Middle Bass Island (and Some Other Lake Erie Island) History

• Middle Bass Club History at the Toledosattic.org website - link added October 28, 2021
• Shipwrecks and Other Marine Stories Related to Middle Bass Island, 1826-1917 - PDF added September 2, 2019
• A Lonz Winery Ad For Grape Juice During Prohibition - PDF added January 13, 2019
• Lonz Winery Directions for Making Grape Juice into Wine Brochures - PDF added January 9, 2019
• Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency report about the Lonz Winery disaster on July 1, 2000 - PDF link updated August 28, 2017
• Middle Bass Island resident biographies from 1896 - PDF added March 26, 2016
• East Point Manor/Payer Estate History - PDF added August 8, 2015
• Article about a 1797 journey across Lake Erie by Isaac Weld - PDF added September 27, 2011
• Article about the earliest car ferries across Lake Erie before the Bay Bridge was built - PDF added September 27, 2011
• Perhaps the Oldest Known Picture of the Lonz Winery, from 1935 or 1936 - added May 31, 2011
• Stacey's Pleasure Hall on Middle Bass Island in the 1880s - added October 23, 2010
• The House Where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Was Born in 1785 - added September 9, 2011
• Middle Bass Island Air Service on the Ice, 1976 - added July 12, 2010
• Put-in-Bay 1870s Panorama - added June 4, 2010
• 1891 Drawing of the Toledo & Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association Club Building (aka Middle Bass Club) - added May 22, 2010
• The Oldest Lake Erie Island Property Maps, from 1863 - added May 10, 2010
• North Bass Article from 1872 - for which the title "The Devil in the North Bass Island School Board" Might be Appropriate - added April 19, 2010
• Island History: Orange and Minnie Bird of Put-in-Bay - added April 9, 2010

19th Century Photos of the Main Dock and the Lonz Winery Area - reorganized and updated May 9, 2011 The Main Dock and Wehrle's/Stacey's Pleasure Hall in the 1880s- last updated May 5, 2011 Wehrle's Hall in the 1860s or early 1870s - added April 7, 2009 Wehrle's Hall 1888 added 1/11/06

	Taft at the Middle Bass Club in 1908 - added June 23, 2009
	Wonderful Isle St. George articles from 1955 and 1963 - added June 8, 2009
	Civil War Records for Put-in-Bay Township - added June 8, 2009
	Four Cottages Are Burned to the Ground - September 2, 1909 - added 2/26/2009
	The Up and Up Club Historic Photo Gallery - rare 1916-1922 pictures of North Bass Island, Put-in-Bay, Rattlesnake Island, Johnson's Island and more. added 11/6/2008
	February Items from 1887 and 1945 added 2/12/08
	The Ferry "Erie Isle" to Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass Island added 10/10/07
	February Ice Fatalities of the Past  added 2/19/06
	East Point Historical Poster added 12/31/05
	East Point Historical Documents added 6/19/05
	1793 Visit to Middle Bass Island by O.M. Spencer added 12/7/04
	Island Oil Boom - Historical Articles from the 1901 Sandusky Daily Register added July 30, 2004
	Historical Postcard Poster  email for availability added 7/16/04
	Middle Bass Dock Pictures, Early 1940s  added 7/15/04
	Lake Erie Islanders - 1943 Plain Dealer Article - email for availability
	Lake Erie Islanders - Histories of Significant Individuals - 1917 Biographies

 

Sandusky and Ottawa County Obituaries Online at rbhayes.org - great site to search

 

Assorted Pictures 1950-1973 added 10/5/05 Main Dock Area East Shore / Schoolhouse Bay East Point The Marsh Road to East Point Miscellaneous Other Islands The 1973 Storm The Tappe House The Ford TriMotor on Middle Bass

Lonz Winery History This section covers Lonz Winery history pre-1990. More recent history and pictures can be found in various sections of the Site Map. Lonz of Middle Bass - Cover of Henry Barr's 1982 book, and chronology  Lonz Wine-Time Chats, introduction written by George Lonz in 1933 George Lonz Obituary 1969 Lonz Winery Ferry Tickets Lonz Winery Labels   Lonz Winery Price List 1931   Lonz Winery 1928 Brochure - 4 pages, PDF file, 944K Lonz Winery with Casks on Wagons, ca. 1927 Lonz Winery Casks Enroute to Middle Bass, ca. 1933  Peter F. Lonz (and George Lonz) Background

 

Jim Bretz Collection - Bretz Winery History, and More The Bretz Family The Bretz Winery The Bechsteins The Hanck/Tappe Home Pictures at the Middle Bass Dock The Ford Tri-Motor at Middle Bass East Shore Cottages in the 1930s Other Middle Bass Island Images A Few Put-in-Bay Images

 

Rehberg Winery Picture Gallery (Rehberg's Pleasure Hall)

 

The Rockery at Wehrle's - Very nice Middle Bass picture from 1892, improperly identified as a Gibraltar picture because it was taken by Rev. Henry Cooke of Gibraltar. This was located at the site of the basketball courts on the hill on the east side of the Lonz Winery.  added 5/4/04

 

	Middle Bass Club History Middle Bass Club - A Few New "Old" Pictures from 1880-1968 - Added September 1, 2007 Middle Bass Club History 1874-1964 Famous Middle Bass Club 1913 Historical Pictures General Benjamin Harrison at the Berdan Cottage, 1888 (link to rbhayes.org)  Larger Image The Berdan Cottages as Seen from Rehberg Hall -  Added Feb.19, 2008
	Jay Cooke Hunting on Middle Bass, 1897 . This is Jay Cooke who owned Gibraltar Island.  added 1/8/04

 

Middle Bass Island Locations on the National Register of Historic Places

 

Cultural Resource Investigations of Proposed Middle Bass Island Airport (1993 Historical Study)

 

Yesterday's Island - Narratives From Nichols' Handy Guide Book to Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass and Kelley's Island, 1888 Middle Bass Island, 1888 From Sketches and Stories of the Lake Erie Islands, Souvenir Edition, 1898 Middle Bass and Her Attractions - 1898 Text "Isle de Fleurs" - A Middle Bass Poem A Perilous Adventure - Trip with the Island Mail From Sketches and Stories of the Lake Erie Islands, Perry Centennial Edition, 1913 Middle Bass And Her Attractions - 1913 Text (and link to pictures) Famous Middle Bass Club John Yates Beall - His Piratical Exploit on Lake Erie - A True Civil War Story Other Middle Bass Civil War History - Introduction (also see Wine Islands of Lake Erie Below) Rebels on Lake Erie Chapter IX - The Lake Erie Conspiracy Rebels on Lake Erie Chapter X - Pursuit

Yesterday's Island - Images Gallery of Historic Postcards -  added 4/20/04 1865 - 1874 Island Map & Pictures from Hardesty's 1874 Atlas of Ottawa County 1886           Composite Middle Bass Views from 1886 - Rare, Large Image, worth Viewing! 1889           Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association, Middle Bass Island 1900           Island Map from Goodman's Map of Ottawa County 1900  1900 - 1910 Assorted Postcards and Pictures 1913           Pictures from the 1913 Book Above ~1920         East Point Manor ~1930         East Point Manor   1950 - 1990 Assorted Postcards and Pictures

Whimsical Tales of Yesterday's Island Link to H2-0hio Cryptids, describing Terror on Lake Erie through a giant sea serpent

Archives Containing Middle Bass Memorabilia Link to The Lonz Winery Collection Link to The Middle Bass Club Collection Link to The Robert J. Dodge Collection Link to Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Link to Rutherford B. Hayes Center Thomas Huxley Langlois Collection Link to Rutherford B. Hayes Visit to Middle Bass Link to BGSU Archival Chronicle 3/93, with Picture of the 1874 Rehberg Residence

Middle Bass Island Postal History First Airmail Service - Dec. 1, 1931 Middle Bass on Stamps - Rattlesnake Island Locals 1966-67

 

Great Lakes Shipwreck Calendars Listing Wrecks Near Middle Bass  Great Lakes Shipwrecks of April Great Lakes Shipwrecks of June

 

History of Nearby Islands - with Great Pictures of Ballast, Rattlesnake, etc.

Related Lake Erie History Lake Erie Steam Boats 1835 Wine Islands of Lake Erie - Harper's Magazine, 1873, with more on John Yates Beall and the Civil War  Link to 1895 Ottawa County Map, with further links to 1895 Put-in-Bay and Isle St. George populations

All Contents Copyright © 2000- 2010 by Middle Bass on the Web, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction without written permission is forbidden for any purposes other than personal use.

Revised: 06 Jun 2010