Fairport Harbor is located on the shore of Lake Erie about 30 miles east of Cleveland. The Grand River, which flows around the town and empties into the lake, makes the town almost an island. Two bridges and one road over land give access to neighboring communities.
Fairport Harbor, Ohio, was first named Grandon, although certain early papers already referred to it as Fairport. The land was a part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and belonged to the Connecticut Land Company. They sent a group of surveyors here in 1796 and 1797, after which the land was sold to certain men, mostly from the New England states.
Fairport became a village and elected its own mayor and town council in 1836. Before that, residents had been under the supervision of Painesville Township. After the railroads were built in the 1850s and began to transport goods by rail, lake traffic began to slow down and, as a consequence, many people left Fairport. At this time Fairport again became a part of the Painesville Township government. In 1889 a mayor and council members were again elected, and this form of government has lasted until the present day.
The first lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling were built in 1825 by the famous architect Jonathan Goldsmith. The two-foot foundation was rebuilt due to settling conditions 10 years later. At first, 13 oil lamps were used for light in the tower. Later, the U.S. Lighthouse Service decided that a Fresnel lens should be used in all U.S. lighthouses, as they were such an improvement over the old lights. Fairport received a third-order Fresnel lens in 1858. This lens was moved into the new tower, built in 1871, and used there until 1925. A new keeper’s dwelling was also built in 1871, and now serves as the Fairport Marine Museum. The third-order lens can be seen on display at the museum. A new lighthouse, a combination light and foghorn station, was completed on the west breakwater in 1925. It has been completely automated since 1948, so the U.S. Coast Guard no longer has the responsibility of staying in the upstairs quarters of the lighthouse. The U.S. Coast Guard’s main duties now consist of search and rescue missions, as well as keeping a watchful eye on our shoreline and river traffic.
At first, most of Fairport Harbor’s residents were of English and Irish descent, but when the ore docks were built, Fairport received a great many Finnish, Hungarian, and Slovak immigrants. These groups organized their churches and halls. These halls—the Temperance Hall and Plum Street Hall—built in the late 19th century, were used for programs, recreation, athletics, and dancing. They had dining rooms for single men who had emigrated from foreign countries to work here. The cooks also packed their lunches for them.
All of Fairport’s churches are situated in an area between Eagle and Plum Streets running from Third Street to New Street. The first church to be established was the Congregational Church, where services were conducted in the English language. In the other churches, namely Lutheran, Reformed, Byzantine Rite, and Roman Catholic services were held only in the immigrants’ foreign languages. Eventually, English services and Sunday schools were introduced in the early 1940s, although foreign language services with dwindling attendance continue to the present day (2002). Ecumenical services, which offer residents a sense of community, are held at various churches. This small village of 3,100-plus people with different cultures and religious beliefs exemplifies a true melting pot.
The first school was organized and built in 1845 next to the First Congregational Church. In 1876 a brick building was built, a structure presently occupied by the fire department. Later, due to overcrowded conditions, the school board had to have some classes conducted in houses and the upstairs of store buildings until a new building was constructed in 1902. Unfortunately, this building burned down on February 10, 1910. Temporary schoolrooms were rented in various buildings until the new school building was ready in January 1912. A high school building was erected and ready for use in September 1921.
In the spring of 1924, by resolution of the board of education, the names of three Ohio presidents were given to the three school buildings. The Third Street School became Garfield School; Plum Street School became McKinley; and the high school became Harding High School.
A business directory printed on an 1874 map of Fairport lists mostly wholesale and retail dealers of fresh fish of all kinds. Only one ship’s carpenter is advertised, so one can see that fishing was the main means of livelihood at that time.
Small businesses served the needs of the people for many years until large malls and discount stores were built in the county. Before people owned cars, they had many items delivered to their homes. Two dairies brought milk to the porch. Coal dealers shoveled coal down a chute right through the basement window into the coal bin. “Banana Joe” and others drove their trucks up and down the streets to sell fruits and vegetables. Some of the grocery stores sent men to take orders in the morning right from the ladies’ kitchens and delivered them later in the day. All of their needs, such as clothing, food, and hardware, could be met within walking distance. Fairport had its own movie theater, and later, when more families had cars, the village also had several gas stations and garages. Several doctors and dentists had practices in Fairport. Families traveled to Painesville and Cleveland to do additional shopping by streetcar, bus, and eventually the family car. Many also took the New York Central or Nickel Plate Railroad to the Terminal Tower in Cleveland.
When the ore docks were established, ship traffic increased considerably as the large freighters brought in loads of iron ore from the iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota. Here, the ore was transferred from the ship’s holds to railroad cars or onto large piles on the docks. The ore was transported to Youngstown, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and other steel mills in the vicinity. The docks were the main employers in the town until the advent of a major industry—The Diamond Alkali Company—which was established in Fairport in 1912 to produce soda ash, caustic soda, and bicarbonate of soda. The plant employed several thousand people in Fairport and its vicinity. Fairport schools benefited from their taxes. When the plant closed on December 31, 1976, due to obsolescence, the Fairport residents found it necessary to pass a 20-mill levy in order to keep funding their schools and remain an Exempted Village School District.
As one looks at the pictures and captions in this book, one will see the progression of time in the village from the early 1800s to the present.
As preparations begin for the Ohio Bicentennial in March of 2003 (Ohio became a state in 1803 after having been a part of the Northwest Territory), one discovers that Fairport’s history closely parallels Ohio’s statehood, as the first pioneers settled here in 1803.