by Christine Lorraine Morgan and Jaye H. Beebe

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This quiz was written specifically for the Lawrence Park, PA community, to commemorate that township’s Centennial Celebration in 2026.

Most residents of Erie County, PA know where Lawrence Park is, and have probably driven there to watch a drive-in movie in the 1980s, get a genuine Dairy Queen with a curl on top, or maybe even to lure a steelhead out of Four Mile Creek. But how many people know the reason why the town was created, or who lived there at the onset?

“In 1910, General Electric established its factory and officials envisioned and designed Lawrence Park as a ‘Garden City’ (a concept that originated in England). The concept centered on providing a healthy and pleasing environment for the factory workers and local businesses by building homes with garden plots. The factory and residences were separated by a green belt, and parks were placed within the town. The first streets, such as Rankine, Silliman and Smithson, were laid out and named after famous scientists, inventors and engineers,” as explained at https://www.lawrenceparktwp.org/about-the-township/township-history/

This fun 20-question quiz offers some interesting questions and details regarding the history of this Erie County community. You might want to keep track of your responses to see how well you score. The answers are under the questions, followed by the scoring guide.

1. For whom or what is Lawrence Park named?

a. famous actor Sir Lawrence Olivier

b. proximity to St. Lawrence Seaway

c. Captain James Lawrence from the War of 1812

d. Lawrence Park Golf club

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2. The original “Elbow Tree” in Lawrence Park earned its name because of its large bent branch. This misshapen phenomenon might have been intentionally induced by:

a. nature

b. native Americans creating landmarks

c. the Lawrence Park Historical Society

d. medical researchers who were studying elbow formations

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3. What is the name of this sprawling structure that was located near the mouth of Four Mile Creek from the 1880s until it was destroyed by fire in September 1902?

a. Grove House

b. Lawrence Park Place

c. Hotel Pennsylvania

d. Four Mile Creek Retirement Village

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4. Who founded the Lawrence Park Golf Club?

a. Jack Nicklaus

b. Erie Trolley Company

c. a group of GE employees

d. Erie tycoon Charles Manning Reed

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5. Mary’s Dairy Bar was a Main Street fixture for many years. Who ran this mom-and-pop operation?

a. The Paskos

b. The Kelloggs

c. “Pop” Ford 

d. The Arduinos 

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6. The Dairy Queen in Lawrence Park is a rare example of what DQ’s original store locations looked like because most have been remodeled and modernized. How did this one manage to keep its original signage and structure intact?

a. Local news coverage caused a major controversy

b. The owners hired a really good attorney

c. Protesters refused to let the remodelers on to the property

d. Lawrence Park’s Historic Districting

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7. What historic event took place in 1797 at the mouth of Four Mile Creek in Lawrence Park?

a. The Erie Triangle was purchased

b. The first Cranberry Day on the east side was celebrated

c. The first commercial ship to sail on Lake Erie was built

d. An encampment of covered wagons gathered before heading west

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8. Until the late 1950’s or early 1960’s, one of the dominating parts of the Lawrence Park skyline was a _____________    ___________   ___________.”

a. Tall GE tower

b. Giant power grid

c. Five story building

d. Black coal tipple

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9. Inside of which Lawrence Park location might you see this helmet and jersey?

a. Fire department

b. Priestly Avenue School

c. Police department

d. Lawrence Park Dinor 

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10. Who founded the Lawrence Park Fire Department in the mid-1930s, according to yourerie. com?

a.  Jim “Firefly” Lawrence

b. General Electric

c. A group of concerned local citizens

d. Lawrence Park Safety Society

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11. What was the first business to be located in the building that presently houses the Lawrence Park & Go store?

a. Lawson’s

b. Loblaws

c. Larry’s Central Market East

d. Lawrence Park Laundry

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12. Which family surname represents one of the first known residents of Lawrence Park back in the 1820s?

a. Lawrence

b. Dabrowski

c. Crowley

d. O’Parker

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13. Where might one observe this 1921 historic Lawrence Parkway plaque/marker?

a. near the Lawrence Park Police station

b. at GE’s Franklin Avenue gate

c. at the site of the old train station

d. on a Water Street underpass

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14. Other than the few existing farmhouses in the area, what was the first known structure in the community of Lawrence Park when it was being set up for future development?

a. Grape juice factory

b. Koehler Brewery East

c. A round one-story office structure on the NW corner of Silliman and Main

d. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

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15. What was the name of the low-key manufacturing community located where Lawrence Park is now in the late 1800s?

a. Niagaraville

b. Rankine’s Corners

c. Clarksville

d. None, there was no community there before Lawrence Park

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16. What was the name of the roller coaster at Four Mile Creek Park in 1924?

a. The Lakeview 

b. Curvy-Wurvy

c. The Giant Coaster

d. The Caterpillar

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17. Which part of Lawrence Park is officially designated as a/n Historic District? 

a. Most of the township.

b. The lakefront area where the now-vanished Four Mile Creek Park was located.

c. Soudan’s

d. None of it is designated as a Historic District

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18. What was a popular choice in the ’60s for something to do on a Saturday night in Lawrence Park?

a. The juke box hop at Irish Cousins

b. A visit to the Lawrence Park Drive In

c. A stroll across the Iroquois Avenue pedestrian bridge

d. Fishing party

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19. Which Main Street Lawrence Park building added a second floor in the 1950s?

a. Batchelor Hardware 

b. Lynch Home Medical Supply

c. Lawrence Park Dinor

d. GE Building 6

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20. Waldameer on Erie’s west side and Four Mile Creek Park on the east side were both amusement parks that operated in the early 1900s. What factor prompted more people to visit Four Mile Park in Lawrence Park than Waldameer in Millcreek?

a. The roller coaster at Four Mile was bigger and more thrilling

b. Waldameer did not permit alcohol and Four Mile did

c. The trolley ride was smoother heading east, the ride to Waldameer was very bumpy

d. It was said that the food served at Four Mile Creek Park was superior to Waldameer’s

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A N S W E R S

1. c. Captain James Lawrence from the War of 1812. “Lawrence Park Township was named in honor of Captain James Lawrence, Commandeer of the Frigate Chesapeake, and to pay tribute to Oliver Hazard Perry’s flagship, the U.S.S. Lawrence (named after Captain Lawrence),” as explained at https://www.lawrenceparktwp.org/about-the-township/township-history/

2. b. Native Americans creating landmarks “…native tribes had purposefully shaped them to mark trails through the woods and across the water. Having the knowledge of these trail trees could mean the difference between life and death, between eating and starving, between crossing the river correctly or incorrectly,” according to Dennis Downes at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/did-native-americans-bend-these-trees-to-mark-trails

3. a. Grove House. According to information from the Lawrence Park Historical Society, “The hotel known as Grove House was built in 1888. The hotel was a large building, 60 x 1000 feet and three stories high. It contained rooms for receptions, dressing, smoking, and a refreshment hall. The season ran from Memorial Day to the first few weeks of September. Some of the popular Programs were the vaudeville shows and the dance hall.”

4. c. a group of GE employees. “In 1921, a group of General Electric employees requested the use of 75 acres of land owned by the General Electric Company, on the east side of Four Mile Creek, on which to build a golf course,” as explained at lawrenceparkgc. com.

5. a. the Paskos (John and Mary) ~ The Kelloggs ran Park Pharmacy. “Pop” Ford ran a dairy bar on the south side of Main St., it was the coffee shop. The Arduinos ~ he was a cobbler whose shop was in the attached building just west of Irish Cousins

6. d. Lawrence Park is an established Historic District

The Dairy Queen in Lawrence Park is one of the, if not the last historic structure/sign of its kind still standing in the U.S.

7. c. The first commercial ship to sail on Lake Erie was built. 

8. d. Black coal tipple

9. d. Lawrence Park Dinor

10. b. General Electric. Prior to the LPFD’s present location on Main, it operated out of this building on Rankine Avenue.

11. a. Lawson’s. After evolving into Dairy Mart, the chain of Lawson’s stores eventually all closed down. Many buildings left behind by that popular convenience store have been repurposed like the one in Lawrence Park.

12. c. Crowley. In 1827, Michael and his brother Thomas Crowley purchased 399 acres of land in Lawrence Park Township, and five years later Michael erected this stone home on East Lake Road. The land that Crowley purchased was located in Mill Creek Township at the time, even though it is right next to Four Mile Creek.

13. d. On a Water Street Underpass

14. c. A round one-story office structure on the NW corner of Silliman and Main streets.

image credit to gc68

15. d. None, there was no community there before Lawrence Park

16. c. The Giant Coaster

17. a. Most of the township ~ 

 “The Lawrence Park Historic District is roughly bounded by East Lake Road, Bell Street, Lawrence Parkway and Smithson Avenue, an area that includes the original neighborhoods and commercial blocks of what later became Lawrence Park Township.  The nation’s first recognized city planner, Philadelphia native John Nolen, helped design the Lawrence Park development to provide nice neighborhoods for General Electric Co. employees in 1911 after construction of the GE plant began just east of Erie in 1910. In 1917, Nolen added Lawrence Park’s signature row houses to his plans to accommodate growing numbers of wartime employees.” https://www.lawrenceparktwp.org/about-the-township/lawrence-park-historical-society/

18. b. A visit to the Lawrence Park Drive In

This historic blue and white Blatt Bros. Lawrence Park drive-in sign was photographed at the Lawrence Park Historical Society. This once-popular outdoor movie venue closed around 1990.

19. a. Batchelor Hardware

20. b. Waldameer did not permit alcohol and Four Mile did

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SCORING GUIDE

15-20 correct ~ Lawrence Park Fountain of Knowledge  

9-14 correct ~ Lawrence Park Champion

4-8 correct ~ Lawrence Park Enthusiast

0-3 correct ~ Lawrence Park Knowledge Seeker

Hat tip to the Lawrence Park Historical Society for some of the photos featured in this quiz, and to Marge McLean, Anna Mae Van Dyne and Jim Van Dyne for assistance in the gathering of this historical data.