, OH
The Silver Creek Cheese Factory was located in the heart of the tri-county area known during the 19th century as “Cheesedome”. This part of the Western Reserve was best known for the cheese it shipped internationally. The factory contributed to the Aurora processing network, which by 1904 was shipping 4,000,000 pounds of cheese per year. The factory was destroyed by a flood in 1913 as were many other industries which flourished in the Chagrin Valley.
, OH
The founder of Ravenna Township in 1799, Benjamin Tappan Jr. led a distinguished life of public service. An aggressive force in local politics, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1803 to 1805, as judge of the fifth circuit court of common pleas from 1816 to 1823, and as federal district judge from 1826 to 1833. Tappan served as aide-de-camp to Major General Elijah Wadsworth following the surrender of Detroit in the War of 1812, provisioning and arming local militia units defending the northwestern frontier against a possible British invasion. (continued on other side)
, OH
This historic inn began serving travelers on the old Portage-Columbiana stage road (now Tallmadge Road) in 1832. Two major stage lines, one from Cleveland to Wellsville (the closest Ohio River port) and the other from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, passed through Palmyra in the early 1800s. Originally a simple two-story Greek Revival-style building, it had its third story added in 1888 when it became a lodge for the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization. It served as a private residence and store for most of the 20th century. The Palmyra Center Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
, OH
Ephraim Root (1762-1825), a wealthy Connecticut lawyer, was one of 57 investors in the Connecticut Land Company and served as its secretary and agent. In 1795, this group purchased three million acres of land in the Western Reserve. Root held interest in 100,000 acres, including Township 2 in Range VIII, which he named Rootstown. In 1800, Root traveled by horseback with his helper Henry Davenport and surveyor Nathaniel Cook to divide the township into 48 sections, reserving Lot 6 for his own use.
, OH
Harold Hart Crane was born at this site on July 21, 1899, to Grace Hart Crane and Clarence A. Crane, the inventor of Lifesaver Candies, and lived here until the age of three. “A born poet,” according to e.e. cummings, Crane dropped out of high school in 1916 and moved from Cleveland to New York City to focus on a literary career. Mainly self-educated, Crane drew his influence from the writings of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. His major work, The Bridge (1930), uses the Brooklyn Bridge as the perfect metaphor to celebrate contemporary urban life. Uniquely lyrical in structure and full of imagery, it is considered one of the three major poetic sequences of the first half of the twentieth century along with T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and William Carlos Williams’ Paterson. Crane died on April 26, 1932.
, OH
Founded in 1850 by the Disciples of Christ, or “Campbellites,” this institution of higher education was chartered as Hiram College in 1867. The College’s original charter provided for instruction for both men and women, and Hiram served as an early example of successful coeducation. From 1857 to 1861, James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United States, held the principalship of the institute. It continues today as one of Ohio’s successful liberal arts colleges.
, OH
Oliver and Rosetta Snow, who built this home in 1815, immigrated to Mantua from Becket, Massachusetts, in 1805 with two daughters and raised five more children here. Oliver prospered as a farmer, served Portage County in a variety of civic capacities, and converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after meeting the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, in the early 1830s. In 1838, the Snows left Ohio and eventually settled in Illinois. Two of their children later moved to Utah and became prominent leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lorenzo, who was born on this property in 1814, became the fifth president of the Church, serving from 1898-1901. Eliza Roxcy Snow, an acclaimed Portage County poet, became second general president of the Relief Society, a Latter-day Saint women’s organization.
, OH
In 1968, Richard Nixon won the presidency partly based on a campaign promise to end the Vietnam War. Though the war seemed to be winding down, on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia, triggering protests across college campuses. On Friday, May 1, an anti-war rally was held on the Commons at Kent State University. Protestors called for another rally to be held on Monday, May 4. Disturbances in downtown Kent that night caused city officials to ask Governor James Rhodes to send the Ohio National Guard to maintain order. Troops put on alert Saturday afternoon were called to campus Saturday evening after an ROTC building was set on fire. Sunday morning in a press conference that was also broadcast to the troops on campus, Rhodes vowed to “eradicate the problem” of protests at Kent State. (Continued on other side)
614.297.2300
Contact Us
