Former location of the John Baker/Becker House, 28838 Lake Road, c. 1853
The landmark Baker/Becker House on Lake Road was disassembled for preservation in 2007. Photo by Ginny Peterson
The 10th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.
This address on Lake Road was the location of the large, landmark Baker/Becker House which occupied this site from 1853 until 2007 when it was preserved by being disassembled.
Because the lake side of the house was as formal and finished as the front facade and some saw Federal elements in the original design, possibly remodeled into Greek Revival, there were thoughts it was built as early as 1828. However, curiously it does not appear on any maps until 1870.
The land was first owned by Asahel Porter. In 1843 it was sold along with some other nearby land for 21,005 francs to John Baker/Becker, from France. Tax records indicate that a home was constructed on the property in 1850 and the tax value doubled in 1854.
By 1870 it was owned by Charles Hassler, by 1884 the Cahoons, who used it to house their immigrant farm workers. It was occupied by the Ellinwood family in the early 1900s and was the centerpiece of their showplace gardens called “Long Beach Park.” Their daughter was told by a visiting priest that it was constructed in 1853.
William Krause
William R. Krause, 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.