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Brownhelm Township Parks & Recreation
Brownhelm Schoolhouse Park
The Brownhelm Schoolhouse Park is located behind the Township Hall at 1940 North Ridge Road in Vermilion. The park has soccer and baseball fields along with basketball courts, a picnic pavilion, and a playground for children.
Brownhelm Lakefront Park
Brownhelm Lakefront Park is located at the end of Woodside Avenue, north off Lake Road (US Route 6), about a mile west of Baumhart Road. Beautiful views of Lake Erie can be seen from the park benches in this park which also has a handicap accessible picnic area.
Brownhelm Township Parks Rules & Regulations
- No person shall injure, deface, destroy, disturb, or remove any part of the park, signs, facilities, or growing things. Damages incurred become the financial responsibility of the perpetrator(s) or their parents, if a juvenile.
- No loitering or dumping of any material of any kind in the park except any refuse arising from the normal use and enjoyment of the park. All refuse must be placed in appropriate trash containers.
- No person may molest, injure, or destroy any wildlife in the park.
- No portable stoves or grills are permitted in shelters or on compositional picnic tables.
- No fires except for cooking purposes and only in a designated area.
- No dumping of hot ashes or fire onto grass, plants, ground, or trash receptacles.
- No use of firearms, fireworks, or any other explosives.
- No overnight camping or parking on township park property.
- No person shall disturb the peace of other park patrons or park neighbors.
- There shall be no gambling or alcoholic beverages permitted in the park. No one under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug of abuse shall be permitted in the park.
- No person shall be in the park with indecent conduct or exposure.
- No person shall use obscene or abusive language in the park.
- All vehicles in the park must remain on established roadways or parking areas and observe a 10 mile per hour speed limit. No reckless operation shall be permitted in the park.
- All animals must be on a leash and their litter picked up by the owner or other responsible party.
- Park facilities are closed from dusk to dawn and all juveniles are subject to the township curfew. Anyone on township property after curfew or closing hours will be considered trespassing and subject to arrest for criminal trespass unless special permission has been previously obtained from a township official.
- Any person directed to leave the park premises by a township official or law enforcement officer for any misconduct must do so immediately or face charges for criminal trespass.
Showse Park & Beach
Located in Vermilion on the Lake, this park contains a beach, two ball diamonds, a basketball court, tennis courts, a soccer field, a pavilion and a playground. Located along the shore of Lake Erie, Showse Park gives people the opportunity to stop for a rest or to enjoy the boats and scenes of the waterfront. Showse Park & Beach are managed by the City of Vermilion.
Vermilion River Reservation
Vermilion River Reservation is managed by Lorain County Metro Parks. Spanning two adjacent areas separated by the Vermilion River—Mill Hollow on one side and Bacon Woods on the other—this immaculate park is a favorite of picnickers, naturalists and anyone who just wants to enjoy its natural beauty. If you're looking to picnic in a beautiful place with plenty of activities for both adults and children, this is an ideal place to come. With 273 picnic tables and four reservable shelters, the Vermilion Reservation draws over 230,000 people a year—making it the number one picnic area in the Lorain County Metro Parks system. It's not surprising considering the spotless maintenance, plenty of open space, 5 miles of wooded trails, a playground and two ponds that attract visiting waterfowl year-round.
The Bacon House Museum is housed in the original settler Benjamin Bacon's house, built in 1845. The Carriage Barn offers visitors information about the park and hosts nature programs throughout the year. A large rustic meeting room can be reserved for groups and includes a kitchen and large fireplace.
There's more than natural beauty at Vermilion Reservation. Bacon woods hosts a sizable amphitheater for musical concerts during the warmer months, and the park in general features several special programs including the Annual Car Show (which shows over 1000 cars.) Perhaps the most striking feature of this reservation is the winding ribbon of shale cliffs carved by the Vermilion River. Millions of years old, these cliffs reveal layers of the past and drop bits of sandstone, shale and turtlerock along the riverbed. Since the Vermilion River has no industry along its banks, it is especially rich in wildlife. Aquatic life includes freshwater clams and several species of darters (small fish that feed along the bottom of the river) that turn brilliant colors during the mating season. Some insect species include mayflies, cadis flies and water pennies (beetle larvae that lie flat against a rock surface and look like pennies.)
The park naturally hosts a range of wildlife, but perhaps most singular at Vermilion River Reservation are the bald eagles. These magnificent creatures can be seen almost daily at Mill Hollow, perched in one of the tall trees near the center of the park. Other wildlife at the reservation is more typical of the area and includes Great Blue Heron, Greenback Heron and various geese and ducks. Wildflower lovers come from all over in spring and early summer to see the color and variety of these indigenous species which include Dutchman's britches and Blood Root along with a long list of other species found throughout northeast Ohio.
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Lakefront Park
Vermilion on the Lake Historic Community Center
Brownhelm Township History Museums
Historic Brownhelm School & Museum
The Brownhelm Historical Association is renovating the former Brownhelm School (1889-1988) located at 1940 North Ridge Road. The Historic Brownhelm School & Museum offers a place for meetings, hosts the annual Brownhelm Community Christmas, provides events for the community, and hosts fundraisers such as the annual Grandma’s Attic Sale. Upstairs classrooms house museum space displaying historical artifacts from the school’s past and from notable historical locations such as Swifts Mansion and the Light of Hope Orphanage.
Built in 1889, the original red brick school was square in plan with four evenly spaced brick pilasters along the front, back and sides. Evidence of these can be seen on the east and west sides of the school today. Ventilation and daylight were introduced into the interior by tall, narrow, double hung windows. The building had a steeply pitched hip roof.
In 1905, an addition was constructed on the west side of the 1889 building. The current, less steeply pitched hip roof was added at this time. The roof has a deep overhang with carved wood bracked supports. Roof dormers and a cupola were added with this addition.
In 1922, the Brownhelm School was renovated and further enlarged to give it its present appearance. The renovation included a new red brick Neo classical/Georgian Revival front facade. The round top glass transom and stonework detailing give importance to the main entrance. The rear flat roofed brick and masonry addition contains a large combination auditorium and gymnasium. The present Brownhelm School offers a physical piece of history representing the last hundred years in Brownhelm.
The Brownhelm Historical Association has a 99 year lease with the Brownhelm Township Trustees to save this building. The exterior renovations were completed in 2012, partly due to an anonymous donor and several other fund raisers. The interior repairs began in 2013 – the goal is to complete one room at a time.
To visit the Historic Brownhelm School & Museum, please contact the Brownhelm Historical Association at [email protected].
Brownhelm Heritage Museum
To visit the Brownhem Heritage Museum, please contact the Brownhelm Historical Association at [email protected].
Bacon House Museum & Carriage Barn
Surrounded by tall trees and a split-rail fence, you can't miss the picturesque Bacon House Museum and Carriage Barn at Mill Hollow. During museum hours you can walk through the original settler Benjamin Bacon's house, built in 1845. The museum features themes of daily living and puts an emphasis on the community life in Brownhelm, including the profound effect the railroad had on the economy and on people's lives. Just next to the Bacon House Museum, the Carriage Barn offers visitors information about the park and hosts nature programs throughout the year. A large rustic meeting room can be reserved for groups and includes a kitchen and large fireplace.
In 1817, Benjamin Bacon settled with his family along the top of the cliffs overlooking an oxbow in the Vermilion River that would eventually be called Mill Hollow. Soon afterwards, and at an early age, Benjamin was elected to the prestigious position of Justice of the Peace, and in 1824 was selected as one of the first commissioners for Lorain County. In 1835 he purchased an interest in a saw and grist mill that had been relocated to the oxbow in the river. A mill race was cut across the oxbow to increase the water power that turned the mill’s large water wheel. The mills were very successful and by 1845 had provided Benjamin the means to build a nice house across the road. When he died in 1868 at the age of 78, the house and mills were sold to John Heymann, a German immigrant new to the area.
Frederick Bacon was born in 1840, the youngest son of Benjamin and Anna, Benjamin’s third wife. In 1860, he enlisted in the Union army and fought in the Civil War for four years, after which he returned home to his wife Abigail (formerly Abigail Wells) and started a family in Brownhelm.
In 1879, John Heymann sold the mills to Frederick Bacon. They’d been modernized with steam power after a fire destroyed them in October of 1876 which started after the close of business. Frederick now not only owned the mills, but also owned land in Geauga county and coal fields in Iowa. This diversity was very fortunate because with the advent of the railroad, fewer farmers needed to mill their grain locally and many local residents weren’t even farmers, but rather worked at the sandstone quarries instead. By 1901, the mills were no longer profitable and had to be sold and dismantled.
Frederick and Abigail had nine children, seven of whom never married. After Frederick’s death in 1901, his children continued to farm the river valley. By the late 1920s, only Sarah and Charles remained, and the house was rented to several people for decades until Charles’ death in 1957. Dorothy Bacon DeMuth, a distant cousin, inherited the property and donated it to the newly formed Lorain County Metro Parks. The Vermilion River Reservation became the first park in the Lorain County Metro Parks. The Bacon House was opened as a house museum in 1962 with the help of the Lorain County Historical Society. Today, the house is open on certain days throughout the year (check your Arrowhead newsletter for specific dates and times), and can be scheduled for private tours throughout the year by calling (440) 967-7310.
Brownhelm Township Historic Cemeteries
Brownhelm Cemetery - North Ridge Road, Vermilion, Ohio
- Col. Henry Brown, a New Englander, was among the first pioneers who settled the area. The township was named after him. He was a successful businessman and civic leader. Brown helped found Oberlin College and was instrumental in the development of Case Western Reserve University.
- Hannah James was the second wife of Ezekiel Goodrich, a well-known cabinetmaker. The couple had several children. They divorced in 1837, an act unheard of during the times.
- George Bacon Sr., at the age of 17 years old, is rumored to have dumped tea into the Boston Harbor during the Revolutionary War-era incident known as the Boston Tea Party. He lived to be 85 years old.
- Grandison Fairchild was the father of James H. Fairchild, third president of Oberlin College who was an abolitionist and took part of the 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Slave Rescue of the fugitive slave John Price. His sister, Harriet Fairchild Alverson, taught the first school in Brownhelm in her own home in 1819. Grandison was the first teacher in the first schoolhouse built next to his sister's home. He lived to be 98 years old.
- Amanda Church Bacon was the wife of William S. Bacon, the grandson of Benjamin Bacon, one of the area's most famous pioneer settlers. He was justice of the peace, county commissioner, and owner of Bacon’s Mills. Her mother, Anna Bacon, was Benjamin Bacon’s third wife.
Brown’s Lake Road Cemetery - Liberty Avenue, Vermilion, Ohio
Rugby Cemetery - North Ridge Road, Vermilion, Ohio
Brownhelm Historical Association
The mission of the Brownhelm Historical Association is to honor Brownhelm’s rich heritage by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of its people and the area.
For more information, visit the Brownhelm Historical Association website!
Brownhelm Township Government
The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees. The Board of Trustees meet at 7 pm on the first Monday of each month at the Township Hall.
Brownhelm Township Zoning Department
Brownhelm Township Maintenance Department
Brownhelm Township Recycling & Trash Collection
Household Trash Dumpsters:
Recycling:
Curbside Trash Pickup:
Brownhelm Township Government
1940 North Ridge Road
Vermilion, Ohio 44089
Phone: (440) 984-2243
Brownhelm Township Law Enforcement & Fire Department
Brownhelm Township Curfew For Minors
- No minor age sixteen (16) and under shall be or remain upon any public road, street, sidewalk, alley, or public places in the unicorporated area of the Township of Brownhelm between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 5:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody and control of the child has a legitimate excuse therefore.
- The within curfew shall be extended one hour from the termination of any school sanctioned activities and shall likewise be extended from the hour of termination from work for any employed minor.
- Any person age sixteen (16) or under who violates the provisions of this curfew shall be apprehended and taken home to parents, guardians, or other authorized persons.
- Any person apprehended for second or subsequent violations shall be charged as being an unruly child and taken before the Juvenile Court of Lorain County as provided in Chapter 2151 of the Ohio Revised Code.
- The reasons for such curfew are that certain incidents of vandalism and destruction of property by minors have occurred at certain hours of the night in the township; that life and property has been endangered; and that a threat to the comfort and safety of the residents of Brownhelm Township exists.
- The aforesaid curfew shall be enforced by the Lorain County Sheriff's Department and shall become effective immediately.