Disasters of Ohio's Lake Erie Islands

by Wendy Koile

Beautiful and deadly, the Lake Erie islands off the coast of Ohio have seen their fair share of disasters. The Victory Hotel on South Bass Island at Put-in-Bay was once the largest hotel in the nation. But the grand residence was reduced to ashes after a spark quickly became a raging, uncontrollable inferno. Reports of smallpox on Pelee Island resulted in mass hysteria and the quarantine of an entire island. At the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse, one light keeper was frozen in for days with his deceased colleague until he could make a desperate escape. Wendy Koile chronicles the fiercest calamities to shatter the tranquility of these solitary shores.

Genres: History

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2015

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I had no idea there were actually so many islands in Lake Erie that are associated with Ohio. As a musician I’ve been to Put-In-Bay to perform and got there by the most fun jet boat ride I’ve ever had. The venue’s stage was backed right up to the water which was a little scary, but safe. Even Rutherford B Hayes owned one of the islands at one time. One housed a civil war prison for confederate soldiers and one officer escaped in a makeshift Yankee uniform and walked across the ice to the mainland! Some of the islands I found out were great for growing grapes and had vineyards for a while. But the weather is so bad up there in the winter time that it ruined a lot of things about the islands or chased people away. And then there were the fires in the buildings as we know, happened at the turn of the 20th century, when things would catch fire and literally burn to the ground. But learning about the history of the islands and Ohio and some of the history of the people that owned the islands or lived on the islands was pretty fascinating. Each chapter was short and to the point so it’s a rather quick read you’d probably enjoy. I sure did.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a bit of a misnomer when it comes to the actual content of Wendy Koile's "Disasters of Ohio's Lake Erie Islands" since the book itself is actually entailing events that happened on the islands themselves rather than around them. Across 15 very unique events we the reader get a better understanding of some of the perils that involve these isolated islands as well the challenges presented when trying to bring help to those in need. As someone who has yet to visit these islands it's nice to be able to read & understand parts of their very unique history as well as be familiar with things that are officially no longer there as well.

[Celia Tench · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. Great detail.

The detail about the islands have you a good understanding of their lives. Great book. Very interesting details. I would highly recommend this book

[Andy Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disasters of Ohio’s Lake Erie Islands

All the islands in Lake Erie have a history. Sadly, progress often comes at a price. These islands all have tragic stories attached to them.

This short book was pretty interesting. It mostly covers the last 300 years. Needless to say, it gets depressing. Each business fails, catches fire, or both. Winter is just a death sentence.

Content Warning: none