Discovering Hessler Court: Cleveland’s Unique Wooden Road

Visualizing a wooden road probably leads to images of wooden planks spread across the surface, sturdy enough for cars to drive on. While technically this would be a wooden road, it isn’t at all what Hessler Court, Cleveland’s only remaining wooden road looks like at all. Instead, the road is paved with rectangular wooden blocks, and you have to look closely for the grain pattern that differentiates them from brick.

Hessler Court in Cleveland, Ohio

Hessler Court, sometime called Hessler Street, runs between Hessler Road to the south and Bellflower Road to the north, and is paved with blocks made of Norfolk pine. The small road is approximately 275 feet long and 19.5 feet wide, and consists of around 19,000 of those wood blocks. (As well as some bricks, in places where the city had to quickly patch up potholes.)

At the time the road and surrounding houses (between 1907 and 1927) were built, there were other wooden paved roads in Cleveland. The wood, mostly Norfolk pine, chosen for its sturdiness, was seasoned with creosote and then chopped into blocks that were mounted on end. The result was a durable road that was easy to maintain. This was the main method of paving back in the 1870s.

However, over time the wooden blocks were removed and replaced with brick, with the exception of Hessler Court, which to this day maintains its original paving materials. It’s believed that the small street was designed to be a driveway for Emory Melton Hessler’s house, although the road was deeded to the city in 1908, turned over for public use. The house still stands at the corner of Hessler Road and Hessler Court. Its address is 11333 Hessler Road.

Who Was Emory Melton Hessler?

The namesake of Hessler Court, Emory Melton Hessler was born in 1843 in New York state. He served in the 1^st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery during the Civil War, enlisting on August 28, 1862. He served on the regiments hospital staff until he was mustered out on May 11, 1865.

He and his wife, Viola Clark Hessler had three children, Max E. Hessler, Grace W. Hessler Brown, and Rayonette Richmond Hessler. Emory worked in medical and surgical equipment sales, and started the Hessler Truss Company.

He passed away in 1920 and was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Cuyahoga Falls. Emory shares a plot with his wife, Viola, who passed away in 1924 at the age of 76.

The Future of Hessler Court

Thankfully, Hessler Court and the surrounding area are protected by numerous organizations. The street was the very first place to be dedicated by the Cleveland Landmark Commission. This happened back in 1975. Following that, the Hessler Road Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976, the Hessler Housing Cooperative was formed, dedicated to preservation of the historic structures and roadways in the area.