by JORDYNE M. TAYLOR
WSU intern
Lozierville, an area of Westfield that many drive by on a day-to-day basis, probably not even knowing the lengthy history of this section of Westfield, not knowing it was once the place to be, once called the “busiest section of the town…” in the Springfield Republican in 1896. Lozierville is home to the Columbia Bicycle Company at the end of Cleveland Ave, which sits next to a street named after Henry A. Lozier.
Lozier used to own a sewing machine company in Cleveland, but back in the late 1800s there was a bicycle boom and Lozier decided to switch to making bikes for a bigger profit. The factory in Cleveland burned down, but with Westfield reaching out to people looking to industrialize, Lozier opened up a bicycle factory on land being donated by James Noble, Jr. in Westfield. Lozier was competing with other large bike companies such as Columbia Bicycles, who eventually bought Lozier’s bike factory, which is why there is still a Columbia Bicycles sign at the end of Cleveland Ave, informing guests of where a historical part of Westfield, an old bike factory, still stands.
An old bicycle can be seen in the museum upstairs at the Westfield Athenaeum, a symbol of the bustling industrial city of Westfield from the late 1800s when “Whip City” still made sense, and bikes looked silly with one large front wheel and a tiny back one. Today, Lozierville is quite busy, but busy with passing traffic, people cruising past Lozierville’s side streets unaware that down these side streets lay the fossils of an old bicycle factory, a historical building that is significant to the city that Westfield has become today. So next time you pass by Cleveland Ave, remember, the history of Westfield is everywhere, you just have to look.
