Charles W. Chesnutt to The Treasurer of Geauga County, 23 October 1922
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October 23, 1922
The Treasurer of Geauga County,
Chardon, Ohio.1
Dear Sir:
Will you kindly advise me of the amount of taxes due or about to become due upon the land of the Chester Cliffs Company in Chester Township,2 and oblige?3
Yours very truly, President of the Chester Cliffs Company. CWC/FL1. Chardon, Ohio, is the county seat of Geauga County, which in 1920 had about 15,000 inhabitants. [back]
2. A reference to the Chester Cliffs Club, a small stockholding corporation founded in September 1903 by Chesnutt and ten friends who were "stockholders," in order to purchase 11 acres of land near Chesterland, Ohio, 20 miles from Cleveland in northwestern Geauga County, to spend their summers away from the city. Summer cottages were built by three of the parties, and in 1916 the Chesnutts purchased one of these. Stockholder meetings were called every fall, even as eventually, only three families seem to have remained: the Chesnutts, the Donaheys (who were living in Chicago after 1905), and the Counts. In 1921, Frank Counts (1881–?), a Cleveland lawyer who was the longtime secretary and treasurer of the Club, and his wife Eulalie (Eula) (1869–1942) sold a lot with a cottage to Mary Ellen Delahunte (1870–1951) without consulting the other members, causing conflicts about property tax and upkeep for years. Shortly afterwards, Chesnutt, as the club president, took on the responsibility of reminding members of tax payments and calling the annual meeting. The corporation was never legally dissolved. [back]
3. No response from the Treasurer of Geauga County has survived. On this same day, Chesnutt also wrote to G. R. Hanna at the Geauga County Surveyor's office about the Chester Cliffs Club property lines. [back]
2. A reference to the Chester Cliffs Club, a small stockholding corporation founded in September 1903 by Chesnutt and ten friends who were "stockholders," in order to purchase 11 acres of land near Chesterland, Ohio, 20 miles from Cleveland in northwestern Geauga County, to spend their summers away from the city. Summer cottages were built by three of the parties, and in 1916 the Chesnutts purchased one of these. Stockholder meetings were called every fall, even as eventually, only three families seem to have remained: the Chesnutts, the Donaheys (who were living in Chicago after 1905), and the Counts. In 1921, Frank Counts (1881–?), a Cleveland lawyer who was the longtime secretary and treasurer of the Club, and his wife Eulalie (Eula) (1869–1942) sold a lot with a cottage to Mary Ellen Delahunte (1870–1951) without consulting the other members, causing conflicts about property tax and upkeep for years. Shortly afterwards, Chesnutt, as the club president, took on the responsibility of reminding members of tax payments and calling the annual meeting. The corporation was never legally dissolved. [back]
3. No response from the Treasurer of Geauga County has survived. On this same day, Chesnutt also wrote to G. R. Hanna at the Geauga County Surveyor's office about the Chester Cliffs Club property lines. [back]
