Boston in Summit County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Early 1900s Boston
Bag Industry Town
Photographed by Tom Bosse, July 2, 2022
1. Early 1900s Boston Marker
Bostons economy boomed building canal boats. Later it shifted to making toy marbles and then paper. If you were standing here in the early 1900s, the photo below shows what you would have seen. Across the Cuyahoga River stood the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company. The factory employed nearly 200 people, many of them Polish immigrants. The workers made paper flour sacks and roofing paper, which were shipped on the valleys railroad.
The factory survived the Great Flood of 1913 that swept through Boston and devastated communities in several states. When the factory closed in 1923, some employees drove the canal towpath to work at the Jaite Paper Mill.
[Captions:]
This aerial photo was taken about 1910 from the other side of the river. The bag factory and its company store (circle) are shown in the foreground. The factory paid workers in scrip, which they could redeem only by shopping there.
Norman Wises grocery store (now Trail Mix Boston)
Look at the modern bridge ahead over the Cuyahoga River. Can you find the historic covered bridge that was in its place in each photo?
Erected by U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in
this page online
Location. 41° 15.803′ N, 81° 33.511′ W. Marker is in Boston, Ohio, in Summit County. It is at the intersection of Boston Mills Road and Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, on the right when traveling east on Boston Mills Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1550 Boston Mills Rd, Peninsula OH 44264, 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. 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 walking distance of this marker: Building a Canal Boat (a few steps from this marker); Fortunes Rise and Fall (a few steps from this marker); Bustling Boat-Building Village (a few steps from this marker); Ohio & Erie Canalway (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A River Renewed (about 500 feet away); Boston Mills Road Bridge (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boston.
Other markers no longer nearby. Boston (was here, next to this marker but has been permanently removed); Boston Store (was within shouting distance
Photographed by Tom Bosse, July 2, 2022
2. Early 1900s Boston Marker
Photographed by Tom Bosse, July 2, 2022
3. Boston Land & Manufacturing Company and site of the Commercial Hotel and Tavern.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 16, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 308 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 16, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
