Entrance to Linwood Park [circa 1909]
UNVEILED July 2, 2020
SPONSORS Linwood Cottage Owners
SITE 4920 Liberty Avenue, Linwood Park
ARTIST Brian Goodwin
Note: Due to COVID-19, the public cannot enter the park at this time. However, it is on display near the entrance of the park and visible from the sidewalk along Liberty Avenue. When Linwood Park reopens to the public the card will find its permanent home on the Museum Store near the Linwood Stand.
In 1883, the founders of Linwood Park were on a mission to find a suitable site where they could build a permanent camp meeting ground for fellow members of the Evangelical Church in Ohio. The search committee was captivated by Linwood Grove, a bucolic picnic grove along the shore of Lake Erie in Vermilion, the ideal spot to find “spiritual uplifting and God’s peace.” They purchased the land from Nicholas Wagner, then formed the Linwood Park Company “to purchase and to hold land for the purpose of holding religious meetings on same.”
The first year, 12 cottage were built. By the end of June, 1884, the superintendent’s house, a horse shed, dining hall, Chapel, and the Tabernacle were completed. Several hundred people paid admission to attend the July 4th picnic celebration, arriving via train, wagon, buggy, bicycle, or ferry over the Vermilion River, landing at Linwood’s own pier.
“Once there visitors could picnic, buy refreshments at the stand, or eat in the dining hall. They could swim, lounge on the beach or take one of the 12 new boats out for a ride. Hammocks and lawn swings were available… For overworked farmers and factory workers of the day it was a welcome respite.” [Through These Gates: Linwood Park by Karen and Ray Boas, Copyright @ 1984, Linwood Press]
Today, Linwood Park continues as a community of privately owned cottages, with a beach and many amenities. Rooms and cottages are available for rent, and visitors are admitted with purchase a daily Gate Pass, just as they did in 1909 at the gate pictured in the postcard. The current gate was built in 2002 to replace the old brick gate build in 1930. All are welcome to attend weekly worship services without an admission fee during the summer months.
LEARN MORE
Public Art Vermilion's Postcard Project
Linwood Park, A Place in the Heart
The Linwood Trees by Gretchen Waggoner Long &Janet Balliett Waggoner, Copyright@2009
Through These Gates: Linwood Park by Karen and Ray Boas, Copyright @ 1984, Linwood Press