Lakewood Lore

Memories galore fill Oldest Stone House

A new season of free guided tours will begin Sunday at a wellspring of Lakewood relics and memorabilia -- the Oldest Stone House Museum, 14710 Lake Ave., in Lakewood Park.

The tours, conducted by docents (costumed guides), thereafter will continue each Wednesday and Sunday through November, except when those days fall on major holidays. Hours are 2-5 p.m.

Originally the home of Lakewood pioneer John Honam, a weaver from Scotland, the stone house was built in 1838. It stood at Detroit and St. Charles avenues 114 years before being moved in 1952 to its current location. After a two-year restoration project, it was opened as a museum for the safekeeping and display of all manner of antiques representing Lakewood's proud heritage.

In its store of artifacts are: a horsehair sofa that belonged to the Rev. Lewis Burton, once known as the "Apostle of the West Side;" a 200-year old woolen blanket with a woven brown strip make from a butternut dye that never faded; a melodeon powered by foot motion and sounding much like a small organ; a concertina patented in 1829;

Wooden trunks (one of which was owned by James Nicholson and carried all his worldly possessions when he came here in 1818); a quilting frame from Gen. John J. (Black Jack) Pershing's family; a handmade loom put together with pegs and wedges;

A ladderback chair (one made prior to 1770 and formally owned by Robert Sessions, who took part in the Boston Tea Party); stenciled chairs popular between 1825 and 1845; old timepieces including an Ansonia steeple clock dating back to 1850;

Primitive beds with corn-husk mattresses and rope springs; hand-woven coverlets and homespun sheets; bed and foot warmers that were filled with hot coals; a yoke worn over the shoulders for carrying water buckets;

A bust of Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland, Lakewood's most celebrated 19th Century citizen, together with a table and desk he used; dolls (the oldest ones having china heads); a tin candlestick known as a "hogscraper" because its base could be used to scrape bristle off a hog's back;

Spinning wheels, candle molds and snuffers, butter churn, dry sink, handmade bootjack for removing high boots, powder horn, 1842 musket, books and toys from times past, old sheet music, early baby carriage and rocking chairs, and a pap cup with tubular spout for feeding infant or invalid.

In addition to its exhibits, the museum provides numerous special services, such as demonstrations of spinning, weaving, quilting and fireplace cookery. Slide presentations are coordinated from a collection of 6,000 early photographs. Telephone assistance from museum curator Sandra Koozer and business manager Jane Gaydos is available for those seeking local historical information. The number is (216) 221-7343.

This article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post February 1, 1990. Reprinted with permission.

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