Ohio

In 1814, Wilbur Cahoon led a group of pioneers to the French Creek, near Lake Erie. They decided to settle at this spot, as the creek could provide them with fresh water and power their sawmills and gristmills. Other businesses began to develop, and a town was born. At first called Xeuma, and later Troy, the town blossomed into an agricultural center. In 1824, Lorain County was created, and the town's name was changed to Avon. Prosperous citizens of the 1850s and 1860s built beautiful homes and buildings. In later years, Avon survived the creation and demise of the trolley and interurban line, the closure of the wineries during prohibition, the draining effects of the Great Depression, and the loss of life in the World Wars. Today, Avon remains strong and continues to grow. Many of her century-old homes still stand in the midst of new developments, as a reminder of Avonites' ongoing tradition of hard work and perseverance, which has made Avon the great place to live that it is today.

For almost two centuries, the historic Tremont neighborhood has rested on a bluff overlooking Cleveland's industrial valley. The sleepy farming community was transformed in 1867, when Cleveland annexed it. Factories attracted thousands of emigrants from Europe, and industrialization gave rise to a class of wealthy businessmen. After the city prospered as a manufacturing center during World War II, deindustrialization and suburbanization fueled a huge population loss, and the neighborhood declined as highways cut through. The 1980s marked the beginning of the rebirth of the cultural treasure Tremont became. Author W. Dennis Keating chronicles the challenges and triumphs of this diverse and vibrant community.

Austintown Township was first inhabited by Native Americans. In 1788, it became Range 3, Township 2, of the Connecticut Western Reserve and was named for Calvin Austin, a land agent for the Connecticut Land Company. In 1794, John McCollum was the first settler. In 1820, the population was 718. By 1880, coal miners and families increased the population to 2,502. The damming of Meander Creek creating Meander Reservoir put Ohltown underwater and flooded some of West Austintown. After World War II, Austintown grew tremendously. Throughout this growth, one constant remained--the schools. Moving from 12 one-room schoolhouses to one large consolidated school to 8 school buildings, the schools remain central to the community and preserve Austintown's identity.

The Village of Sheffield was founded on the Lake Erie plain and a sandy ridge of glacial Lake Warren. Black River and French Creek course through rich farmlands, once home to Archaic and Woodland Indians. Originally surveyed as Township 7 of Range 17 in the Connecticut Western Reserve, hearty pioneers arrived here in 1815 from the Berkshire Mountains of New England, naming their settlement Sheffield after their Massachusetts town. In the mid-1800s, another wave of immigrants arrived from Bavaria, adding cultural richness to the community. In 1894, industrialist Tom Johnson constructed giant steel mills on the west side of the river, and Sheffield Village eventually broke away, choosing to retain its agrarian identity. Today Sheffield Village is in transition to a modern residential/commercial community but keeps much of its natural character by virtue of parklands along stream valleys. Fortunately, fine examples of homestead architecture have been preserved throughout the village.

Little Cities of Black Diamonds depicts and documents the history of the Hocking Valley Coalfield communities.

Sitting astride the 14-foot Great Vein of bituminous coal, the communities of the Hocking Valley Coalfield were inextricably linked to the fortunes of a 50-year coal boom. Life in the Little Cities of Black Diamonds was not always easy or prosperous. Employment in the mines and clay plants rose and fell with economic conditions, and labor-management conflict led to strikes and violence. Even today, smoke from a mine fire, set deep underground during a strike in the 1880s, occasionally appears at the surface. Little Cities of Black Diamonds takes an intimate look at the miners, merchants, managers, and magnates who built the cities, villages, businesses, and homes of the Hocking Valley coal boom period. Since collapse of the coal industry around 1920, much has been lost, but the coal boom legacy lives on. In places such as Shawnee, New Straitsville, Eclipse, Glouster, and Haydenville, a small group of dedicated citizens works tirelessly to record, preserve, and celebrate the region's rich heritage.

Settlers from the East Coast began arriving in the Brunswick area, then part of the Western Reserve, in 1815 in search of better lives and land to farm. Through backbreaking labor, these courageous pioneers cleared the land and built their homesteads and mills. Eventually, churches, general stores,
blacksmith shops, and other businesses began to sprout up in what would become known as Brunswick Center. In 1901, the Cleveland Southwestern Interurban was built through the township, creating jobs and revenue, as well as a new source of fun, as families traveled to Cleveland for shopping and recreation. Brunswick became a city on October 2, 1960, and in 1965, residents celebrated the city's
sesquicentennial. Interstate 71 opened, connecting Brunswick with Cleveland in 1974. What was once a quiet farming community has now burgeoned into a lively city, boasting one of the oldest churches in the Western Reserve and Hiram Miller's Underground Railroad station.

There's more than one Brooklyn in the United States, but with the exception of the one in New York, Old Brooklyn in Ohio has the most interesting history.

Based on the confluence of older Native American trails, Old Brooklyn was originally settled in 1814 as the hamlet of Brighton, originally laid out on land belonging to a farmer named Warren Young. Another incorporation in 1889 renamed the village South Brooklyn, eventually being annexed by the city of Cleveland in 1905 because of its successful light plant. Perhaps Old Brooklyn's biggest claim to fame was the introduction of greenhouse gardening by Gustave Ruetenik & Sons, giving the area the title "Greenhouse Capital of the United States.'? After its appropriation into Cleveland, Old Brooklyn's commercial development reached its apex, and also became home to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in 1907.

Bay Village evolved from a fishing and farming hamlet into a retreat and resort area for some of Cleveland's wealthiest families.

Tucked away in the northeast corner of Cuyahoga County, Bay Village lies just outside Cleveland. The first settlers arrived around 1810 during the nation's westward expansion. The village was primarily agrarian in the beginning, home to many vineyards. By the end of the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had gained momentum, and in 1896, an electric railway was built through the city, runningfrom Cleveland to Toledo. Bay Village evolved from a fishing and farming hamlet into a retreat and resort area for some of Cleveland's wealthiest families. Many of their summer cottages still stand today as refurbished family homes. Bay Village explores this community's rich history through vintage images from the Bay Village Historical Society and the Bay Village Library.

The city of Westlake was originally settled as part of Dover Township. In the period between 1811 and 1840, the pioneers cleared the forest to make way for agriculture. The land shaped the boundaries of the township, a 15.9-square-mile area rich in farms, dairies, orchards, and vineyards. The town's businesses grew and prospered, and Dover became the second-largest shipping point for grapes in the United States. Over time the farms have disappeared from the landscape, but the city's proud heritage continues today. Westlake is an opportunity to experience not only the past events in the city of Westlake but also the lives of the people who call Westlake home.

Over the past hundreds of years, trillions of gallons of pure, crystal clear water have flowed through the subterranean aquifer system under Huron and Erie Counties in Ohio. The water comes to the surface at the Castalia Springs and the famous Blue Hole, both popular tourist destinations receiving thousands of visitors. Artificial canals were dug in the early 1800s to convey the water northward from Castalia to Venice to power flour mills, subsequently transforming the muskrat marshes into rich farmland. Water was also piped to Sandusky for brewing Crystal Rock beer. The fastmoving waters of Cold Creek provided a favorable environment for raising game trout. This resulted in the establishment of several private troutfishing clubs renowned throughout Ohio. Castalia, Cold Creek, and the Blue Hole offers a pictorial journey through the history of Cold Creek from Seneca Caverns near Bellevue to the carp pens in Venice on Sandusky Bay.