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This section of the Miami and Erie Canal, constructed from 1833-1837, was vital to this region’s commerce and development. It allowed for farmers and businesses to get their goods to larger markets at a lower cost and faster speed than by hauling overland. Passengers could also travel across the area by canal boat. John Clark saw the location of the Lock 15, situated in Monroe Township at the junction of the Milton-Carlisle Pike (Main Street), as an opportunity and in 1840, platted the new town of Tippecanoe City (now Tipp City). Many types of commerce and trade grew up around the canal including boarding houses, saloons, a tannery, and a mill. Some of the original buildings still stand, such as a mill to the west of Lock 15, John Clark’s home at the southeast corner of Main and First streets, and the hotel at the northeast corner of Main and Second streets.
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Harry Coulby was born of humble farming parents on January 1, 1865 in Claypole, England. At age 17, he immigrated to Cleveland to realize his dream of sailing the Great Lakes. He did not become a sailor, but instead became the commanding figure in the ore shipping trade. In 1886, Pickands Mather Company employed him, and Coulby, with imagination and a willingness to work, made the movement of ships and cargo his career. Within 20 years, he managed 100 ships, controlling the two leading fleets. He was described as the “Czar of the Lakes,” a tribute to his leadership qualities. Adopting President Abraham Lincoln’s method of making a point with a story, he became Wickliffe Village’s first mayor in 1916. His home, known as Couallenby, became the city hall. Harry died while visiting his birthplace on January 18, 1929, and was laid to rest in the churchyard that he had restored.
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The Brothers of Christian Instruction founded Walsh University in 1958. It is named for Bishop Emmett M. Walsh, then leader of the Diocese of Youngstown. The order created the institution to provide a college-level education that developed students’ moral virtues and sense of social responsibility as embodied in traditional Judeo-Christian values. As of 2015, Walsh University is the only Catholic university in the diocese and the only university sponsored by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, a religious order founded by the Fathers Jean Marie de la Mennais and Gabriel Deshayes in France in 1819. The University’s mission reflects the Brothers’ commitment to provide quality Catholic education with an international perspective to all who seek it, and to develop leaders in service to others. Since Walsh’s founding, it has become a successful regional and international Catholic university.
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Originally called Westfield Township, Samuel Fowler purchased this area in 1798 from the Connecticut Land Company for $12,903.23 while living in Westfield, Massachusetts. His brother Abner arrived the following year to survey the land and separate it into smaller plots that could be sold to people wanting to settle here. A Revolutionary War veteran, Abner was the first to arrive here and also the first recorded death in 1806, the same year that his son Abner Fowler II married the first school teacher in Fowler Ester Jennings. In 1817, Samuel Fowler gave five acres of land to Fowler Center to be used as a park or “common” with the provision that no permanent building ever be built on it. At about the same time, the township name was changed to Fowler to honor its founding family. Agriculture was and remains the main occupation in the Fowler area.
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The village of Gates Mills derives its name from its founder, Holsey Gates, and from the importance of mills in the agricultural community. In 1826, the year of Gates Mills’ founding, a sawmill was constructed to increase the lumber supply and attract new settlers. In the following year, a rake factory was established, and by 1829 a gristmill was in operation. The Chagrin River was dammed to create a millrace that regulated the flow of water to the wheels that powered the mills. Shops and houses encircled the mills, which were the center of industry in Gates Mills.
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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.
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Civic organizations played pivotal roles in the development of the residential community of Hazelwood, founded as a subdivision of Blue Ash in 1888. The Hazelwood Civic Association, initially established as the Brothers Civic Society in 1941, addressed community needs by working for public improvements and promoting civic relations through social events and educational programs. Efforts by the HCA led to the construction of a new civic center and the introduction of the Boy and Girl Scouts and other programs that were previously unavailable to African-American children. Hazelwood’s deterioration and the threat of encroaching industrial development led to the formation of the Hazelwood Improvement Corporation in 1968. The HIC, acting as an agent of the city of Blue Ash, helped to upgrade housing, pave roads, build new homes to ensure a residential nature, install water and sewage systems, and erect streetlights. In 1997, the Hazelwood Community Association was organized to assist residents during Hazelwood’s transition to a racially integrated community.
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The American Sheet and Tin Plate Company founded the first Dover Public Library for the benefit of its employees at the corner of Front Street and Factory Street in 1902. Five years later, the library moved to a residence on Cherry and Fifth Streets. In 1916 the city dismantled “the old Downey residence” and built a high school in its place, with the public library occupying the basement. In 1934, the library moved to a converted residence at 417 North Walnut Street. Over time, however, the building became inadequate to house this beloved institution. In 1953 the city of Dover passed a bond issue to build a new library for the community. The new building, located at this site, opened in 1955.
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