[BIKE] Brownhelm Township

Today was a cool 73 degrees out. Too cold to ride by the lake so I decided to reroute Southwest toward where I grew up, Brownhelm Township.

10.93 Miles. (Google Maps)

North Ridge Rd looking West.

Brownhelm Township is located just South of Vermilion in Lorain County and is on the Western border of the county. The township came to be in 1816 when a man by the name of Colonel Henry Brown purchased the land that it now resides on. He was "at the helm" of the township and thus it was formally named Brownhelm. The township is mostly known for electing the first African American to any public office in the United States. John Mercer Langston was elected the town clerk in 1855 and later became a United States Congressman.

Marker for John Mercer Langston.

I thoroughly enjoy this route mainly because it is mostly smooth traffic-less roads through the country. This is a pleasant change in scenery from the suburbia that I usually ride through.

Crosse Road.

Crosse Road.

North Ridge Road.

Meadowlark Motocross Track (or extreme bicycling track).

Miller Farm on North Ridge Road.

The Brownhelm Country Store

Once I made it into Brownhelm I decided to (you guessed it) take some pictures of the three oldest buildings "downtown". The first building I came to was the Brownhelm Country Store. This building used to also contain a post office and a barber shop during pioneer days.

As you can see the store has been in the township for quite some time.

Front view of the store. I used to stop here on my way to school in the morning for breakfast and/or coffee.

The Brownhelm School

The next stop on my ride was the old Brownhelm school. The school was built in 1889 and had additions built on in 1922. Which is why it reads 1922 in the sandstone above the entrance way. The school was part of the Firelands School District (which I attended) and was closed in 1988 (a year before I was born). The building is currently being used as the town hall and is also going through a preservation effort. The lease for the building was just renewed for another 99 years. (Chronicle Telegram)

Front of the school.

Entrance. Notice the "1922" above the door. The front of the building must have been added then.

A view into the past.

I want to say this was the auditorium due to the stage. Also I am fairly certain that is a cotton gin on the right.

A Diamond in the Rough

My sister used to play little league behind this school. I could walk to it from our house through the back yard and a couple of fields. I remember attempting to stay clear of the "bee boxes" along the way. Apparently one of our neighbors kept them.

The diamond is all but abandoned now.

The "dugout" overtaken by nature.

This used to be the path we took that led to our backyard, you know, before the fence.

It is sad to see some memorable childhood places disappear, but there will be more memories.

The Congregational United Church of Christ

The final stop on my ride through Brownhelm is also the oldest building in the township and one of the oldest in the entire county, the Brownhelm Congregational United Church of Christ. The building is celebrating its 195th year! I used to play Santa Claus for the children in the area and the church was our prep area.

Santa began delivering toys to the poor children that resided in Brownhelm Township in 1932, a tradition that continues to this day, only now there are about 10 Santas. (Lorain Journal)

Front of the church.

195 years!

Miscellaneous Pictures

Norfolk Southern Train.

Amherst Outdoor Life Camp on Crosse Road. Pretty sure it is a church camp.

No swimming at church camp!

Reflection in the rear windows of the Brownhelm School.

I apologize for not having any "then" pictures of Brownhelm, but they just don't seem to exist, and if they do they are not easy to find. I hope everyone enjoyed this post none the less and will continue to read in the future. Until next time!