My name is Kathy Bull Burke, Solon High School Class of 1983. My family has called Solon home since 1968. I am part of a group of current and former Solonites passionate about preserving Solon’s historic charm for future generations. On January 21, 2020, two councilmen voted to raze the historic Lynch House. We assert that it defies logic that the majority of council and the mayor could be overruled by two council members.

Restoring the home would preserve it for Solon’s bicentennial in 2020 and future generations, and would cost Solon taxpayers zero dollars, because the hard costs of restoring the home would be paid for by The Solon Historical Society, as per the lease agreement. However, costs to raze the home would be significant if allowed to go forward, and will be borne by Solon taxpayers.

We are petitioning the Honorable Mayor Ed Kraus to allow Solon voters to decide whether they want to see their tax dollars used to destroy this lovely and important part of Solon’s story. This home is part of a historic corridor, beginning with The Solon Historical Society and ending with the Bull home. We believe the site is unsuitable for use as green space or an amphitheater, as it is situated in an area of heavy traffic. Please sign our petition and help keep Solon’s historic corridor – and its story – alive. Thank you!

Some facts about the historic importance of Lynch House and why it should be saved:

1. Jason Robbins, who co-founded Solon with Samuel Bull in 1820, purchased the property now known as 34025 Bainbridge Road, where Lynch House sits.

2. The house built on the property of Solon city co-founder Jason Robbins, a home known as the Lynch House after a later resident, was constructed in 1905, and became a century home in 2005. Its front entrance bears a century home marker.

3. The home is filled with stained glass windows, solid hardwood stained woodwork and doors, and bay windows. These are features not found anywhere else in Solon, and what made the home especially attractive to The Solon Historical Society to use as additional museum, meeting, and educational space. The three structures form a historic corridor – the only continuous grouping of historic homes in the City of Solon that remain. They are all owned by the City of Solon and represent the original Solon City Center as proposed by the Robbins family, illustrated on an 1852 map of Solon. This Solon City Center is comprised of the Disciples Church (home to Solon Historical Society since 1968), the Robbins/Lynch home, the Bull home, and the Arts Center (previous town hall).