(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) CHAPTER XXXIV. CUYAHOGA FALLS — ORIGINALLY CALLED " MANCHESTER " -- MAGNIFICENT WATER POWER—PIONEER SETTLERS—EARLY ENTERPRISES, SUCCESSES AND REVERSES—ALLEGED FRAUDULENT TRANSACTION—ONE YEAR A COUNTY SEAT—PIONEER TEMPERANCE SOCIETY OF OHIO—FIRST WHISKY " STRIKE " ON RECORD—PIONEER CYLINDER PAPER MILL WEST OF THE ALLEGHANIES --QUITE A COINCIDENCE—ORGANIZATION OF TOWN, TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE—EARLY AND MODERN NEWSPAPERS—MUSICAL, SOCIAL AND FRATERNAL—EARLY AND MODERN HOTELS—THE WOMEN'S CRUSADE OF 1858— " SHINPLASTER " MILL AND OTHER BANKING OPERATIONS—EARLY INSURANCE COMPANY—FINE PLEASURE RESORTS—DESTRUCTIVE FIRES—SPLENDID MILITARY RECORD—THE SULTANA DISASTER—BEAUTIFUL SOLDIERS' MONUMENT—HONORABLE CIVIL SERVICE—LIGHT CRIMINAL 'CALENDAR—EDUCATIONAL AND CHURCH MATTERS—PRESENT BUSINESS STATUS, ETC. PRELIMINARY. To give the full early history of Cuyahoga Falls, would largely be anticipating the matters and things contained in the sketches herein to be given of Stow and. Tallmadge townships, the larger portion of its territory, and all of its water-power, having been embraced within the original limits of those two townships; that north of the township line, (crossing the river a short distance south of Portage street), belonging to Judge Joshua Stow, of Middletown, Conn., and that south of the line being a part of the 1,000 acre tract drawn by Roger Newberry, of Windsor, Conn. Though Judge Stow, whose portrait appears in the chapter bearing his name, made several visits to Ohio, he never became a permanent resident here, Judge William Wetmore acting as his agent for the sale of his lands, and the transaction of all business relating thereto. Judge Wetmore afterwards, (about 1824), purchased an undivided one-half interest in 120 acres of land covering Judge Stow's portion of the water-power in question, thus becoming a partner with Judge Stow in sundry important business enterprises to be hereafter written of. Roger Newbery died in 1813, his Tallmadge lands thus coming into the possession of his son, Henry, who' in 1814, came out to view them, and was so well pleased with them, and the promise they gave of future value, both in an agricultural and manufacturng point of view, that he determined to remove thither for permanent settlement, though it was nearly 10 years before he finally removed to Ohio, so that the improvement of both sections was about simultaneous, in 1825. PIONEER MILLS, NAME' ETC.—As early as 1815, under some arrangement with Judge Wetmore, as Judge Stow's agent, a dam was thrown across the river, by Francis Kelsey and Isaac Wilcox, about where the C., A. & C. Railroad bridge now is, at which point a saw-mill was erected for the purpose of supplying the "navy yard" at Old Portage with lumber, Judge Wetmore being commissary for the troops stationed at Old Portage during the War of 1812-15. 726 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Other milling operations-grist mill' linseed oil mill, etc.—were also entered into, at this point, and quite a number of dwe ing houses were erected along the west bank of the river, sever of which are still standing, having for many years past been known as the "Old Village." This village was at first called "Manchester," probably after the great English manufacturing town of that name, in view of the manufacturing possibilities of the locality. Later, however, when postal facilities were asked for, in about 1826, it being found that there were several other Manchesters in the State, at the suggestion of the postmaster general, the name of Cuyahoga Fal was adopted, the appropriateness of which is apparent, bei located at the more important of the 'numerous falls and rapids the Cuyahoga river, Mr. Henry Newberry being the first post' master of the village. THE NAME Or INDIAN ORIGIN.-The name of the river itself, is from an Indian word, generally supposed to signify "crooked," because of the remarkably tortuous course of the stream, rising, as it does, in Ashtabula and Geauga counties, and, after a southwesterly course through Portage and Summit, to within about two miles of Akron, turning abruptly to the north, and with an almost infinite variety of zig-zag turnings and twistings—often almost doubling upon itself' as at Peninsula—emptying into Lake Erie, at Cleveland. This meaning of the word, I am assured by Mr. D. E. Shongo, of Salamanca, N. Y., an educated Seneca Indian, and a highly accomplished civil engineer, is erroneous, Mr. Shongo giving the real derivation of the name as follows: " 'Cuyahoga' is a Seneca Indian word, giving a geographical locality to the word o-yo-ha, which means a ‘jaw,' or 'jaw-bone.' The prefix 'ca' is definitive of position, from caia,' meaning (lying or existing, not living) on 'the ground.' 'Ga' is an affix, giving definite geographical locality (not direction). So by prefix and affix we have Ca-yo-ha-ga,' the geographical locality of the jaw-bone. In the pronunciation, c hard like g or k; a is like the English in the word ah; y is like the English e, and yo is pronounced as in the English yeo; ha is as ah; ga is as gate, leaving off the te. The Senecas gave the rive•'. and locality in the vicinity of Cleveland, the name of Cayohaga,' because, in the long dim past, and before the advent of the white man, a mammoth jaw-bone, etc., was found along the sedimentary deposits and morasses of the river, about five miles easterly of Cleveland, at or near Newburg; from all accounts it must have been the skeleton of the mastodon." THE PRESENT VILLAGE.-Cuyahoga Falls, proper, was first laid out in 1825, by Judge Elkanah Richardson, who had, in 1822' built the house long known as the "Red House" and afterwards as the "Peck House," on the west side of Front street, a little north of the "Big Spring." A new survey, and an official plat, was afterward made, and duly recorded in the Records of Portage county, by Bird sey Booth, Esq., a small addition being later made thereto from land lying east of the 210 acre tract of Stow and Wetmore, and north of the Tallmadge line, by Joseph Hale, platted and recorded in 1837 by Russell H. Ashmun, of Tallmadge' afterwards Summit county's first county surveyor, as elsewhere stated. PIONEER INDUSTRIES - 727 In the early Spring of 1825, Stow & Wetmore commenced operations in the new village, the first step being the erection of a log house on the east side of Front street, just north ofi where Gilbert's livery stable now stands. In April of this year, William Wetmore, Jr., superintended a gang of about 30 men in constructing a dam across the river, north of Portage street, which was completed in the following June, the company erecting at this point a saw-mill, a grist-mill and a linseed oil-mill. The erection of this dam destroyed the power at the old village and the works there were abandoned, the dam and buildings being taken down and removed. DEATH OF JUDGE WETMORE.—Judge Wetmore died at his residence, on the east margin of Silver Lake, October 27, 1827, his sons, Henry, Ogden, William, Jr., and Edwin' succeeding to his property, and the three former to his business interests, the firm of Stow & Wetmores long continuing prominent in the manufacturing and mercantile operations of the village. In 1826, the year previous to the death of his father, William Wetmore, Jr., erected the building on the northwest corner of Front and Portage streets, for a dwelling house and store. It was so used until 1828, when the stock of goods was removed to the building now occupied by the Cuyahoga Falls Reporter' on the southwest corner of the streets named. The original building was then converted into a hotel, its first proprietor being Benjamin F. Hopkins' followed by Ezra B. Morgan, S. A. Childs' Ira Loomis, Henry Cooke, A.W. Hall and perhaps others, under the title of the'"American House," and by John F. Perry and John B. Perry, as the "Perry House," the present, proprietor, Mr. George Marvin, having made important additions and improvements and changed its name to " Clifford Inn." PIONEER PAPER MILL.--In 1830, Stow & Wetmores, in connection with Mr. John Rumrill, a practical paper-maker, from Spring field, Mass., and still living at Cuyahoga Falls' over 90 years of age, completed and equipped a large paper mill, near their dam' on the east side of the river' the remains of which are still visible on the bank of the river. This was the pioneer of the many subsequent paper-making ventures made in the new village, and in the matter of making paper by machinery (substantially as at the present time)' instead of by the old hand process' is believed to have been the pioneer, mill in Ohio. The first sheet of paper was run from the cylinder December 8, 1830' by Mr. Rumrill, and it is related as quite a coincidence that Mr. Henry Wetmore' the business manager of the firm' being at that moment about to start to Franklin Mills to be married, took the first sheet of paper along to exhibit as a trophy of the enterprise of his firm, to his bride and her friends, Mr. Wetmore being that evening married to Eliza Bradford Price, at the house of her uncle' Captain William H. Price, then the only merchant there, and the owner of a large part of the land on which the village of Kent now stands. Mr. an& Mrs. Wetmore are still living' and in the enjoyment of a fair degree of physical and mental vigor' the former 90, and the latter 81 years of age. MR. NEWBERRY'S OPERATIONS.--Lower down the river, Mr. Newberry, during this time, was pushing a variety of manufacturing enterprises' upon his property there. Coming to Ohio, in 1824, he lived for about two years on the farm now owned by Hiram 728 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Gaylord, immediately south of Silver Lake, dividing his time between his farm and his village operations. The first building erected on his property was a log house, for the accommodation of his workmen, in 1825, just north of the hotel of Mr. George L. Bouys, on the east side of the river; a year later buying a two story frame building that was being erected for a store, corner East Broad and East Front streets (still standing), which he converted into a dwelling house for his own use, and which he occupied until the completion of his fine stone residence on the hill to the eastward, in 1840, where he lived until his death, in 1854. HENRY NEWBERRY, - born in Windsor' Connecticut, January 27, 1783 ; educated at Yale College ; was for several years a merchant in Hartford, where, October 9, 1803, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Strong, born April 29, 1782. His father, General Roger Newberry, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of the original proprietors of Tallmadge, purchasing by draft' in 1798, one thousand acres in the northern part of the township. On the death of his father, in 1814, Mr. Newberry visited Ohio, and again in 1818 and 1822, and in 1824 removed his family thither, being one of the founders of the village of Cuyahoga Falls, erecting dams and mills upon the river, and engaging largely in farming, mining and manufacturing, one of the present evidences of his enterprise being the elegant brown stone dwelling house directly east of the covered bridge, still known as the "Newberry house." He was the first postmaster of Cuyahoga Falls, and filled many other important official positions. Mr. and Mrs. Newberry were the parents of nine children-Elizabeth, the first Mrs. E. N. Sill, born October 28, 1804, died November 29, 1829; Mary Strong, born September 13, 1808, died December 30, 1855; Fanny, the second Mrs. E. N. Sill' born April 4, 1810, died February 14, 1849; Julia, Mrs. H. S. Holbrook, born April 1, 1812; Almira, Mrs. William Fogle, born March 18, 1814; Eunice, Mrs. C. S. Sill, born September 18, 1815, died September 2, 1867; Henry, county auditor of Summit county, 1852 to 1854, born June 29, 1817, died December 21, 1875 ; John Strong, now a professor in Columbia College, New York City, born December 22, 1822 ; Sarah .E., Mrs. J. P. Holbrook, born February 8, 1825. Mr. Newberry died December 5, 1854, and Mrs. Newberry,.November 24, 1858. In 1825 Mr. Newberry built the dam now (1891) used by the Variety Works of The Turner' Vaughn & Taylor Co., erecting thereon a saw-mill on the west side, and a linseed oil-mill on the east side. The oil-mill being carried away by a flood, in 1832, was immediately rebuilt and for a while was run as an oil-mill, by E. N. Sill and Ogden Wetmore, but afterwards converted into a paper-mill by Prentiss Dow and John Rumrill, and later, for some years' run by Prentiss and George Dow. MAGNIFICENT WATER-POWER.--It is not the province of this work, even were data and space available, to present a detailed history of the many manufacturing and business operations-successes and disasters-that have obtained in Cuyahoga Falls, during the three-fourths of a century of its existence. With water-power EARLY INHABITANTS - 729 —then the great desideratum of manufacturing operations—second to no other point in Ohio, and with a population unsurpassed for intelligence and enterprise, its prospects at the beginning' and for a number of years thereafter, were bright and promising in the extreme. Located some 500 feet above the level of Lake Erie, with the very finest of agricultural surroundings, it had within its corporate henmits, and immediate vicinity, an aggregate fall of about 150 feet, furnishing at the lowest stage of water,, fully 4,000 cubic feet per minute. Only a part of this power, however' owing to causes to be hereafter written of, has ever been utilized, though a large variety of manufactures are now being driven by three other dams besides those already named' the five representing a total fall of .nearly 75 feet, as follows: Upper' or rolling mill dam' 15 feet; Newberry, or Turner, Vaughn & Taylor dam, 10 feet; paper mill dam, 18 feet; Prentiss, or sewer pipe dam' 20 feet, less 31/2 feet taken by "Chuckery;" Hinde dam, 12 rods above old Chuckery dam, 15 feet. EARLY RESIDENTS.—Among the earlier settlers in Cuyahoga Falls, besides those already named, are recalled the following: Rowland Clapp and Grant B. Turner, 1828, (died in 1881); John Rumrill, (still living); Colonel Asa Stanley, 1829; Elisha N. Sill, 1829, (died April 25, 1888' aged 88 years); John Eadie, George Dailey, Oliver Dewey and Israel James, 1830; Oliver B. Beebe, 1831, (deceased); Major Charles W. Wetmore, Seth D. Wetmore, 1832, (both deceased); and earlier, or soon afterwards, Joseph T. Holloway, William A. Lawson, Preston Sawyer, Noah E, Lemoin, Henry Orrin and C. H. James, Noah and Dr. Chester W. Rice, J. A. Beebe, J. Blair, George H. Lodge, John Willard, S. D. Clark, Alexander English, J. H. Reynolds, Thomas and Isaac Sill, Asa Mariner, John Alexander, William Perkins, John Stouffer, Charles, William and Henry A. Sill, Horace Canfield, Timothy Phelps Spencer, Thomas Santom, R. H. Shellhorn, H. H. Smoke, B. Thalhimer, William Turner, William EL Taylor, Charles Thornburg, William H. Withey, George, Hiram S. and Almon Vaughn,, Salmon and Sylvester Loomis, Jabez and Charles R. Hamlin, Simon Brown, J. Jenkins, John and Epaphroditus Wells, Abraham Yockey, Henry Barger. John H. Brainard, Nathaniel Rose, William and James Alley, Dr. Richard Fry, A. B. Gilespie, Samuel Goodrich, B. R. Nanchester, " Judge" Burgess, H. N. Pool, Isaac Cooke, S. A. Childs, R. Chaffee, L. W. and Theodore R. Butler' David and Apollos Wadsworth, Cyrus C. and Livy L. Wilcox, Isaac A. Ballou, Enoch Adams, and somewhat later, Asa G. and Henry W. Bill, Hosea Paul, Henry and Orrin Cooke, Andrew Dailey, John B. Harrison, Timothy L. and Horace A. Miller, George H. Penfield, Sylvester Pease, William A. Hanford, Giles and Joshua L'Hommedieu, William W. Lucas, Ezra S. and Samuel Comstock, A. R. Knox, John Cochran, Captain Isaac Lewis, Martin Griswold, Colonel J. P. Lee, William, Henry, Frank and Samuel Rattle, Samuel W. McClure, Seymour Demming, William A. Taylor, Julius A. and Dr. G. C. Upson, Dr. Porter G. Somers, R. S. Williams, Charles Hunt, Shubel H. Lowery, Seth Ely, George Hubbard, Robert Peebles, Henry E. Howard, Henry Plum, William, Samuel and Thomas Wills, George and Henry E. Parks, Austin Babcock, Edward Youmans, Stephen Powers, Esq., Sherman Peck, Joy H. 730 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Pendleton, George E. Clarke, J. M. Smith, Edwin Starr, James and Charles W. Chamberlain, George A. Stanley, C. Reed, William H Van Tyne, Henry Holbrook, Thomas W. Cornell, Benjamin Phelps F. S. and Dr. T. F. Heath, and many others whose names are no readily recalled. EARLY BUSINESS MATTERS.—Cuyahoga Falls, it will be seen b a comparison of dates, was quite a smart manufacturing villa before Akron was ever dreamed of, and, in the early twenties' h fair to soon outstrip that ancient business emporium, Middlebury and become the great manufacturing center of the Western R serve. Her natural resources were adequate to the full realizatio of this anticipation, but certain artificial schemes soon began t materialize, which served to retard the progress of both hersel and Middlebury, while favoring their mutual rival, Akron' which like a full-armored gladiator, had suddenly stalked into the bune ness arena of the vicinage. The first of these artificial schemes was the construction of the Ohio Canal in 1825-27. Neither Middlebury nor Cuyahoga Falls lying directly upon the canal, they could not, of course' reap the full measure of its benefits of travel and transportation' the result being the establishment along the line of sundry villages and hamlets, as at Akron, Old Portage, Niles, Peninsula, Boston' etc., that drew off a large proportion of the business that would otherwise have come to the earlier villages named. The second scheme to militate against Cuyahoga Falls' was the construction of the Cascade mill race from Middlebury to Akron, by Dr. Eliakim Crosby, in 1832, thus' by the creation of a considerable water power at that point' dividing the attention of manufacturers between the two places, which otherwise would have been concentrated upon Cuyahoga Falls alone. ' The third blow to the manufacturing interests and growth of Cuyahoga Falls was the famous "Chuckery" project, described at length in another chapter, by which more than one-half of the immense power above described, within her borders, was sought to be diverted to "Summit City," by the "Portage Canal and Manufacturing Company" in 1836, but which, through the ultimate failure of that corporation, has remained substantially unimproved and unproductive to the present time. It is but simple justice to the people of Cuyahoga Falls, and to the memory of Mr. Henry Newberry, to state, in this connection, that it was, and is, claimed that the diversion alluded to was effected through absolute fraud, the late Hon. E. N. Sill, Grant B. Turner, Esq., and Mr. Henry Wetmore, and other well-informed old-time residents, now living, who were perfectly familiar wit Mr. Newberry's business and feelings, at the period named' hol ing to this opinion. The fourth back-set to the prosperity of Cuyahoga Falls, w the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal scheme, inaugurated in 1836: and completed in 1840. This, it was supposed would great benefit the village, by giving it communication with the note world, in receiving its supplies of iron, coal, lumber, merchandise, etc., and in shipping its manufactured products' to say nothing about the matter of passenger travel. To a certain extent this expectation was realized. But is was found that being supplied with water from the river at Kent' and CUYAHOGA FALLS AHEAD OF CHICAGO - 731 in turn, besides being used for navigation purposes, with nine locks between Cuyahoga Falls and Akron, it was so largely utilized,. to augment the hydraulic privileges at Akron, that a shortage of water in the river was created, that, in dry seasons, very largely interfered with the manufacturing operation of the village. This disadvantage was patiently endured, long after the usefulness of the canal to the people of Cuyahoga Falls had ceased, by reason of the completion of the "Hudson Branch" railroad from Hudson to Akron, in 1852, and until, by reason of the building of the Mahoning Branch of the A. & G. W. R. R., navigation on the canal was entirely suspended, when the slow process of the law for its formal closing was anticipated by the parties in interest summarily draining off its waters at points both above and below Cuyahoga Falls' in the Spring and Summer of 1868, since which the wheels of the shops and mills upon the river, have had the benefit of all the water the stream affords, though, of course, considerably diminished, from early times, by the clearing up of the timber lands contiguous to its sources and along its banks. To THE CONTRARY, NOTWITHSTANDING.-Yet, in spite of all these drawbacks, Cuyahoga Falls has been, and still is, a town of large business resources and enterprise. Up to 1836 its population, as well as the volume of its manufactures, were fully equal to, if they did not surpass those of Akron, with even brighter prospects for the future. A newspaper description of the business of the town, at that time, is as follows: "Eight dry-goods stores, two drug stores, two groceries, one hat store, one clothing store, four tailors' shops, one milliner's shop, three shoe shops, one book store, one book-bindery, one printing office' four blacksmiths' shops, two tin shops, two cabinet shops, one pump shop, two paper mills, one flouring mill, two saw mills, one oil mill' one tilt-hammer, ax and scythe factory, one woolen mill' one stone saw mill, one planing mill, one chair factory, one foundry' one engine and machine shop, and sundry other smaller works'" placing the amount of goods sold during the year at $107,000 and the sales of real estate at $200,000. AHEAD OF CHICAGO.—In illustration of the life and business activity of Cuyahoga Falls, at this period, it is related that while Mr. Ezra S. Comstock, long a prominent business man of the Falls, was' in 1836, prospecting for a location, after visiting several places in this vicinity, having heard of a place called Chicago, thought he would take a look at that town before locating. But he soon returned to Cuyahoga Falls, saying that it was more of a business place than Chicago, and always would be, locating here accordingly. The panic of 1837, however, added to the prospective loss of one-half, or more, of its water-power, in the manner above set forth,. was a severe blow to its prosperity and growth. Values of real estate rapidly diminished, contemplated business enterprises were indefinitely postponed, mercantile failures ensued, and the general effects of the panic, as at Akron and other points heretofore described, were here felt in their fullest force. A " SHINPLASTER" MILL.-Yet, the people of Cuyahoga Falls pluckily struggled on. To partially remedy the stringency of the money market, incident to the failure of a large proportion of the banks of the country, and the suspension of specie payments by 132 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. all, following the example of many other towns' a quasi-bank was organized, called the "Cuyahoga Falls Real Estate Association'" the paper issued being in denominations of 25 cents to $5.00, a bill of the latter denomination now in the hands of the writer, reading thus: "Treasurer of the Cuyahoga Falls Real Estate Association: Pay on demand, Five Dollars to William G. Oatman, or bearer. Cuyahoga Falls, April 1, 1838" -- bearing also upon its face the legend: "Real Estate pledged by deed of trust to double the excess of issue beyond the capital stock paid in, and stockholders liable," and signed by Mose Thompson, president, and Ogden Wetmore, cashier, the cashiership afterwards devolving upon Birdsey Booth, Esq. This "currency," loaned to merchants, manufacturers and speculators, obtained quite a large circulation, and for a time ill seemed to be lovely for both those who issued and those who handled it. But by and by, holders began to find it difficult to get rid of it, and speculators began buying it up at a discount, and presenting it in such considerable sums for redemption that the institution soon found itself short of the wherewith for its redemption, its embarrassments being increased by the fact that many borrowers were unable to meet their paper at maturity. Added to all this, the rapid decline in value of real estate, and other prop erty, and their inability to realize upon their securities, compelled the company to go into liquidation, bringing disaster to most of its managers, and leaving considerable sums of its issues in the hands of holders to be kept as relics of the financial crisis of 1837-44. SUBSEQUENT BANKING OPERATIONS.—During the existence of the panic above alluded to, nearly all of the banks of the country went by the board, the Western Reserve Bank, at Warren, and the Geauga Bank, at Painesville, being the only ones in Northeastern Ohio to stand the pressure. The Ohio State Bank system, similar to the present National Bank system, having been inaugurated in the early forties, in 1845 the Summit county branch of the State Bank of Ohio, at Cuyahoga Falls, was organized, with a capital of $100,000, by Joseph Hale, Henry B. Tuttle, William Rattle, Horae A. Miller, Charles R. Miller and others, with Joseph Hale as president and H. B. Tuttle as cashier. The stock of this bank was bought, in January, 1851, by Elisha N. Sill, Samuel W. McClure, Ezra S. Comstock, Charles Curtis, and others, E. N. Sill becoming its president and .E. S. Comstock it cashier, James H. Stanley succeeding Mr. Comstock as cashier in 1862. The charter of this bank expiring in 1866, the First National Bank of Cuyahoga Falls, with $50,000 capital, was organized by Thomas W. Cornell, Elisha N. Sill, Chas. S. Sill, Henry Newberry, and others, with E. N. Sill as president, and J. H. Stanley as cashier. In 1869 the franchise of this bank was transferred to the First National Bank of Akron, its stockholders organizing, as a private partnership, "The International Bank of Cuyahoga Falls," with the same officers as before, J. H. Stanley becoming its sole proprietor Sept. 1, 1881, but a series of losses sustained by "over-confidence in the integrity of its customers" compelled its final suspension on the 26th day of October, 1886. ANOTHER SHIN-PLASTER ERA.—At the commencement of the Civil War, all the gold, silver and copper currency of the country disappeared as if by magic, so that, after shifting along for a time BANKS AND FINANCES - 733 with postage stamps for small change, another avalanche of mercantile and personal shin-plasters flooded the country, until the more reliable, and really very convenient, National Fractional. Currency scheme was adopted. Among those to avail themselves-of such private issues, was Mr. William A. Hanford, then extensively engaged in the manufacture of paper at the Falls, Mr. Hanford having kindly presented us with specimens of his entire series, of the denominations of 50, 25, 10 and 5 cents, worded as follows: SUMMIT COUNTY BANK, pay the bearer FIVE CENTS when like orders are presented in amounts of one or more dollars. W. A. HANFORD. Cuyahoga Falls, O., 1862. Unlike the issues of 1837, '38, however, all of this scrip was eventually fully redeemed by Mr. Hanford. PRESENT BANKING FACILITIES.-In the Spring of 1891, The Akron Savings Bank, of which Mr. William Buchtel is president, Judge Charles R. Grant, vice president, and Aaron Wagoner, cashier' established a branch, in the old bank building in Cuyahoga Falls' in charge of Mr. Archie B. Clarke' which is proving a very great convenience to the people of that village. HON. ELISHA NOYES SILL,—son of Dr. Elisha N., and Chloe (Allyn) Sill, born in Windsor, Connecticut, January 6, 1801, graduating from Yale College in 1820' and for several years engaged in teaching ; in 1829 came to Cuyahoga Falls, for a short time engaging in manufacturing, but in 1833 became the secretary of tlie Portage Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which position he ably filled for over a quarter of a century. Mr. Sill, besides serving Portage county as representative, was the first State senator for Portage and Summit' after the erection of the latter' liolding the position two years-1840 to 1842 ; was State fund commissioner seven years ; president Summit County Branch of Ohio State Bank, and its successors, the First National Bank of Cuyahoga Falls and the International Bank, from 1851 to 1869; and also a director in the First National Bank of Akron. October 4, 1824, Mr. Sill was married, in Windsor, to Miss Elizabeth Newberry, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Newberry' who died November 27, 1829, leaving two sons —Alfred H. and Ethelbert — both now residents of Cuyahoga Falls. June 17, 1834, he was again married to Miss Fanny Newberry' sister of the first Mrs. Sill, who died February 14, 1849, having borne him two daughters—Elizabeth Newberry, born in 1838; now widow of the late Edward R. Sill, who with her brother Ethelbert occupies the fine old family homestead, and Mary, born in 1841, who died in 1883. May 1, 1867, Mr. Sill was again married to Mrs. Laura (Dowd) Cooke, widow of the late Henry Cooke, who died September 26, 1873, Mr. Sill himself dying April 26, 1888, aged 87 years, 3 months and 20 days. PIONEER TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. Though millions of gallons of whisky have since been made in Cuyahoga Falls, and though still, like similar towns all over the 734 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. country, cursed with the beer and whisky saloon, and its natura sequence, drunkenness and disorder, the community has' as whole, been a model of sobriety and good order. Indeed, it ma: safely be affirmed that Cuyahoga Falls is the pioneer town of tin Western Reserve, if not of the State, in organized temperance work Howe's History of Ohio, published in 1848, claims for Granville, Licking county, the honor of organizing the first temperance society west of the Allegheny mountains, July 15, 1828, and in this work, Copley is credited with organizing a society in October 1829, which was supposed to be the first in the State. But Stov and Cuyahoga Falls claim, with positive assurance, that they an entitled to the priority. A letter written, several years since, by Dr. Orlando Wilcox, late of Hinckley, a resident of Cuyahoga Fall, from 1827 to 1831 (father of Orlando Wilcox, Esq., now a practicing attorney at Cuyahoga Falls), states that in the Fall of 1827, tin temperance question was discussed by the Medical Association o Portage county, of which himself and Drs. Joseph Cole, of Akron Amos and Philo Wright, of Tallmadge, Titus Chapman, of Middle bury, and Israel Town, of Hudson, were members; that on return ing he presented the matter to Mr. Henry Wetmore, then in charge A Stow & Wetmores' store, at Cuyahoga Falls, in which liquor were kept for sale; that at Mr. Wetmore's request he drew up constitution, to which. seven names were then and there attached as follows: Henry Butler, Washington L. Butler, John J. Gaylord Henry Wetmore, Ogden Wetmore, Rev. David Bacon and Dr Orlando Wilcox; that in the latter part of December, 1827' Rev George Sheldon, of Franklin Mills (Kent), delivered a lecture or temperance, at which Judge Stow was present, that gentleman proposing that if a majority of the people of .the township (Stow would join the society, he would deed to the township any 161 acres of land a committee, appointed for that purpose, might select, the proceeds to be devoted to the purchase of a pall am bier, and for educational purposes. The requisite number o signatures to the constitution (65) was obtained, and the lot dui: selected, but, for reasons not now explainable, the conveyance was never consummated by Judge Stow, though it has been known a the "Temperance Lot" to this day. The next Fourth of July (1828 there was a temperance celebration at the Falls, with Mr. Ogden Wetmore as the orator of the day. A WHISKY STRIKE.—Apropos of this temperance movement, Mr. Henry Wetmore relates that at the time of its inauguration Stow & Wetmores were employing some thirty mechanics an laborers, on their varied improvements upon the river, to whoa rations of grog were regularly dealt out at stated hours of the day amounting to nearly a barrel a week. On the announcement tha no further rations of whisky would be supplied, the entire forc went on a strike; but within a few days fully one-third resume work, and gradually others came back, or their places were fide with new men, and with considerable improvement in the qualit and quantity of labor performed. The first large building to be raised in Cuyahoga Falls, with out the help of grog, was the paper mills of Stow & Wetmores, 1829, in the absence of sufficient local help, a number of recruit coming over from Tallmadge to help elevate the heavy timber and the cause of temperance at the same time. TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION - 735 Yet, notwithstanding the entire absence of whisky, in the raising of this building, Mr. William Alley received a fatal injury from the falling of a heavy stick of timber, from the effects of which he died within a very few days. Dr. Orlando Wilcox, who was a native of Berlin, Conn., and a distant relative of Mr. Isaac Wilcox, one of the earliest settlers in Stow' after a residence of 54 years in Hinckley, returned to Cuyahoga Falls, the scene of his early temperance labors, in 1885, where he died April 3, 1886, at the ripe old age of 84 years. MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION.—The town of Cuyahoga Falls was incorporated, by an act of the Legislature, on the 5th day of March, 1836' the people of the village, prior to that date, being under the legal jurisdiction of their respective original townships, Tallmadge and Stow. The boundaries of the corporation were fixed by the charter as follows: "Beginning at the northwest corner of the township of Tallmadge and running south, on the line of said township 240 rods; thence east 240 rods; thence north to the north line of lots one and two in said township of Stow; thence west 240 rods; thence to the place of beginning, and any addition that may hereafter be platted and recorded." It will thus be seen that about an equal amount of territory was taken from the two townships named, with power to add thereto indefinitely, without resort to any further Legislative action. The act of incorporation fixed the first Tuesday of. the ensuing April, as the day for electing municipal officers, but for reasons not now apparent, due notice of the passage of the act, was not received until that day had passed, and to avoid the possibility of illegality, the organization was postponed to await the further action of the General Assembly. The next Winter-1836-37—the act was amended, fixing the time of holding the election "on the first or any succeeding Tuesday of April next," the elective officers being mayor, recorder, and five trustees; the treasurer, marshal and other necessary subordinate officers to be appointed by the town council, when duly organized. The first election, therefore, was held on Tuesday, April 4, 1837, with the following result: Mayor, Henry Newberry; recorder, Grant B. Turner; trustees, 0. B. Beebe, Asa G. Bill, Elisha N. Sill' Henry Wetmore and E. B. Dennison; the council, when organized, appointing Ogden Wetmore, treasurer, and Sherman Peck, marshal. The town, under this charter, continued for a period of about 15 years, its successive mayors, during that time, after Mr. Newberry, being Charles W. Wetmore, Hosea Paul, Charles W. Wetmore, Birdsey Booth, Hosea Paul, Oliver B. Beebe and Charles W. Wetmore. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.—Excepting in strictly municipal matters, the people of Cuyahoga Falls were still under the jurisdiction of their respective original townships, having to go to either Stow Corners or the center of Tallmadge to vote for national, state' county and township officers. To obviate this necessity, on petition, the county commissioners, on the 5th day of March, 1851, pursuant to authority, granted them by statute, created the township of Cuyahoga Falls, appropriating, for that purpose, from the corners of the four original townships of Tallmadge, Stow, Northampton and Portage, territory described by metes and bounds, 736 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. covering an area of about two and a quarter miles, north and south. by one and three-quarter miles east and west. The first election in the new township was held April 7, 1851, with the following result: Trustees, Horace A. Miller, Henry Newberry, Jr., and Porter G. Somers; clerk, Grant B. Turner; treasurer, Lucius Bradley; assessor, William H. Taylor; constables, William W. Lucas and William J. Wilson ; supervisor, Seymour Deming. HENRY WETMORE, — son of Judge William Wetmore, one of the earliest pioneer settlers in Stow township, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, February 10' 1801, coming with parents to Ohio in 1804 ; with such limited education as the pioneer schools afforded, young Wetmore aided his father on the farm and in the mercantile and manufacturing operations at Cuyahoga Falls, detailed elsewhere, later becoming a member of the well-remembered firm of Stow & Wetmores' and erecting the first mill in the West to manufacture paper by cylinder machinery similar to the process now in vogue. December 8, 1830, Mr. Wetmore was married, at Franklin Mills (now Kent), to Miss Eliza Bradford Price, niece of Captain William H. Price, then the only merchant in that now enterprising village. Mr. and Mrs. Wetmore, both still living, the former 90 and the latter 80 years of age, have had two children—Henry W., born November 16, 1834, died March 14, 1879, and George Prentiss, born September 19, 1836, died August 23, 1869, the latter having three sons, all now deceased. Though never seeking or accepting public office, Mr. Wetmore has ever sought to advance the best interests of his village and county and both he and his faithful companion are very highly esteemed by all who know them. CORPORATION ABANDONED.—A year or two later, it coming to be thought that a double set of officers for the government of substantially the same people was unnecessary, and that the township organization would answer for all, at a meeting of the council, held on the evening of April 30, 1853, it was voted "to commit the interests of Cuyahoga Falls to the trustees of Cuyahoga Falls township" after which the council adjourned without date. MUNICIPAL FUNCTIONS RESUMED.—The single township government, though for a time harmonious, did not in the end prove entirely satisfactory, the urban portion of the inhabitants having tastes and needs that the rural portion of the population could not appreciate, and, on the petition of 215 voters of the township' the county commissioners, on the 3d day of June, 1868, duly authorized the organization of said township, under the name of the "Incorporated Village of Cuyahoga Falls," thus making the village and the township co-extensive, but separate and distinct organizations. The first election, of the village, was held on September 1, 1868, with the following result: Mayor, William A. Hanford; recorder, Porter G. Somers; treasurer, Henry C. Lockwood, trustees, T. F. Heath, Charles Hunt, L. W. Loomis, W. M. Griswold and John ONE YEAR A COUNTY SEAT - 737 Hinde; its successive mayors to the present time (February 1891; have been: W. A. Hanford, October 19, 1865, to April 5, 1869), Richard Blood, April 5, 1869, to April 4, 1870; C. P. Humphrey, April 4, 1870, to April 15, 1872; Joshua L'Hommedieu, 1872, 1873; H. B. Camp, 1874, 1875; George Rice, 1876, 1877; W. A. Hanford, 1878, 1881; J. C. Castle, 1882, 1883; A. B. Curtis, April 7, 1884, to May 1884; Samuel Higgs, May 28, 1884, to April 6, 1885; C. D. Crum, April 6, 1885, to August 31, 1885; Thomas F. Walsh, August 31, 1885, April 6, 1886; John I Jones, April 6, 1886, till his resignation in October, 1889, Mr. Samuel Higgs being appointed to fill the vacancy, who, in the Spring of 1890, was elected for two years, and is still serving. Other officers: M. J. Betts, Dr. J. D. Dodge, M. H. owe, George Marvin. C. P. Richardson and William Weaver, councilmen; D. F. Feimly, clerk; Orlando Wilcox, solicitor; Ira B. Goldwood, marshal; J. D. Dodge, health officer. A WELL-REMEMBERED INSTITUTION.-One of the early and most widely known institutions of Cuyahoga Falls, was the "Portage Mutual Fire Insurance Company." It was at first organized at Ravenna, in 1832, under a charter which had been granted by the Legislature of Ohio, in 1831. The officers then elected were, William Coolman, Jr., Cyrus Prentiss, Frederick Wadsworth, Edwin Wetmore, Elias Smith, Charles Clapp, and George Y. Wallace, as Directors, and Samuel D. Harris, as secretary. Under this organization no business was transacted, and a year later, August 1833, a reorganization was had, with Henry Newherry, Henry Wetmore, William Coolman. Jr., Edwin Wetmore and George Y. Wallace as directors, Henry Newberry as president, and Elisha N. Sill as secretary. Under this organization the office of the company was located at Cuyahoga Falls. The organization, as above given, was continued during the 25 years of the existence of the company, except, that, on the resignation of Mr. Newberry, as president, in 1839, Colonel Justus Gale, of Akron, was appointed in his place, and on the death of Colonel Gale, in 1847, the late Frederick Wadsworth was elected to fill the vacancy. Many millions of dollars of property were insured, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses were paid by this company. The mode of procedure was about this: Instead of a given per ent. in cash on the amount insured, being paid to the company,. so-called premium notes were given by the insured, for an estimated sum sufficient to cover that particular policy's proportionate amount of probable losses, during the lifetime thereof, assessment hills on said notes being from time to time sent to agents for collection from policy holders, to cover such losses as may have accrued. This arrangement worked smoothly enough for several years, but makers of premium notes occasionally becoming insolvent,. and others, feeling that assessment bills were being presented oftener and for larger sums than had been anticipated, refusing to pay (resulting in a large amount of litigation), losses could not be promptly met, legal embarrassments followed, by which, in 1858, the company was compelled to suspend operations, and go into henquidation. ONE YEAR A COUNTY SEAT.-When the project of a new county was first mooted by the people of Akron and Middlebury, in 1833, the people of Cuyahoga Falls opposed the movement,, 47 738 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. rather favoring the retention of the regular county seat at Ravenna, with a half-shire arrangement at Cuyahoga Falls, or in the failure of that project, of the removal of the county seat from Ravenna to Franklin Mills (Kent), as the people of the latter place were endeavoring to have done. When, however, the new county of Summit was finally erected, in 1840, Cuyahoga Falls put in her claim to county seat honors, not only because of her superb manufacturing resources, and her more central location, but because of her superior healthfulness, her better topographical features for the building up of a large manufacturing and commercial city, while the opening of the Pennsylvania and Ohio canal' then nearing completion, would give her transportation facilities fully equal to those of Akron, and vastly superior to those of "Summit City” (Chuckery), also a vigorous competitor for the capitalistic prize. The locating commissioners named by the Legislature, on viewing the several locations, listening to propositions and arguments in favor of each of the points named, decided in favor of Akron, and buildings were commenced in the Autumn of that year (1840). During the ensuing year, however, Hon. E. N. Sill' State Senator for the Summit-Portage district, secured the passage of an act reopening the question, and appointment of a committee of review, which committee, in the Summer of 1841, after partially sticking the stakes on the "Chuckery," finally located the buildings in Cuyahoga Falls, on the very handsome site now occupied by the Congregational church, on the south side of Broad street' between Front and Second. Legal hindrances intervening no steps were taken towards the erection of public buildings on the site named, other than the donation of the land and the raising' by subscription, of the requisite construction fund; the succeeding Legislature again reopening the question, and providing for a special election' at which the voters of the county should determine by ballot, where their county seat should be. The result' as will be seen by a perusal of the chapter on that subject, was a plurality of 1594, in favor of Akron, over Cuyahoga Falls, and a majority over all of 1469, in a total vote of 4,487. EDUCATIONAL MATTERS. Mostly of Connecticut origin and antecedents, the people of Cuyahoga Falls have ever given especial attention to the cause of education. In addition to common district schools, as the population increased select schools were from time to time established, with varying success. The first of these, probably, was by Mr. J. H. Reynolds, who announces in the Ohio Review, of September 27, 1834, that he will open a select school on the 29th inst. (plae not named), "tuition fee $2.00 to $2.50, according to branches taught," Mr. Reynolds being recommended by Henry Newberry' Elisha N. Sill, Henry Wetmore, Richard Fry and Ogden Wetmore. In the Spring of 1836, Miss Sarah Carpenter (a sister of the late Judge James S. Carpenter), established a seminary for girls, in the school room attached to St. John's Church, which met witn a fair degree of success, being succeeded, in 1840, by Miss Frances C. Barron, and she, in turn, by Miss Eliza Deaver, the exact date of the discontinuance of the school not being now ascertainable. Miss Carpenter is still living (October, 1891) in Akron' now in th 97th year of her age. EDUCATIONAL MATTERS - 739 CUYAHOGA FALLS INSTITUTE.—In the Fall of 1837, Rev. Roswell Brooks, A. M., and Charles Clark, Esq., established the "Cuyahoga Falls Institute," which was afterwards duly chartered by legislative enactment. This school was conducted in the Lyceum building, on the present site of the Congregational church, with Mr. Brooks as principal, Mr. Clark teaching music and mathematics, and Elethea S. Brooks superintendent of female department. In the Summer of 1840, Mr. Brooks alone conducted the school, but on his removal to Western New York, in the Fall of that year, Mr. Clark resumed control, with a primary department, in charge of an assistant, continuing until about 1848, when, by reason of impaired health, the, school was given up by Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark is still living and has been for many years the very efficient clerk of the Board of Education of the village. GRANT B. TURNER, ESQ., —born in Blooming Grove, New York, October 17, 1810, moving with parents to Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1818, coming to Cuyahoga Falls in 1828; common school education ; learned printer's trade in office of Western intelligencer, Hudson ; was four years deputy sheriff for Portage county ; studied law, practicing that profession for several years, a portion of the time as a partner of Judge James S. Carpenter and Samuel W. McClure ; in 1856, in company with several other gentlemen, founded the Variety Iron Works' under the firm name of Turner, Parks & Co., afterwards changed to Turner, Vaughn & Co.' incorporated January 11, 1889, as The Turner, Vaughn & Taylor Company, which has more than a national reputation for the excellence of its manufactures. April 30, 1835, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Ada Morley, of Canandaigua, New York, who bore him three children— Augusta, married to Mr. James M. Edson, an early merchant in Akron, and now Mrs. H. C. Lockwood, of Cleveland ; Harriet' now Mrs. Charles S. Hanford, of Cleveland, and Alice, wife of Mr. Clayton Whittlesy, but now deceased. An invalid, from partial paralysis, though for most of the time able to be about, and in full possession of his mental faculties, Mr. Turner was not active in the business affairs of his firm for several years previous to his death, February 21, 1891, at the age of 80 years, 4 months and 4 days, Mrs. Turner dying May 18, 1891. CUYAHOGA FALLS HIGH SCHOOL.—After the organization of Cuyahoga Falls township, as above described, school district number one, and that part of district number eight lying within the limits of the new township, were organized, on the 24th day of April, 1854, as the "Cuyahoga Falls School District," of which Rev. Levi L. Holden was appointed acting manager. May 15, 1855, the Board of Education employed Mr. H. K. Taylor as principal and Mrs. Taylor as assistant, at a joint salary of $700 for forty weeks. In 1857, there was a total pupilage of 482, with seven teachers—one male and six females. The High School at this time was in a building north of St. John's Church, originally built for a house of worship by the Wesleyan Methodists, 740 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. and which, since the removal of the High School to its present location, has been occupied by one of the primary schools of the village. Mr. Taylor was succeeded, as principal, by Mr. L. H. Delano' in 1861, followed by Professor William I. Chamberlain (late president of the Iowa Agricultural College), in 1863; Mr. George McLaughlin, in 1865; Mr. W. C. Rogers, in 1866; B. B. Tremlin, September, 1866; Virgil P. Kline, Esq., July, 1867; Edward R. Sill, September, 1869; Miss Almeda A. Booth, July, 1871; Mr. George L. McMillen, 1874; and by Professor Augustus N. Bernard, as superintendent and master of the Union schools, in 1875. Mr. Bernard's incumbency continued until September, 1883, his successor being W. H. Rowlen, for the term of two years, followed, in 1885, by Professor Frederick Schnee, the present incumbent. Present enumeration (1891), 742; present pupilage: Primaries, 370; Grammar School, 175; High School, 65; total, 610. Besides the superintendent twelve regular teachers, and one writing and one music teacher are employed. The, present fine three-story brick High School building was commenced in 1866 and completed in 1871, at a cost, including heating apparatus, seating, etc., of $39,020.02; the stone and brick work being done by Mr. George Allison, of Tallmadge, and the carpenter work, plastering, painting, etc., by George Thomas & Son' of Akron. The fine site, of two acres of land, on a sightly elevation, overlooking the village on the east, was donated by the late James H. Cooke. The Board of Education maintains its own Board of Examiners of teachers, seeking only to secure the very best, the branches taught in the several departments being reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, grammar, oral lessons, vocal music, drawing, United States history, physical geography,. natural philosophy, algebra, Latin, German, etc., and the schools of Cuyahoga Falls are now, as they ever have been under the- present system, in a high state of proficiency and prosperity. CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS STATUS. ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH.-A pretty full history of the origin and history of St. John's Church, will be found in the chapter on Stow, the Episcopal Church and society organized there' in 1830, under that title, being permanently located at Cuyahoga Falls, in 1832. The present church edifice, on the southeast corner of the public square, fronting on Second street, was erected in 1835, and consecrated as a house of worship' by Bishop Mcllvaine, July 16, 1836. The first rector of the society' after its location at the Falls, was Rev. William H. Newman, of Bristol, R. I., from November 10, 1835, to January 18, 1837. Rev. Newman was succeeded by Rev. Zachariah Mead, of Virginia, who, not finding northern people and customs congenial, relinquished his charge, after serving the parish about one month, and returned to Old Virginia. Next came Rev. Mr. Cushman, whose term of servie was also very brief, followed by Rev. Albert T. Bledsoe, who after a pastorate of about four months, resigned both the rectorship and the ministry, to accept a professorship in the University of Virginia. Successive rectors since have been: Rev. Thomas B. Fairchild, 1840 to 1844; Rev. Alvah Guion, about one year; Rev. David CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS - 741 J. Burger, who died suddenly after a few months' service only; Rev. Levi L. Holden, 1847 to 1867, two full decades; Rev. George Bosley' 1867 to 1871; Rev. T. B. Fairchild, 1871, until his death, March 8, 1879; Rev. George W. Williams, 1879 to 1884; Rev. J. W. Cracraft, 1884 to 1891. The present membership (October 1891) of St. John's Church is 175, the original church structure having been recently remodeled and very greatly improved: CONGREGATIONALISM.-The Congregational Church, of Cuyahoga Falls, was organized February 14, 1834, by Revs. B. C. Baldwin, of Middlebury, and J. C. Parmelee, of Tallmadge, with a membership of five men and five women, Mr. Baldwin supplying he pulpit until January 1, 1835, followed by Professor. J. Long of Western Reserve College until October, 1835; Professor Gregg until May, 1836: various ministers until November 23, 1836; Rev. Joel Byington until May, 1838; Rev. William C. Clark being installed as the first regular pastor of the church, October 24, 1838, his pastorate continuing until April 5, 1847, nearly eight years and a half, whence be was dismissed at his own request on account of failing health. After Mr. Clark's retirement t pulpit was chiefly supplied by Rev. William C. Foster until October 12, 1847, at which date he was installed as pastor, serving in that capacity until May 24, 1849, when he' too, was dismissed at his own request. From May 24, 1849' Rev. S. P. Leeds officiated as stated supply until June 23' 1855, his dismissal also being at his own request. The pulpit was then supplied by Professors H. B. Hosford and Henry N. Day, of Western Reserve College, and Rev. J. L. Tomlinson, until May 2, 1858, when Rev. Titus S. Clark, D. D., was ordained as pastor, his pastorate continuing until June 1, 1862. Various supplies, chiefly members of faculty of Western Reserve College, were followed by Rev. D. N. Rankin, as stated supply from April 11, 1865, to April, 1866, about one year. After about six months' varied supply, Rev. Edgar V. H.- Danner assumed the pastorate on the 26th day of October, 1866, though not formally installed until January 3, 1867, his incumbency--eminently satisfactory to both pastor and people -covering a period of nearly 23 years and considerably more than one-third of the entire lifetime of the society, Mr. Danner dying suddenly, March 25, 1889, from the effects of exposure at the inauguration of President Harrison. The pulpit has since been filled w Rev. Charles E. Hitchcock. The present membership of the church is 193. The meetings of the Congregational Society were held for about one year in the school house and afterwards in the Lyceum building, near the site of the present brick edifice, on the south side of Broad street, between Front and Second, which was finished and dedicated in the Spring of 1847, but which was greatly enlarged and improved in 1870, at a cost of over $6,000. METHODIST EPISCOPALS.-The Methodist Episcopal Society of Cuyahoga Falls was originally the Stow appointment of the winsburg Circuit, in May, 1830, the meetings being held in a tore building at the "Old Village," the presiding elder being Rev. W. B. Mark, with alternate circuit preaching by Revs. Thomas Carr and John E. Akin. The present church edifice on he public square, fronting on Portage street, was commenced in 836, but was not fully completed until 1840, the meetings, Sunday chool, etc., being meantime held in the basement. The house 742 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY as originally built, was dedicated December 31, 1840, but enlarged and internally remodeled in 1864. Like the other houses named' it is supplied with a first-class organ, the cost of which was $1'610' and in its handsome tower is the only town clock in the village' the funds for the purchase of which were contributed by the citizens of the village generally. We cannot name the scores of ministers who have officiated in this church during the more than half a century of its existence, many of whom were very able men, several serving to the full limit (three years) allowed by the rules of the denomination. Pastor from 1888 to 1891, Rev. M. W. Dallas' D. D.; present pastor (October, 1891), J. W. Robbins, the present membership being 267. The Wesleyan Methodists, an off-shoot from the above society' at an early date not now remembered, perfected an independent organization, and built for themselves a small church edifice' on the public square fronting on Second street, north of St. John's Church, but not meeting with the encouragement anticipated' the house was sold to the Board of Education for a High school' and was so used until the completion of the present High school structure, in 1872, and is now occupied by one of the primary schools of the village. THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.—The Church of Christ, of Cuyahoga Falls, the offspring of the very flourishing organization of that denomination in Stow, was organized, as' an independent church' March 27, 1881, the way for the movement having been prepared by a series of meetings, under the auspices of the Ohio Christian Missionary Society, held by Elder T. D. Garvin, of Columbus' in January, 1879, and in December, 1879, and January, 1880, in Apollo Hall, and by a protracted meeting held by Elder C. C. Smith' of Akron, December, 1880. These special efforts, supplemented by the diligent and efficient labors of Elder Leonard Southmayd, resulted in large additions to the present church in Stow. Many of these new accessions' as well as quite a number of the former members, being residents of Cuyahoga Falls, at their request' State Evangelist Elder R. Moffat convened a conference, to consider the propriety and practicability of organizing a church in Cuyahoga Falls: The conference reporting in favor thereof, and the church in Stow formally assenting thereto, 57 members of the old were transfered to the new organization which was effected by Elder Moffat' on the date above given. The first officers in the new society were: A. S. Wheeler, William Southmayd, elders; 0. M. Hart' John f. Jones and T. J. Ream, deacons; W. M. Griswold, treasurer' and Charles Fillius' clerk. The society, after worshiping for some time in a public hall, built for itself a snug little church upon the northeast corner of the public square, fronting on Second street. The present pastor is Frank Mantel, and the present membership (October, 1891) is 65. CATHOLICISM.—The Catholics, also, have something of a following in and about Cuyahoga Falls, St. Joseph's Church having been organized there about 1885, their handsome little brick church edifice being located on the southeast corner of Second. and Pool streets. Present pastor, in connection with the Hudson and Peninsula societies, Rev. F. B. Dougherty; present membership (1891). about twenty-five families, or one hundred souls. A STIRRING TEMPERANCE EPISODE - 743 JOSEPH T. HOLLOWAY, — commonly called " Father Holloway," was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1796; when quite a young man spent some time in the then truly "Wild West'" mostly among the Indians of Western Missouri ; returning to the home of his mother (his father having been dead several years), October 20' 1821, he was married at Newbury, Pa., to Miss Susan Hawk, with whom' packing their treasures in a one-horse wagon, he again started Westward, settling in Uniontown, Stark county, working at his trade of cabinet maker, in the Fall of 1831, moving to Cuyahoga Falls ; here, in addition to successfully carrying on his trade for several years, he became a faithful local Methodist preacher, doing a large amount of missionary labor in the rural districts, and especially in the valley of the Cuyahoga' probably officiating at more meetings, more weddings and more funerals than any other one minister in Summit count v. "Father Holloway" also served as justice of the peace for many years, and two full terms-1848 to 1850 and 1861 to 1863 - as county coroner. Mr. and Mrs. Holloway were the parents of eight children—Josephus F., now a successful mechanical engineer and business man in New York City ; Harriet, died in infancy; Mary E., married to Rev. Dilon Prosser, died in June' 1855; John Wesley, well-known railroad master mechanic in Akron ; Almira' now Mrs. Henry Hitchcock, of Cuyahoga Falls ; Louisa H. (Mrs. H. C. Lockwood), died in 1865; Wilbur Fisk, inventor and manufacturer, Cuyahoga Falls ; Albert E., late of Akron, deceased. "Father Holloway" died August 22, 1878, aged 82 years and 21 days, the wife of his youth' and the mother of his children, having passed away March 13' 1863' at the age of 62 years. ORIGINAL TEMPERANCE CRUSADERS. To the good women of Cuyahoga Falls is due the credit of being the original Anti-Whisky Crusaders—not, indeed, with the spiritual weapons employed in later years, by Mother Stuart and her contemporaries--prayer and praise—but with such carnal weapons as axes' hatchets, hammers, etc., wielded by their own good right arms. The Washingtonian reformation of the early and middle forties, followed by the efficient operations of the Sons of Temperance for several years, made Cuyahoga Falls, Akron and many other villages on the Western Reserve, practical prohibition towns. In the early and middle fifties, however, the encroachments of the beer and whisky traffic were such as to produce serious alarm among the good women of Cuyahoga Falls for the safety of their husbands, sons and brothers, and a vigorous revival of the temperance cause was inaugurated. Committees were appointed to visit the various dealers and plead with them to abandon the traffic, but with only partial success. AN ARMY WITH BANNERS.-It was at length determined to resort to sterner measures than "soft persuasion and mild eloquence," and on Saturday morning, March 6, 1858, a large volunteer force of women, in solid phalanx, armed with hammers, 744 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. hatchets, axes, etc., started out to make an assault upon King Alcohol, in his intrenchments. The first place visited was the room of Captain Isaac Lewis, over the postoffice. On reaching the top of the stairs, finding the door locked against them, they battered it down and proceeded to demolish sundry jugs, bottles, etc., removing a barrel of ale to the street below and emptying its foaming contents into the gutter. Next the grocery and liquor store of Joshua L'Hommedieu, on the lower floor of the same building, was invested. Having heard of the intended raid, "Josh' had removed his liquors from the cellar to a smoke-house in the rear. But the crusaders were equal to the emergency' and soon whisky, Otard brandy, and other liquors, were flowing in miniatur torrents towards the Cuyahoga river. COURTEOUS RECEPTION.—The next point visited was the plat of Mr.. John Tifft, who received his callers with great courtesy placing before them a collation of doughnuts, pies, etc.' pleasant! turning over to them all the liquors he had left-part of a barrel o beer—which they also poured into the street gutter. At Rock well's place nothing was found. Jones' variety store on the south side of Broad street, near the covered bridge, had been "cleaned and garnished" for their reception, by the removal of all liquors to the rear of his store and covering them with rubbish. But the women were too keen-scented and sharp-sighted for the success of this ruse, and Jones' two barrels of whisky, and other liquors were soon mixing with the pellucid waters of the Cuyahoga. The saloon of " Hen" Lindsey, across the way, was next visited' a few bottles only—said to have been filled with water-being demolished, his main stock in trade having been previously "spirited" away. READING THE RIOT ACT.—At the American House, the proprietor refused to give his visitors access to his liquor cellar and they became so demonstrative that Justice Charles W. Wetmore was called in to read the Riot Act, and admonish them to " disperse and depart to their several homes and lawful employments." But they didn't disperse " worth a cent," and were proceeding to batter down the cellar door' when an armistice was brought about by the landlord pledging himself not to furnish any more liquors to the people of the town. The last place visited was Heath’s drug store, the door of which was barred against them, and forcible entrance prevented' by similar assurances from the proprietors, as those made by the landlord of the American, though it was stated that such arrangements had been made, that had entrance to the store been effected, the discharge of certain chemicals would have made the visit anything but agreeable. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS INSTITUTED.—Though these proceedings were irregular and illegal in their nature, it is but just to say that the great majority of the law-abiding people of the village sympathized in the movement' the more so because of the proneness of dealers themselves to disregard the laws regulating the traffic' by furnishing liquors to minors and otherwise. Among the ladies participating in the crusade was Mrs. Elizabeth W. Wait, wife of Mr. George A. Wait, a dealer in millinery and fancy goods. Against Mr. and Mrs. Wait, Mr. Joshua L'Hommedieu brought suit before Justice Charles W. Wetmore for one hundred dollars damages for the destruction of one barrel of brandy, the justice giving him a MUSICAL, FRATERNAL, ETC. - 745 judgment for $60. The defendants appealed the case to the Court of Common Pleas, E. N. Sill and J. T. Hollaway going upon the appeal bond. The trial of the case was postponed, from time to time, until June, 1859, when it was marked "Settled at Plaintiff's costs'" said costs being collected from " Josh " on execution some two or three months later, by the writer, then serving his second term as sheriff. MUSICAL, SOCIAL, FRATERNAL, AND OTHERWISE.-In society and social matters, Cuyahoga Falls has always been fully abreast with the most intelligent and refined of her Western Reserve contemporaries, the large number of her church and benevolent associations, and the various civic and beneficial organizations that have existed, from time to time, indicating the fraternal instincts of her people. Ever appreciative of good music, she has produced several vocalists and pianists of more than local reputation, while her general instrumental talent has always been of a high order. The original Cuyahoga Falls Band, organized in 1834, was one of the best of its class in Northern Ohio. The original members of this band were: Henry W. Bill, Elisha N. Sill, Charles W. Wetmore, Theodore R. Butler, Charles C. Bronson, Cyrus C. and Livy L. Wilcox, John H. Brainard, Reuben Upson, Lyman Sperry, Horace Y. Beebe, Chas Thornburg, and Israel James, Mr. Bill being the leader. This band' too, had more than a local repute, being called to Cleveland to aid in celebrating the 4th of July, in 1835, going from and returning to Old Portage by packet on the Ohio Canal. The band also participated in the celebration of the opening of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, in 1840, and about that time made an excursion to Massillon, where they gave a concert which was largely attended and highly appreciated by the music-loving denizens of that lively town. Mr. Bill and Mr. Bronson retained their musical skill and ardor to the end of their long lives, attendants upon the annual meetings of the Portage-Summit Pioneer Association, at Kent, who have listened so delightedly to tbe old-time music of the pioneer band, can testify. In 1858, a most excellent band organization was effected, under the leadership of Mr. Ethelbert Sill, and was for many years known as " Sill's Band." The band, which had a continuous existence, under different leaders, for nearly thirty years, was reorganized in 1885' under the name of the Cuyahoga Falls Brass Band, with Mr, James Brown as leader, being in all respects a first-class organization. Anti-slavery, missionary, temperance and other reformatory movements have in their "day and generation" received due attention from the good people of Cuyahoga Falls, while all of the modern civic and beneficiary orders and associations, are fully represented among her people and may be briefly enumerated thus: Star Lodge, F. A. M., No. 187; Howard Lodge, No. 62, I. 0. 0. F.; Enterprise Council, No. 234, Royal Arcanum; Security Council' No. 51, National Union; Pavonia Lodge, 301, Knights of Pythias; Eadie Post, No. 37, G. A. R.; Wood Camp, No. 66, Sons of Veterans; Independent Order Good Templars, No. 59; Ladies' Relief Corps, G. A. R.; Ladies' Relief Corps, Sons of Veterans; Knights of Labor; Rebecca Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Elm' 227; Ladies' Aid, No. 5; Protected Home Circle, Glen, No. 85; Pythian Sisterhood, 746 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Ivy Lodge, No. 8; Women's Christian Temperance Union; Athletic Club; Public Library Association; Volunteer Fire Company. SUMMER PLEASURE RESORT. For the past twenty-five years, Cuyahoga Falls and vicinity, has been one of the best known pleasure resorts in Northern Ohio. The river, with its deep gorges, its rumbling water-falls, its leaping cascades, its over-hanging cliffs, its caves and grottos, its shady groves, its caves and grottos its shady and picturesque views, has ever been a source of delight to lovers of the beautiful in nature, both savage and civilized. As being more ready of access from the surround heights,, the "Old Maid's Kitchen," a large open cave in the north bank of the river, over-looking the "Big Falls” a mile or so below the village, has for third of a century been the resort for pleasure seekers, quite an extensive hotel having furnished refreshments and dancing facilities to visiting parties for many years past. Later, "Gaylord's Grove," overlooking the river, on the west opposite the "Old Village," fitted up with appropriate building tables, swings, etc., with a lar number of row boats, and for some years a handsome little steamer, with a sailing range of about one mile Cuyahoga and Munroe Falls, has been liberally patronized by Sabbath school and other, picnic parties for many years. Still later, a large amount of money has been expended what is denominated "High Bridge Glens," at the head of t gorge, in the south part of the village, in the south part of the village suspension bridges, walks, etc., and in the erection of pavilions, parlors, refreshment rooms, dancing halls, skating rinks, roller coasters, etc., the stroll through the, gorge, a hundred feet below the surrounding surface, along the far-famed "Chuckery" race,, with the tempestuous river roaring and foaming fifty feet below, on a hot Summer day, being invigorating in the extreme. And, too, at Silver Lake, a mile to the northward, as described in another chapter, thousands of people, daily, during the heated term, congregate to enjoy the delightful shade of the grove; the splendid sailing upon the lake, both by steamer and skiff, the invigorating bath, and the general physical and social good cheer which there and thereabouts abpimds. 748 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY To these various resorts come parties from near and far, both in carriages and on regular and special trains, from Akron' Cleveland, Canton, and other points, even as far south as Columbus' and Cuyahoga Falls will, doubtless, for many years to come, maintain her standing as one of the most picturesque and popular pleasure resorts in Northeastern Ohio. CUYAHOGA FALLS NEWSPAPERS. In the Summer of 1833, Judge Stow made an arrangement with Horace Canfield and Timothy Phelps Spencer, a couple of enterprising young printers of Hartford, Conn., to remove to Ohio' and start a newspaper and job printing office at Cuyahoga Falls. Shipping their outfit in the early Autumn, via the Connecticut river and Long Island Sound, to New York, thence via the Hudson river to Albany; and thence via' the Erie Canal, Lake Erie and Ohio Canal to " Boothsport" (Old Portage), the young printers started by stage to Albany, and thence via the last named waterways to Ohio, reaching Cuyahoga Falls several weeks in advance of their press and types. The intervening time was spent in fitting up their office in a one-story building on the north side of Broad street (still standing), east of Front, and in soliciting subscribers and advertising for the "Cuyahoga Falls Witness." In their prospectus, after premising that the Witness would be devoted to "agriculture, manufactures, commerce, the arts and sciences, news, politics, public morals, history, biography and other objects of general utility," the publishers say: A section of country combining such great advantages as are possessed by this vicinity, must present a strong inducement for the settlement of a numerous and industrious population. As a means of diffusing correct information, enlightening public sentiment, and increasing the prosperity and happiness of the community, nothing as yet has been found more efficient, or more cheaply obtained' than the circulation of periodical newspapers. Before issuing the initial number, however, on consultation with prominent business men, the name of the paper was changed to "The-Ohio Review." Volume 1, number 1, bears the date of November 30, 1833. It is a 24-column folio, the columns being 19 inches in length and about two "ems" wider measure than the present columns of the daily and weekly BEACON. Its opening editorial occupies nearly a column and a half, in setting forth the principles by which it was to be governed, but which cannot be repeated here. Besides nearly two columns of local business advertisements, 'there is an editorial setting forth the advantages—manufacturing and otherwise-of Cuyahoga Falls; the report of a meeting at Warren, favoring the construction of the "Cross Cut," or Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, and a communication from E. N. Sill' Esq.' on the recent celebrated meteoric shower on the night of November 13, 1833. SUSPENSION OF THE "REVIEW."-The paper seems to have run along smoothly enough through the first year, and to have entered upon its second volume, without any indications of the financial distress incident to very many of the newspaper ventures in the West, at that early day; having about six columns of advertisements, and opening the new volume with a cheerful editorial view of the situation for the village and for itself. NEWSPAPER MATTERS - 749 Yet, notwithstanding its cheerful words, the next issue of the Review' under Messrs. Canfield & Spencer, dated December 12, 1834, was the last, the cause for the suspension not being now apparent, those gentlemen at once going to Cleveland, Mr. Canfield soon afterwards removing to Medina, and, in 1842, to Akron, where he died December 9, 1853, Mr. Spencer remaining in Cleveland until his quite recent decease in that city. The printing material remaining in. Cuyahoga Falls, in June, 1835, the Review seems to have passed into the hands of H. T. Townley and J. M. Bassett, afterwards being run by "An Association of Gentlemen"—names not given--with James Lowery as printer. The exact date of its final discontinuance is not now remembered, but a stray copy in the hands of Mr. Henry Wetmore, dated April 13, 1837, is evidence that it was then running, and may have continued several years longer. In the meantime-1838-40- several transient publications-the Renovator, the Young Buzzard, the Telescope, etc., were run for longer or shorter periods, and possibly some others which have passed from the public mind. During the Harrison-Van Buren campaign of 1840, a spirited Whig campaign paper was published, called the American Eagle, but by whom edited is not now remembered. "THE TRUE AMERICAN."-During the county seat contest-1840-42-a vigorously conducted weekly newspaper, under the above title, was published, devoted generally to the business and social interests of Cuyahoga Falls, and especially to the work of securing the location of the seat of justice of the new county of Summit in that village. The general editorial manageTent of the True American, according to the recollection of the writer, was devolved upon Grant B. Turner, Esq., though it is quite probable that Hon. E. N. Sill, S. W. McClure, Esq., and others, contributed many of the able and incisive articles that appeared in its columns during that extremely lively period. We are without further data in regard to the beginning and ending of the True American, but it did not long survive the final settlement of that vexed question, in 1843. "CUYAHOGA FALLS REPORTER.—In 1870, Mr. E. 0. Knox, a practical printer, commenced the publication of a handsome nine-column folio, under the above title, which' being filled with sprightly miscellany, general news, and crisp local happenings, as well as from the advertising facilities which it furnished to the business men of the village, has made itself an indispensable necessity to the people of Cuyahoga Falls and surrounding country. It is now called the Cuyahoga Falls Reporter and Western Reserve Farmer, and published in quarto form, enjoying a substantial advertising patronage and a large circulation, both in Cuyahoga Falls and surrounding townships, the mammoth steam-driven cylinder press, upon which it is printed' being in marked contrast to the medium lever hand press upon which the Review was printed 58 years ago. Mr. Knox dying March 7, 1891, the business is now being successfully managed by his widow, Mrs. Ellen Knox. THE " WEEKLY JOURNAL."—April 15, 1881, Frederick H. Duffy and Frederick A. Douglass, a couple of enterprising young printers of Cuyahoga Falls, commenced the publication of a sprightly paper