USA > Ohio > Portage County > Portage heritage; a history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and townships and the men and women who have developed them; its life, institutions and biographies, facts and lore > Part 16
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accident was never determined, but the railroad paid many thousands of dollars in damages in settlement to the families of the victims.
Previous to World War I, there had not been much interest in military af- fairs in the county. The war stimu- lated military interest and in 1924, Ravenna got an armory, located on Freedom Street, where military or- ganizations were formed and trained. Kent got one soon afterwards. This is still located on Lake Street.
In 1924, also, the American Legion posts put on campaigns in towns of the county for installation of flag standards in front of business places, for better observance of flag displays on holidays and other important events.
With towns and villages growing rapidly, civic progress was manifest- ed in many ways-paving, building, new government agencies and private organizations. People kept an eye on governments and considered new ideas. In 1921, Kent voters were asked to pass on a city commission plan, with a city manager feature. They voted it down, just as they did 33 years later, when the same proposal came up. In each case voters felt the old way was the better.
HIRAM COMMUNITY INSTITUTE
People became more interested in ownership of stocks and bonds. Mon- ey was growing plentiful. In 1924, an organization made a drive to sell
$200,000.00 of bonds to enlarge the Brady Lake grounds as a pleasure re- sort, but apparently did not succeed.
Of more than ordinary interest is the Community Institute, started at Hiram College in 1945, and held there annually since. It is a discussion con- ference intended to be of use in living and making a living in rural and small communities, the "rurban" com- munities as distinguished from the "urban." Due largely to the efforts of President Paul H. Fall of Hiram Col- lege, it was meant to foster better liv- ing in these sections, and to help solve the community problems there- in. Talks were given by community leaders, by authorities in various fields and by many distinguished pub- lic men. It has attracted considerable attention.
A building boom followed the first World War, but this did not reach the massive proportions that it at- tained after the Second World War. The natural growth of the commun- ity accounted for most of it, but the federal expenditures at the Ravenna Arsenal, the construction of highways and the institution of the Benton- Deerfield reservoir and other impor- tant projects stimulated business so that home building went to new heights. In the past few years, mass construction was seen all over the county and at present building firms plan and have under way homes that sometimes number four or five hun-
Rural mail Route 29, now Route 1, out of Mantua, is said to have been the first rural mail route in Ohio. Oscar Witherell was its first carrier, followed by George Harper. Fred Gallagher drives it today.
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dred in one place. One enterprise that reached tremendous total proportions was the furnishing of sand and gravel from pits and banks that lie within the county, found particularly abun- dant in northern and western town- ships. Thousands upon thousands of tons of gravel were transported over the highways for construction work at the arsenal, the new Turnpike and other installations.
TAKE TO THE AIR
In the national prohibition era in the twenties, Portage County had its share of trouble with boot-legging operators. Many arrests and prosecu- tions were made and in some cases murders resulted from trouble be- tween rival leggers. Stills and liquor were seized, where found. However, law enforcement officers are still con- fronted with the same problem today, though on a lessened scale.
When air travel developed, there was talk of local town airfields and in some cases, work was done to de- velop these. A number of private fields were constructed for plane owners, or for "pay" operators. But airports for small cities were found impractical and Portage residents de- pend largely on nearby large fields. Kent State University, though, does now own nearby Stow field, where the principles of aviation are taught.
IN GOVERNOR'S CHAIR
In the early part of the present century, a young Portage County man
began to attract attention in the polit- ical field. He was Martin L. Davey, of Kent, who was elected mayor of the town in 1913. In the fall of 1918, he successfully ran for representative from the then Fourteenth Ohio dis- trict to fill an unexpired term as well as the full term following. Altogether, he served three successive terms. In 1928, he became Democratic candi- date for governor, and though defeat- ed, ran ahead of his ticket. By that time he had established'himself as an astute politician and in 1934, again ran for governor, this time being elected. This was during the great depression and he faced difficult problems. The state sales tax had been set up, but to his administration was the duty of first putting it in effect. Food was then dropped as an article of taxation. The state school founda- tion law was set up as a means of aid- ing public education. Additional problems arose in the administration of public relief and with labor troubles. Mr. Davey served two terms as governor and retired from active politics in 1940. In the Davey ad- ministration, D. L. Rockwell of Ra- venna served as state fire marshal, and W. A. Walls of Kent was welfare director for a time.
David Ladd Rockwell, from a lead- ing Kent family, also made a name for himself in politics. After being "boy mayor" of Kent two terms after 1900, he was elected as probate judge, serving two terms. In 1908 he ran for
Ebenezer W. Earl, who came to Windham in 1814, was a champion rail splitter and tree slasher. He could split from 400 to 600 rails per day. For this he was paid 12-1/2 cents per hundred.
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lieutenant governor on the Demo- cratic ticket. Though he was not elect- ed, he began to attract attention as an organizer and manager in state and national party councils. In 1924, he was the manager for W. G. McAdoo in his famous bid for the Democra- tic presidential nomination. Davey and Rockwell were long political and personal friends.
DAMAGE BY STORM
On the night of May 14, 1956, a tornado-like storm struck through Portage County and did hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of dam- age. It swept southeasterly through Streetsboro and Ravenna. The steeple was blown from the Streetsboro Meth- odist church, many buildings and in- stallations were wrecked and Raven- na lost many of the stately shade trees for which the town was noted.
In 1956 an installation of unusual nature was made in Portage County. The Pittsburgh Consolidated Coal Co. workmen laid a pipe line through Atwater, Edinburg, Ravenna, Shalers- ville, Mantua, and Aurora townships for conveyance of coal from Cadiz, Ohio to Lake Erie points. In this pul- verized coal is "pumped" through the pipe by hydraulic force. It is said this was the first of its kind in the country.
The new Portage County Infirm- ary, or Home, building was erected in 1952 on the old location in Shalers- ville township, north of Ravenna. It
was done at a cost of $450,000.00 and was authorized by popular vote on a bond issue.
The land on which the farm is located was once the home of General David McIntosh, probably Shalers- ville's best known citizen, who sold the land to the county in 1839, for $5,000.00. The buildings thereon were then used for Infirmary purposes un- til 1858, when they became inade- quate. A bond issue was then voted for new buildings which were then erected at a cost of little more than $15,000.
DEVOTED TO FLAG
General McIntosh was an interest- ing character, interested in early mil- itary organization, in which he gained the title of major general of the mili- tia. He was an ardent supporter of Union War efforts in the Civil War. He was devoted to his flag and in 1883, gave an endowment of $1,- 000.00, the proceeds of which were to furnish flags for the court house at Ravenna and for such townships that needed them, with management of the fund in the hands of the county commissioners. The bequest is still in operation. General McIntosh also once represented his county in the state legislature.
Homes and property all over Port- age County now have modern fire protection. Every township in the county either has its own fire com- pany or has a contract with an adja-
Cyrus Prentiss, Ravenna business man, established a tannery there in 1836 and in 1838 installed a steam engine in the plant. This is said to have been the first steam engine used in Portage County.
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cent township or town. All this has been made possible through use of motorized vehicles and good roads, and the system of carrying water to fires in a tank truck to supplement supplies on the spot. Use of chemicals in fire fighting has also increased ef- ficiency. A fire company at the Ra- venna Arsenal is sometimes available and nearly every town is generous in furnishing aid to help other places, though some towns have found it. necessary to limit their services in some respects.
It is easy now for older people whose lives have spanned sixty or seventy years, to realize the difference between living sixty years ago and now. The world here in Portage County has been truly motorized and mechanized, with the result of more rapid living and in most ways, more comfortable.
LIFE MUCH EASIER
To one reared, perhaps on a farm home where long hard hours of work were the rule, life today is unbeliev- able soft. Particularly true was. this for women. Where once she spent her long days in cooking, mending, washing over a tub, and ironing, even helping with men's work, she has a dozen appliances to ease her labor. Electrical sweepers, refrigerators and other devices have softened her days.
For men, too, life is easier. Power devices, from saws to bull dozers, have taken away the heavier work. Where
Paddy or Ignatz worked on the rail- road with shovel and wheelbarrow, the same work is done many times faster and easier by machinery. The result of course, that many more pro- fessions and skills are now needed.
Yesterday, so to speak, people knew little of the need of sanitation, or even understood what sanitation was as we know it today. As a conse- quence, there were sicknesses of un- known causes. As pointed out in an- other chapter, with the presence of modern hospitals and modern scien- tific treatment of disease, people here are far ahead in the prevention of disease or treatment of it.
MORE GO TO COLLEGE
In 1900, college education was for the few, often something to be at- tained by hard work and sacrifice. Today, college is the accepted thing and technical education has likewise increased. In the public schools, too, pupils receive training in subjects un- thought of years ago. It is a time of mass education.
In old days, marriages were likely to be the result of propinquity, es- pecially in rural sections. Today, the youthful swain roams far afield in search of his ideal and the motor car is his means of getting around.
Amusements and diversions have a wider variety today. Where once base- ball, football, horse racing, and cock fighting appealed to some, we now have these and golf, boating, flying,
Hopson Hurd, early Aurora merchant, kept a barrel of whiskey in the basement of his store. When a customer paid his bill he was given a tin dipper and told to go below and help himself to the liquor.
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The 7-story mill in Aurora, at Center- ville, near the Geauga line, was famous in its day.
camping, and a dozen other divers- ions. We have college and high school bands with majorettes and ba- ton twirling. We get around much more rapidly and easier, finance com- panies almost force loans upon you, and we live in air conditioned homes. School houses have become palaces. Everyone appears to have money, few need to worry about poverty, because of retirement systems and old age pensions. We indeed live in an age of luxury in comparison with days of 1807.
If the changes that have come in style of living in the past century are unbelievable to many, no less is this so is the change in the overall picture. No longer is Portage a county of farms, with a few country towns. It is not even a country area. We have suddenly become part of a metropoli- tan area-or suburban area-and per-
haps even two of them. We are a dis- tinct part of the new system of dis- tribution of population.
FARM FADES AWAY
As this is being written, many thoughtful men are urging new polit- ical sub-divisions. Many would make the county, instead of the town, vil- lage, or township, an entity. The trend is that way. In future days one may say that he lives in Portage as though speaking of his home town. Those who plan would lay out the county much as the town has been in the past. There is a distinct trend to such end. The farm, as such, may be passing entirely out of the picture for Portage County.
One of the great developments af- fecting Portage was the construction of the Ohio Turnpike in 1954-1955. This great highway runs from Penn- sylvania on the east to the Indiana line, passing through four Portage townships. These are Windham, Free- dom, Shalersville, and Streetsboro. It's construction was of great econom- ic stimulus to the county, not only by way of employment but in providing materials. The Turnpike was built at a cost of $326,000,000.00 and literally thousands of motor vehicles pass over it at high speed every day. Its opera- tion gives employment to many peo- ple in the county. The influence here of this great work is large and probab- ly cannot be fully foreseen at this time. Observers call attention to the fact that this highway carries more traffic in a single day than the total of Ohio roads in one year of a cen- tury ago.
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St. Peters Of The Fields Church, Roots- town-A rural church in a picturesque setting.
PLAN FOR FUTURE
By 1955, it had become apparent that Portage County was destined for further changes. The population was increasing in a marked degree. In- dustry was seeking new location and there was a marked trend towards decentralization. Since Portage Coun- ty not only had sizeable towns of its own and was situated near larger cit- ies which were extending their oper- ations and influence, it seemed likely that the whole section would grow not only industrially, but in popula- tion. There was growing sentiment for zoning and planning so that a better organization of work and liv- ing could be maintained.
There was growing opposition to new reservoirs as these took many hundreds of acres of farm land from tax duplicates and the county was a loser financially.
Of all the great changes in Portage County, none is more striking than the physical appearance alone. Lakes have appeared where none existed be- fore and others have disappeared or shrunk. Damming the Cuyahoga Riv- er has created an eight mile long Ak- ron reservoir in Franklin and Streets- boro Townships. In Brimfield and Suffield, the Mogadore reservoir spreads over hundreds of acres. In the south-east corner of the county the Deerfield-Berlin reservoir along the Mahoning can be seen.
COUNTY CRISS-CROSSED
Long lines of wide, well graded highways traverse the county like a giant grid pattern. Across the north- ern part, the great Ohio Turnpike has cut a mighty swath. Railroads, too, leave their definite marks. Most of the forests have disappeared. Swamp lands have been drained. Groups of buildings and installations are like towns themselves, such as the Ravenna Arsenal and Kent State Uni- versity. Factories and smoke stacks can be seen far away. On the farms themselves, new methods have brought about great changes. Old set- tlers could now hardly recognize the localities they once called home.
Giant transmission lines cut over the terrain like blazed trails, while unseen, but underground pipes carry cargoes of oil, gas, and even pulver- ized coal.
Hundreds of tall silos can be seen on farms and in Shalersville the great tower for co-axial cable for television can be seen for many miles.
In the animal world, bear and deer were the first to disappear before the
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advancing ranks of settlers. Deer dis- appeared by 1830, but a hundred years later began to straggle back. While not numerous today, they are frequently seen.
The scourge of early days was the deadly rattlesnake. They existed by the thousands. Deaths from snake bites were frequent. But mass attacks were made on their dens and some- times several hundred were extermin- ated at a time. While not extinct, to- day they are seldom encountered.
COMES THE STARLING
In 1876 a Ravenna paper noted the appearance in the county of the Eng- lish sparrow. The starling, also an imported bird, first came about 1926 or 1927. Both these birds now exist here in great numbers.
In the summer of 1956 the entire county was stirred by organized hunts by officers for Alfred Wilson, a craz- ed killer who had slain three persons in Trumbull and Portage Counties. For nearly a week many residents were in a state of terror until officers located and killed Wilson while he was resisting arrest.
An innovation brought on by the
motor age was beginning, about 1940, of the annual "soap-box derby" races. In these, boys raced each other in the home made vehicles powered by grav- ity. The race is promoted by a large motor manufacturing company in co- operation with local newspapers. Lo- cal winners race in the nation-wide competition. Apparently, these races are a permanent affair. The object is the stimulation of mechanical ability in boys.
To many older people, an astonish- ing development of recent years is the large number of organizations. They have sprung up for every pur- pose - political, religious, fraternal, business, labor, cultural, civic, social, and many others. It has been estimat- ed that there is in Portage County nearly 1,000 active organizations, each with many committees at work.
The editors started out by saying that people of Portage County are fortunate as they live in a favored sec- tion. The county is a good one in which to make a living and to live in, materially and otherwise. A study of the conditions of the past and present serves to confirm the statement.
Big Day In Politics
In the fiery Mckinley-Bryan campaign of 1896, feeling was intense. In October the Bryan advocates organized an enormous meeting and parade at Ravenna. The parade was approximately two miles in length and around 700 massed horsemen were a feature. So large and enthusiastic was the meeting that the Republicans became alarmed over its effects and hastily organized a parade of their own that evening, calling in groups from all over the county and some from Akron. This parade was not so large or well conducted as the rival group but it was a very good one and the Mckinley supporters said the "edge had been taken off" the Bryan affair.
The first naturalized woman citizen of Portage County is believed to have been Helen Francusik, of Ravenna. She filed her application in the county clerk's office in Ra- venna, on March 3, 1919.
CHAPTER X Transportation
By DUDLEY S. WEAVER
Somewhere deep in the woods was a salt spring, and a salt lick. The deer found it and after the deer the In- dians, and a trail was formed. In time, the trail became a hunting path and when the white man came, it was a thoroughfare for all.
The trail then became a Road but no longer a thing of the wild. New steps were heard hammering over it- hooves of horses, mules and oxen, but always with the tread of men. The Road reached out and gradually it reached other roads.
Everything was changing. Men worked with tools instead of guns. They sought to make the Road smooth and easier for passage for all, and keep it out of the mud. New routes and cutoffs were fashioned and fills were made. They used "corduroy" with logs, then macadam, then hard surfaces.
Today in Portage County, the Road runs wide and smooth across it under a score of different names and num- bers, such as "Ohio Turnpike"; U. S. Highways Nos. 224 and 422; State Routes Nos. 5, 14, 18, 43, 44, 80, 88, 225, 261, 282, 303, 305, 306, 526, 532, 627, and 700. County highways, now very good, are identified by names and numbers such as CH 72, Johnny- cake Hollow; CH 98, Fox-Powder- mill; CH 163, Lovers Lane, and others. But beneath all these the old Road still sleeps only to stir occasionally when concrete buckles or grass and weeds spring up.
COUNTY ROADS 1700-1840
Transportation, in its evolution from the ox-drawn or horse drawn vehicles of yesteryear to the fast moving jets of today, has been an important part in transforming Port- age County from a wilderness into a prosperous, modern community.
The area now known as Portage County offered a short cut to the rug- ged pioneers moving westward from Warren and the East and by way of New York State. Proof of this today are traces of the Mahoning or Great Indian Trail running nearly east and west through Palmyra, Edinburg, Ra- venna, and Franklin. It was the old direct Indian route from Detroit to the Ohio River. East of our county it passed the famous Salt Springs, long found useful not only by animals but by Indians and whites. The Indian Trail Survey listed this route as Trail No. 4, but some of the Indian tribes called it the "Trail of Falling Tears", because so many of their people had been murdered by enemies while traveling upon it.
Less well known was the trail run- ning due south from a junction of the Great Trail near Standing Rock and crossing the elevation where Kent State University now stands. Another trail of note connected the principal camping grounds of the Indians at Hiram Rapids, with their winter resi- dence in Windham, passing near Gar- rettsville. These trails usually follow- ed high ground to avoid snow and
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Old Cuyahoga House hotel, N. Mantua St., Franklin Mills. A popular stopping place in stage coach and canal days.
marshy ground and gave a clear view of the country.
ROAD MAKING STARTS
Within the limits of the county's 521 square miles, at least 23 Indian trails were known as of 1803. We must consider them our first county highway system.
One of the first real improvements was the construction of a bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Franklin township in 1803. Then a widening and bypassing project along the Trail between Hudson and Ravenna. The same year saw a state road for military use cut through from Youngstown to Stow. Today it is known as the Camp- bellsport-Kent Road. Further north the road known today as "Pioneer Trail" was pushed through from War- ren to Aurora, and another tied At- water with Deerfield.
About 1809 the government insti- tuted two mail routes. Mail was car- ried horseback between Warren and Cleveland and later between Pitts-
burgh and Cleveland. Mail agents re- ported condition of roads to head- quarters. After 1810 the opening of roads began to follow a pattern later used to connect centers of townships. But highway travel remained hazard- ous for many years. Freight wagons were in use but traffic was limited. Horseback travel was safest and surest of all for passengers.
After Ravenna became the county seat, freight wagon owners established Ravenna as a station on their route. About 1823 passenger coach lines were being run through the county in all directions. These routes includ- ed Warren to Cleveland runs via Franklin Mills; Wellsville to Cleve- land via Deerfield, Ravenna and Streetsboro. Other routes went north or south from Ravenna and in the northern section routes passed through Nelson, Hiram, Mantua and Aurora.
But all roads were poor. About 1838 macadam roads were introduced but received little attention because
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people were too much interested in the new canal.
PATHS ARE "BRUSHED"
In his notes concerning his first trip here, Benjamin Tappan speaks of "brushing" a way from Boston town- ship toward Ravenna, for "sled roads." This consisted of merely cut- ting down such brush as would im- pede the progress of a sledge. There was no surveying, laying out or grad- ing. This preliminary work ceased as he hit the old Indian Trail, outside of present Portage county. Actually, the Indian Trail had been the scene of much pack train travel around 1786 and later. James Hillman, Youngs- town pioneer, described his part of it in his notes. Elias Harmon of Man- tua, told in his diary that in June, 1799, he spent several days "cutting a road to Aurora", which probably meant a sled road. Older histories also tell of the construction of a rough road from Aurora towards Cleveland in 1799 and 1800. There were also roads set up from Nelson township west in 1802. One of the earliest was brought up to Atwater from George- town, Pa., and for years Deerfield was considered the end of the road from the East.
Probably there were no formal, or legal roads in the first twenty years of
Local cemeteries today are universally kept in fine condition and some in Port- age County have gained renown for their beauty. One such is Ravenna's Maple Grove cemetery. From 1878 to 1898 P. L. King was superintendent there and he did much to beautify and mod- ernize. Previously, graves were mound shaped but he leveled all to the ground as they remain today. The step was taken in the face of bitter opposition from those who thought graves were being "desecrated."
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