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The first Masonic Lodge in Dayton was founded in 1808, located in the first Montgomery County Courthouse. Various other locations were home to Masons in Dayton, but by World War I, rapid growth of the Masonic community called for the creation of a new Lodge building. Masons of the time, including civic and business leaders of Dayton, conceived the idea of a new Masonic Center located on the hill at Belmonte Park North and Riverview Avenue. Ground was broken and construction of the $2.5 million Masonic Temple began on July 20, 1925. Through contributions from the Masonic community, the tremendous task of raising a majority of the building cost, $1.5 million, was accomplished in merely ten days in 1924. It is doubtful that the Temple could be duplicated given the fact that the large quantities of marble and mahogany and cherry woods used in construction would be difficult to procure today.
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This Queen Anne style building with segmental-arched windows and steep hipped roof was Burton’s second high school. Completed in 1885 at a cost of $12,500, it is wood framed with a brick and stone exterior, modeled after an academy in River Falls, Wisconsin. Its basement and two upper floors contained 12,720 square feet of space, enough for all twelve grades. There were two separate entrances; girls entered on the left and boys on the right. Electricity was installed in 1921 by the superintendent and students. Classes met here until 1936. During its history, the building housed various organizations, including the Red Cross, Opportunity School of Geauga County (later Metzenbaum), Geauga County Historical Society, American Legion, and County Extension Office. In 1937, it became the home of the Burton Public Library and in 1983 was expanded with a north wing designed to be architecturally consistent with the original 1885 structure.
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Thomas Johnson first came to Norton Township in 1814, and within three years he had established the township’s first sawmill along the fast-moving waters of Wolf Creek. The enterprising Johnson also erected a tavern, store, and post office, all on the northeast corner of this town square. In 1830 a grist mill was added to the community. Predating the founding of Barberton by seventy-seven years, Johnson’s Corner existed from 1817 until 1929, when it was annexed into Barberton.
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Aurora’s first church was established on December 31, 1809 under the guidance of the Connecticut Missionary Society. The congregation called the Rev. John Seward of Granby, Massachusetts to be the first minister in 1812. Built on land donated by Samuel Forward and dedicated in 1824, the original brick church was replaced by a wood-frame building in 1872. The First Congregational Church and the Aurora Disciples of Christ formed an association called the Federated Church in Aurora in 1913. These three entities merged to form The Church in Aurora in 1933, serving the community as more than a landmark.
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Early in 1942, during World War II, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers acquired 640 acres along two miles of U. S. Route 30 South (now State Route 309) from ten landowners. By June 11 of that year, the farm families were removed and construction of The Marion Engineer Depot (MED) began, costing $4 million. The first military encampment in Marion County, the 333rd Engineering Regiment, arrived in May and established its camp in a wheat field. They lived in tents while constructing streets and railroad tracks around the Depot. MED was dedicated on December 7, 1942. During the war, food, munitions, equipment, and other military supplies flowed in and out of MED and heavy machinery was renovated. Peak employment came in July 1944 with 1,487 civilian and 47 military personnel on site. (Continued on other side)
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Built in 1881, John Bright #2 covered bridge originally spanned Poplar Creek on Bish Road near Baltimore, Ohio. It is named after pioneer settler John Bright, whose family farm was located near the original site. August Borneman of Lancaster, the leading bridge builder in the area, built the 70-foot span for a cost of $927.50. The bridge features a rare inverted bowstring truss and a unique metal sway bracing system. Sometime later a wooden arch was added. In 1975, John Bright #2 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Continued on other side)
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First surveyed in 1849, Powhatan Point was laid out by Franklin Knox. The “point” is the confluence of Captina Creek and the Ohio River. The small but thriving river and farming community served York Township and the rich Captina Valley as a shipping center for its first 75 years. Given impetus by the construction of the Powhatan Enterprise Flouring Mill and Woolen Factory in 1850, local businesses shipped grain, fruit, lumber, cheese, whiskey, livestock, wool, and tobacco to northern and southern ports. There were three boat landings: Boger’s, Hornbrook’s and Dorsey’s, each equipped with an incline car track from the warehouses to the river’s edge. With the opening of North American Coal Corporation’s Powhatan No. 1 Mine in 1922, the village became a mining community that continued to rely on the river. A disastrous mine fire took the lives of 66 men on July 5, 1944.
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Founded in 1901 under the leadership of Edward Drummond Libbey, who established the glass industry in Toledo, the Museum building was designed by the architect Edward Green. It was completed in three stages in 1912, 1926, and 1933. From the outset the Museum has aimed to be a community and educational resource in the visual and performing arts.
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