The year was 1918, fourteen years after George and Ellen Booth purchased the property they called Cranbrook.  The lay of the land was far different from the lush greenery, grading hillsides, and bountiful gardens which exist today.  An estimated 150,000 trees were planted during George’s lifetime, a testament to his devotion to the Arts & Crafts ideal of surrounding one’s self with nature.  Buildings during this time were scarce; in this aerial view, the only two existing Cranbrook buildings seen are Cranbrook House (top middle) and the Meeting House (middle left), which would later become Brookside Lower School.  The house seen in the lower left, called Edgevale, was the home of George’s cousin, Clarence Booth.

~Robbie Terman, archivist

Intersection of Lone Pine and Cranbrook Roads, c1917. Cranbrook Archives