6-52 Liverpool Township / Liverpool and Valley City

Counties

6-52 Liverpool Township / Liverpool and Valley City

Side A: Seba Bronson Jr. left Columbia Township in early 1810 and followed the Rocky River to an area one and a half miles north of here. He built a cabin and planted a crop and thus started what became known as the village of Hardscrabble in Liverpool Township. The village was centered around the Columbia/Grafton Road area, and the township is the oldest continuously inhabited township in Medina County. The Potawatami Indians occupied this area and camped annually along the Rocky River. For five silver dollars, they showed Seba and a partner a hidden salt springs which they sought to exploit. Other men also scrabbled to own it and Justus Warner succeeded. Seba was turned out. Warner operated the Liverpool Salt Works beginning in 1811. The first industry in the county, salt was a necessity and eagerly sought by setters in the area.

Side B: Hardscrabble grew slowly. Some say that the struggle to gain wealth and influence inspired the name. When the War of 1812 ended, the British and hostile Native Americans left and people felt safe. Tradesmen, settlers with families, and even a doctor arrived, and a post office was established. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 making it easier to send goods to market, but a better quality and price for salt brought an end to the Liverpool Salt Works. As more people came, English first and then Germans, the population center moved south to where you are now, and a manufacturing base was established. Hardscrabble faded. The railroad arrived with this train depot built a mile and a half east of here, circa 1895. In 1910, the Post Office was renamed Valley City. The township remains Liverpool in this place with a strong legacy of German churches, families, and road names.