Brooklyn Centre Celebrates 200 Years of Pioneers Brooklyn Centre
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Summer 2012 Ward 14 News Serving Brooklyn Centre, Clark Fulton and portions of the Stockyard, Tremont and Ohio City Neighborhoods Brooklyn Centre Celebrates 200 Years of Pioneers This year marks 200 years, 1812 – 2012, since the arrival of the first clearing the forest and developing a village progressed, and the area American settlers on the western bank of the Cuyahoga River, in the from the Big Creek to Scranton Road became the center of Brooklyn neighborhood that we now know as Brooklyn Centre. Township. On June 1, 1818, Brooklyn Township was formally orga- The Community is commemorating its Bicentennial with exciting ac- nized. The village of Brooklyn served as the center of the township until tivities designed to bring neighbors together through celebratory events the early 1830s. Through the late 1830s, the neighborhood was known (see “Bicentennial Events,” on page 2), and to educate and encourage as Brooklyn Centre, and was where the region’s settlers came to vote, local residents and businesses to make physical improvements through- attend church, and purchase goods. out the neighborhood. The Bicentennial started on Memorial Day, with a ceremony at the From Annexation to the Twentieth Century Brooklyn Centre Burying Grounds, located at 2300 Garden Avenue, be- hind Aldi’s. The Brooklyn Centre Burying Ground’s first interment was From the 1830s until its annexation to Cleveland in 1867, Brook- in 1823, and the cemetery was deeded with the name Brooklyn Centre lyn Centre was a fashionable suburb between the forests, farmlands and when it was founded in 1835. Memorial Day ceremonies have taken small towns to the South and the growing city of Cleveland to the north. place here for the past 33 years. This historic cemetery is the final rest- This period was also marked by a great immigration from Europe that ing place for many of the neighborhood’s founding families as well as brought Germans, Irish and others to America. Brooklyn Village boast- veterans of every major U.S. war. ed highly skilled tanners, shoemakers and other tradesmen and service providers, so that the shops on what is now Pearl Road met all of the Pioneer Life in Brooklyn Township village’s needs. From the 1900s through the end of World War II, Brooklyn Centre In May of 1812, Brooklyn Centre’s founder James Fish arrived with served as a refuge from Cleveland’s bustling city center and the more his family to settle at what is now the northwest corner of Pearl Road heavily industrialized Cuyahoga River valley. In the early 1960s Inter- and Mapledale Avenue, in what was to become Brooklyn Township. state Route 71 was built after the passage of the Federal Aid Highway This was the first American settlement west of the Cuyahoga River in Act in 1956. The freeway displaced many families and hastened chang- what would become Cuyahoga County. es in how and where the residents of the neighborhood conducted their Brooklyn Township was born out of the Connecticut Western Re- business and did their shopping. serve. In 1795, land claims were sold from the state of Connecticut to Recent interest in protecting and revitalizing Brooklyn Center began the Connecticut Land Company for $1.2 million. In 1796, the Land in the 1940s and extended into the 1980s. The Southwest Citizens Area Company sent a team of surveyors, led by Moses Cleaveland, to the Council was formed in 1946. Brooklyn Center Community Association, Western Reserve to divide the land into 25-mile square townships. formerly known as Archwood Denison Concerned Citizens, was found- However, settlement of the area was not possible until several U.S. ed in 1978, as was the Brooklyn Centre Historical Society. In 1981, the treaties with Native American tribes and frontiersmen were signed. For Crossroads Development Corporation was formed. The city recognized the ten year period between 1795 and 1805, the Cuyahoga River was ac- the historic importance and architectural significance of the neighbor- tually the western border of the United States. It was not until the Treaty hood with the creation of the Brooklyn Centre Historic District in 1984. of Fort Industry was signed in 1805 that land west of the Cuyahoga This vital neighborhood continues its legacy of transition and River was opened for settlement. activism with the formation of the Friends of Big Creek in 2005, the James Fish, with his family and two other families, left Groton, Con- Brooklyn Centre Naturalists in 2007, and the designation of the new necticut in 1811. They traveled by oxen team and lumber wagon and Jones Home National Historic District earlier this year. Activities arrived in the area of Newburg early in the autumn of 1811. In spring of planned to celebrate the Bicentennial this August will further highlight 1812, James crossed the river and constructed a log house. In May, he the neighborhood’s rich history. For more information and details about brought his family to their new home. the events planned for the Bicentennial, go to www.brooklyncentre.net. By 1818, over 200 people were living in the area surrounding what Compiled by Darren Hamm and Brian Cummins is now known as the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood. The process of See page 2 for community events commemorating 200 Years of Brooklyn Centre! Celebrate with Brooklyn Centre OUTSTANDING Bicentennial Community Events Friday, August 10th Brooklyn Centre Orchard Evening Celebration Senior of the Year 8:00pm @ the Brooklyn Centre Community Orchard - 3333 Louisiana Avenue Kick-Off the weekend by enjoying an evening filled with music, stories and a bonfire Saturday, August 11th Sal’s Menu Restaurant/Steel Valley Credit Union Pancake Breakfast KATE 10:00am - 12:00pm @ Sal’s Menu Restaurant - 3850 Pearl Road Start your Saturday with delicious pancakes from a favorite local restaurant Brooklyn Centre BikeCentennial DUPUIS 11:00am-1:30pm @ Sal’s Menu Restaurant - 3850 Pearl Road Enjoy a community bike ride with a guided tour & scavenger hunt through Brooklyn Centre Brooklyn Centre Historic Home Tour 2:00pm - 5:00pm - register at Archwood UCC - 2800 Archwood Avenue Tours of our beautiful historic homes may be taken on Lolly the Trolley, by bike, or on foot Ugly Broad Bicentennial Burger Bonanza 6:00pm - 8:00pm @ the Ugly Broad - 3908 Denison Avenue Come and meet new neighbors and enjoy the best burgers in town for just $5.00. Tickets are available at the Ugly Broad & all proceeds will benefit Applewood Center Sunday, August 12th Bridging the Distance - 5K Run/Walk 8:30am @ Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Check out www.oldbrooklynconnected.com for registration info. Brooklyn Centre Bicentennial Parade 1:30pm - 3:00pm - the parade will begin at Riverside Cemetery and travel down Pearl Road to Denison Avenue and conclude at WC Reed Park. Join us for an old fashioned community parade to celebrate this great neighborhood! Ms. Kate Dupuis was born in Cleve- Brooklyn Centre Community Picnic land on the near west side. Kate is a des- 3:00pm - 6:00pm @ WC Reed Park - W. 15th & Denison- games start at 4:00pm We will provide the main dish, lemonade, iced tea, water, paper products, plastic ignated Master Glass Painter and served ware & community members can feel free part of her apprenticeship at Canterbury Cathedral in England. Ms. Dupuis owns Rainey Dupuis Community Calendar Studio which has been designing, fabri- cating, and restoring, stained glass win- Tremont Farmers’ Market dows for 30 years. The studio’s most Tuesdays 4:00pm - 7:00pm in Lincoln Park, Tremont, www.tremontfarmersmarket.com recent installation can be seen at the Second District Community Relation Committee - Hospice of the Western Reserve’s West- Tuesday, August 14, 2012 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm @ Applewood Center, 3518 W. 25th Street lake office. Ms. Dupuis is very involved with the Tremont Arts in August - Opera Per Tutti - Saturday, August 18, 6:30pm in Lincoln Park, Tremont, www.tremontwest.org Stockyard, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre Community Development Of- Lincoln West High School - Schools as Neighborhood Resources fice. She helped form and currently and Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 6:00pm - 8:45pm serves as Chair of the Housing Commit- All activities are free and open to the public - arts and crafts, basketball, baseball, soccer, indoor track, swimming, table tennis, weighlifting and much more! www.neighborhoodleadership.org/programs/snr/lincoln tee. Kate also contributes to the Commu- nity Development Office by; represent- Archwood Avenue Sidewalk Sale ing Clark-Fulton on the Advisory Board, September 1 and 2, 2012 on Archwood Avenue, historic Brooklyn Centre chairing the Hispanic Outreach Com- mittee, and participating on the Safety Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival September 15 and 16, 2012 in Lincoln Park, Tremont, www.facebook.com/tremontartsandculturalfestival/info Committee. Kate is very active in Democratic politics. She is President of the Ward Club, a member of the Executive Com- Ward 14 Heritage Home Program mittee and serves as a precinct commit- 1.4% 12-year loans available for home improvements tee person. Ms. Dupuis started Cans for Cats, a small Trap Neuter Return program to Eligibility: However, the loan cannot be used to Ask the Old House Experts! • House is 50 years old or older fund new vinyl siding or windows. help address the plight of feral cats. She The Cleveland Restoration Society’s Heri- • Property is zoned residential, three • NEW! Fees have been reduced! raises funds by collecting cans and turn- tage Home Program offers homeowners free, units or less impartial advice on the maintenance and • Property can be owner-occupied or The CRS historic preservation team will ing them in for recycling. The money repair issues that are unique to older homes rental work with you and your contractor from start she receives from collecting the cans – those that are 50 years of age or older.