Old Brooklyn
OLD BROOKLYN
Bounded on the North by John Nagy Blvd. and the Creek
Bounded on the South by Brookpark Rd.
Bounded on the West by Ridge Rd.
Bounded on the East by Spring Rd.
St. Mary's Cemetery
Willet Cemetery
Click on Map to Enlarge
Old Brooklyn was settled in 1814 at the top of the bluff of the Big Creek Valley. The Village of South Brooklyn was incorporated in 1889. South Brooklyn was annexed to Cleveland in 1905. Brooklyn Township and portions of the Village of Brooklyn Heights were annexed in 1917 and 1927. In 1905, the Pearl Road streetcar line was extended to the south and thus across the Big Creek Valley. Brookside Park was purchased in 1894 by the City of Cleveland and became the home of the Cleveland Zoo in 1908. In the late 1880's, the Schaaf Road area developed as a major area of greenhouses. During the 1920's, commercial development took off along Pearl, Broadview and State Roads. Today, there are shopping areas at the intersection of Memphis and Fulton, Broadview and Brookpark, and Pearl and Brookpark Roads. Schools in Old Brooklyn are: Benjamin Franklin on Spring Road, Charles A. Mooney on Montclair, James Ford Rhodes on Biddulph, William C. Bryant on Oak Park Avenue and William Rainey Harper on Ira Ave. It was also home to the now closed Deaconess Hospital.
MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS:
Germans, Irish, Polish, Italians and Slovenians
NEARBY CEMETERIES: For a Spreadsheet showing where records can be found for the cemeteries mentioned below, see this site: http://usgenwebsites.org/OHCuyahoga/Cemeteries/index.html
Brainard/Broadview Cemetery or Union Burial Ground - 2044 Broadview at the corner of Spring Road.
Records are kept at the Western Reserve Historical Society. Seth and Delilah Brainard established this cemetery in 1852.
Brooklyn Hts. Cemetery - 4700 Broadview, 216-351-1476
This is a privately owned cemetery and records are on site.
This cemetery was incorporated in 1902 and was built on land owned by T.W. Brainard. The Brainard homestead was located at 4582 State Road, and this building was used as the cemetery office for a while. It was torn down in 1966.
Brookmere Cemetery - 3615 Broadview west of Pearl Road.
This is a City owned cemetery and its records are kept at Highland Park Cemetery, phone 216-348-7210.
The land was donated by Warren Young.
Denison Cemetery - 2300 Ellen Alley earlier, now 2300 Garden Avenue
This is a City owned cemetery and its records are kept at Highland Park Cemetery, phone 216-348-7210.
Lutheran Cemetery - 4566 Pearl - 216-351-1308
This is a privately owned cemetery and its records are on site. The people at Lutheran Cemetery are very helpful regarding research. In 1894 several Lutheran Congregations formed to purchase land for a cemetery. These congregations were Christ Lutheran, Immanuel (on Scranton), St. Matthew and Trinity Lutheran. Later, by 1903, they were joined by St. Luke's, St. Mark's and Redeemer Lutheran Church.
Riverside Cemetery - 3607 Pearl - 216-351-4800
This is a privately owned cemetery and its records are kept on site. The people at Riverside Cemetery are very helpful. This cemetery was organized in 1875 and the land was purchased from the Brainard farm. Buried here are the well-known local families - Brainard, Lamson, Sessions and Rhodes.
http://www.riversidecemeterycleveland.org/
Cutting Cemetery - this was located at the corner of Spring and Jennings Roads. It was owned by the family of Milton Cutting. It is abandoned now and is a 4-story apartment building.
Foote Family Cemetery - This cemetery was organized in 1922 by the Foote family and was on land donated by J.L. Foote. It is located at the end of the driveway of 102 East Schaaf Road, and is down in the valley.
CHURCHES: Click here to see church histories and possibly pictures of the churches below
St. Mark Lutheran Church (1925) - 4464 Pearl Road (Pearl at Ardmore)
History: Rev. J.J. Walker of St. Matthew's Church held services in his home for members who lived in South Brooklyn. In 1897 these members voted to create St. Mark. The first church was located on Ruby Avenue and the second was built in 1908 at Pearl and Ardmore.
Pearl Road United Methodist - 4200 Pearl Road
This church began in 1814 with services held at the Brainard home. In 1827 services were being held in a log cabin at Denison and West 27th. In 1844 they built a two-story building and in 1898 a new church was built which was destroyed by a fire in 1924. The current church was originally built as an educational building in 1924, but was converted into the new church after the fire of the previous one.
Our Lady of Good Counsel - now Mary Queen of Peace - 4423 Pearl Road
St. Mary's In the Flats started a mission to Brighton in 1873. In October of 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the church called Sacred Heart of Mary. This church was located west of Pearl Road on Broadview, near the Brookmere Cemetery. In May of 1907, this church burned down and in 1909 a new church was built. It was called Sacred Heart of Mary until 1917 when it was renamed Our Lady of Good Counsel. The current church was built in 1930.
St. Luke United Church of Christ - 4216 Pearl Road (Pearl at Memphis)
St. Luke's Church was founded in 1839. In 1853 it moved to the corner of Pearl and Memphis. The current building was built in 1903.
Rock of Ages Free Will Baptist - 4012 StickneyBroadview Baptist - 4505 Broadview
Brooklyn United Presbyterian - 4308 Pearl
Unity Lutheran - 4542 Pearl (Pearl at Behrwald)
Cleveland Korean Church - 4839 Pearl
Gloria Dei Lutheran - 5801 Memphis
Corpus Christi - (1954) - Pearl at Archmere
St. Leo Catholic Church - 4940 Broadview
St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic (1950) - 4600 State Road
St. Mary Polish National Catholic Church (1922) - 3510 Broadview near Brookmere Cemetery
Information from:
Old Brooklyn New - Book 1 (1979) by Clyde Patterson and Kathryn Gasior Wilmer
Old Brooklyn New - Book 2 by Kathryn Gasior Wilmer
The Township of Brooklyn was organized in 1818. Brooklyn Township included Ohio City, West Cleveland, early Brooklyn Village, Brighton (South Brooklyn), Linndale, Brooklyn Heights and the present Brooklyn Village. By 1827 there were 3 toll roads, namely: State Road, Broadview Road and Schaaf Road. The 3 early churches were: Pearl Road Methodist (1832), St. Luke Evangelical Reformed (1843), and Our Lady of Good Counsel (1873). Old Brooklyn was known for its stores, hotels, wagon making, and greenhouses.
The first white resident of Brooklyn Township was a Mr. Granger. he moved elsewhere and in 1812, James Fish became the first permanent settler. In 1814, six more families arrived. Isaac Hinkley settled in the Schaaf Road area and Edwin Foote settled there in 1820. In 1887, Gustave Ruetenik introduced greenhouses to the area. In 1890, a wooden bridge was built to connect Denison with Pearl Road. The Deaconess Society was founded in 1914 and they in turn founded Deaconess Hospital in 1920. The building was dedicated in 1923.
Some of the businesses in the area were:
Rehburg-Busch Funeral Home and Hardware - In 1840 Dietrich Busch came from Hessen Germany. His son John owned property at the State Road and Pearl Road "Y". He divided it into lots and sold it. John's son, Gustav H. Busch founded Rehburg-Busch Co. in 1905 with William Rehburg. In 1925, they opened their funeral parlor at 4334 Pearl Road, and in 1969, they opened another parlor at 7501 Ridge Road.
Froehlich's General Store, Post Office and Funeral Parlor - Henry Froehlich was the owner of this business. He was born in 1848 in Bavaria. The business began at Pearl and Krather, then it was moved to a location near the old Broadview Theater. Henry Froehlich died in 1930 and is buried at Brookmere Cemetery.
Henninger and Decker Hardware - This store was located at Krather and Pearl Road. It was operated by William P. Henninger and August Decker.
Other businesses were:
Jenssch's Bakery
Weber's Grocery
Fred Bader Drug Store
Richardson Greenhouse
Foote Farm
Reutenik Greenhouses
Wutrich Greenhouses
Johnson House
Liebolt Livery Stable
Miller Coal Company
West End Lumber
Cheap John Rosenberg's Dry Goods
Orth Greenhouse
Augspurger Cidar Mill (located at Pearl and Oakpark)
Pearl Road Theater
Epstein's Haberdashery
Peck's Jewelry
The Early Settlers Association began to publish recollections of its members in 1880. Sixty-three issues of the Annals of the Early Settlers Association have been published.
3205 Archwood Avenue
3403 Archwood Ave.
3505 Archwood Ave.
3515 Archwood Ave.
Brooklyn Brighton Bridge
W. 32nd and Archwood