The Ohio & Erie Canal is an early 19th-century creation built to meet growing transportation needs. The Towpath Trail is a late 20th-century creation, built because visionary individuals saw new uses for the abandoned canal. One of these . . . — — Map (db m44908) HM
The Cuyahoga River is a symbol of what’s possible when people work together for clean water. As an industrial river flowing through Akron and Cleveland, it became internationally famous for its pollution. Today the river is a water trail and the . . . — — Map (db m202355) HM
The village of Boston grew up along the Cuyahoga River. After the Ohio & Erie Canal opened in 1827, the community boomed with boatyards and businesses serving canal traffic. The Valley Railway opened in 1880 and spurred construction of the . . . — — Map (db m202357) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m44927) HM
An 1834 survey map provides the earliest evidence of a bridge crossing the Cuyahoga River at this site. This rendering, based on a 1890's postcard, shows a covered bridge connecting the Akron-Cleveland Road (now Riverview Road) to the village of . . . — — Map (db m48996) HM
The Boston Land & Manufacturing Company store, built in 1836, displays a high level of craftsmanship. The fan-shaped lunette above the store front shows the influence of Federal-style architecture. The building's unusual trapezoidal shape results . . . — — Map (db m44922) HM
The size and shape of a canal boat is determined by the smallest lock. Along the Ohio & Erie Canal the smallest is 75 feet long by 15 feet wide.
Workers begin building a boat by laying the keel. Made from white oak timbers, the keel forms . . . — — Map (db m202373) HM
William Barnhart and James Fayerweather’s boatyard is humming with activity. Shipwrights enclose the hull of a canal boat with white-oak boards from Julius Edson’s sawmill and lumberyard. The blacksmith, R. Darmer, makes deadeye rings for canal . . . — — Map (db m202372) HM
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad follows the historic route of the Valley Railway, which began freight and passenger service between Cleveland and Canton in 1880. Today, you can travel the same path to experience the rich cultural history and . . . — — Map (db m44906) HM
Boston’s 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 . . . — — Map (db m202378) HM
Boston and its citizens experienced booms and busts. Entrepreneur Julius Edson built a business empire that included a sawmill, a gristmill, and major land parcels. By 1856 he also had gained a controlling interest in the 20-year-old Boston Land . . . — — Map (db m202374) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m44894) HM
The Ohio & Erie Canal was among the most successful canals during the periods when canals contributed to our nation's growth. In 1827 the canal opened from Cleveland through the Cuyahoga Valley to Akron. When completed in 1832 it stretched 308 . . . — — Map (db m44929) HM
The Ohio & Erie Canalway celebrates the first 110 miles of a waterway that helped the nation grow.
Dug by hand from 1825 to 1832, the Ohio & Erie Canal was the first canal west of the Appalachian Mountains. It connected Lake Erie to the Ohio . . . — — Map (db m202381) HM
Efforts to preserve Cuyahoga Valley began in the 1920s with new county park systems around Cleveland and Akron. After World War II, major suburban development projects threatened the valley. Construction of interstate highways was followed by power . . . — — Map (db m202353) HM
When the Valley Railroad opened in 1880, the industrial cities of Cleveland and Akron became a short train-ride away. This new transportation allowed industries to locate in the countryside, where there was room to build sprawling factories. . . . — — Map (db m202358) HM
The first steam engine chugged its way down the new Valley Railway in 1880, beginning an era of progress for the Cuyahoga Valley. Regional industrial growth boosted demand for coal and other raw materials. The railway connected mineral fields in the . . . — — Map (db m202350) HM
While the Valley Railway, the precursor to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, was founded primarily as a conduit for freight and passengers moving among Cleveland, Akron, and Canton, it also became integral to the success of two factories within the . . . — — Map (db m44858) HM
Since the 1800s, the Cuyahoga Valley has been a place where people from nearby cities relax in nature. Building on this tradition, locals worked tirelessly to preserve what is now Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Created in 1974, the park protects . . . — — Map (db m202382) HM
