The Breathtaking Mansion In Cleveland You Must Visit This Year
By Nikki Rhoades|Published November 16, 2022
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Once upon a time, Cleveland hosted some of the loveliest mansions in the nation. This stretch of luxury, known at the time as Millionaires’ Row, was absolutely unrivaled in the United States. It was wealthier than New York’s Fifth Avenue and more on par with lush Parisian avenues, and it was the type of place where you might bump into an industrialist or two. It was where John D. Rockefeller retired after a busy day and where Amasa Stone raised his daughter Clara, who would go on to live on the road herself after she married socialite John Hay. The wealth and beauty of Millionaires’ Row may be largely gone today, but it would ultimately be preserved by none other than Clara Hay. Her home, the Hay-McKinney Mansion in Cleveland, is now a museum that’s open to tours. Take a look:
When Mrs. Clara Hay was widowed, she set out to bring to life a mansion overflowing with the opulence of the Gilded Age.
John Milton Hay, her dearly departed husband, was a U.S. Secretary of State and diplomat that moved to Cleveland in 1875. Enchanted by Clara Louise Stone, he'd married her just a year earlier and moved to the city on her behalf... but he didn't love it. Though they lived on Millionaires' Row and enjoyed a bit of local fame, he was bored. By 1886, he moved Clara and their children to Washington D.C., where he campaigned for and befriended William McKinley. When he passed, he was interred at Lake View Cemetery... and it seems that Clara's visit to Cleveland sparked a desire to stay. She set her sights on Wade Oval and began building her dream home.
She spared no expense in the Italian Renaissance Revival home, and she even hired Abram Garfield (the youngest son of President Garfield) to bring it to life.
Abram Garfield, like John Hay, found himself traveling between Washington D.C. and Cleveland. After his father's passing, he moved to Cleveland and eventually established a local architectural firm. Garfield designed many stunning local homes, but the work on this mansion was doubtlessly some of his finest. Just look at that detail in the woodwork!
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The 20,000-square-foot mansion was completed in 1911, but Clara was traveling, and her sister passed just before that time. As a result, she never lived in the home she so lovingly crafted.
Clara, of course, was in Washington when the home was completed. Her only sibling, Flora Stone Mather, had died in 1909, and Clara doubtlessly found herself feeling rather alone in her former home city. After all, with her parents, husband, and sister gone, Cleveland just didn't have the same appeal. Clara would ultimately pass just three years after her home was completed, and she'd join her family and her beloved at their eternal resting place: Lake View Cemetery.
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The beautiful mansion was tended to by servants and groundskeepers for a full five years before a family finally moved in.
In that time, the stunning home was never loved as it was meant to be. Ultimately, the century-old building would only have a family living within its walls for a total of nine years.
In 1916, the home was purchased by Price McKinney of Corrigan-Mckinney Steel Co.
After a half decade of existence, the opulent Wade Oval mansion was finally about to host its first residents. However, history would have it that these were its only residents. From 1916 to 1925, the family made themselves at home amidst the 20,000 square feet of space.
The McKinney family, including Price's wife Lucy and three children (Corrigan "Rigan," Elizabeth, and Price Jr.), called the beautiful estate their home for nine memorable years.
Lucy Dwyer McKinney was born more than 22 years after her husband, so it's possible that she considered the possibility of outliving Mr. McKinney. Nonetheless, the couple had children within two years of marriage, and they set out to build a fruitful life together. Incidentally, their youngest was born the very year that the home they'd come to occupy was finished.
While the home was doubtlessly full of love, Price McKinney was ousted from his company in 1919, and he took his own life in 1926.
It's possible that life grew stressful after McKinney was forced to walk away from his company. For some reason, the couple and their children had moved out of the house in 1925, though they still owned it.
The family likely had little interest in revisiting the home where they'd made so many memories, so it sat vacantly.
Unfortunately, tragedy was bound to strike this young family once again. Price McKinney Sr. intended for his will to be fully divided amongst his children when the youngest turned 25. Unfortunately, the youngest, Price Jr., died at 24 years of age. In 1937, the Lake County Probate Court had to step in to decide how to divide the remaining assets. Lucy McKinney and their two children, Rigan McKinney and Elizabeth McKinney McIntosh, acquired their shares of Price McKinney's property that year.
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Finally, in 1938, the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) purchased the home from Lucy McKinney. Today, it is retained as a part of the Cleveland History Center, and it's open to the public.
WRHS furnished the beautiful home with items from the era, reflecting what it might have looked like during the McKinney family's stay. To this day, it's open to tour on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with 12 slots allotted for each visit. Touring the Hay-McKinney Mansion is always a treat, as the space offers a glimpse into the lives of some of the people that built Cleveland.
Want to experience the majesty of this home for yourself? Make time in the coming months to take a Guided tour of the Hay-McKinney Mansion in Cleveland.
The stunning Hay-McKinney Mansion in Cleveland has quite the story to tell. In addition to capturing one of Cleveland’s wealthiest moments in time, the historic home is filled to the brim with the Western Reserve Historical Society’s antiques. It is a treat to visit, and it’s a reminder of the wealth Cleveland once knew.
Want to learn more about wealth in Cleveland over the years? Check out our article on the Clevelanders with the greatest net worth to learn more about how these individuals have helped to shape our city.
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