In 1925, the Ohio Legislature approved the purchase of about 700 acres to establish a lake and state park at Guilford. Hard economic times came. By the early 1930's, only about 500 acres had been acquired, enough land to contain the reservoir but not much more. The old dam, built during Sandy and Beaver Canal days, was soon restored and the lake once again was flooded. Most of the close in-private
lands were allotted to small plots of land which quickly sold for cottages and summer homes. Outside this fringe, most of the farmers retained their ancestral lands. An exception to housing development occurred in two areas: Whinnery's and Clewell's Landings. Clewell's Landing was established in 1933 and has remained in operation since -- first as a boat landing/fishing camp and dairy farm, now primarily as a combined, seasonal park/camp and preserve. It is the oldest such operating facility at Guilford Lake and enjoys a format which someone once described as more "laid-back" than "lined-up." Pre-War Years: The original 'Clewell' of Clewell's Landing (great grandfather of the present manager) was an avid conservationist, fisherman, and bird-lover. He was a son of the pioneer musician, Lawrence Alexander Clewell, of nearby Canton, Ohio. Apprenticed to a machinist at age 13, great grandfather left the school for a wintery rail yard where he dipped frozen iron bolts in kerosene and cleaned them of rust with his bare hands. He developed a keen sense of humor and loved children, animals, trees, and fishing with a cane pole. He taught himself, reading everything, and became a master machinist. By 1935, he and great grandmother were ready to 'retire' at Guilford Lake where they had established a small boat landing. From the bottom of the old camp house, he rented oars for the new, wooden row boats (built by hand) and sold bait, candy, and "pop" as well as "puffin' and squirtin' tobacco". The lake area teemed with natural life. Motor boats were not permitted. Fishing at the lake was carefully controlled and prohibited each year until the 4th of July. Anticipating the start of each season, hundreds of fisherman (and sometimes their sons) arrived early to get a spot. At the signal bomb, everyone cast out. By the 1940's, seven boat landings were active. War Years: Great grandfather's two sons, Lawrence ('Bunny') [grandfather] and Gene [great uncle], went off to war in the 40's. While they were gone, Lawrence's wife (Alice Gamble Clewell) [grandmother] bought the neighboring farm. Lawrence returned, and they established a dairy farm which operated through the 50's. These same years saw a decline in fishing activities at Guilford, and the water fowl left. Some said it was because motorboats were being permitted or "poor lake management". Others blamed DDT, a pesticide developed during the war, and "weed killing chemicals", which farmers were encouraged to use, or "pollution" from the cottages. A number of remedies were proposed and tried. Finally, by 1978, a modern sewer district had been established --largely through the efforts of such men as Commissioner Chuck Gause (who were bitterly opposed by many of the cottage owners and some of the farmers). During this period, Lawrence's two sons, Robert [father] and Chris [uncle], saw service in Vietnam. Recent history: By the 1980's the quality of water in Guilford had improved dramatically. Neither great grandfather nor his son 'Bunny' (grandfather), nor their wives had lived to see this. With their passing, Robert Lawrence Clewell II (father of current manager) acquired the neighboring farm. About this time, Gene Clewell, to whom the ownership of Clewell's Landing had passed some years before, faced a turning-point which led him to sell the camp to Robert, his nephew. A problem faced Guilford which had to do with the earthen dam; it seemed rather old, the soil in it was sandy, and the spillway which had served about 50 years was too narrow. These factors, taken together, reduced the "margin of safety". It was believed that sooner or later a big rain or two might raise the lake level enough to burst the dam. In 1983, the dam was refaced, thickened, raised and given a much wider and more efficient spillway. (This structure is so efficient that it keeps the lake pool on average down a few inches from where it previously stood). Concurrently, Clewell's Landing Camp modernized with sewer lines and a water supply system. Succeeding years have brought more improvement to the state park, surrounding area, and Clewell's Landing Camp, LLC. Current: Clewell's Landing Camp is managed by 4th generation Clewell's, Lucian and Paul. Lucian is the primary manager and Paul assumes a "behind the scenes" role and substitutes for Lucian as needed. Kathryn Clewell, Lucian's wife, also assists with management of the campground, farm and surrounding property.
