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The Black River Historical Society is an all-volunteer organization. We were formed in 1981 to preserve the history of the City of Lorain. The Society collects artifacts on the history of Lorain, has numerous paper files on events and people in Lorain and has a collection of over 13,000 historical photographs, many of which are located in our Archival Photos section of this website. This volume of information provides many opportunities for research on industry, business, and the genealogy of people who have lived in Lorain.
History of the Black River Historical Society
The people of Lorain have always been proud of their city's history. For years people had been talking about starting a historical society for Lorain City History. Individuals and families collected items that would be of interest, and stored them in their garages, basements and attics. Things began to pile up. It was decided to organize an historical society.
An informal meeting was held on July 16th, 1980 at 1149 Sixth St. to discuss the feasibility of having an historical society for the preservation of the Lorain historical memorabilia and artifacts before it was lost. Present at this meeting were Jeffrey Sigsworth, George Llewellyn, Ray and Rosella Ewers, David MacGregor, Hiram Croyle and Albert Doane.
In 1981, individuals and families got together to set up their organization. Black River was the name of the initial 1807 village on the mouth of the Black River. The founders decided to take the name of that early village for their Society. The name Black River is from a translation of the Wyandot tribal name for the river -- Canesadooharie -- the "River of Black Pearls."
A History of the Moore House
Leonard M. Moore built the house in 1906. He was a bank trustee, businessman, contractor, Secretary/Treasurer of the Lorain Lumber and Manufacturing Co., located at the foot of Ninth Street near the river, City Council Member and Mayor. Mr. Moore was born in a white house next to the Moore House, but it has since been torn down.
Moore's passion, a businessman and civic leader, was a park for the citizens of Lorain. He is remembered for this civic undertaking. As the story unfolds, he was interested in the city purchasing land that happened to be outside the city limits, for the park. At the time, the border of the city was at the corner of Fifth and West Erie Avenue. There was much opposition. Many did not want to spend city funds to buy land outside the city because they felt there was more than enough to be done inside the city. Mr. Moore decided he needed to run for City Council to support the idea. He was successfully elected for a term as City Council Member, between 1914 and 1916. The Council would still not approve the plan. In 1916, he ran and won, the race for Mayor. One of his first mayoral actions was to encourage the City Council to purchase property for a park; Lorain finally got Lakeview Park.
The Moore House, the future home of the Black River Historical Society, located at the corner of Reid Avenue and Fifth Street, next to the Moose Lodge, was initially intended for demolition by its owners. Lorain Community Development was approached in 1991 with a request for a permanent home by BRHS. In short order the City Council passed legislation for Community Development to pursue the project and shortly thereafter federal money was made available for the project. Research was done on Moore House's suitability as a museum, and only a year later, the architectural restoration bid was awarded. The contract for construction was awarded in 1993, with the keys being tuned over to BRHS in September 1994.
