BAY VILLAGE. Before European-Americans arrived in northeast Ohio, Erie Indians lived in the area comprising Bay Village and surrounding lands. Present-day Lake Rd. was the indigenous people’s most important trail Covering 4.5 sq. mi. along Lake Erie at the western edge of Cuyahoga County, the Village of Bay was incorporated on 1 May 1903 and it became a city in 1950.It borders ROCKY RIVER on the east, WESTLAKE on the south, and Avon Lake (Lorain County) on the west. The name Bay Village was decided by ballot in a 1951 election. Bay Village (also referred to as North Dover in the early 20th century) was originally a portion of Dover Twp., formed in 1803, the same year that Cuyahoga County was created. The first permanent white settlers, the JOSEPH CAHOON family, settled on original lot No. 95 on 10 Oct. 1810. Cahoon built the first gristmill west of the CUYAHOGA RIVER in 1813. The Cahoon family barn built in 1882 was converted to a community center and is still in use today.
After the CIVIL WAR, affluent Clevelanders built summer cottages on the Lake Erie shoreline. Dover Twp. flourished, but landowners felt a lack of representative government. In 1901 residents forced an election, which resulted in the creation of Bay Village. FISHING was an important industry until the late 19th century, as were vineyards and apple and peach orchards (see AGRICULTURE). In the early 20th century, suburban homebuilding encroached upon family farms and, with the exception of 2 small shopping centers, Bay Village remains an overwhelmingly residential community today. The village has a branch of the CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM. Population has grown from 450 in 1910, to 3,700 in 1940, to 15,325 in 2019. Like Rocky River, its neighbor to the west, Bay Village has recently seen extensive construction of mansionesque homes along the lake, replacing many smaller and often original dwellings. The city’s recreational facilities include a municipal swimming pool, Huntington Reservation of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS SYSTEM, and Cahoon Park, donated to the city in 1917 from the estate of Ida Marie Cahoon. In 2019 Bay Village City Schools were ranked as the tenth-best district in the state of Ohio.
Last updated 1/12/022
See also SUBURBS.