Heritage of Hospitality

From the lofty observation deck of Perry’s Monument at Put-in-Bay, the world looks wide and peaceful. On clear days, it affords glimpses of Detroit and Cleveland, and verdant islands seem to float timelessly out on the water. Shaped by nature and rich in history, the Lake Erie islands have many stories to tell.

Glaciers carved gigantic grooves on Kelleys Island. Ballast Island supposedly supplied rocks that stabilized Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s ships during the War of 1812. In the 1860s, Civil War and railroad financier Jay Cooke built a magnificent summer home — Cooke Castle — on Gibraltar Island, where he entertained the likes of General Sherman and President Hayes. Subsequent owner Julius Stone donated Gibraltar to Ohio State University, which made it the campus of Stone Laboratory, a freshwater research facility that gives guided tours. And, thanks to a favorable terroir and immigrants from Germany’s grape-growing regions, vineyards once carpeted the short chain of “wine islands,” which are today known as South Bass, Middle Bass and North Bass.

Perry’s legacy

Of all the islands, however, none has a story more significant — or told more often — than South Bass Island, where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry based the ships he’d built to wrest control of Lake Erie from the British. It offered a central lake location and a protected bay where his vessels could “put in” and prepare to battle Britain’s vaunted navy. On September 10, 1813, Perry’s ships sailed from Put-in-Bay and commenced the Battle of Lake Erie about 10 miles northwest of South Bass Island. Under a battle flag embellished with the words, “Don’t give up the ship!” Perry boldly captured the entire British fleet.

Perry’s against-the-odds victory immortalized him as an American naval hero. It was also a significant turning point, for as Washington Irving eloquently observed in his biography of the commodore, “The last roar of cannon which died along the shores of Erie was the expiring note of British domination.” Perry’s decisive win ensured that Ohio and future Great Lakes states stayed in American hands and ushered in centuries of friendly relations with Great Britain and Canada.

Perry’s Monument, whose official name is Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, opened in 1915 and is a National Park Service site. Designed as a Doric column that appears to majestically rise from the water, the 352-foot-tall monument is arguably Lake Erie’s most famous landmark. It occupies a narrow isthmus and is anchored by a plaza where park rangers in period garb give talks about Perry’s leadership and sightseers linger to catch breezy views of the lake and steady stream of golf carts going to and from the Village of Put-in-Bay

The monument’s visitor center doubles as a museum complete with a larger-than-life statue of Perry and in-depth exhibits about his momentous battle. On select weekends, rangers conjure the commodore’s short-barreled cannons by dragging a carronade onto the monument’s lawn and firing thunderous salutes to the island’s inimitable history. The lawn also is the best place to see the splendid fireworks show that tops off Boom at the Bay, a Fourth of July celebration featuring a patriotic parade and skyrockets bursting over the lake.

A pleasure port

At 1.5 miles wide and 3.7 miles long, South Bass is hardly Lake Erie’s largest island, yet it’s easily the most visited, annually attracting some 750,000 boaters, birders, fishermen, history buffs, nature lovers, vacationing friends and families, and swarms of day-trippers riding the Miller and Jet Express ferries from nearby Catawba Island, Port Clinton and Sandusky.

“Put-in-Bay has a reputation for weekend partying,” says islander and entrepreneur Eric Booker. “But we have so much more to offer: A national monument, two state parks, nature centers and preserves, hiking trails, a historic lighthouse, food and wine.”

Accommodating people has been part and parcel of the island’s way of life since the post-Civil War heyday of steamship excursions. Locals — who frequently wear multiple hats as business owners, attraction managers and event organizers — know how to welcome and entertain visitors. Booker, for example, operates The Boardwalk, an iconic restaurant, marina, fuel dock and water taxi complex located behind the harbor’s public mooring buoys. The Boardwalk’s dock-and-dine options include everything from kid-friendly corn dogs to filet mignon, but regulars go for its homemade lobster bisque and sweeping view of the consummate pleasure port that is Put-in-Bay.

In the heart of the harbor, a trio of first-come, first-served linear docks — A, B and C — are only steps away from downtown Put-in-Bay. They’re so popular with overnight and transient boaters that rafting is commonplace and calling ahead for instructions is necessary (use channel 68 for B Dock and channel 69 for A and C docks). While the village manages A and C docks and the DeRevira Park Trust owns B dock, all boaters have access to the park’s public bathhouse.

Relax and enjoy yourself

South Bass Island’s original owner, Joseph De Rivera St. Jurgo, established his namesake park in 1866 to ensure that the village he was developing would forever have a lakeside oasis. As it turns out, De Rivera was quite a forward thinker. The pretty park sets the tone for the village’s relax-and-enjoy-yourself allure, and for modern-day boaters, it’s such a convenient shortcut to restaurants, shops and watering holes that many of them never venture beyond Put-in-Bay.

Bordering the park are village institutions such as the 151-year-old Round House Bar and the neighboring Park Hotel, which originally catered to steamship travelers. Now the hotel accommodates boaters taking a break from the lake in Victorian-era guest rooms sans TVs, minifridges and private bathrooms.

“People come here for an experience that’s like stepping [back] in time,” says General Manager Jordan Jenkins.

Adjacent to the hotel, the speakeasy-style Red Moon has an intimate vibe that’s great for date night, and the Chicken Patio is the place for barbecued chicken. Other establishments near the park include Mossbacks for perch and pierogi dinners; the Reel Bar for burgers; Pasquale’s for breakfast omelets; and Frosty Bar, a tavern as renowned for having peanut shells on the floor as it is for beer served in a stemware mug and tasty pizzas. Like most downtown bars and eateries, Frosty’s features rock and country bands, yet only a few yards away, merry-go-round music emanates from Kimberly’s Carousel, where riding Pete the Perch has generated fond childhood memories since the 1970s. The Keys, part of The Boardwalk family of restaurants, is a local staple that leans into the “Key West of the Midwest” moniker Put-in-Bay is known for, offering live music, frozen drinks and casual Caribbean cuisine with a waterside view.

Photos from top to bottom: Ohio Sea Grant, National Park Service, Miller Boat Line, Jet Express, Shores & Islands