Initially purchased in the late 1860s by Captain Ward, this land called New Jerusalem was a lumber town with a shipyard, mill, racetrack, and a canal built to float harvested trees. The 1873 market crash closed that operation, and the George Howard Farm Company then purchased nearly 1,500 acres, transforming the area through tilling, pumping, and drainage to grow onions, corn, clover, barley, and potatoes. In 1938, Howard Farms was sold to Mr. Herman Wiener, who replaced the Howard estate with the white brick manor still seen today. Farming continued into 2008, when Metroparks purchased just under 1,000 acres, and extensive flooding, diking, and wetland management helped create what is now the second largest Metropark. West of Howard Farms, Henry Reno also started a 900-acre farm and summer resort with a 2-story dance hall, swimming beach, boating area, golf course, and picnic grounds.