Marker Logo
THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Valley City in Medina County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Liverpool Township
⎯⎯⎯
Liverpool and Valley City

 
 
Liverpool Township side of marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
1. Liverpool Township side of marker
Inscription. Seba Bronson Jr. left Columbia Township in early 1810 and followed the Rocky River to an area one and a half miles north of here. He built a cabin and planted a crop and thus started what became known as the village of Hardscrabble in Liverpool Township. The village was centered around the Columbia/Grafton Road area. and the township is the oldest continuously inhabited township in Medina County. The Potawatami Indians occupied this area and camped annually along the Rocky River. For five silver dollars, they showed Seba and a partner a hidden salt springs which they sought to exploit. Other men also scrabbled to own it and Justus Warner succeeded. Seba was turned out. Warner operated the Liverpool Salt Works beginning in 1811. The first industry in the county, salt was a necessity end eagerly sought by settlers in the area.

Hardscrabble grew slowly. Some say that the struggle to gain wealth and influence inspired the name. When the War of 1812 ended, the British and hostile Native Americans left and people felt safe. Tradesmen, settlers with families, and even a doctor arrived, and a post
Paid Advertisement
Click or scan to see
this page online
office was established. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 making it easier to send goods to market, but a better quality and price for salt brought and end to the Liverpool Salt Works. As more people came, English first and then Germans, the population center moved south to where you are now, and a manufacturing base was established. Hardscrabble faded. The railroad arrived with this train depot built a mile and a half east of here, circa 1895. In 1910, the Post Office was renamed Valley City. The township remains Liverpool in this place with a strong legacy of German churches, families, and road names.
 
Erected 2008 by the Liverpool Township Historical Society and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 6-52.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1810.
 
Location. 41° 14.279′ N, 81° 55.531′ W. Marker is in Valley City, Ohio, in Medina County. It is on Center Road (Ohio Route 303) east of Lawn Street and Bull Run Drive, on the left when traveling east. It is at The Depot Meeting Place and Museum. Touch for map.
Liverpool and Valley City side of marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
2. Liverpool and Valley City side of marker
Marker is in this post office area: Valley City OH 44280, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland and in the Western Reserve. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: For God and Country (approx. 0.2 miles away); Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Post No. 5563 Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); This Cast Iron Marker (approx. 3.9 miles away); Historic Underground Railroad Station (approx. 3.9 miles away); The Stone Front Step (approx. 3.9 miles away); Heritage Farm (approx. 3.9 miles away); Brunswick's First Church Bell (approx. 3.9 miles away); Brunswick Veterans (approx. 3.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Valley City.
 
Liverpool Township / Liverpool and Valley City Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
3. Liverpool Township / Liverpool and Valley City Marker
Valley City Depot and Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
4. Valley City Depot and Marker
The Depot was built in 1895 on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad line, later Baltimore & Ohio, then Chesapeake and Ohio, now CSX. It has been moved here from its original location about 1½ miles east.
Cyril “Cy” Shaefer, 1822–1988 image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
5. Cyril “Cy” Shaefer, 1822–1988
Plaque on depot wall. “With fond memories and sincere appreciation for endless hours of dedicated service to Liverpool Township and its residents. This depot stands as testimony to Cy’s selfless motivation and inspired commitment to ensure a part of the community’s historic past will continue to serve its future generations.”
Caboose and Steam Engine Behind Depot image. Click for full size.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
6. Caboose and Steam Engine Behind Depot
“V.C.R.R. — Valley City Railroad — Liverpool Leapin’ Frog Line”
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on July 16, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 16, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 859 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 16, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
m=136780

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisement
Jul. 16, 2026