Life through the area, now Bay Village and vicinity, was real and earnest in the early 19th century. Pioneers met adversity almost daily.

Joseph Cahoon, his wife, Lydia, three sons and two daughters were the first settlers to arrive, on October 10, 1819, from Vermont. He built a cabin at the mouth of what is now Cahoon Creek, and later a gristmill and a sawmill.

The Porter family arrived the same day. Soon came the Osborn, Aldrich, Bassett, Foote, Hall, Powell, Saddler, Tuttle, Winsor and Drake Families, names familiar to today’s Bay residents. The community then was known as North Dover, to distinguish it from the neighboring Dover, now know as Westlake. Religion was important to the pioneers, and Dover already had a Congregational Church. Those living closer to Lake Erie, however, found the journey through the forest to Dover each Sunday long and arduous, so they decided to establish their own church.

At first, members used their homes for worship. Then in June 1827, a group met to organize the Dover Lake Shore Methodist Church, the first church in what is now knows as Bay Village. Singing the charger were the Rev. Eliphalet Johnson; his wife, Margaret; daughter, Rebecca; niece; Catherine Porter Foote, and Mrs. Elizabeth Sadler, wife of William Sadler. They were the great-grandparents of William F. Sadler, a member of our church prior to his death in the 1980’s.
In its early years, the church met in a schoolhouse across Bassett Road from the present church site. The Rev. Mr. Johnson was the pastor for 15 years.

To continue reading our story, click here: History Continued