Sherman and Angenette (“Nettie”) Osborn house, 29560 Lake Rd., c. 1860
The 13th in a series of articles to be published as a walking tour of Lake Road by the Bay Village Historical Society in 2025.
It was Sherman’s grandfather, Reuben Osborn, who originally bought the land from the Connecticut Land Company. Sherman Osborn was the son of Selden Osborn.
According to “Bay Village: A Way of Life,” Reuben later gave each of his five grandchildren some of his land. The grandchildren raised berries, fruits and grapes to sell and on a smaller scale oats, corn and wheat to supply their own needs. They also fished.
Life was difficult, requiring many hours to prepare the fruit for market, which was sold, for the most part, in stalls on Broadway Road in Cleveland. The person selling the fruit had to rise at 1:00 a.m. and drive some 14 miles to market, as most of the business was in full swing by 5 a.m. Then, too they had to get the pickers and take them back as far as Rocky River during peak harvest time.
Sherman married Nettie Phinney and built this Greek Revival gable-wing house in 1860. Their children were Calvin, Albert and Emily, who occupied this house their whole lives. After being widowed Sherman married Myra Yoder in 1884.
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.