Boston Township in Peninsula in Summit County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Boston
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 5, 2011
1. Boston Marker
Boston, the oldest village in Summit County, was first settled by surveyor James Stanford in 1806. The village's first mill was built in 1821, and the Ohio & Erie Canal's arrival in 1827 expanded opportunities for commerce and industry. Many boat builders and canal boatmen lived in Boston. By 1850 Boston grew into a town with a broom factory, brewery, brickyard, gristmill, sawmill, numerous stores, and several boat building yards.
With the decline of canal traffic in the 1860s, Boston slumbered until the arrival of the Valley Railway in 1880. The town boomed in 1900 when the [Cleveland] Akron Bag Company started operations here on the Cuyahoga, hired many Polish immigrants, and built company houses along Main Street. Since the early 1900s, Boston's size and street pattern have changed very little, allowing it to retain the feeling of a small canal and mill town.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1806.
Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near
this page online
We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
Regionally, this marker was in Greater Cleveland and in the Western Reserve. It was also in the American Midwest. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Photographed by Craig Doda, May 20, 2023
2. Boston Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Early 1900s Boston (here, next to 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 (within shouting distance of 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). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Peninsula.
Other markers no longer nearby. Boston Store (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); A New Champion for an Old Canal (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); Linking the Wilderness to the World (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
Also see . . .
1. Boston Mills Historic District. Wikipedia entry:
Links to National Register of Historic Places Registration
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 5, 2011
3. Boston Store and Marker
2. Cuyahoga Valley National Park. National Park Service website entry (Submitted on July 23, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
3. The Ohio and Erie Canalway. Website homepage (Submitted on July 23, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 5, 2011
4. Boston Store and Boston Marker
Look west along Boston Mills Road
Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 965 times since then and 38 times this year. Last updated on May 29, 2023, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. Photos: 1. submitted on July 23, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on May 29, 2023, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on July 23, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
