Industry Shapes the Valley

Industry Shapes the Valley. . , The presence of industry changed the physical appearance and social composition of the Cuyahoga Valley. In the early years of the 20th century, both the Cleveland Akron Bag Company and the Jaite Paper Mill built new structures that impacted the area. Since 1827, the village of Boston had oriented itself toward the Ohio and Erie Canal. Streets radiated from the canal, and houses and commercial buildings stood alongside it. In 1900, the Cleveland Akron Bag Company located its factory next to the tracks of the Valley Railway, by then part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad system. A company store and workers' houses were clustered nearby. The orientation of the village of Boston essentially shifted to the tracks and factory., No village even existed at Jaite until the Jaite Paper Mill began operations. Jaite became a true company town as the factory erected a general store, boarding house, and post office, as well as duplexes and single-family homes for some of its workers. The employees at Jaite numbered as many as 250 at one time. Many were Polish or Czech immigrants, adding to the cultural diversity within the Cuyahoga Valley., [Caption:] , Freight house and passenger station located near the Jaite Paper Mill, c. 1950. Today, the remaining structures of the town of Jaite are the yellow buildings of Cuyahoga Valley National Park's headquarters complex.