Silver Lake Park

Throughout its more than four decades in business, Silver Lake Park had several different steamboats, including the Cora, the Will Dailey, the Silver Queen, and the Chautauquan. Here, passengers wait to board the Will Dailey, a twin-hull, catamaran-style steamer that could accommodate 500 people. The ship was constructed in the 1880s. (Cuyahoga Falls Library.)

The steamer Will Dailey was operated by William H. Dailey. It transported excursionists arriving via train from paths on the north end of the lake to the main section of the park. The ship also conveyed local visitors across the waters. Adults paid a dime for a ride around the lake, and children could ride for a nickel. (Cuyahoga Falls Library.)

The Will Dailey glides past the water toboggans in the park. In the foreground, several boys pose in a more leisurely form of transportation: the park’s rowboats. On rare occasions, a few of the watercraft collided. In one incident, in 1906, an electric launch accidentally ran into a rowboat carrying a young couple. Fortunately, the pair was rescued by park visitors in a nearby boat. (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

After many years of faithful service, the Will Dailey was decommissioned in high style. One June evening in 1900, the ship was soaked in oil and gasoline, loaded with dynamite and fireworks, and then exploded in the middle of the lake. Pilot William Dailey eventually left Silver Lake and headed for dry land, where he established a photography studio in Cuyahoga Falls. This is a sample of his work. (Author’s collection.)

The Will Dailey was replaced by this single-hull steamer, which was initially named the Mayflower of 1900. Later, the ship was renamed the Silver Queen. The ship was faster and more powerful than its predecessor. Members of the park’s band would often board the ship and serenade the passengers with their music. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

A ride on one of the park’s steamers could be very relaxing. Occasionally, it could also be quite shocking. One day, a man surprised fellow passengers when he stood up and appeared to begin stripping off all his clothes. Much to their relief, the man had a bathing suit on underneath. He then jumped off the boat into the lake for a quick swim. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

Passengers could board the steamer from one of the park’s docks. In keeping with the park’s stunning outdoor scenery, the Lodges used materials that enhanced the rustic, outdoor feel of the surroundings. Here, the Silver Queen is moored near the pavilion, dining hall, and steamboat dock. (Local History Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

This view from across the lake shows the Silver Queen plying the waters by night. The Silver Queen transported thousands of passengers during its many years of service. In later years, the ship was beached. Local residents say its remains were visible for many years. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

Around 1911, the park launched the last of its steamboats, an impressive craft known as the Chautauquan. The ship, piloted by Capt. Frank Morgan, had a maximum capacity of 600 passengers. After the park closed, the Chautauquan was sold and moved to Springfield Lake, where it was renamed the Fannetta. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

To add to their visitors’ enjoyment, the Lodges decorated the Chautauquan with red, green, and blue electric lights, which created lovely nighttime reflections in the water. Many past residents fondly told the tale of hearing the lilting music and sounds of passengers’ laughter floating across the lake. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

As attendance at Silver Lake boomed, it became more and more challenging for park employees to be sure that guests had paid to enjoy various attractions. To aid the employees operating rides and other features, paying customers were provided with tickets, coupons or badges. These passes entitled holders to one steamboat ride. (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

Another way to travel across the lake involved the sleek watercraft below. While visiting the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the Lodges greatly admired the graceful electric launches that cruised the fair’s lagoons. As a result, an electric launch named the Magnolia was added to Silver Lake’s operations. (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

The Magnolia measured 36 feet long and could cruise at a speed of about 10 to 12 miles per hour. To entertain passengers, the person piloting the launch would occasionally have a small Victrola on board so guests could relax to music. It was aboard this launch that the Lodges later negotiated the purchase of the property of their former rival Randolph Park along the lake’s northern shore. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

This photograph shows a busy boating day on the lake. Many of the groups who held picnics at the park enjoyed spirited athletic contests such as rowboat races across the lake. Other guests preferred rowing to more isolated spots. Local residents recalled that there was a particular place in the lake where young men liked to propose marriage to their intended. (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

Area residents also found great fishing opportunities at Silver Lake. According to a 1917 Cuyahoga Falls Reporter, on the first day of the season, anglers caught 5,000–8,000 fish at the lake. Several local men reeled in four- and six-pound black bass. To enhance the lake stock, barrels of whitefish and bass were shipped in from Lake Erie in the 1870s. After Silver Lake Park closed, the public mourned the loss of its favorite fishing hole. (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

Girls also enjoyed boating at the lake. Here, a group of young ladies poses by the lakeshore. Note their Victorian-era bathing suits. In the late 1800s, few people purchased bathing suits; they either made their own homemade “bathing costumes” or rented suits at the lake. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

Silver Lake’s modest fleet of 25 wooden pleasure boats and four or five flat-bottom boats grew to more than 100 pleasure boats and 20 fishing boats, which could be rented for 25¢ an hour. In later years, as more exciting attractions were added to the park, the use of these boats declined. (Cuyahoga Falls Library.)

Sailboats were another way to enjoy the lake. Local rowing clubs, including Akron’s Alert Boat Club, also maintained fleets at the park. Sailing and boating are still conducted on the lake. However, the use of the lake is restricted to residents of Silver Lake Estates. (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

Postcard scenes such as this one, which shows a group of girls posing at the lake, were extremely popular. Mail from the park kept the local post office in Cuyahoga Falls hopping. Several thousand postcards a month were mailed from the park. The volume of mail resulted in the Cuyahoga Falls Post Office being upgraded from third to second class. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

In the Victorian era, water toboggan rides became all the rage at water resorts. In fact, a toboggan was one of the first rides installed at Cedar Point, “the Queen of American Watering Places,” in Sandusky. After experiencing the Cedar Point toboggan, seen here around 1890, the Lodge family was inspired to add a water toboggan at Silver Lake Park. (Charles E. Frohman Collection, Hayes Presidential Center.)

Initially, riders of the Silver Lake toboggan slid down a rubberized, cloth-covered chute that was doused with water prior to the rider’s descent. Although the water helped reduce friction, the ride still caused a lot of wear and tear to bathing suits. A common nickname for riding water toboggans was “shooting the chutes.” (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

According to William Lodge, the Lodges modified the toboggan chutes over the years to create a smoother ride. Initially, they experimented with copper-lined chutes, but those proved to be too hot to be comfortable on sunny days. In later years, thrill-seekers rode a snow toboggan, which slid down over a set of wooden rollers. There was no charge for this attraction, although riders did have to pay a 25¢ deposit, which helped ensure that toboggans were returned promptly. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

Spectators loved to watch people slide down the toboggan chutes. Some riders skipped along the water like a stone; others sank like a rock. According to newspaper accounts, a few unlucky riders lost jewelry—and, occasionally, their false teeth—as they hit the water. One flustered woman refused to get out of the lake until darkness descended or her dentures were found. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

There was always something new or interesting to see at Silver Lake Park. Here, a large crowd watches as toboggan riders make their descent. Note the miniature railway in the background. For the comfort of onlookers, the Lodges later added benches and seating along the shore so guests could enjoy the antics of the tobogganers. (Author’s collection.)

This advertisement for a local fraternal organization highlighted the water toboggans and also boasted that Silver Lake Park had some of the best swimming and boating around, as well as sports “every minute all day.” Picnic parties at the park involved a variety of contests, ranging from baseball games to bicycle, wheelbarrow, or three-legged races. (George E. Zurava collection.)

According to an 1887 edition of the Cuyahoga Falls Reporter, local resident Lottie Gaylord lost her engagement ring while swimming at Silver Lake in 1876. More than a decade later, a Tallmadge man found the ring on the lake’s sandy bottom. Remarkably, Gaylord was at the park the day her ring was found. The park’s owner recognized the ring from its inscription and returned it to her. (Lauren Wentz.)

The bathing beach was one of the most popular attractions at Silver Lake Park. Below, several boys take a dive off a platform at the park. However, one summer, swimming parties waned for several weeks after a newspaper ran a dubious story about an alligator being on the loose in Silver Lake, nipping at the toes of swimmers. (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

Young men enjoyed showing off their swimming and diving prowess at the lake. Unfortunately, over the years, Silver Lake Park was the scene of several tragic drowning accidents and many dramatic rescues. The park’s ever-vigilant staff, which included local swimming champions, used a variety of devices in their rescue efforts, including grappling hooks and a device described as a “lungmotor.” (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

These two swimmers stand “head and shoulders” above the rest at the park’s bathhouse. The open-air construction of the building’s second story made it an ideal place for drying out bathing suits or providing sleeping quarters for employees. (Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Museum.)

This photograph shows one of the park’s early bathhouses and “diving tables.” Note the many changing rooms available. Also in this image, a young boy sits at the edge of the diving platform, while at the far left, children who are still wearing their good clothes cautiously wade at the water’s edge. (Richard G. Lubinski collection.)

While some visitors brought their own swimsuits, others chose to rent their bathing costumes and towels for the bargain price of 25¢. Park employees spent many evenings washing, wringing out, and drying rented suits so they would be ready for the next day’s visitors. (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

Silver Lake was known for the quality of its bathing beach. In 1887, Cleveland store owner A.C. Kendel made the beach even more pleasing by shipping in a railcar-load of soft white sand from the shores of Lake Erie. The Cuyahoga Falls Reporter approved, noting, “Mr. Lodge is leaving nothing undone that will contribute to the comfort or happiness of his guests at this justly popular resort.” (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

While swimming was a big attraction at the park, not everyone knew how to swim. As a result, the park made swimming lessons available to its guests. For the benefit of young children, the park had a shallow portion of the lake set aside for their instruction, as well as safety railings to hold on to. For the guests’ safety, in later years the park also had a lifesaving crew. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)