Josh E. Probert and Dr. Larry C. Porter, Church History and Doctrine

I spent 10 days in Northeastern Ohio and Western New York this summer researching Peter French and his property which was purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1833. While in Ohio I visited several historical repositories including the Western Reserve Historical Society, Lake County Historical Society, and the Morley Public Library in Painesville. Altogether, the research project was successful. The information obtained will be extremely valuable to the LDS Church Historical Department whom I will report to in an oral presentation on September 15, 1998.

Peter French and his 1813 inn played significant roles in the Kirtland period of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The inn, located diaganolly to the Newel K. Whitney store in the Kirtland Flats, was a social center of Kirtland.  Important events include the displaying of Michael Chandler’s mummies and papyrus, the printing press, first patriarch and patriarchal blessings, and gathering point for the Twelve Apostles’ first mission in 1835.

A group of 48 men purchased a large portion of northeastern Ohio the state of Connecticut. These men son joined together and formed the Connecticut Land Company. Altogether they purchased the land for $1,200,200. Each share of the company was worth $4,000. General Moses Cleaveland was the first surveyor sent to divide the land into measurable units. Hence, the city of Cleveland received its name. (Although the “a” has been lost.) The land was divided into three levels of quality. Kirtland ranked in the lowest category called “equalizing townships.” More surveyors and land agents came soon thereafter laying claim to the land of this new frontier.

One of the original 48 men, Thomas Sheldon, procured a man named David Abbot to assist him settling in the Western Reserve. The offer was enticing because the first man to build a grist mill in this new frontier would be awarded $200 or a $500 loan with 6% interest. Peter French, originally from New York State, was hired by Abbot to survey land and settle in the Western Reserve. They arrived at the Chagrin River on March 22, 1798. They first built a cabin and then planted some corn, potatoes and “garden sass” in the old trading post clearing. Next they started on the mill. Completed in the fall, this was the first mill to operate in the Western Reserve, and a welcome addition it must have been to the pioneers.

In 1799 we find Peter French near Abbot’s settlement in Mantua. French cleared a piece of land (about the center of the northwest quarter of lot no. 240) and planted wheat. He also cleared another piece of land near this one (lot no. 39). A man by the name of Rufus Edwards took possession of this parcel of land in the spring of 1799. After clearing and planting these lands in present-day Portage county, French left Mantua and returned north. It is unsure if French planned on staying in Mantua or not, but he had moved to Mentor, approximately 30 miles north, by harvest time.

One of the reasons French may have stayed near Erie’s shore was Sally Russel from nearby Painesville. He married Sally on July 15, 1804. Some have speculated that Sally may have been a second wife due to their age difference. They were married by Timonthy Doon, justice of the peace in Cleveland. French settled in Willoughby, to the north-west of Kirtland about 1799, only a year after his arrival in the Western Reserve. Christopher Crary, Kirtland’s pioneer settler, said that after moving to Willoughby, French soon moved to Kirtland. (Some records recall Willoughby and some recall Mentor as the town French settled in before moving to Kirtland. Since Willoughby and Mentor are bordering towns it is accepted that he settled north of Kirtland.) There he and Isaac Moore jointly purchased lots 29,20, 17, and 20 south of the East Branch of the Chagrin River. Upon settling , he built a double log house on the northeast corner before constructing the large brick inn. Later French bought out Moore’s share of the Kirtland property. Included in this property was a brick yard and kiln French had constructed. A 20th century reporter referred to French as the “Vanderbilt of the Flats.”

Census records show French having a large family: four boys and four girls, at least up to eight children in 1830. When French finished the brick building in 1813 he would have had four boys and three girls ranging in age from infant to adult.

In 1813 French built a two story house which became the first brick building in Kirtland. This large house began functioning as a hotel in 1826 or 1827. The inn was located on Chillicothe Road. This was an ideal business location because Chillicothe was a main north-south thoroughfare.

In 1833 the Church purchased the inn from French along with other land he owned, including the temple plot. The land was mortgaged to Joseph Smith for $5,000. In 1834 the United Order was dissolved and the inn was given to John Johnson, who managed it (Doctrine and Covenants 104:34). During its years of LDS possession the inn was the backdrop of important historical events. The Twelve Apostles left from here in for their first mission on May 4, 1835. In December of 1833 the first patriarchal blessings were administered by Joseph Smith Sr. along with his calling as patriarch. After the destruction of the printing press in Jackson County, Missouri, the Evening and Morning Star was printed in the Johnson Inn. In the 1830’s the inn served as a museum of sorts. The Egyptian mummies and papyrus scrolls which Joseph Smith obtained from Michael Chandler were displayed here.

Details of the Structure:

“Battlements crowned the front wall and over a large front door was a fan window, the last of its kind in this section. The hall contained two exquisitely wrough iron lanterns with etched amber lights and the inscription “Cash Exchange” in large letters on the front wall could be easily distinguished before the fire.” (Lake County Herald May 13, 1915)
“Fireplace in every room, nine-foot ceilings and a ballroom on a third floor.” (Lewis Schupp in The Plain Dealer March 13, 1961.)
Schupp remembers being able to read paint remains of ‘Cash & Exchange’ painted on the walls to advertise the bank. Those wall were 22 inches thick and in the basement was a root cellar so perfect that cider kept five years without turning to vinegar.” (News Herald March 7, 1961)