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    Shaker Heights
    Shaker Heights
    Shaker Heights
    Ebook196 pages1 hour

    Shaker Heights

    By Bruce T. Marshall

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    About this ebook

    Shaker Heights achieved international renown in the early 20th century as an enclave for wealthy residents--a city of stunning homes, substantial green space, an excellent school system, and attentive municipal services. Cleveland entrepreneurs O. P. and M. J. Van Sweringen established Shaker Heights as a haven from the stresses of city life and claimed a connection with previous residents of this land, the North Union settlement of Shakers. Shaker communities sought to create paradise on earth by living communally and focusing on the life of the spirit. Buyers in Shaker Heights were assured that their paradise would last forever because of restrictions on what could be built and who could live there. Nevertheless, Shaker Heights has changed from a protected environment for the wealthy to a stable, integrated city that intentionally promotes diversity in its population. This is a remarkable story of dramatic change but also continuity as residents pursue the goal of creating an ideal community.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439633007
    Shaker Heights
    Author

    Bruce T. Marshall

    Bruce T. Marshall is curator of the Museum of the Open Road and a writer who specializes in work with museums. He has also served as a parish minister. Marshall and his family live in Shaker Heights.

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      Book preview

      Shaker Heights - Bruce T. Marshall

      world.

      INTRODUCTION

      For almost 200 years, the site of today’s Shaker Heights has hosted a series of planned communities. Residents have sought to create an ideal society guided by values that set it apart. The specific visions might seem quite different, from the communal religious colony of the North Union Shakers to the wealthy enclave of Shaker Heights to today’s diverse inner-ring suburb. But there are themes that connect these communities.

      From 1822 until 1889, the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing—more commonly known as the Shakers—created a separatist community to the east of Cleveland. Ralph Russell, a landowner in the area, converted to the Shakers. He then convinced his family and many neighbors to join with him and create the North Union Shaker settlement.

      The Shakers originated in England during the mid-1700s when a small group broke away from a Quaker meeting. A devout young woman named Ann Lee soon joined this congregation and became its most important figure, helping formulate its beliefs and practices. Because of continued persecution, Mother Ann led the group out of England to the United States, where they settled in Watervliet, New York. Over the next century, 19 Shaker communities were established in the United States, including Union Village at Lebanon, Ohio, which sponsored North Union.

      Shakers lived in celibate communities with men, women, and children in separate quarters, and their buildings featured separate entrances for the sexes. Shaker worship involved music and dance and often brought participants into states of ecstasy in which they claimed to receive communications from the spirit world. All work in a Shaker community was done for the glory of God, an approach that encouraged innovation in doing the tasks of everyday living. Shakers are credited with many inventions to make that work more efficient. Shaker furniture was known for its utility and durability, and customers outside the Shaker community regarded products sold by them as superior in quality. The North Union village peaked during the mid-1800s and then declined until 1889 when it disbanded, the remaining members moving to other Shaker settlements.

      At the time, nearby Cleveland had developed into an industrial powerhouse—a center of the nation’s oil refineries and steel production. Incredible wealth resulted as well as serious industrial pollution and social problems. This combination of elements created an opportunity recognized by two brothers, Oris Paxton (O. P.) and Mantis James (M. J.) Van Sweringen. They conceived a community where prosperous people would be protected from the unpleasantness of big-city life. The Van Sweringen brothers purchased property including most of the former Shaker village where they built their garden city suburb, Shaker Heights.

      Shaker Heights billed itself as a paradise, and in a sense it was: luxurious homes, ample green space, and a public life that supported the values of its residents. The architecture of public and private buildings, the city services, libraries, and schools set high standards. A source of particular pride in Shaker Heights was the school system, seen as among the best in the nation. The good life in Shaker Heights was also supported by its social activities, its country clubs, and shopping aimed at the wealthy consumer. Shaker Square was developed to serve this clientele; it was one of the first shopping centers in the nation.

      Similar to the earlier Shaker colony, Shaker Heights was set apart from the rest of society. The Van Sweringen Company wrote restrictions into housing contracts to maintain the nature of the city forever. Nevertheless, change came to Shaker Heights. The housing stock aged, apartment buildings added a new population, white flight loomed as African Americans moved into Shaker Heights, and two freeways were proposed that would have sliced through the center of the city.

      In response, citizens of Shaker Heights rallied and sought to protect their community by reinventing it. Residents embraced the change in population with planning that promotes diversity. Citizen action defeated the highways and established a nature center where concrete would have been. And strict guidelines encouraged (or forced) homeowners to maintain their property. As a result, Shaker Heights has become a stable integrated community, the schools have built on their tradition of excellence, and the city retains its grace with classic housing and green space throughout.

      Most communities just happen; the best are planned. This early advertisement from the Van Sweringen Company states a belief that continues to guide Shaker Heights. Unlike most towns and cities that just happen, life in today’s Shaker community is intentionally shaped by a set of values and standards. But instead of supporting a separatist religious colony or an enclave of wealthy residents, Shaker Heights now offers what few communities have achieved: a stable integrated city that embraces the diversity of its people and draws upon that diversity to enrich the common life of its residents.

      One

      THE VALLEY OF GOD’S PLEASURE

      Jacob Russell was 67 years old in 1812—a veteran of the American Revolution—when he and 19 other members of his family journeyed from Connecticut to northeast Ohio to start a new life. Jacob sold the gristmill he had operated to buy land in Warrensville Township where the Russell family built cabins and cleared the land for farming.

      Jacob’s son Ralph was a warmhearted man with contagious enthusiasm who attracted people to him. He was also a spiritual seeker intrigued by his introduction to the Shakers while spending the night in the home of a new convert. After his father’s death in 1821, Ralph walked 260 miles to the Union Village Shaker settlement near Lebanon, Ohio, to experience the community for himself. His stay extended for months, and he became convinced that Shakerism offered a life filled with spirit. He returned home to persuade his family to join with him in creating a Shaker community. Ralph Russell reported that as he returned to Warrensville, he was accompanied by a clear ray of light that ended at a spot near his cabin where it became a beautiful tree.

      From 1822 until 1889, Shakers of the North Union settlement lived on property east of Cleveland that grew to almost 1,400 acres. At its peak in the mid-1800s, about 300 people resided there, divided into three families, each with its own structures: the Center Family, the East Family, and

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