Dexter and Amelia Tuttle House, 25547 Lake Road, c. 1852
The ninth in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.
According to the “Tuttle Family Story” by Flora Tuttle Renfrew, Dexter was born in 1807 in Massachusetts and came to what is now Rocky River at 16 with his family. He married Amelia Weidnar (born 1811) in about 1828 and settled in Dover Township in 1836.
The couple first lived in a log cabin west of Tuttle Creek and north of Lake Road. They had seven boys and one girl who died young. Son Ezra (born 1837) helped Dexter build this house where they raised chickens and sheep. Amelia used wool from the sheep to make clothing for the family. They also had a sawmill.
Dexter acquired 80 acres from the lake south to the railroad and died in 1878. Amelia lived until 1896, her last seven years blind and cared for by son Marius. Ezra married Victoria Clague from what is now Westlake. Their son Edward inherited the Lake Road house, and it remained in the family until 1921.
Tax records indicate that this classic Greek Revival house was constructed in 1852. Unfortunately, a previous owner cut windows into the original front trim.
This is the 9th of approximately 100 brief articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historic Society in 2025. The articles are being submitted profiling the oldest to the newest minimum century old artifacts.
William Krause
William R. Krause, AICP, retired as the Assistant Planning Director of the City of Westlake in 2020 after over 30 years with the city. He also served on the Bay Village Planning Commission for 9 years. He was a trustee for the Bay Village Historical Society from 2020 to 2021 and a former board member of the Westlake Historical Society. He was chair of their Lilly Weston Committee and was a member of the Reuben Osborn Learning Center Steering Committee. He is currently a Trustee of the Western Reserve Architectural Historians and the Gates Mills Historical Society. He has been married to Debra for 41 years and is the father of three grown children, grandfather of six and co-owner of a Yellow Lab named Sadie.