Our Shaker Lakes Connection
Barb Shockey
The Shaker Lakes Garden Club was borne out of the need to protect and improve the Shaker Parklands. These parklands were once owned by the North Union Shaker Colony, then purchased by various land speculators, including J. D. Rockefeller, and later donated to the city of Cleveland under the stipulation that it be maintained and used as a public park, open free of charge to all people forever.
In 1915, four ladies (Rogers, Ranney, Gardner and Crawford), all living near the Lower Lake, met to discuss the shabby and neglected state of the surrounding public parks. After complaining numerous times to the Park Board with no results, the park board’s chairman suggested they organize and return as one influential group, then perhaps the board would take them more seriously. These words ignited the spark that created the Shaker Lakes Garden Club.
Bridge near wildflower garden
Our club’s first civic project was at the Lower Lake. Our Wildflower Garden began in 1921 in the ruins of the North Union Shaker Colony’s sawmill located in a 3-acre parcel at the west end of Lower Lake between Coventry Rd. and Lover’s Lane. The project was massive and included the construction of benches, stone steps, a retaining wall along Coventry Road, a tool house, a lily pond, a statue and a sundial. Several other clubs, including the Garden Club of Cleveland and the Window Box Club, joined the effort by adding an herb garden and a bird bath. In 1923 a stone bridge was built across the brook, and in 1926 the city Forester created a little pond where water poppies and yellow lilies flourished. The project was active until the late 1940’s.
The Point of Horseshoe Lake
Our second civic project in the Shaker Lakes Parklands began in 1935. We moved our attention to the Upper Lake (Horseshoe Lake) along with six other clubs, to beautify the park. Each club chose a specific area. We chose The Point, a section of land at the water's edge at the west end of the picnic park and playground area. We committed $34,000 to the project, which is equivalent to $755,386 in today’s purchasing power. The Point Garden included building stone retention walls, rebuilding the bridle paths and walking trails, the installation of a sandy beach, and the planting of trees and shrubbery to attract birds. Our efforts stopped when WWII began, and sadly the area sits largely unused and ignored today.
The Lower Lake trail restoration
In 1965 our club was asked to join the Park Conservation Committee, the organization formed to block the construction of the proposed Clarke Freeway that, if built, would destroy the Shaker Lakes area. We were one of about 33 garden clubs that actively participated. Our club sponsored an Audubon study from which the Shaker Lakes Nature Center was created. We have remained committed to the Nature Center in numerous ways, starting with paying the first year salary of a naturalist so the Center could get up and running. We helped establish the Stearns Trail, have paid for bridge repairs, and created the Rusty Knight Wildflower Garden. Our support to the Nature Center is ongoing, both through volunteers and our charitable funds. Additionally, our charitable funds have also supported the Friends of the Lower Lake with trail restoration, removing invasives and planting native shrubs and trees.
In 1969, under the direction of the Nature Center’s director, we established a grove of nut trees on the Southside of Horseshoe Lake where South Park meets Attleboro Rd. We engaged the Boy Scouts to plant and maintain about 18 trees, consisting of Chinese Chestnuts, Hazels, Black Walnuts and Butternuts. Although unknown to many club members, many of those trees are still thriving.
Marking the spots for the new trees
In 2020, in celebration of our 100 year anniversary as a member of the Garden Club of America, we planted a grove of native trees at the southwest end of the Lower Lake along South Park and west of Lovers Lane. The varieties are the yellow buckeye, the red maple, American hornbeam, Kentucky coffeetree, black gum, and the chinkapin oak. The trees chosen were at least 2” caliper in size and have a long life span. Once the grove is established, we intend to add an educational component to this project.
Areas of SLGC projects at Lower Lake
Areas of SLGC projects at Horseshoe Lake
As our project history shows, we have not forgotten our commitment to the Shaker Lakes. We have helped protect, beautify and conserve these parklands for over 100 years, and have assisted in educating the public in matters of horticulture and environmental issues. We are currently keeping an eye on the ongoing situation at Horseshoe Lake…or lack of Horseshoe Lake. Since it was drained in 2019, the lake bed sits filled with silt and invasive weeds.
QUESTION: Is it time we become active in this civic matter that is affecting our parklands? Your comments are invited. Click here to send comments or questions.