The New Indian Ridge Museum
Col. Matthew W. Nahorn
Director/Curator/Founder
--Quarterly
Volume X, No. III
April 2012
...Preserving, Interpreting, and Teaching the Past...
...to Prepare and Build for the Future...
Historic Shupe Homestead c. 1816
Drawing courtesy of Neal Jenne
Board of Trustees
-Col. Matthew W. Nahorn
Director/Curator/
Founder/Board President
-William Nahorn
Building Maintenance
-Diane Nahorn
Front Page News
Barn Addition at
Historic Shupe Homestead
--------------------------------------------
An addition to the main storage barn at the
Historic Shupe Homestead is in the process of
being constructed.
Refreshments, Generally
Keeping Things Straight
Contributors
-Jami Anderson
Chair, Amherst History Watch
Program
-Michael Shaulis
Lake Ridge Academy Archives
Manager
-Brian Kohart
Wildlife Preserve Observer and
Reporter & Displays Engineer
-Brad Dicken & Adam Wright
-Jean Rounds
Chronicle-Telegram Correspondents
Official Photographer
-Larry Fuhrman
-Jay Rounds
Museum History Consultant
Tour Guide Overseer
-William and Bonnie Cutcher
-Ann Dolyk
Museum History Consultants
Museum Special Advisor
-Drew Severs & Richard Lothrop
-Zack Sweebe
Lake Ridge Archives Consultant
Marketing, Security, &
Website Design/Management
-Jack B. Scaife
-Andy Milluzzi
-Dr. Lorna Middendorf
Museum History Consultant
Telecommunications,
Institutional Advancement,
& Security
Architectural drawing of the barn addition
done by Col. Nahorn. The barn is being
connected to the existing barn, which would be
-Deb Filbert
on the right in this drawing. The addition is 30’
Human Resources, Chief
Organizer of Displays
wide by 80’ long with a 10’ overhang in the
-Mike Filbert
front. Sides and roof are to be metal. The four
Technological Advancement
posts to support the front overhang were
-W. Zack Dolyk
salvaged by the Museum, from an old barn that
Legal Advisor
was a part of the Hollstein farm in Amherst.
-Wendy Dolyk
A private groundbreaking ceremony was
Admission Finances &
Donations
held on March 15, 2012, shown in the photo
-Andrew Robinson
below. We are very excited with the
Wildlife Control, Management,
possibilities this addition will afford us. All
and Preservation Consultant &
tractors and equipment used to conserve the
Kayak Specialist
property’s natural resources will be stored here,
along with historic materials for use in the
Upcoming Events:
Shupe House restoration project.
Even though the New Indian Ridge
Museum does not maintain regular
operating hours, we will
occasionally host tours for
interested individuals conducting
research on our local history, by
appointment only.
Please contact us accordingly.
---------During Col. Nahorn’s Winter Term
at Oberlin College he completed a
history of early Amherst, OH. It
will soon be posted on our Museum
website. Check there soon for it.
For the most recent news and info,
please often visit:
www.newindianridgemuseum.org
Amherst History Consultant
-Dr. C. Herdendorf & Jim Doyle
Museum Advisory Council
-Dan Gouch
Beaver Creek Envt’l Consultant
-T. Jack Smith
Museum History Consultant
-William Bird
Museum Advisor/Lorain County
History Consultant
-Col. Ron Sauer
Museum Curatorial Advisor
-Gene Edwards & Tim Edwards
Museum Archaeologists/Advisors
-Helen Goodell
Amherst-Area History Advisor
-Marilyn Fedelchak-Harley
Museum Preservation Consultant
-Andrew Wright & Jennifer Wasilk
Environmental Consultants
-Scott Allyn
Morning Journal Correspondent
-Brian Scanlan
Archaeological Advisor
-Lisa Underwood
Museum Travel Consultant
-Andy McDowell, Pete McDonald,
Kate Pilacky
Land Conservation Advisors
Col. Nahorn at the groundbreaking ceremony.
During the excavation process, we found
several historic pottery sherds and an old
brown hand-blown glass bottle that we believe
is from Jacob Shupe’s distillery.
------------------------
Archaeological Site Re-Discovered in Amherst
Please See Story on Page 2
-------------------------
-Robert Nordstrand
Shupe Family Historian/Authority
-Diane Chesnut
Vermilion Area Historian
-Bob Sasala
Area Watershed Advisor
-Ed and Marilyn Brill
Local History Advisors
Shupe Homestead & Wildlife Preserve Update
Restoration and Conservation
---------------------------
We are continuing conservation efforts at the
Preserve, and our work to restore the Shupe House
continues this spring and summer.
Col. Nahorn represented the Beaver Creek Watershed
once again this year at the annual watershed open house
in Vermilion. Attendance was great!
Lake Ridge Archives Update
Continuing Work at the Archives
------------------------------------------------------
Work continues at the LRA Archives, with the help
of Mr. Michael Shaulis and Mr. Ken Moore in
preparation for the school’s 50th Anniversary (2013).
Local History Preserved & Local History Update
Updated Statement on Date of Shupe House
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob Shupe came to Black River Township (now
Russia Township before it was detached from
Amherst/Black River in 1825) in 1810 where he
constructed a small, crude log cabin. (The cabin was
acquired by Col. Vietzen and displayed at Indian Ridge
Museum.) A year later he moved to a point on Beaver
Creek about a mile and a half north of the present-day
City of Amherst, on what would become Cooper Foster
Park Road. In 1811 he permanently settled here,
probably constructing a second log cabin at this site. In
1813 he built the first mill in Lorain County, powered by
the flowing water of Beaver Creek. His sawmill and
gristmill were probably located in the same building
being powered off of the same water wheel. In 1815 he
constructed his distillery.
Just after his sawmill was finished, construction of
his frame house began, probably in 1813. It was first
taxed in 1826. Houses in Lorain County were first
recorded and taxed in this year. The 1827 records state
that he had a house of wood being taxed at $250. The
Shupe frame house, which was the first to have been
built in Amherst, and is one of the oldest of its kind still
standing in Lorain County, was finished before 1818. It
is in the Greek Revival style.
development in the near future. We have gained
permission from the landowners to conduct an
archaeological survey of this property and work to
preserve any evidence of prehistoric inhabitance.
Agricultural land owned by the Hollstein family,
contiguous to the Historic Shupe Homestead in Amherst,
along Cooper Foster Park Road, has been identified as a
prehistoric site. The topography of the immediate area is
characterized as gently rolling with a few steep valleys,
especially closer to tributaries feeding Beaver Creek.
Beaver Creek is located nearby and would have served
as an important source of water and nourishment for
prehistoric peoples. High cliffs along the Creek would
have also aided in protection and fortification.
Through
surface
hunting
operations
and
archaeological surveys, museum staff has been able to
locate several artifacts indicating prehistoric inhabitance,
including: ~100 flint flakes from the production process;
a nutting stone/hammerstone multi-purpose tool; a
fragment of an Archaic Pentagonal projectile point; fire
cracked rock; a multi-purpose stone tool; a green banded
slate celt; and part of a stone mortar.
The farm field has not been plowed for several years,
and a no-till crop planting technique has been employed
most recently. At an estate sale in April 2011 at the
Hollstein farmstead, seven celts and an un-fluted Paleo
projectile point were offered for sale. This old farm
collection was probably assembled by either Mr. George
Hollstein or his father, many years ago. The New Indian
Ridge Museum was fortunate enough to secure these
artifacts and keep them preserved in the area, not far
from where they were made thousands of years ago.
The artifacts found by both the Hollstein family and
the New Indian Ridge Museum indicate the site was
inhabited by a range of prehistoric cultures. This area
was used as a campsite by native peoples as they
traveled to other areas. The presence of so many flint
flakes makes us postulate that this area was an important
campsite where tools were manufactured. Please see
www.newindianridgemuseum.org for more photos.
--------------
Written histories state that Mr. Shupe did in fact build
the first house in Amherst: As stated in Williams History
of Lorain County (1879):
“The first sawmill, the first gristmill, and the first distillery
were built by Jacob Shupe…The first log house was built by
Jacob Shupe, and he undoubtedly built the first frame house.”
Continued from Page 1
Archaeological Site Re-Discovered in Amherst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A new archaeological site has been located and
documented by the New Indian Ridge Museum.
Currently agricultural land, this property is slated for
Artifacts from the Hollstein Site in Amherst – pictured
are flint flakes, indicating prehistoric workmanship (left)
and a portion of an Archaic pentagonal point (right)
made out of a local chert material dating c. 4,000-5,000
B. C. In the photo on the left, please note the flint flake
with a concoidal fracture, characteristic of worked flint.
All found by Col. Nahorn. An article for the “Ohio
Archaeologist” journal is in the works.