By Mary E. Mortimer
Logan County History Center
Jack Rexford “J.R.” Beatley moved from Columbus to Lakeview in 1913. He managed the Russells Point Hotel and delivered ice. In 1921, he built the Beatley Hotel on Orchard Island Road in Russells Point. Shortly after Beatley opened his new hotel, he met Miss Lillian Krouskop who managed the Post Office. They fell in love and were married on March 1, 1930.
The twelve-room Beatley Hotel first served fisherman and hunters. A short time later, a dining room and bar were added. As the demand for more rooms increased, the Beatleys added more rooms to bring their total to 65. They constructed a lounge, solariums and a large waterfront dining room that could seat 200 people. For their live-in employees, they built a dormitory for their waitresses and a separate facility for the young men to live in.Since the hotel and cottages were only open in the summer months, they hired many college students to work at the complex. They employed about 60 people during the Memorial Day to Labor Day season. The Beatleys spent the winter months in Miami, Florida where they got ideas for improving their hotel, such as adding neon and fluorescent lights.
As more people flocked to Indian Lake to enjoy the Sandy Beach Amusement Park, the Beatley’s expanded their dining room to seat three hundred people. They also constructed twenty-five cottages and added ten more guest rooms. Row boats with motors were available for guests to rent for 50 cents per day or $2.50 per week and they offered “all kinds of fishing tackle and bait at reasonable prices.” The Beatley Hotel was the first major hotel at Indian Lake to have hot and cold running water and flush toilets.
The Beatley’s on-the-Lake Resort soon became a popular place for social, civic and business meetings, weddings, honeymoons, dinner parties, and family gatherings. Many of the musicians that played at the Sandy Beach Amusement Park stayed there. Their distinguished guests included Orchestra leaders Guy Lombardo, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. Also, Sammy Kay, Ozzie Nelson, and several Ohio Governors were guests at Beatley’s Hotel.
Broadway singer, Libby Holman, stayed at Beatley’s Hotel in mid-July 1932. Earlier in the year, she married Smith Reynolds, heir to the R. J. Reynolds tobacco fortune. Smith Reynolds died of a gunshot wound under mysterious circumstances on July 6, 1932. Shortly after Reynold’s death, Holman registered at Beatley’s Hotel under the name “Libby Richter”. She came to the area to visit her friend Roscoe Ailes who resided at Artists Isle at Indian Lake. They met and became friends when they worked together on Broadway.
Starting around 1932, members of the 42nd U.S. Infantry “Rainbow Division” of Ohio began holding their annual convention at Beatley’s Hotel. The hotel was their permanent annual meeting place for over thirty years.
J.R. Beatley passed away January 18, 1945, and his wife, Lillian, and son Jack, continued to manage the hotel. At the time of his death, Beatley was also part owner of the Milner Hotel in Lima that was destroyed by fire ten days earlier.
In January 1952, the Logan County Home suffered a major fire leaving fifty-seven residents homeless. Some of those residents were taken to the Beatley Hotel until other arrangements were made.
Ohio Secretary of State Ted W. Brown set up his “traveling office” in September 1953 at the Beatley Hotel. He met with election officials from fourteen Ohio counties at the hotel.
By the mid-1950s, Beatleys advertised an 80-room hotel and 25 cottages. Hotel rates were $3.00 per day or $18.00 per week for double occupancy and included three meals. A special chicken dinner was served every Sunday from 11:30 to 1:30 in the hotel dining room for 75 cents per plate.
Boat rides on the Indian Princess were scheduled daily in the summer months from the Beatley Hotel dock. The resort featured the Sun & Sand Beach with various water slides and swings. They also had a grocery store on the grounds with “supplies of all kinds, including cigars, tobacco, candies, soft drinks, ice cream and sandwiches.”
For nearly fifty years, Beatley’s on-the-Lake enjoyed much success, and many wonderful memories were made staying at and visiting the resort. Around 1970, the Beatley family made the decision to close the hotel and resort. In 1972, all the buildings were razed, and the area then became Beatley’s Mobile Home Park.For more, visit the LCHC Facebook page.
Visit the Logan County History Center at 521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History.
The History Center is open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.