Remembering History: Avon Lake Train Car Gets Ohio Marker

AVON LAKE, OH — Lake Shore Electric Car No. 38, housed at the Beach Park Station, will get a historical marker from the Ohio Historical Connection on September 9. The car is a remnant of the city's past as a transportation hub for the Lake Shore Electric Railway in the 1920s and 1930s.

Before Beach Park Station became a commercial hub of shopping and nonprofit offices, and well before Greater Cleveland began its gradual population decline, Avon Lake was a focal point of the Lake Shore Electric Railway. The transit system took passengers and goods from Cleveland to Toledo to Detroit, with a repair shop in Avon Lake, near what is now Beach Park Station. The Lake Shore line ceased operations in 1938.

Other stops along the Lake Shore transit line, between Cleveland and Toledo, have been recognized for their role in the region's development, Andy Verhoff, of Ohio History Connection, told Patch. "It's significant to Ohio's transportation history," he said. It was only natural that the Avon Lake station would receive its own recognition.

The journey through the memory of a place, from transit station to shopping complex, captured the curiousity of Beach Park Station's owners and sent them scrambling down a historical path.

Beach Park Station Meets Its History

Tomie Patton says her husband, Tom, is the one who got hooked by their shopping complex's history. He wanted to know more about where Beach Park came from, how it morphed into what it is today.

He discovered that the site opened in 1893 and was originally part of a transit line. It eventually was absorbed into the Lake Shore line and became a service station for cars during their journey from Cleveland to Michigan.

Eventually, he found the Lake Shore Electric Car No. 38 and bought it. He and others refurbished the car and it now sits near the front of the shopping center. His itch for area history wasn't totally scratched yet, though.

He applied for a historical marker from the Ohio History Connection. The process for acceptance is rigorous, with researchers delving into the veracity of historical claims about a spot, Verhoff said.

"We treat these things as a scholar would treat a book. It’s foot noted, it’s sourced, the information is verified. We want people to be able to trust historical markers as a symbol of the history," Verhoff told Patch.

The Pattons submitted their application for a marker in 2017 and then they...waited.

And on September 9, their patience will pay off.

The city and the Pattons have planned a ceremony to celebrate the dedication of the Lake Shore Electric Car No. 38. Officials will be on-hand to speak about the significance of the station, there will be an open house for what a potential Avon Lake museum would look like, and there will be free, live music from the Music on a Mission band.

The ceremony will start at 4:15 p.m.

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Photo from Beach Park Station