Learn more about Amherst’s early history and founding
Shupe Homestead Overview
Jacob Shupe (1778-1832) and his wife Catharine (1780-1871) came to the area of what would become Amherst (then part of Black River Township in Huron County), with their family and a hired carpenter, Ralph Lyons, in 1810, from Pennsylvania. By 1811 they permanently settled on what is today known as the Historic Shupe Homestead. The Shupes purchased several hundred acres of land, and in one deed, it states that the property “encompassed the waters of Beaver Creek.” The Shupes settled on this site, constructing a very crude, rough log house for a temporary dwelling, where they attached their covered wagon to add a bit more space. They were the parents of the first native-born pioneer child in Amherst, Betsy.
Early histories state that in 1811, he and his hired carpenter, constructed the first sawmill in this area. It was an early, up-and-down sash-style sawmill, powered off of Beaver Creek. A millrace was cut across the floodplain of Beaver Creek, from one end of the Creek’s channel to the other, through land of what is today between Cooper Foster Park Road and North Main Street. They also selected logs for the Shupe frame house, and worked simultaneously on that endeavor. The main beams of this early post-and-beam style construction house are hand-hewn, which at that time was actually a more efficient way to raise a structure.
No tax records were kept that early, but Shupe’s house is listed on the earliest Huron County, then Lorain County records, respectively. At the time, this area was a part of Huron County, as Lorain County would not be created until 1822. Huron County’s boundary originally met Cuyahoga County at the middle of the Black River. Lorain County was carved from Cuyahoga, Huron, and Medina Counties. Tax records (for land) go back to 1815 in Huron County, and as part of my in-depth research efforts, I closely studied those at the Norwalk Courthouse. But, houses were still not taxed, or at least noted, on those records, until 1819. Shupe’s house appears on those records, but it was constructed before that time, c. 1812. (We are confident of this, having studied other similar early settlement areas.) The Shupe family, having eleven children in all, certainly made it necessary for the frame house to be finished as quickly as possible.
By 1813, he expanded the sawmill with the addition of a gristmill. Both were powered off of the same undershot waterwheel powered off of Beaver Creek. The Creek was a more powerful stream and had more constant flow at the time, for various reasons. The millrace, excavated across the valley, which directed the water’s flow, was quite effective in powering these “thundershower mills.” Grist stones used to grind the grain were hand-carved of granite boulders (Canadian Shield bedrock), which began as large glacial erratic boulders pushed here from Canada by the glaciers, thousands of years ago. The grist stone monument that stood at Amherst’s old Central School from 1934-2013, originated from Shupe’s mill and is now “back home” at the Shupe Homestead. By 1815, Jacob Shupe began a distillery operation. These mills spurred development in this area, making it more practical for early settlers to live here, as other closest mills were located at the Huron River or Chagrin Falls – a journey the duration of three days.
Jacob Shupe was killed on June 9, 1832 at the age of 54 when a timber fell on him as he was making an extension to his mill. His funeral was held in the Shupe house, as was customary in those early days. He was buried in the Cleveland Street Cemetery. Mr. Shupe’s original gravestone of sandstone was later removed from the Cemetery and replaced by the present monument (where he and his wife Catharine are both named on the same stone), after his wife passed away at nearly 91 years of age (certainly an accomplishment for that time). She operated the mills after his death and later lived with youngest son Isaac and his wife Minerva. The original gravestone was given to Isaac Shupe. It was found near their house, which still stands today, originally off of Elyria Avenue, now accessed by Shupe Avenue. It was acquired by a local historian and later donated for preservation at the Shupe Homestead.
Today, the Nahorn family owns and are caretakers of the Shupe Homestead. Particularly, Matt Nahorn has grown up on and proudly manages the historic property. He continues to work to accurately historically restore the original house and maintain the property of twenty acres, which is protected by a land conservation easement, held in cooperation between the Nahorn family and Western Reserve Land Conservancy. For over 200 years, the Homestead’s primary use has remained a private residence.
Shupe Homestead photo gallery
Jacob Shupe’s original gravestone was removed from his Cleveland St. Cemetery grave when it was replaced by a single stone that memorializes both Jacob and his wife Catharine. This marker was given to Jacob’s youngest son Isaac, who also lived in Amherst. It was restored and now rests at the Shupe Homestead. In 1973, Col. Vietzen located and photographed the stone for an upcoming publication.
Hand-cut sandstone blocks comprise the original foundation of Amherst’s Shupe Homestead. These came from a sandstone outcropping or ledge quarry that was part of the original vast acreage owned by Shupe, near the corner of Milan Ave. and Quarry Rd. This property was later sold to Joseph Quigley.
Original floor joists at the Shupe Homestead are trees, with bark still remaining. These joists only needed one flat side to accept the flooring, so in order to get the house constructed as quickly as possible, Shupe elected not to square off most of the joists.
Col. Nahorn beside an original runnerstone mill buhr from Shupe’s grist mill, c.1813. The mill was located across the road from the Shupe Homestead. The griststone and its base stood as a monument at the Central School in Amherst from 1934 – 2013, when it was moved back to the Shupe Homestead. The griststone is hand-carved of an ancient glacial erratic granite boulder, pushed here from Canada d