Summer storm clouds at sunset looking east from Marblehead Peninsula, with Kelley's Island on the horizon.

Marblehead Peninsula

Marblehead Peninsula is a narrow strip of land on the north side is Lake Erie and the south is Sandusky Bay, on the east end of the peninsula is Marblehead Lighthouse. The narrow peninsula is the jumping off point for trips to the islands and as the crow flies, it's only about a mile or two north of Cedar Point, one of Ohio's best known playgrounds.

It is here on this peninsula where the first skirmish in Ohio was fought in the War of 1812. Almost a 100 years later, people from all of the state would be coming to this peninsula to cool off for the summer, spend time at one or more of the many amusement parks surrounding Sandusky Bay or stay at the new Lakeside Community. Al electrified railway system ran from Toledo out to Marblehead just to accommodate all the tourists coming and going.

Today, much of Marblehead is still geared for summer visitors. Besides just the natural beauty of being close to the water on 3 sides, there are several unique communities on the Peninsula. On the eastern end of the Peninsula condo communities have been established that include highly affordable living options to ultra luxurious communities. On the north side of the Peninsula, Lakeside Chautauqua, a religious based community that every year attracts 1000s of weekly visitors willing to pay a per person gate fee plus a weekly rental fee to spend their time in a community that has a rich Christian community that puts special emphasis on the children.

Fishing is another big attraction for many visitors to the Peninsula. Local hotels have carved a niche as the place to stay when all you want to do is be someplace else: on the water fishing. The waters between the Peninsula and in and around South Bass Island have long been prime fishing grounds. At one time tons of fish were removed daily from these waters. While things have changed a bit since those days, there is still great sport fishing here. There are also several public boat access points on the Peninsula as well as a number of marinas, particularly on the north side of the Peninsula, that can handle almost any size boat.

History of Marblehead

Marblehead Peninsula was originally known as the Peninsula and it was part of the Fire Lands, a section of land specifically set aside by the state of Connecticut to repay citizens of that state who lost their property during the Revolutionary War.

Connecticut had laid claim to a strip of land running from the east coast, westward to the Mississippi River. This strip of land was between the 41st and 42nd degrees parallel. After the United States was formed, Pennsylvania demanded that Connecticut give up her claim to Pennsylvania's natural borders, but when Ohio was formed in 1803, Connecticut still claimed that strip of land that ran across the top of Ohio, but stopped where the Ohio had set aside what was generally known at the time as Indian Lands. This was the extreme northeaster section of the state beginning roughly where the Sandusky Bridge is located today. So west of the bridge is Indian Land and east of the bridge is Fire Lands.

Over the next few years, the legal battle between Ohio and Connecticut was finally resolved with the exception of the Fire Lands. Here Connecticut held firm that its citizens had first rights to acquire this land before anyone else. Although relatively few claimed their land, they did sell it. This is how Epaphroditus W. Bull of Danbury Connecticut came to own just about all of the Peninsula including the little island on the south side of the Peninsula (which today is known as Johnson Island).

E.W. Bull made arrangements with Benajah Wolcott, who was also a native of Danbury Connecticut to come to the Peninsula  and start a new colony here, which Mr. Wolcott agreed. He and his family, which included his wife, two daughters and one son along with two hired men named Bishop and Osborn, left Connecticut in a sleigh in February of 1809. They arrived in Cleveland in March, but Lake Erie was still frozen so his family remained there while the men continued on overland to the Peninsula where they began building a log house.

When the ice broke Benajah went back to Cleveland and secured passage on schooner for him and his family. The schooner arrived in Sandusky Bay in early May. The Wolcott's became the first settlers to arrive in Danbury Township. When they arrived there were already 3 orchards on the Peninsula that were planted by French traders and Native Americans. In time the Peninsula would become a major grower of fruit trees thanks in large part to its micro climate where cold winters and hot summers were both moderated because of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay.

When Wolcott first came to the Peninsula he would have noticed the large exposed rock running across the middle of the Peninsula. It was in fact limestone-- high quality limestone which would soon become and still is one of the major exports from the Peninsula. He would have also noted the large wagon-sized ruts carved into the exposed limestone similar to those that have been preserved on Kelley's Island today, except these were much large and carved a wide swath across the land.