Why Nobody Wants to Visit Chippewa Lake, Ohio

People say nobody goes to Chippewa Lake anymore. For most of a century, though, this one small lake in Medina County kept pulling crowds, starting with 20,000 people over a single Fourth of July weekend in 1892, back when the crowds came by train. A railroad turned it into a resort on purpose, and an electric interurban line out of Cleveland kept the summer crowds coming. A soft-drink vendor named Mac Beach worked his way up to running Chippewa Lake Park. His son Parker won the whole park at a 1937 sheriff's sale with a $3,500 bid and, by his own account, $18 in his pockets. Then Glenn Miller played the Starlight Ballroom, and Firestone, General Tire and Timken held their company picnics on the lawns. After the park's 100th birthday in 1978, it shut down abruptly, and outside of a short run of tours, the public wasn't let back onto those grounds for 48 years. Fires took a lot of what was left, a resort plan called Chippewa Landing fell apart, and a horror movie used the place as a backdrop. Now the Medina County Park District owns it, and the county's own study says the lake gets more boats than it can handle. By the end, you'll know what you can actually go see out there, and what you still can't. Did you or your parents ever spend a summer day at Chippewa Lake Park? Tell me what you remember. WATCH NEXT ▶ Exploring Ohio: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcP3hRmjXN6Y SUBSCRIBE ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvl5qAsaN6y5XKRcDk3cQYg?sub_confirmation=1 Park access and plans for the old grounds can change. Check with the Medina County Park District before you go. Names, dates, and cases are drawn from the public record and published reporting. Some footage is illustrative. #Ohio #OhioUncovered #ChippewaLake