each, assuring that the neighbor- attractive and quiet approach. Hessler from that of the property owner who held hood would remain exclusive.19 In 1916, Court itself is shorter still, measuring the land prior to Hessler Court’s platting. Hessler relocated his house, moving it one roughly 275 feet long and 191⁄2 feet wide. According to the National Register, it was block, from Bellflower Road to a position The wooden pavers are rectangular, laid in Echo M. Heisley, a name that is only some- near what was then the end of Hessler a staggered pattern similar to brickwork. what close to “Hessler.” In 1892, however, Road. Some sources estimate Hessler The blocks’ end grain may be easily dis- his name was recorded in the Cuyahoga Court’s paving date to have been around tinguished on the road’s surface, and with County Atlas as Heisler—much closer to 1916, which would coincide with Emery the blocks measuring 41⁄2 inches by 9 inches “Hessler.” Furthermore, at the time, Hessler’s house relocation and his extend- each, the court is paved with approximately Cleveland already had a Heisley Avenue, ing Hessler Road further northeast.20 Such 19,000 of them. Although small portions so that may have factored into the street’s a late date seems puzzling, however, since of the court have been patched with asphalt naming as well.18 Or did it? Other sources, the platting date was eight years earlier, the and concrete, the wood paving is mainly and some research in the records of the same time Hessler Road first appeared on intact. In the mid-1970s, the original wood City of Cleveland’s Landmarks Commis- maps. (Depending on the mapmaker, block portions were estimated to make up sion and the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Hessler Court was initially unnamed or 95 percent of Hessler Court. From the look Office, clearly indicate that Hessler Court called Hessler N.W.) In the end, sources of things today, that percentage may have was a private drive or owned by disagree about the paving date and noth- dropped slightly, but not much.17 Emery Hessler, a surgical instruments sales- ing definitive has been found. We know its dimensions, and we know man who began buying land in the Wade The mystery surrounding Hessler that it was platted no later than 1908 and Park area in 1889. By 1914 he had put Court’s paving date raises yet more ques- added to the National Register of Historic together several parcels of land, purchased tions. Was Hessler Court constructed and

54 FOREST HISTORY TODAY | SPRING 2008 paved initially as a private drive, one that Drive, which are well-traveled city streets. 2. Carl Abbott, “Plank Roads and Wood-Block the city may have acquired by 1916? Or Contemporary perceptions of our Pavements,” Journal of Forest History October was Hessler Court paved with wood remaining wood roads, in Cleveland or 1981: 216. immediately before it was first platted in elsewhere, as quaint or curious belie their 3. “Archaeologists Find 18th Century Log Road 1908? In either case, it would represent a original practicality and utility. Whereas in Annapolis, Maryland, US,” Science Daily, April 24, 2008, http://www.science- late phase of wood block paving in the city. in rural areas, plank roads helped speed daily.com/releases/2008/04/080423180059. This could be the case, despite what one travel, “cities looked to wood-block pave- htm (accessed May 7, 2008). might expect in light of transportation ments to reduce the din of horse-pulled 4. Abbott, “Plank Roads,” 216. changes occurring at the time: “In the clos- vehicles in streets canyoned with build- 5. Whitten, “Nineteenth Century Origins,” 211. ing year of the nineteenth century, 1900, ings.”24 The ability to quiet the racket of 6. Abbott, “Plank Roads,” 217. as automobiles began to look more like a steel wheel meant that “wooden pave- 7. Ibid. the future of transportation and less like ment was no small blessing in a horse and 8. Ibid., 218. a short-lived, inefficient craze, and pow- wagon society.”25 Consequently, the grad- 9. C.L. Hill, Wood Paving in the , ered flight was a mere four years away, ual move away from wood block roads U.S. Forest Service Circular 141 wood block paving continued to attract does not indicate that this paving method (Washington, D.C., 1908), 6. attention.”21 Wood block had special prop- was ineffective. Instead, the need for such 10. McShane, Down the Asphalt Path: The erties that were still useful in paving. For roads simply decreased as times changed. Automobile and the American City (New York: example, it absorbed vibration from elec- The replacement of wood block speaks Columbia University Press, 1994), 60. tric streetcars, it was quieter under all vari- more to the eventual ubiquity of inflat- 11. Hill, “Wood Paving,” 7. eties of wheels than granite block, it was able tires than problems with wood 12. Edmund H. Chapman, “City Planning Under Mercantile Expansion: The Case of seen as more durable and easier to main- paving’s durability. As one historian has Cleveland, Ohio,” The Journal of the Society of tain than , and it proved light and noted, “Wooden streets, like trolleys, are Architectural Historians 10, no. 5 (December strong for paving built with no more because technology offered new 1951): 17. wooden decks.22 alternatives in transportation that elimi- 13. Ibid., 5. But when did Cleveland stop paving nated the need for them.”26 14. National Park Service, “Hessler Court with wood? By the time a May 1907 report As you view Hessler Court today, sur- Wooden Pavement,” National Register of on paving was issued, the city appears to rounded as it is by modernity in a variety Historic Places Inventory—Nomination be done using it. At a symposium on of forms—the fraternity houses opposite Form, March 31, 1975. municipal paving, Cleveland’s secretary of the exit onto Bellflower Road, the cutting- 15. William Ganson Rose, Cleveland: The Making the Board of Public Service stated that edge architecture of the Mandel Center of a City (Cleveland and New York: World although the city paved with a variety of for Nonprofit Organizations that flanks Publishing Company, 1950), 432, 434. materials, such as brick, Belgian block, and one end of Hessler Court, and the Frank 16. David O. Whitten, “A Century of Parquet stone, “cedar block is not used.”23 Was this Gehry-designed Peter B. Lewis Building a Pavements: Wood as a Paving Material in public official unaware of Hessler Court? stone’s throw away—this single city block the United States and Abroad, 1840–1940, Part 2, Twentieth Century Decline: Or was it not taken into consideration paved with wood provides a unique win- Geography, Technology, History,” Essays in because it had been privately built? Or is dow into Cleveland’s past. As you drive Economic and Business History XVI (1998): it possible that Hessler Court was not orig- along, it may be a challenge to imagine 162. inally paved with cedar—or with wood at the carriages, wagons, and early automo- 17. National Park Service, “Hessler Court.” all? biles that once traveled here, but it is easy 18. Ibid. In the end, the wood blocks of Hessler to notice the smoothness of the ride. If 19. Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Recorder’s Office, Court have proved to be more solid than you also take note of what you cannot Deeds and Records, Record No. 554790, the facts surrounding their installation. hear, you will experience one of the every- Book 1333, Page 295. Accessed at: The pavement’s staying power appears day pleasures for which Hessler Court was http://recorder.cuyahogacounty.us/Searchs remarkable when one considers that a built. ■ /Docindex.aspx?docid=23874963&ref_nbr= decade was considered the upper limit of 191103240060. longevity. The pavement’s origin in at least 20. “Hessler Rd. and Hessler Court Historic the second wave of wood block paving has Dianne Timblin is a writer and editor living District,” The Encyclopedia of Cleveland perhaps played a role, since the wood was in Durham, North Carolina. She sincerely History, accessed at http://ech.case.edu/ most likely injected with creosote rather thanks Chris Worrell and Jamie Lewis for their ech-cgi/article.pl?id=HRAHCHD. 21. Whitten, “Nineteenth Century Origins,” 219. than merely soaked in it. And if it was research assistance. 22. Ibid., 220. built within the first two decades of the 23. A.R. Callow, “Notes on Municipal twentieth century, the wood would have NOTES Government. Municipal Paving: A been vulnerable to wear and tear from Symposium (Cleveland),” Annals of the 1. David O. Whitten, “A Century of Parquet horseshoes and wagon wheels for only a American Academy of Political and Social Pavements: Wood as a Paving Material in the few years. It may also have helped that Science Vol. 29 (May 1907): 579. United States and Abroad, 1840–1940, Part 1, Hessler Court is more neighborhood 24. Whitten, “Twentieth Century Decline,” 162. Nineteenth Century Origins,” Essays in than thoroughfare. Traffic levels are light 25. Ibid., 163. Economic and Business History XV (1997): 210. (both in volume and weight) compared 26. Ibid. with nearby Bellflower Road and Ford

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