Our first Island Pioneer Cemetery Walk of the season focuses on Jose DeRivera in tribute to Founder’s Day Weekend. Jose DeRivera was born in Barcelona, Spain, and built an import business in New York City. In 1854, he bought six Lake Erie Islands and had South Bass Island surveyed and subdivided into ten-acre lots. DeRivera traveled between New York and South Bass Island, initially turning Put-in-Bay into a sheep farm. He encouraged settlement on the island and its wine industry by helping German immigrants from Baden-Baden Germany purchase land to plant vineyards.
