North Coast History
Avon Lake, Lorain County Click Here
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County – West Side
Western Reserve
Lake Erie
Railroads
Interurban Trolley Services
Lake Shore Cemetery Click Here
Avon Lake Authors
Support our local authors by browsing our Avon Lake Authors collection! Click the button below to check out our catalog.
Genealogy
General information, indexes to public records and federal census records for:
Beach Park, 1938
Newspapers | Serials (1928 – )
The Press (a weekly) and its antecedents, digital, and microform
The Press (a weekly) and its antecedents, digital, and microform
Spectrum (Avon Lake High School newspaper)
Reports from Avon Lake government and organizations
Promotional publications for business and community.
Shore Log (Avon Lake High School yearbook, 1960 – 2018)
City and County directories (various publishers, incomplete, 1941 – 1961 )
Photographs | Visual Materials
- Photographs of people, places, and events in Avon Lake
- 35mm slides contained in boxes or carousels
- Browse many Avon Lake photographs on the Avon Lake page of the Cleveland Memory Project.
Films | Videorecordings (1969 – )
- DVD and 16mm film: television and amateur footage of Avon Lake events and activities, including oral history interviews and programs from Avon Lake Community Television [ALC-TV]
- VHS tapes (not catalogued)
Sound Recordings | Music Recordings
- Spoken word and musical recordings
- Formats: CD, MP3, Cassette, LP, ¼”, audio tape
Objects | Artifacts
- Souvenir and commemorative plates, keepsakes, pins, etc.
Maps and Atlases (1851 – 2011)
- Avon Lake Maps Click Here
- Posters and other oversize artwork/large-format materials Click Here
Collections
The purpose of the Avon Lake History Collection is to preserve the past, present, and future documentary history of Avon Lake, OH, located in Lorain County, OH, and to provide access to this history for the research needs of residents, students, and scholars of Avon Lake history.
Avon Lake Business Association
The Avon Lake Business Association members represent Avon Lake businesses and include community physicians, builders, store owners, lawyers, Realtors, insurance agents, tradespeople, bankers, and others.
Avon Lake Businesses and Organizations
The contents of this binder includes black and white and color photos (original and photocopies), brochures, programs, newspaper clippings (original and photocopied), and other items related to past and current businesses and organizations in Avon Lake.
Avon Lake Chorale Scrapbooks (1959–1976)
All materials in this collection were in the possession of Ernie Hisey, and were donated to the Library in November 2014. Avon Lake resident Ernest "Ernie" Hisey was a music teacher at Avon Lake High School and the director of the Avon Lake Chorale for many years.
Avon Lake Community Churches
The Avon Lake Community Churches collection contains photos, newspaper clippings, correspondence, histories, bulletins, and other items.
Avon Lake City Schools Financial Reports (1994-2013)
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (1994-2013) provide the taxpayers of Avon Lake School District with comprehensive financial data in a format that enables them to gain a clearer understanding of the School District’s finances.
Avon Lake Civil Defense Scrapbook (1943-1944)
The American Women's Voluntary Service was the largest American women's service organization in the United States during World War II (WWII). Some of its work overlapped with the Office of Civilian Defense and the American Red Cross.
Avon Lake Fire Department Annual Reports (1998-2005)
Eight volumes in red folders containing rosters, graphics, photos, organizational charts, reports, correspondence, and other related documents.
Avon Lake High School Shore Log (1960-2018)
A collection of Avon Lake High School yearbooks from the years 1960-2018.
Avon Lake Historical Preservation Commission (2010–2018)
The Avon Lake Historical Preservation Commission (ALHPC) collection contains documents, email correspondence, meeting minutes, forms, pamphlets, annual reports, brochures, inventories, procedures, application forms, contact information, Rules of Procedure of the ALHPC, ordinances, agendas, regulations, newspaper clippings, and other printed matter.
Avon Lake Historical Society Collection (1969-2015)
The Avon Lake Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Avon Lake, OH, that has existed in various forms since 1968 to work with all the historical and community groups in the city to share news and information about preservation and education activities.
Avon Lake Homecoming Festival Committee (1983–2004)
The collection consists of twelve (12) folders containing correspondence, schedules, entry forms, committee member lists, ribbons, newspaper articles, route maps and Cat’s Meow renderings and sales receipts. The collection spans from 1990 through 2004.
Avon Lake Junior Women’s Club (1993 – 1995)
Between 1993 and 1997 the Avon Lake Junior Women’s Club spearheaded a community project requesting that the Century Telephone Company provide two-way non-optional Extended Area Service into the Cleveland Metropolitan Area Exchanges for subscribers of the 933 exchange in Avon Lake.
Avon Lake Learwood Junior High School PTA Scrapbooks (1960–1992)
The Learwood Junior High School PTA scrapbook collection was originally stored at the Avon Lake Public Schools. The Avon Lake Public Library acquired the collection in May 2016 when the schools donated the scrapbooks.
Avon Lake Municipal Utilities Reports (1998-2002)
Reports, including graphs and tables, from 1998 to 2002. Includes "Avon Lake Water Filtration Plant - 2002".
Avon Lake Police Department Annual Reports (1971–2018)
The contents of the Avon Lake Police Department Annual Reports include statistics, summaries, reports, personnel lists, graphs, tables, charts, and other related information. Report years span from 1971 to 2018. The Library does not have annual reports for 1977, 2016, or 2017.
Avon Lake Public Library Gift Shop Collection
The Avon Lake Public Library gift shop existed for 11 years, from 1993 to 2004. It was located inside the Library where the Friends room is now. The mission of the Library shop was to extend the educational facilities, to provide monetary support, and to attract more patrons to the Library.
Avon Lake Public Library Publicity and Marketing Collection (1930–2018)
The Avon Lake Public Library was established in 1931 to provide library services to the village - and now city - of Avon Lake. All boxes contain: Photos, newspaper clippings, flyers, correspondence, brochures, and calendars.
Avon Lake Public Schools
All public schools in Avon Lake are part of the Avon Lake City Schools, including four public elementary (Kindergarten through Grade 4) schools (Eastview, Erieview, Redwood, and Westview), Troy Middle School (Grades 5 and 6), Learwood (Grades 7 and 8), and Avon Lake High School (Grades 9 through 12).
Avon Lake Public Schools PTA Council Scrapbooks (1961-1986)
The Avon Lake PTA was organized in 1923 and the first president was E. H. Martindale. From 1923 to the 1952-53 school year, a single PTA included all schools. Contents of fourteen scrapbooks includes brochures, business cards, bylaws, calendars, certificates, correspondence, financial reports, flyers, maps, meeting minutes.
Avon Lake Shoremen and Shoregals Sports Programs (1970–2018; incomplete)
The Avon Lake Shoremen girls basketball team won the Ohio State Championship in 1994 as the Avon Lake Shoregals. Avon Lake has been part of the Southwestern Conference (SWC) since 1964. This collection contains souvenir programs for the Avon Lake High School Shoremen and Shoregals sports teams.
Avon Lake Tree Commission Collection (1992–2008)
The Avon Lake Tree Commission collection includes newspaper articles, agendas, minutes, photos, forms, tree logo contests, City of Avon Lake inventory, correspondence, membership lists, inventories, specification and management plans, local ordinance copies, agricultural articles and brochures, forms, general information about trees (booklets, articles, catalogs, reports), and other information that documents the history or life of this organization.
Avon Lake Troy Junior High School PTA Scrapbooks (1976–1984)
The Avon Lake Public Schools PTA Council scrapbook collection was originally stored at the Avon Lake Public Schools. The Avon Lake Public Library acquired the collection in May 2016 when the schools donated the scrapbooks.
Avon Lake Unit of the American Women’s Voluntary Service Scrapbook (1942–1945)
Scrapbook contains photographs, newspaper articles, handwritten notes, various notations, correspondence, black-and-white photos, flyers, handwritten commentary of meetings and activities, and a September 1944 newsletter that document the history or life of their organization in Avon Lake, plus World War II and community participation realia.
Avon Lake Welcome Wagon (1984)
The Avon Lake Welcome Wagon scrapbook consists of one scrapbook for the years 1984-1985 containing photographs, newspaper articles, newsletters, flyers, membership lists, brochures, and other information related to this organization.
Avon Lake Women’s Chorus (1954 – present)
This collection consists of three volumes of an undated constitution, newspaper articles, photographs, flyers, memorials, obituaries, correspondence, schedules, programs, menus, awards, membership lists, and other related documentation.
City of Avon Lake (various records)
The City of Avon Lake collection contains photos, newspaper clippings, email correspondence, and documents about Avon Lake locations & former employees of various locations: city hall, municipal building, municipal bikeway, power plant, utilities, Ellen Trivanovich aquatic center, fire department, old firehouse, parks, play space, police department, and safety town.
Clawson Family Collection
The Clawson family collection includes four boxes of color and black and white photographs, a program, report cards, receipts, diskette and a portrait.
Fruehauf Girls’ Club Scrapbook (1958 – 2011)
The Fruehauf Girls’ Club was a social and charitable organization that was open to female office employees of the Fruehauf Trailer Company and the Fruehauf Credit Union in Avon Lake, OH. The Library acquired these scrapbooks from a former Fruehauf Girls Club member, who donated them.
Heritage Avon Lake (2016-2021)
The organization's mission was to “encourage the preservation of artifacts, historic sites, and structures in Avon Lake. Contents include minutes, agendas, newspaper articles, photos, correspondence, newsletters, and program flyers.
Kiwanis Club of Avon Lake (1946 – 2015)
The records acquired were in the custody of various club officers, with the bulk of the records stored in the Kiwanis cabinet with the Club's meeting supplies. The records were turned over to the Library by deed of gift in the fall of 2015 by president Russell Henderson, with most of the records to be kept and processed by Gerry Vogel at the Avon Lake Public Library in consultation with longtime member/officer Eileen Wozniak.
Lake Shore Women’s Club (1870 – 2015)
The Lake Shore Union Society was the first and longest-serving organization in Avon Lake. When the club merged with the Avon Lake Historical Society in 2015, the collection was donated to the Avon Lake Historical Society to be housed in the Marybelle Arnold North Coast History Room at the Library.
Pollution Polly and Consumer Connie (1972–1975)
The collection features Avon Lake Press newspaper columns entitled “Small Thoughts”, written by “Pollution Polly” and “Connie Consumer,” pseudonyms of Avon Lake resident Kathryn (Kate or Kay) B. McClellan.
Save the Woods
In January 2003, a group of concerned citizens, spearheaded by then-councilman Zuber, came up with a plan to preserve green space in the heart of Avon Lake. The Save the Woods collection contains newspaper clippings, letters, flyers, maps, and photographs that document the history or life of the Save the Woods Committee of Avon Lake.
Avon Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Contents includes newspaper articles, certificates, correspondence, membership lists, and other items related to the Avon Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 8796, from 1964 to 2008.
Village of Avon Lake Non-Conforming Signs
The Village of Avon Lake: Non-Conforming Signs collection is a photographic record of the outdoor signs in Avon Lake, OH, that were outside of the legal size. The collection includes [#] black-and-white photos, as well as a 1957 color calendar from Avon Lake Feed Mill.