Gibraltar Island

Gibraltar Island (or the "Gem of Lake Erie") is an island in Ohio, located within Lake Erie. This small island is just offshore of South Bass Island.

History

Gibraltar Island became a lookout point for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the fight against the British during the War of 1812. Perry and his men defeated a fleet of British sailing vessels during the famous Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. As a result, the lookout point on Gibraltar Island became known as Perry's Lookout.

Ownership of the island remained with Connecticut until Pierpont Edwards, a New York banker purchased the deed in 1807. Sandusky, Ohio native Jay Cooke bought the island from Edwards in 1864 and immediately began construction of a 15 room Victorian-Gothic mansion (now known as Cooke Castle). The Cooke family entertained a variety of notables, such as William Tecumseh Sherman, Salmon P. Chase, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison.

Stone Laboratory

Ohio State University has had various research and teaching laboratories on Lake Erie since 1895, when Professor David S. Kellicott created a second-floor lab in a Sandusky, Ohio fish hatchery. Kellicott served as the laboratory director until his death in 1898. The first courses were offered to students in 1900. The lab moved to Cedar Point and South Bass Island before settling on Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay. Julius Stone, a Trustee of The Ohio State University, acquired the deed in 1925 from descendants...
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