Brooklyn Heights

With its favorable seasons and fertile soils, the northern Ohio frontier attracted settlers to the Western Reserve from the beginning of the nineteenth century. With a well-established agricultural heritage, “truck farming” became popular as wagons hauled produce to stands at the Central Market on Public Square in Cleveland around 1860. Thirty years later, to extend the growing season, Martin Ruetenik, who was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame, introduced the concept of greenhouse growing by constructing a 550-square foot greenhouse. Following his lead, nearly every farmer along Schaaf Road became a greenhouse farmer making Brooklyn Heights one of the leading greenhouse areas in the United States with over 4 million square feet or 100 acres “under glass.” With its concentration of greenhouse farming, Brooklyn Heights became synonymous with fine, high quality, greenhouse tomatoes.

[Side B]: Same