On a knoll at the highest point in the Village of Chagrin Falls sits a very old home dating back 175 years—back to 1844, when Chagrin Falls was first incorporated as a village. Atop Grove Hill, along an old brick road remains the Alfred-Adams House—named for its history with local and national figures Charles Sears and Alfred Adams. Throughout its 175 years of life, the house has collected quite a bit of interesting history.

The home was built in 1844 in the Greek Revival architectural style, and is one of the oldest and last remaining Greek Revival homes in the region with a two story colonnaded façade.

It all started with Charles Sears—a man of great importance to the history of Chagrin Falls. Sears was a land owner, planner, business owner and investor, and had contributed greatly to the founding of the Village of Chagrin Falls. Of the 210 acres of land that encompassed the settlement of Chagrin Falls, Sears purchased 162 from 1834 to 1836. In 1837, Sears got together with other land owners B. H. Bosworth and Thomas Fowler, and laid out the Village of Chagrin Falls. They laid out placement for the public square, measured lot, street and alley locations, and named streets. Seeing the need for a cemetery Sears also designated 2 lots on North Main Street as the first Chagrin Falls “burying place.” These lots are now known as Grove Hill Cemetery. Sears continued to invest in numerous other companies and projects including his interest in the Chagrin Falls Paper Company, which formerly sat along what is now known as Riverside Park. The company was originally a paper mill built by Noah Graves in 1840. Upon his investment to Graves in 1842, they renamed it to the Graves & Sears Company, and would produce fine writing paper and wrapping paper. Sears left the company in 1843, and joined Z. Brinsmade to manufacture printing paper under the name Sears & Brinsmade. Sears later partnered with Thomas White, changing the name to Sears & White, operating for three years until the mill ceased operation. He then sold off parcels of his land holdings throughout the village. Sears had also leased water rights, which he owned along the Chagrin River. He continued to invest in other projects, including the Chagrin Falls and Cleveland Plank Road Company, and even served as Justice of the Peace in Chagrin Falls. Finally in 1844 when the village of Chagrin Falls was incorporated, at the age of 34 years old, Sears built a home overlooking the village.

It lived the first 34 years of its life as the home of Charles Sears, his mother Adocia Taylor, and sister Electa Sears. He married in November 1850 at the age of 40 years old to Eliza Ann Branch. Unfortunately, Sears died only shortly after in 1851, and was buried in the Grove Hill Cemetery. He was buried next to his sister Electa. Both graves remain today.

The home was eventually purchased by Alfred Adams in 1878. Adams’ ancestors were prominent among the founders of the Western Reserve. Adams was also known for creating the Adams Bag Company Paper Mill and Sack Factory, which also stands abandoned to this day. With a quick drive around Chagrin Falls, you may see the old smoke stacks looming over town. The Adams Bag Company had become the largest factory of its kind by 1887. The factory produced manila rope paper bags during World War I, which held shipments of flour and cereal products. By 1919, the factory was producing 30 million bags annually.

In 1927, the home was purchased by Windsor Hospital, and became the second site for the hospital. Additional buildings were constructed to create the sanitarium complex. The former home operated as the administration building for this branch of the Windsor psychiatric facility. This second site, known as Linden Hall initially focused on offering postoperative care for patients.

In its early years, things didn’t look so great for the hospital. It was closed in 1929 only two years after opening, shortly after the stock market crash. It did however reopen in 1932 as Windsor Hospital 2, under Edmund Sihler.

The hospital used hydrotherapy to treat first typhoid fever and nervous disorders, followed later by the treatment of psychiatric patients. The original hospital location in Cleveland mainly cared for state psychiatric patients, while the Chagrin Falls location focused mostly on private patients. Over the years, they shifted focus numerous times—first in the 1950s to short-term care, and later in the 1980s implementing a developmental school for adolescents, focusing heavily on chemical dependency treatment. In the 1980s, Saint Luke’s Medical Center attempted a partnership with Windsor proposing the construction of a $20 million, 143-bed hospital on the Windsor Hospital site. Unfortunately the plan was abandoned in 1984 due to a large downturn in the local hospital industry. The Windsor complex in Chagrin Falls operated for 78 years until closing permanently in 2005. The entire property was purchased in 2007 by a developer, and again sold in 2012 to a couple who made numerous renovations. The structure was then left to continue to fall into further disrepair, and the city looked to demolish it since no buyers were stepping up.  In 2013, the structure was brought back to life when Auburn-based developer Robert Micco signed a purchase agreement to buy the 21-acre property. In partnership with Gary Spaeth  of Manorbrook Homes Inc. they built 32 homes on the property. The home now sits in front of the neighborhood, which sits along Falls Walk Way and Pear Tree Circle. 

OHIO’S FORGOTTEN HISTORY PARTS 1 & 2:

My 6th and 7th books, and first two in a series of books showcasing Ohio’s abandoned and forgotten history. The house shown in this blog post is one of the places featured in part 2. Orders for my abandoned Ohio books are currently open, and you can find more info about the books at either link below:

Part 1 – HERE

Part 2 – HERE

Both books can be ordered together as a bundle on either page.

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