Lorain County History

White settlement of the Lorain County area began around 1807 in Columbia township and Lorain, which was first known as Black River. Settlement continued in Vermilion around 1808-1811 Ridgeville in 1810, Amherst in 1811, Avon in 1814, Sheffield in 1815, Elyria in 1817, and Wellington in 1818

In 1822 the state of Ohio officially established Lorain County. The founder of Elyria, Heman Ely, lobbied successfully to make Elyria the county seat. The county was named after the Lorraine province of France. The town of Oberlin and Oberlin College were founded in 1833.

Around 1820 Black River (Lorain) began to be used as a shipping center. In 1873 it was officially re-named Lorain, after having been known as Black River and Charleston. Around the 1850’s, people began opening sandstone quarries around the area, particularly in Amherst, which eventually became known as the “Sandstone Center of the World.

Online History Sources – Region:

Ohio History Central

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/

Ohio Historical Society

http://www.ohiohistory.org/

Western Reserve Historical Society

http://www.wrhs.org/

The Great Lakes Historical Society

http://www.inlandseas.org/

Ohio’s Heritage Northeast

http://www.ohiosheritagenortheast.org/

The Lorain County Historical Society

http://home.alltel.net/thehickories/

 

Online History Sources – Towns:

Amherst Historical Society

http://www.amhersthist.org/

North Ridgeville Historical Society

http://www.northridgevillehistoricalsociety.org/

Black River (Lorain) Historical Society

http://www.loraincityhistory.org/

Avon History

http://www.avonhistory.org/

History of Vermilion, Ohio

http://vermilionohioharbourtown.homestead.com/HistoryOfVermilion.html

Columbia Historical Society

http://columbiahistoricalsociety.org/

Sheffield Preservation Project

http://www.members.tripod.com/~Range17/

The Spirit of Wellington

http://www.wellingtonohio.net/history.php

Wellington History

http://www.villageofwellington.com/index.asp?NID=95

Pioneer History of Camden Township, Ohio

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohwcl/Camden/index.htm

Friends of Oberlin Underground Railroad Center

http://www.oberlinundergroundrailroad.org

Lorain Public Library – Local History Resources

https://www.lorainpubliclibrary.com/local/history_resources.asp

Greetings from Elyria, Ohio

http://elyriapride.elyria.com/index.html

Lorain County History Project

http://www.lorainhistory.com/

Oberlin Heritage Center

http://www.oberlinheritage.org/

Electronic Oberlin Group

http://www.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/

History of Kipton, Ohio

http://www.kipton.org/history.html

Current as of May, 200

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