Remarkable Ohio

Results for: black-history
Immediately S of 418 South High Street
Cortland

, OH

Originally part of the Casterline farm, this cemetery was once the site of the 1824 Bazetta Presbyterian Church, the first church in Bazetta Township. Ziba Casterline deeded .75 acres for the cemetery to the church in 1829 for five dollars. When the small log structured church was relocated to Lot 55 in the township, the cemetery remained. Buried in the cemetery are several early settlers, including Moses Hampton, Joseph Headley, Joseph Pruden, and John Hulse, the first white child born in the township. [continued on other side]

1120 US Route 42 E
Wilberforce

, OH

Born enslaved March 12, 1864, Charles Young was the highest-ranking African American line officer most of his career. He became the third Black graduate of West Point in 1889 and the last until 1936. Young served with the 9th and 10th Calvary “Buffalo Soldiers” and as Professor of Military Science at Wilberforce University. During the Spanish American War Young commanded the 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer (Colored) Infantry and later led 9th Calvary troops in combat in the Philippines. The first African American national park superintendent, Young supervised the building of roads for public access to Sequoia and General Grant national parks and protected the natural wonders there. The first Black military attache, Young served in Haiti and Liberia. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Young its highest honor, the Spingarn Medal, for his accomplishments in Liberia. (continued on other side)

W. 210th Street
Fairview Park

, OH

Envisioned by Fairview Village Mayor, David R. Bain, this community center was originally completed in 1937 as a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era work relief program initiated by the Federal Government in 1935. A fire destroyed the original log cabin on December 14, 1937, just four days before the planned dedication. With the support of the community, Mayor Bain turned again to the WPA for funding and labor to rebuild the structure. This cabin, constructed of bricks on the original foundation, features an 8’x12′ mural painted by artists of the WPA’s Federal Art Project and which depicts Fairview’s history through the 1930s. The new cabin was dedicated on January 15, 1940, and was named in honor of Mayor Bain in 1957, four years after his death.

421 Black River Landing
Lorain

, OH

Prior to the Civil War, Ohio was a leading state for enslaved Americans of African decent traveling the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada. For these fugitives, their final stop in Ohio was a Lake Erie port community in the north. One such port was at the mouth of the Black River in Lorain that came to be identified as Lorain Station 100, named because it was thought to be one of the last stops or stations before the fugitive slaves reached freedom in Canada. Many arrived here in a wagon driven by Robbins Burrell who owned a farm five miles up the Black River. Concealed by vegetables, grains, or hay, the slaves were smuggled into schooners, some of which belonged to Burrell’s cousin Captain Aaron Root. From Lorain Station 100, the determined travelers were transported across Lake Erie, completing the final leg of their long journey to freedom.

1075 The O’Jays Parkway NE
Canton

, OH

Nimisilla Park was established in 1894. Prior to its founding, the site was the location of the county fair from 1859 to 1893. Throughout its history, Nimisilla Park hosted horse races, live music, soldier reunions, and a zoo, among other events. Prominent political figures, such as Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and Eugene V. Debs, made speeches at the park. In 1918, Debs delivered a famous anti-war speech for which he was arrested and jailed. As of 2016, the park continues to serve as a gathering place for the community.

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati

, OH

The Cincinnati Union Terminal opened in March 1933 and integrated rail travel in the city, which previously operated from five separate passenger terminals. Built when rail travel was already in decline, Union Terminal stopped operating as a passenger railroad station in 1972. Only during WWII was the terminal used to capacity with as many as 34,000 people travelling through the building daily in 1944. As part of preservation efforts, 14 mosaics depicting Cincinnati industry of the 1930s by Winold Reiss were saved from the concourse and moved to the Greater Cincinnati Airport. The restored Union Terminal became a Museum Center in November 1990 with the opening of the renovated Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and new Cincinnati History Museum. Cincinnati Union Terminal has been described as one of the most outstanding examples of Art Deco train stations in the nation and was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

S Webb Avenue
Alliance

, OH

The coming of the railroads to Alliance is an important event in Stark County’s history. In 1851, the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad (running SE to NW) and the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad (E to W) intersected at this location. It was known as “the crossing” and became the Village of Alliance. William Robinson, Jr., the president of the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad, is credited with applying the name “Alliance” to the crossing, dating to when the railroads bought rights-of-way in 1849 and anticipated the intersection of the lines. A plat named “Alliance” was recorded September 26, 1850. The Village of Alliance was established in 1854, when 100 citizens of the communities of Williamsport, Freedom, and Alliance (also known as Liberty), signed a petition to incorporate on March 15. The petition was accepted and recorded in June.

131 Oakdale Avenue
Akron

, OH

Akron, an industrial boomtown in the early twentieth century, grew in population nearly fivefold between 1900 and 1920. As the city industrialized, middle class residents sought homes on West Hill, away from the smoke and soot of heavy industry on the East Side. The Hall Park Allotment Historic District in West Hill represents a notable early twentieth century neighborhood. Developed by Philander Hall between 1902 and 1919 during the height of Akron’s “rubber boom,” it consists of several houses representing the picturesque styles of the period, including the American Foursquare, Craftsman, Colonial, and Medieval Revival Styles. With its gently curving brick streets, hilly topography, and mature trees, the Hall Park Allotment Historic District evokes the feeling of a distinct period of time in Akron’s history and constitutes a neighborhood of distinctive historical character and architectural merit.