Morgan heads movement for new resort and village

Editor's note: It is Black History Month, and this is the second in a series of three stories about Garrett Morgan, a great American inventor, entrepreneur and civil rights advocate who had a lifelong love for Wakeman and his holiday property there. In the early 1920s, readers of one of Cleveland's black-audience newspapers saw the following advertisement. It was set to look like a news article with a bold headline and a photograph of a handsome black man. G.A. Morgan heads movement for new resort and village Your choice of over 200 building lots for $60 each for cash or on time payment. A warranted deed guaranteed with each lot when paid for. Help us to have a village of our own at Wakeman Heights near Wakeman, Ohio, 48 miles west of Cleveland public square and nine miles west of Oberlin, Ohio. All lots are good, level and fertile soil: no swamps or sand. Size of lots 30 x 80 feet. Some lots face Morgan's Lake and some the Vermilion River. You may use these lots for building homes, camping or garden space just as soon as you have made your down payment. $10 is the down payment on 1 or 2 lots. Balance $5 per month on 1 lot or $7.50 per month on 2 lots. $15 is the down payment on 3 or 4 lots. Write G.A. Morgan & Sons, 5202 Harlem Ave., Cleveland, O or phone Henderson 7821 and we will call for you by appointment in a covered car and drive you to the Newly Proposed Village, better known as The Wakeman Country Club. (If driving, take Route 20 to Wakeman.) The "Wakeman Heights" designation did not stick. And "Morgan's Lake" was never excavated. But all the rest — the dozens of tiny lots, the dance hall on the Chenango Road bluff, the riding stables, the boxing ring and training facilities, the dedicated restaurant — all blossomed as, yes, The Wakeman Country Club. It was yet another of the countless big ideas that turned into reality from the fertile mind of Garrett Augustus Morgan. But while most of Morgan's previous ideas had resulted in patented inventions — at least two of which have saved countless lives — which made him a rich man, this one had a sweeter, more noble purpose. That purpose was summarized in a single phrase from the advertisement re-printed above: "Help us to have a village of our own." Morgan felt such a "village" was necessary because, although 1920s Cleveland was ostensibly a better environment for African-Americans than most places in the American South, discrimination and racism were still a problem. Morgan himself, despite his financial success, his reputation as a genius inventor and his hero status for personally rescuing several people in the so-called "Lake Erie Crib Disaster," still confronted race-based obstacles at every turn. He wanted nothing more than a retreat where he and his friends could feel safe and relax together. The spot he chose was about two miles south of Wakeman, just off what is now Ohio Route 60 on both sides of Chenango Road. And back in the day The Wakeman Country Club was a happening place. The Pittsburgh Courier newspaper reported on Aug. 30, 1924: "A three-day barbecue and celebration in honor of and celebrating the opening of the Wakeman Colored Country Club, Aug. 31st to Sept. 1st (Labor Day)." Later in September, The Courier gave this account on the 60th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation: "The Wakeman Country Club of Wakeman, O. celebrated Emancipation Saturday, Sept. 20th and Sunday, Sept. 21st. Some of Ohio's most brilliant speakers…were present at the celebration. The Ohio National guard, Company A, First Battalion Infantry…had a dress parade…with 165 men in uniform. Ball games, dancing, fishing, croquet, lawn tennis and quoit pitching were the chief amusements." A society page item from Akron on July 18, 1925 noted: "Miss Dorothy Jenkins of North Hill spent a delightful weekend at Wakeman Country Club, Wakeman, O." Ten years later, things were still lively as suggested by this ad in the Sandusky Register, in November, 1935: "Dance to Mike's Harmonizers at Wakeman Country Club. Modern and Old time Dances. Caller Bill 'PeeWee' Jamay. Every Saturday Evening. Gentlemen 25 cents Ladies Free" And as recently as March 17, 1939, the Register posted the following property transfer: "Wakeman Country Club to Claire E. Russell, Wakeman, $10 (2 deeds)." Garrett Morgan III, grandson of the great inventor, still has a home on the "country club" grounds. He spent countless childhood weekends on the property with his grandfather. "He told me it was just a place where he and his friends could come and be at peace and have a little fun. Semi-pro boxers would come out. They had a ring set up and the boxers used to train there. People would see them running up and down Chenango Road. "There were horses to ride. There was a little restaurant called The Chicken Shack. It was something! "Country club might be kind of a too fancy name for what it was," Garrett said. "We always called the place 'The Farm.' And grandfather (he would only let us refer to him as grandfather — he was really big on teaching respect) loved being there like no place else." Sometime during the 1940s, due perhaps to World War II and Garrett Morgan's failing eyesight, the Wakeman Country Club for African-Americans faded away. And by the time Garrett III was visiting in the 1950s and early 1960s there were just two buildings on the site — his grandfather's country home and a guest house. It is difficult now to envision the buildings and grounds of The Wakeman Country Club. But Garrett Morgan III along with the Wakeman village council, Mayor Chris Hipp, and members of the Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group (OAAHG) believe Garrett Morgan's Wakeman Country Club for African-Americans should be remembered and celebrated. Garrett Morgan was the first black man in Cleveland to own a car. And Mayor Hipp is still awestruck that he used that precious vehicle to make trips to Wakeman: "Mr. Morgan's grandson says that back in the day of unpaved or badly paved roads it would take three hours and three flat tires to get here. "That tells you how much he really loved this place. His grandson told me he loved Wakeman because he felt accepted here. And it became home to him. He was in a comfort zone here. And he created a safe place for others of his race to come. "Of all the great things he did, this is one we need to tell everyone about. It's something we need to teach to our children. "What we would like is something in our community park to share Garrett Morgan's life story and make people aware of the country club he started here," Mayor Hipp said. Toward that end, Garrett Morgan III and the OAAHG are in the process of getting approval for an Ohio Historical Marker. Phyllis Yarber Hogan of the group believes passionately in the cause: "The idea that black people themselves created safe spaces for recreation is inspiring. They themselves—not the government or other people for them—they created this safe space for recreation. This is a place right here in Wakeman where it happened. My grandchildren need to know about it — everyone's grandchildren need to know it." Village council has earmarked $5,000 to go toward the project. If approved, the Ohio Historical Marker commemorating Garrett Morgan's Wakeman Country Club along with a replica of Morgan's signature invention, the three way traffic signal, will be installed in the Wakeman Community Park in 2021. Jim Busek is a freelance writer who lives in Norwalk. He can be reached vie email at jimbusek@hotmail.com.