Sandusky Polka

The Sandusky Polka was composed by Ida T. Reeder in 1852, and was published by Stayman and Brothers in Philadelphia. You can view the entire musical composition at the Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1820-1860 Collection from the Library of Congress. According to the website of the Sandusky Historic Site in Lynchburg, Virginia, Charles Johnston, built the fine brick house in the early part of the nineteenth century. He named it Sandusky to commemorate a narrow escape he had in 1790, when he and his companions were held captive by a party of Shawnees at an encampment near Lake Erie, near the frontier settlement of Sandusky, Ohio. Click here to read the history of this beautiful home in Virginia. During the Civil War, Union General David Hunter made Sandusky his headquarters. Future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were among General Hunter's staff members. Ida T. Reeder, who wrote both the Sandusky Polka and the Sandusky Waltz, was related to the Hutter family, who owned the historic Sandusky home in Lynchburg, Virginia, for several years. View images of the Historic Sandusky Home here.