Restoration

NEW FRONT DOOR INSTALLED
The door, sidelights, and transom for the new front of the Tremont House have been delivered and installed.  The door, custom made to be period correct, has a modern advantage:  one sidelight is hinged so it can be opened to allow larger objects to be moved in and out of the building. Saturday’s installation was done by Wilhelm Construction and museum volunteers. A generous grant from the Sandusky County Communities Foundation covered the cost of the door, sidelights and transom.  Installation costs were covered by an anonymous donor.  

Part of Phase I of the Tremont House Project, the Society is working to reclaim and restore the building which anchors our downtown.   The Tremont House is downtown Bellevue’s only building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Last year, steel beams were installed to bring the building up to current code requirements, with help from Thomas Steel.  New windows are in place, replicating the 6-over-6 paned windows that were original to the building (one original window remains on the third floor).   A new front wall was built under the porches, in its original position.

Next, a new porch will be built and columns installed at street level.  Work is being done as funds become available.  The building is paid for and no moneys are being borrowed to fund the project.    

When renovations are complete, the building will house the Museum’s collection of artifacts that showcase the history of Bellevue, from businesses to schools to its people and the events that shaped their lives.  

Thank you to all the donors, sponsors, and supporters who help us in our endeavor to bring this old building back to life as a part of Historic Downtown Bellevue.  

The Tremont House was built in 1846 as a stagecoach stop for the westward expansion, on the west edge of the Firelands and the Western Reserve.  It was on the Maumee Pike, a road that cut through the Black Swamp, now Route 20.  The Tremont House was modeled after a renowned hotel of the same name in Boston.  Although its use as a hotel declined quickly when the railroads came to Bellevue, the building had many lives as a dry goods store, several groceries, a cigar factory, and more.  There was even a saloon in the basement for a time.  The third-floor ballroom held many events, from a dance party hosted by Henry Flagler and two of his friends during his years in Bellevue, to lectures, to meetings of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other lodges.  Today’s residents remember it best as Leonard’s Pharmacy.  Co-owner Jean Leonard was a founding member of the Bellevue Historical Society.  For more information, go to www.bellevuehistoricalsociety.com, or www.tremonthouse.org.