Several questions about the depot area between Railroad and Maple Street lately, and we have some new page fans, so thought it was worth a repost. The depot may be gone but not forgotten; an important area in the Village and the City. This area is still a great place to rest and visit with friends. The following is extracted from a script developed by the museum curator for a family program in 2009. The photo is dated 1879. The map section is a screenshot from an 1888 Sanborn map. Two railroads came to Clyde in 1852. 1 ran from Cleveland to Toledo via Fremont & 1 ran from Sandusky to Cincinnati and they crossed in Clyde! To get from Cincinnati to Toledo or Cleveland you had to change trains in Clyde so the village grew rapidly to meet the needs of all those extra people. By 1876 Clyde built a Depot (train station) that became a great social center. The platforms were made of wood raised to step level to board the traincars . Around the Depot was a white picket fence. The Depot was a busy place with happy reunions and sad farewells. Locals would gather there to talk with friends, meet newcomers, or just people-watch. Many loved to watch all the fashionable people come and go….and with them came diverse customs/manners and ideas. The Village grew to serve all the travelers…and at the same time the quality of life for Clyde townspeople changed dramatically. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and businesses began to flourish. The Main Street was full of a variety of shops: newspapers, foods, sweets, pool halls, saloons lounges, and more! There were two opera houses (Terrys (200 seats) & Wiles, Terry’s Hall was the venue for dances, plays, and even basketball games. There was the Nichols House, a popular lodging for the stars of the operas & plays; St. Vincent Hotel (later Scholeys Inn) , and the Empire House Hotel. Mrs. Henry Baker’s restaurant was constantly full. Some of you will remember when Depot was torn down in 1960 and some of the beams used in the Green Hills Golf Course restaurant. The grain elevator near the Depot was destroyed in 1972. Scholeys Inn burned in 1970 and was taken down. The Nichols House (except for the third floor) became the Eagles.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:54:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015