Embedded Files
The Van Sweringens
O.P. Van Sweringen Pocket Watch
1900
Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen were instrumental in the creation and development of Shaker Heights into a nationally-acclaimed city. Not only were the brothers responsible for the city’s architectural integrity and implementation of the Garden City movement’s aesthetics and standards, but they also built the Shaker Rapid Transit that still runs through Shaker Heights.
This monogrammed pocket watch was carried by O.P. Van Sweringen during his time in Shaker Heights. Most of the Van Sweringens’ possessions were sold in an estate sale in 1936 to pay part of the $68 million the Van Sweringen Estate owed in debt when the brothers died.
2012.1.1.4
Gift from J. Paxton Van Sweringen
Daisy Hill Farms Medals
1922-1925
The Van Sweringens won these National Flower Show medals for the gardens at Daisy Hill Farm, a 660-acre country estate in Hunting Valley. When the brothers bought the property, they originally planned to turn it into a golf course and clubhouse but instead built Roundwood Manor, their country home that served as a center of both entertainment and business.
The Vans hired landscape architect A.D. Taylor, who became a leading figure in the world of landscape architecture in the early 20th century, to develop Daisy Hill’s 660 acres. Roundwood Manor was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
1970.1.1.6, 1970.3.3.6
Gift from Mrs. J. J. Anzalone
Inscription on reverse:
Awarded to Daisy Hill Farms for Display Hybrid Perpetual Roses
March 25, April 1 1922
Shaker Rapid Transit Rail
c. 1920
This piece of rail from the original Shaker Rapid Transit track was replaced by RTA workers in 1980 and donated to the museum. In the 1970s, the Shaker Rapid Transit System began to fail because of the increased usage of automobiles, inflation of ticket prices, and decreasing employment of Shaker residents commuting to work in Downtown Cleveland. The Shaker Heights RTA was transferred to the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority in 1974. The transfer led to a reduction of fares, an uptick in the use of public transportation for a short period, and infrastructure construction that updated the rails and rail cars.
Unknown Donor
The Greenback and Gristmill Yearbooks
1922-1927
The Shaker High School yearbook was originally called The Greenback. This was the first Shaker schools yearbook from 1922. After the first few publications, the yearbook committee changed the name to the Gristmill, a nod to the North Union Shakers’ mill. During the Gristmill's early years, Shaker Heights High School was housed in what is now Woodbury School before the current high school was built in 1931.
73-20.1
Gift from William H. Hecker
Shaker Square Co. 25 Year Certificate
1950
The Shaker Square Company oversaw Shaker Square from its founding in the late 1920s to the height of its success in 1950. Morris Van Fossan became resident manager of Moreland Courts in 1925 and the first manager of Shaker Square in 1929, serving in this role until 1953. He received this certificate honoring 25 years of service to the Shaker Square Company in 1950.
The Van Sweringen Brothers built Shaker Square in the 1920s as a commercial center for Shaker Heights residents. It was situated at the junction between the Green Road and Van Aken Rapid Transit lines so residents who commuted to Downtown Cleveland could shop on their way to and from work. Shaker Square originally catered to the upper class clientele of Shaker Heights and was an integral part of the Shaker Heights community. It is the oldest shopping center in Ohio and the second oldest in the United States, earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
2016.75
Gift from William F. Cody Jr.
Shaker Square 10th Anniversary
1939
From left, L. Morris Van Fossan, Shaker Heights Mayor William Van Aken, and an unidentified man cut a cake to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Shaker Square.
Entertainment in Shaker Heights
Shaker Player’s Scrapbook
1920-1961
The Shaker Players, a theater troupe from Shaker Heights, was the oldest community theater in Northern Ohio. The group of amateur thespians formed the Plymouth Players in 1919 to raise money for the construction of Plymouth Church and continued beyond their original purpose to provide civic theater, including a children’s theater, for Shaker Heights. Members ranged in age from 18 to 70 and performed both well-known plays and those they wrote themselves.
The troupe performed at Shaker Heights High School and installed the first electric curtain in the State of Ohio. It was the only little theater in the country with its own orchestra in its founding years. A gradual decline in membership led the group to disband after its 42nd season.
T2005.5
Gift from Dorothy R. Davis
Shaker Players Rehearsal of Picnic
1960
These photos were taken during the Shaker Players’ rehearsal of William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Picnic, which opened for a four-night run in the last year of the community theater’s operation.
Gift from Dorothy R. Davis
"[Shaker Lakes Canoe Club] was a great place for a weekend outing." -Bernard Rife
Shaker Lakes Canoe Club Boathouse
Reproduction Print
In the 1920s and 1930s, when Shaker Lakes Canoe Club membership was at its peak, the two-story clubhouse on the lake’s southeast shore was the site of annual regattas that attracted thousands of spectators. The original members of the club were young blue-collar workers from the east side of Cleveland. As they got older, the club transformed into a family-centered organization.
In the photographs below, canoeists play, relax, and participate in the annual regatta on Lower Lake. The regattas featured traditional canoe races as well as competitions in the lesser known sports of “canoe tilting” and “canoe polo.” A favorite game was the “Submarine Race” where paddlers had to tip their canoes, right them filled with water, and then canoe across the Lake.
Unknown Donor
10th Annual Regatta Point Cup
1919
B.O. Moore won this trophy in the 10th annual regatta at Lower Shaker Lake in 1919. At this time, Lower Lake was under the control of the City of Cleveland’s Park Department, which operated a refreshment stand and boathouse. The Shaker Lakes Canoe Club, founded in 1908, rented a second two-story clubhouse and boathouse built in 1914 for $1 a year.
Picnicking at Lower Shaker Lake and renting canoes from the boathouse became favorite Shaker family weekend activities, and the club was famous for its summer moonlight carnivals. Although membership was limited because of the amount of berths available, rates remained affordable with annual dues amounting to $15 in the early years and rising to $25 at the Club’s peak in the 1930s.
1900.280.1.1
Unknown Donor
Badminton Trophies
1932-1936
Formed in the 1930s, the Shaker Heights Badminton Club, which still plays today, is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. The team was part of a five-team league in Cleveland and participated in both local and state competitions. In 1969, the club was sanctioned by the United States Badminton Association to hold the 1969 Ohio Badminton Open in Moreland School, a huge honor for the longstanding club.
This Men’s Doubles trophy was won in 1932 for Lomond Elementary School, and the Mixed Doubles trophy was won in 1936 at a state competition at Ohio State University.
Gift from C.L. Nicholls Sporting Goods Store
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Ice Skates
c. 1920s-1930s
A favorite pastime of Shaker Heights children was skating on seasonal man-made ponds. The fire department flooded many lots, especially in the Mercer neighborhood where most of the land was undeveloped. The land where Bertram Woods Library stands was a popular spot in Shaker Heights before Thornton Park, which includes an indoor ice skating rink, was built in 1962.
1900.275.1.1
Carla Ann Martin
Protecting Shaker Heights
World War II Ration Book
1942
Morris Van Fossan and his family used these ration books during World War II. Van Fossan was a Shaker resident who lived on Shaker Boulevard and was the property manager for Shaker Square and Moreland Courts from 1925-1950.
Rationing was implemented in Cleveland by 29 War Price & Rationing Boards, which were empowered to issue permits to civilians for potentially scarce commodities such as sugar, meat, and gasoline. Most families in Cleveland were unhappy about the strict rationing. Discontent grew when Cleveland Press reporter Hulda Schuele wrote in 1945, “Nazis Prisoners in US Get Double Rationed Food Allowed Civilians'' and added, "Our star boarders in the stockades even get grapefruit twice a week."
76-5.1
Gift from Joseph Blake
Memorial Day Speech by Mayor Van Aken
1946
This photograph captures Mayor Van Aken’s Memorial Day speech in 1946, a year after World War II came to an end with V-J Day. As many Shaker families had lost loved ones in the war, this Memorial Day was a sad but heartening event. In total, 88 soldiers from Shaker Heights died in service to the United States during World War II. Shortly after Mayor Van Aken’s speech, a wreath laying ceremony and parade commenced. This tradition is practiced every year on Memorial Day.
Unknown Donor
Van Aken Family Rifle
c. 1902-1912
This rifle, a Stevens Maynard Jr. model often used by young boys and beginner hunters, was owned by the Van Aken family. William Van Aken lived with his older half-sisters Anna and Helen Hank and his mother Mary in 1910. In 1911, while Van Aken was working with the Van Sweringen brothers, the family moved to East 128th Street, now Kendall Road in Shaker Heights. Van Aken became the mayor of the village of Shaker Heights in 1915, serving for decades and shaping the transition of Shaker Heights from village to city in 1930.
73-40.112
Gift from the Masie Koelliker Estate and Helen & Anna Hank
American Legion Post 481 Bell and Flag
c. 1940s
The American Legion, a nonprofit organization of U.S. war veterans, was founded following World War I. The local posts in Shaker Heights organized commemorative events and provided assistance to VA hospitals and clinics. This bell and flag belonged to local Jacob Russell Post 481, which formed the committee to construct a permanent war memorial to honor the 88 soldiers that gave their lives for their country. Dedicated in 1948, the memorial flag pole replaced a temporary memorial constructed in 1943.
Bell: 2001.13.1.1, Unknown Donor
Flag: 84-22.1, Gift from Carl Withers
A wooden Honor Roll of Shaker residents who fought in World War II was erected in 1943 in front of City Hall. The temporary structure was dismantled when the present permanent memorial, a flagpole with an inscribed stone base, was dedicated in 1948 in roughly the same location. Photo courtesy of Cleveland Memory.
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