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History of Punderson State Park

The Untold Story.

I am very disappointed by the misleading History of the Area as described by the State of Ohio (repeated below.)

1. Lemuel Punderson’s family sold most of the land surrounding the "Big Pond." One of his granddaughters (Ella Punderson) had a five acre home on the Park Property (located West of the sewage plant on Music Street) in the early 1900's, but the "Family Estate" was located south of the cemetery on S.R. 44, approximately 1/4th of a mile away. This is certainly not "a small estate on the edge of the sparkling blue lake."
2. Mr. Punderson was also a builder of dams, and he built a number of dams in the area, including ones on Punderson Lake, Little Punderson Lake, and the Mill Pond, which was south of Music Street at the edge of the Cemetery. The Mill Pond property was worked as the Punderson family business for decades and served the community as a Grist Mill and a Lumber Mill (and also rumored to contain a still) . But again, this has nothing to do with Punderson State Park, because I hold title to this land. What is not well known is that Punderson Lake was called the Big Pond because Mr. Punderson enlarged the lake by damming the outflow (The dam is now part of Music St. and drops the water level 15 to 20 feet, not what I would consider a "small dam.") How this dam changed the natural lake is unknown to me, but my guess would be that there is a considerable increase in the total acreage of the lake.
   I was contacted by Dr. E. Coppedge's son, Peter, regarding his recollection of Punderson history. He recalls his father stating that the Mill Pond owner actually retained the water rights to Punderson Lake, which were necessary to regulate the water level to maintain the mills. Although not confirmed, it would make sense that Lemuel Punderson would try to retain these rights after selling off most of the land surrounding Punderson Lake. The main focus of the Punderson family centered on the mills across the street from the Park, and the homestead which was south of the Mill Pond. The following newspaper clipping refers to the above statement.
   
   Judge J. W. Roberts has rendered his decision in the case of Webster vs. Downey, heard in Common Pleas Court over a month ago. The decision sustains Downey in the right to use the waters of Punderson Lake for gristmill purposes.
   
   The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 21, 1907, Page 5
   
3. The area surrounding Punderson Lake was developed primarily because of the Inter-Urban Rail (Cleveland & Eastern, serving Burton and Middlefield). The old railbed is now the access road to the campgrounds on the Northeast edge of the Lake. The train stop was located at the Wales Hotel (aka. Lake Punderson), which would have been found nearest the most southern building in the campgrounds. The "hills surrounding the lake" is less than ten feet above the shoreline!
4. Having been a frequent guest of the Wales Hotel (aka. Lake Punderson) as a boy, my Grandfather had the vision of the lake as a private hunting and fishing estate. At the turn of the century, he went forward to purchase most of the land surrounding Punderson Lake (500 acres in three separate parcels.) He then went to court to gain control of the lake itself. A homestead was built at the present location of the Manor House in preparation of marriage to my Grandmother in 1904. Up until World War 1, the property was run as a private hunting and fishing reserve ( Lakefield Farm and Kennels ) . Within its’ borders were found a kennel of prized bird dogs, a dog food factory, herds of buffalo, angora goats and sacred cows, an elk, a wolf, a fox, and swans and cranes. There was a Maple Sugar Bush on the property, and a houseboat with six bedrooms on the lake. All the result of my Grandfather’s vision and perseverance.
   After World War 1, the property became economically cursed until it was rescued by the state in 1948. My Grandfather lost his business after WW1, and died a decade later. His brother-in-law, Dr. E. Coppedge, financially rescued  Lakefield Farm. This property was sold to Mr. Karl Long of Detroit in 1929. The new owner tore down the original house except for the two main chimneys, and built what exists now as the Manor House. However, before completion, the Great Depression came and Mr. Long lost the property by defaulting on the mortgage held by the Coppedge/Cleveland families. My Grandmother ran this unfinished Mansion and the surrounding property as a Girl’s Summer Camp, but it never became financially self-sustaining. Due to the continued economic drain, the families sold it to the State in 1948. As the park became more prosperous, the golf course was purchased and built from additional farmland owned by Dr. Coppedge.
5. The point is that the Punderson State Park we know and love would not exist were it not for three factors. The first is the presence of the C & E Inter-Urban line. The second includes my Grandfather’s vision, financial input and hard work. The last would be the sacrifice of the combined families to keep the property intact, preserving the dreams of William B. Cleveland, rather than to subdivide the property for maximal financial gain. The same could not be said for the Lemuel Punderson family. I truly view the purchase by the state as a Godsend, since my Grandfather’s dream has been preserved for eternity not only for my family and I, but for all families to share. The only disappointment here is the state’s inability to recognize (and properly credit) the actual history of the park.
6. If indeed my Grandfather is one of "the Ghosts of Punderson," (pages 27 – 28, Haunted Ohio II by Chris Woodward, Kestrel Publications, 1994) it is probably not because of a "lost rocking chair,"   but more likely because of his love of the land and his unfulfilled wish to be buried there. This could also explain the statements by Punderson employees that observed "ghostly events" occurred only in the original Manor House.
7. The "official" Park History per the State of Ohio: (Copied from their web site a few years ago.)  

 William B. Cleveland III

This page was last edited by WBCIII on 09/28/08.

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