Washington Branch Library

Andrea Batteas and Nicole Jankowski’s report on the Washington Branch Library, its neighborhood, and the history of the surrounding area.

5560 Harvest Lane

Toledo, Ohio

Lucas County

Research By:

Andrea Batteas and Nicole Jankowski

Brief History and Geographics of

Lucas County, Washington Township and 5560 Harvest Lane Neighborhood:

Lucas County was established in 1835. Originally it was a part of Wood County, OH and Lenawee County, MI. Today Lucas County's borders are Wood Co., OH, (the Maumee River separates Wood Co. from Lucas Co.) Ottawa Co., OH, Fulton Co., OH, Henry Co., OH, Lenawee Co., MI and Monroe Co., MI. The County was named in honor of the 12th Ohio Governor, Robert Lucas. He served in office from 1832-1836. He died, February 7, 1853 and is buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Iowa.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 596 square miles, 341 square miles: land, 255 square miles:water. It is the fourth-smallest county. Prior to Lucas County’s establishment, it was a vast network of forests, wetlands, and grasslands known as the Great Black Swamp.

Referring to Wikipedia:

“The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp), was a glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio and extreme northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century. Comprising extensive swamps and marshes, with some higher, drier ground interspersed, it occupied what was formerly the southwestern part of proglacial Lake Maumee, aholocene precursor to Lake Erie. The area was about 25 miles (40 km) wide (north to south) and 100 miles (160 km) long, covering an estimated 1,500 square miles (4,000 km²).^[3] Gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century, it is now highly productive farm land. During the second half of the 20th century, efforts were undertaken to preserve and restore portions of the swamp to its pre-settlement state.”

Washington Township was organized in 1840, and is one of forty-three Washington Townships statewide. It is located in Lucas County, OH, and consists of two sections: Shoreland and Alexis Place. The Shoreland section is located just north of the Ottawa River, east of I-75. The Alexis Place area includes the Raintree Mobile Home Village. Most of what was once Washington Township is now incorporated, leaving only two small pieces. Those pieces have the following borders, a Western piece (Alexis PLace) that is completely surrounded by Toledo, and an Eastern piece (Shoreland) that is surrounded by Toledo, except for a border on Erie Township, Monroe County, Michigan in the north. There is a small part of Maumee Bay that is also included in Washington Township. Washington Township is one of the eleven townships of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 3,278 people in the township. There are approximately 3,600 residents living in Washington Township.

5560 Harvest Lane is a part of the Washington Park Neighborhood. This neighborhood surrounds the Westfield Mall, which was originally called Franklin Park Mall. This mall stands on the original site of the Franklin Airport. The Franklin Airport opened in 1939 and closed in 1952.The hangers were torn down and many of the buildings dilapidated over time. By the 1970’s the only building that lingered was the Control Tower. However, it was torn down with the construction of that mall. There is no longer a trace of the original airfield.

Crime Statistics for Toledo:

Toledo was ranked 89 of the Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in America in 2013. Toledo has been identified as the fourth-largest recruitment site for human trafficking in the US.

In 2010, there was a combined total of:

3,272 burglaries
511 robberies
753 aggravated assaults
25 homicides
574 motor vehicle thefts

In 2011, there were:

1,562 aggravated assaults
30 murders
1,152 robberies
8,366 burglaries
1,465 cases of motor vehicle theft.

In 2012, there were a combined total of:

39 murders
2,015 aggravated assaults
6,739 burglaries
1,334 cases of motor vehicle theft.

Overview of 5560 Harvest Lane Road:

According to a map that dates to 1900, showing land ownership within Lucas County. The library sits on farm land that was owned by a Jennie B. Ketcham, born on October 9, 1862 and died on December 30,1925, she was 63 years old at the time of her death. She was married to a George Henry Ketcham. G.H. Ketcham was born on May 28, 1860 and died July 29, 1925, he was 65 years old when he passed away. According to the 1910 census, Jennie (45yr) and George (48yr) Ketcham lived with their two servants, one from New York and the other from Ireland, as well as their butler, who was from England. George Ketcham was a leading Politician in Republican Party, Civil Engineer, Horse Breeder, & Real Estate Entrepreneur.

Excerpt from the 1910 Census

Death Certificate of Jennie Ketcham

1900 Land Ownership Map of Lucas County

2016 Current Day Map showing pinpoint locations

**This is just speculation by lining up current day maps with landowner maps from 1900. The deed transfer records do not go further than 1932, and there are no records or documents between 1900 and 1932 on this particular plot of land.

Real Estate Tax List dating from 1936 to 1963

*Unfortunately not much information on Nellie C William, Winifred Williams, that lined up to the proper dates.

According to the 1920’s Census, John H. Stafford lived on Harvest Lane, Toledo Ohio with his wife Viola. They were both natives of Indiana. Viola is buried at Forest Cemetery in Toledo Ohio. Her body was cared for by the Sherrill-Watson Mortuary. Van T Sherrill was the last owner of the property before it was sold to the Washington Township Board of Education.

Van T. Sherrill purchased the property on Jun 5, 1950, a little over a month later he made his wife Sarah Sherrill co-owner of the property. However, in less than a year he had her removed because they divorced. He later married a woman by the name of Rhea, and they are mentioned together in the JET Magazine on August 6,1959. Mr. Sherrill was a skilled photographer and was quoted for “always being prepared” with his camera. Van T Sherrill and Rhea divorced later on, though exactly when is a mystery as there are no records of their divorce that can be found.

Van. T. Sherrill owned that Sherrill Mortuary that was located at 639 Indiana Ave, Toledo Ohio.In his later years he resided in he mortuary and passed away there in 1982 at the age of 72. This was sold to the Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church in 2003. In 2004 the church tour down the mortuary and made the land a parking lot for the church.

Van T Sherrill was a highly educated man, and quite successful in his life. Originally from Cleveland Ohio, he was the son of a tailor and tailoress. He attended and graduated from THe American School of Photography. Later, he moved to Toledo where he the Sherrill Mortuary in 1939.. He was a founder and member for the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, played the saxophone, was avid boxer, professional photographer, and appreciated by many.

Mishap and Negligence at the Sherril- Mortuary:

(Article from the WTOL Channel 11 News, Monday June 23, 2003)

Investigation Of Local Funeral Home Continues

TOLEDO (AP) -- A funeral home where the decomposing bodies of eight people were found has had problems with regulators going back as far as 1994, officials say. Investigators acting on at least two anonymous tips continued their investigation over the weekend of Sherrill-Harden Funeral Home after finding the bodies on Friday.

The Ohio Board of Embalmers will meet next Thursday to decide whether the funeral home will face any sanctions.

Two bodies were found in a garage and six were in a back room on Friday. Officials said four were in cremation boxes. The others were in containers. All had been embalmed and apparently were left in the old, two-story converted house in a poor neighborhood over the past few months, officials said.

In June, the local health department sent owner Henry Harden a letter that he was in violation of state law because he had not filed five death certificates within five days of the date of the deaths. "This appears to be an ongoing problem, and we need to resolve this issue," the letter said.

State health officials visited the funeral home in 1994 and the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department sent letters to the funeral home in 1999 and 2001 regarding the late filing of death certificates, said Michelle Loparo, a spokeswoman for the state health department.

Ann Cunningham, executive director of the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, said the licenses of the funeral home and Harden were suspended for a month in the mid 1990s for failing to file a list of those who had prepaid funeral expenses.

Cunningham said the state board has received about a dozen complaints about the funeral home, but it does not face any current administrative action. She said her office has been talking to the Ohio attorney general's office. The funeral home has had its license since the state board began issuing them in 1984.

A message seeking comment was left with the funeral home Monday. The funeral home remained open, but a sign carrying its name was covered in black plastic on Saturday. Megan Vahey, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jack Ford, said there was no indication that there were more bodies. The county coroner's office has taken control of the bodies. Coroner Dr. James Patrick said Saturday that he hopes to have some of the bodies, some mauled by rodents, identified this week. Some of them have been in the funeral home for an extended time and DNA samples may be necessary.

He said the funeral home has provided some information to help identify the bodies. "Obviously, this is an unusual occurrence," he said. No charges had been filed.

(Article from The Toledo Blade, Saturday August 23, 2003)

Body from mortuary still unidentified

The owner of a central Toledo funeral home who is under investigation for improperly caring for bodies yesterday told investigators that the previous owner may be responsible for a decomposed body found at the mortuary two months ago.

Henry Harden said he recently received a telephone call from a woman who claims she has knowledge about an improperly handled corpse being in the funeral home in the 1970s, said John Weglian, chief of the special units division of the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office.

However, Mr. Weglian said investigators were skeptical that the body has been in the funeral home for that many years.

“The deputy coroner who investigated the case believes that it is very unlikely that the body has been there since the 1970s. The body would have been far more decayed,” Mr. Weglian said.

Mr. Harden has been unable to put a name to the last of eight bodies found June 19 at the funeral home he operated with his wife, Sandra R. Harden, at 639 Indiana Ave. The funeral home is now closed.

Mr. Harden has been a licensed funeral director since 1984. He served an apprenticeship at the funeral home in 1982 when it was owned by the late Van T. Sherrill.

Mr. Sherrill, who died in December, 1982, willed the business to Mr. and Mrs. Harden. Court records stated that the funeral home was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the time of his death.

The 30-minute meeting with prosecutors was the third session held with Mr. Harden to discuss his progress in reviewing funeral home records so that the identity of the woman's body can be made known.

An investigation began after authorities received a call about bodies on the funeral home's property. Mr. Harden was able to provide the names of six people. The seventh body was identified on July 8 as that of a 29-year-old woman who died in 1996.

Prosecutors had given Mr. Harden until Aug. 4 to comb his records for information that could identify the body. Mr. Harden was given an extension after prosecutors issued subpoenas to obtain burial information from local cemeteries.

Mr. Weglian said Mr. Harden and his attorney, John Potts, agreed to meet with prosecutors again on Sept. 2.

Mr. Weglian said charges would be filed shortly after the meeting. He said the charges, which likely would be filed in a bill of information, would include eight charges for abuse of a corpse.

So far, Mr. Harden has scrutinized records since 1985 when he officially took over the business, but he has not completed reviewing information from 1990, Mr. Potts said after the meeting.

The Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors suspended the licenses of the Hardens and the funeral home in late June. They have appealed and will have their case heard Friday in Columbus before a hearing officer who will prepare a report and recommendation.

The board could take disciplinary action against the Hardens, including revoking their licenses.