Tuesday, February 17, 2015

An Unsolved Murder

On the morning of February 17, 1921 two school teachers, Miss Mabel Foote and Miss Louise Wolf were were found murdered on Bean Road in Parma. It was believed they were  beaten to death the previous night while on their way home from Parma High School. The crime remains unsolved to this day.
Louise Wolf
Mabel Foote
New York Times February 19, 1921
Plain Dealer, February 18, 1921
New London (Conn) Evening Day, February 19, 1921.
This fountain is in a small park named for the slain teachers,off Pearl Road, just above the zoo. The park has been in serious disrepair for years, photo from August 1, 1993.

at

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 22, 2016 at 12:06 AM

    Is Bean Road currently West Ridgewood Road? Do you know exactly where this murder occurred?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Frank DuttonApril 22, 2016 at 7:32 AM

    I'm not sure of the exact location, this area is drastically different now, back then it was rural farm country, today a crumbling suburb.

    ReplyDelete
  3. robJuly 8, 2017 at 12:21 PM

    Hi Frank,

    Thanks for putting together this very interesting compilation of articles about this terrible murder. I had come across a brief mention of it in my genealogical searches, but didn't know any details. Mabel Foote is an ancestor of my family. The scene seems indeed to correspond with the present West Ridgewood Drive. Parma high school is now located on 54th St. about 3/4 of a mile north of Ridgewood. Not so sure I would call this a "crumbling suburb" however. It is a highly residential neighborhood with lots of middle-class homes and a number of lowrise apartment buildings. Kind of stagnant growth-wise and otherwise, but stable.

    I see that you have a lot of interest in railroads and railroad memorabilia esp in the Cleveland area. My great grandfather John Walter, died in an 'accident' of some sort in 1897 at Willow Station in Cleveland near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Do you know how I could find out details about this incident? I believe railroads kept fairly detailed records about the numerous deaths and other accidents that occurred on their lines but don't know where to start looking. Also, I don't know if there is any newspaper account of this incident or whether there was a settlement with the family either of which would leave historical traces.

    Thanks for the blog.

    ReplyDelete