Mon Mar 15 2010
by Andre Clayton
Reporter
Twinsburg -- According to Alling Drive resident Nick Wing, his street was named after Ethan Alling, who was the first settler of Twinsburg. Now the Twinsburg Historical Society member is trying to connect Twinsburg to another part of history -- the Underground Railroad.
Since late January, Wing, 25, has been poring over history books, reading century-old letters and visiting area historical homes to gather clues about the series of abolitionist safe houses that helped slaves escape to the North during the Civil War era.
And he's trying to use that knowledge to help save a pair of potentially historic structures in town.
MSRK LLC, a Beachwood developer that purchased the 82-acre Corbett's farm at Route 91 and Glenwood Boulevard last May, in December asked the city's permission to demolish the farmhouse and other structures on the property to make room for new homes.
According to Councilor Bob McDermott, who is a representative of the city's architectural review board, the developer was allowed to destroy five structures on the property, such as food silos, but was told it could not raze the farmhouse or the barn.
"The ARB felt the farmhouse was significant to the history of Corbett's farm," McDermott said, adding that several board members were "smitten with the historical significance of the way the barn was built."
According to Director of Community Planning and Development Larry Finch, the developers are still talking with the ARB about demolishing the farmhouse and barn.
"The board has up to six months from the time they received the request to negotiate a settlement," Finch said.
"I don't think removal of the farmhouse and barn is the case at this point," said Mark Strauss, a partner of MSRK LLC.
He declined further comment on the matter, citing pending litigation over zoning issues with the city related to the property.
Wing hopes his research about the city's connection to the Underground Railroad could come into play in helping save the farm's structures.
The Case Western Reserve University student and the Twinsburg Historical Society are trying to prove the farmhouse's original owner, Julius Lane, and his brother, Luman, had ties to the abolitionist movement (See sidebar story on Page 12 for details). This could lead to an official Underground Railroad site designation from the National Park Services, said Wing.
While Wing acknowledges the NPS marker would not legally stop developers from knocking down the structures, he hopes the move would gain enough public support to persuade developers to keep the buildings.
Wing and the Twinsburg Historical Society are also pursuing Underground Railroad site designation for the Luman House across the street from the farm, but more information is needed on the two brothers.
"We are currently looking for old letters and manuscripts from the Lane family," Wing said, noting that anyone with information can contact the Twinsburg Historical Society at 330-487-5565.
Wing has been presenting his findings during the audience comments portion of Council meetings on a regular basis.
McDermott said he questions the credibility of Wing's research and its timing.
"It is strange that this comes up now," McDermott said.
McDermott said he does not believe the barn or farmhouse can be registered as historical sites because of the modifications made to both of them over the years. The farmhouse alone has had a porch, rooms and aluminum siding installed, he said.
Wing disagrees.
"We need to save the history of Twinsburg, and this is a direct tie we have with the founders of the city," he said.
"We would like Council to put a moratorium on [developing] the property until it is determined the farmhouse was part of the Underground Railroad," Wing said, adding he would also like to save the barn, which was built in 1911.
There are ways the city could use the farmhouse and the barn, Wing believes.
"The barn can host the Farmer's Market, it could be used for meetings and events," Wing said. "The house can be used for office space or can be turned into a museum."
E-mail: aclayton@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172
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