The details surrounding a boarding house at 1759 Broadway Road in Lorain are limited. According to the Green Book, Mrs. Porter Woods ran a tourist home at 1759 Broadway from 1939 to 1967. Although there was a Mrs. Porter Woods at this location, Geneva Woods passed away in 1935 before the tourist home made its way into the Green Book. It is unclear as to whether someone else was running a tourist home at that location, such as her daughter-in-law Donnie Woods or Porter Woods himself.
There is some limited evidence of boarders living at this location over the years. A Lorain Journal article stated that 1759 Broadway Road was a boarding house prior to the Woods family taking ownership of the property in 1919. According to the 1920 Census, there were no boarders living at this address. In 1920, Porter Woods, his wife Geneva, and son James were listed on the census along with Porter’s mother-in-law Della Harris and brother-in-law Claude Harris. The 1930 Census continued to list Porter, Geneva, and James at this location; however, Della Harris was no longer listed, and Claude Harris was listed as a roomer. It is likely Claude Harris was listed as a roomer on the 1930 Census because he helped pay rent for the property. The 1940 Census lists Porter Woods with two lodgers Anna Brown and Emma Walk at 1759 Broadway Road. There is further evidence in the 1940s that there were boarders at this location because in 1941 the Call & Post recorded that a man named William Hooks who was stationed at Fort Huachuca listed 1759 Broadway Road in Lorain as his address. There was no written evidence of boarders at this location in the 1950s and 1960s, but boarding could have very well continued at this location. It is difficult to know when boarding began at 1759 Broadway in Lorain and when it ended due to limited evidence of boarding at this location.
See also Wood’s Social Inn.
Green Book Details
Mrs. Porter Wood appears in the Green Book from 1939 to 1967 at 1759 Broadway in Lorain under the category Tourist Homes.
Resources
- Wilson, Isabell. “Fort Huachuca.” Call and Post, June 28, 1941.
- Woods, Porter. 1920 United States Federal Census. Lorain, Lorain, Ohio. Enumeration District 0021. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
- Woods, Porter. 1930 United States Federal Census. Lorain, Lorain, Ohio. Enumeration District 0024. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
- Woods, Porter. 1940 United States Federal Census. Lorain, Lorain, Ohio. Enumeration District 47-30. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012.
- “Woods Was Steel Worker.” The Lorain Journal. June 21, 1955.