Submitted by eriepics t3_y15jlq in Pennsylvania
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ERIE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - Hidden away deep in an undisclosed location, amongst a mature hardwood forest and heavy ground cover of white snakeroot, there exists an uninhabited 1920’s Tudor-style mansion. Sunlight through the trees occasionally illuminates parts of the stucco and brick walls as a reminder of its previous life and prosperous days. The old home, once known as “the headquarters,” or “the cottage,” speaks to your imagination, telling fascinating stories of an era characterized by speakeasies, glamour, and gangsters… a period of time in which even the average citizen was known to break the law.
Prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned the sale, manufacture and transportation of liquor in the United States. In Canada, however, liquor was legal.
Enter “T.”
The following story was told to me by T’s son, “R.”
T was born in 1903, somewhere in Pennsylvania or Michigan. He was known as best boat driver on the Detroit River and was subsequently recruited by Detroit’s Purple Gang. During Prohibition, T moved to Erie County, where he purchased a house from a nearby neighbor and built several additional rooms, building this beautiful Tudor-style lakefront home. It was specifically designed to quickly move liquor from the nearby creek to hiding places underground.
“It was all boats and whiskey,” said “R”, T’s son. The speedboats with 12-cylinder Liberty aircraft engines, nicknamed “Jardines” (Spanish for gardens), were manufactured in the “Garden” state of New Jersey. On flat water, they could make their way from Erie County to Port Dover, Ontario in less than an hour. For over a decade, T would run booze 3-4 days in a row (if the weather was right); then lay low for a few days. The official shipping manifests indicated the whiskey was destined for Jamaica or Cuba. Multiple trips per day between Port Dover, Ontario and Cuba were met with a wink and a nod by Canadians who were eager to sell and were most certainly aware the cargo was actually headed for the southern shore of Lake Erie.
T’s speedboats crossed Lake Erie bringing back concealed Canadian whiskey. Almost unbelievable stories are told of fast boats, vast profits, international bandits, dodging authorities on both sides of the lake, gun fights, and even the occasional intrusion of organized crime.
R describes his father this way: “He was a real adventurer, a character, he enjoyed everything. He didn’t do it for the money; he did it for the adventure.”
By 1933, when Prohibition ended, T had become an esteemed local boat builder. A boat works started as a boat livery and rental at first. Then TC built a small factory, 15 cottages, and a snack bar on the beach. R fondly remembers working for his father, the fresh smell of popcorn at this snack bar. Almost immediately after opening his shop, customers began asking T if they could buy his boats, he began building them for sale and sought out dealers in the tri-state area, making it a successful business. The last boat was made in 1960 and bears the hull number 3219. Today, these boats are highly sought-after collectors’ items.
T, a consummate businessman, succeeded in a variety of ventures in the 1940’s and 1950’s, but of all his endeavors, the boat works was what allowed him to pursue his love for adventure… and passion for wooden boats.
T passed away in 1955. He’s buried at Lakeside Cemetery in Erie, PA.
Belonging to an earlier time, this unique and beautiful home – what you see here – is all that remains. The memories created here will live on forever.
Bill Nesgoda and William Cornman are contributors to this photo collection and article.
For a behind the scenes tour, visit: https://www.eriephotographer.com/undisclosed/.
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For a behind the scenes pass, visit: https://www.eriephotographer.com/undisclosed/.
[deleted] t1_irvhlcw wrote
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