Shaker Heights by Bruce T. Marshall

Arcadia Publishing has just released a new book on Northeast Ohio as a part of their Images in America series. This one tells the story of Shaker Heights -- from its early days as a colony of the North Union Shakers to its present-day status as a culturely-diverse, tree-lined, inner-ring suburb of Cleveland.

Author Bruce T. Marshall, a writer based in Shaker Heights, a former parish minister, and a curator for the Museum of the Open Road, starts the tale with the early Shakers, a celibate society, best remembered today for their simple, utilitarian furnishings, who lived on over 1400 acres east of Cleveland.

The story continues after the Shakers disband in 1889, at the height of Cleveland's industrial development. Most of the Shaker land was purchased by the Mantis and Otis Van Sweringen, the pair responsible for building the Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland. The brothers laid out a plan for the suburb that included Shaker Square, the RTA train, public and private schools, and a variety of traditional-style homes.

Like all Arcadia Images of America books, the highlight of Shaker Heights is the hundreds of historic photos and illustrations, including many from the Shaker Historical Society and the Western Reserve Historical Society. Mr. Marshall's prose fits in nicely as the reader watches Shaker Heights grow from a religious farm community to the "Wealthiest Suburb in America" in the 1960s to the present-day culturely rich neighborhood.

Arcadia publishes dozens of books about Ohio and the rest of the United States, including the recently released titles: Cleveland's Playhouse Square and Cleveland Metroparks. These titles and other Cleveland history books can be found at Crooked River Bookstore in the Galleria and other Cleveland independent bookstores.

<sup>(Photo courtesy of Arcadia Publishing)

(Full disclosure: Sandy Mitchell in currently under contract to write a book for Arcadia Publishing about one of Cleveland's historic neighborhoods.)</sup>