Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Encyclopedia : C : CU : CUY : Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Cuyahoga Falls is a city in Summit County, Ohio, in the United States. As of the 2003 census, the city population was 50,375. It is currently the second largest city in Summit County, Ohio. It is considered a suburb of Akron, but is actually older than Akron. Founded in 1812 by William Wetmore, the city was originally named Manchester. Cuyahoga Falls is named after the Cuyahoga River (which flows into Lake Erie) and the series of falls that run through the middle of the city.
Cuyahoga Falls borders Akron to the south and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the northwest.
History
Cuyahoga Falls was formed in 1812Information Services Department, City of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (2005). [History]. Retrieved May 7, 2005. near the junction of what was then Northampton, Stow, Tallmadge, and Portage townships. The focus was the series of Cuyahoga River waterfalls that provided power for manufacturing.In 1812 Kelsey and Wilcox built a dam on the Cuyahoga River at a place where a railroad bridge crossed it in 1876. They then built a flour mill, an oil mill, and a saw mill. This led to the construction of a number of houses. This area was known as the old village. Development moved downstream, though, when it was discovered that the power was better there. The old village was eventually destroyed in 1826 when a dam built by William Wetmore flooded the dam at the old village and its mills were torn down .
The earliest settler of Cuyahoga Falls included Joshua Stow and William Wetmore. In 1815 a saw-mill was operating near Gaylord's Grove, using power generated by a dam on the Cuyahoga River there.
The town was initially called Manchester but was renamed Cuyahoga Falls at the request of the Post Office since there were already several other Manchesters in OhioAkron Map and Atlas Co. Illustrated Summit County, Ohio. Akron: Akron Map and Atlas Co. 1891.
The village proper was first laid out in 1826 by Judge Richardson.
The town was incorporated in 1836, occupying 240 rods out of Stow and Tallmadge townships. In 1853, seeing that the village and township of Cuyahoga Falls occupied the same territory, the village council disbanded and the community was only a township until 1868.
In 1841 the Summit County Board of Commissioners named Cuyahoga Falls county seat. The state legislature then intervened and put the location of the county seat up to a popular vote. Akron won and has been the county seat ever since. In spite of being named the county seat Cuyahoga Falls never really functioned as such.
In March of 1851 the township of Cuyahoga Falls was created out of the village limits. They covered the same territory so the village council voted to adjourn sine die, letting the village be run under township jusidiction until June 3, 1868 when the municipal government returned.
In 1985 Cuyahoga Falls merged with Northampton Township, the first merger of a city and township in Ohio.
Cuyahoga Falls had been founded as an industrial city, taking advantage of the river power. By the 1970s, though, it had become a residential community. This changed, though, when Don Robart became mayor. He had been in favor of the merger with Northampton Township because of the additional land that could be used for development. Parts of that area have since been used for industrial development. Commercial development has also picked up, especially on the Howe Avenue area at the southern border of the city.
The city currently has one professional sports team, the Cuyahoga Falls Cougars, of the International Basketball League (2005-).
Popular culture
Cuyahoga Falls has a mention in a popular song, "My City Was Gone", by the rock band The Pretenders (lead singer and songwriter Chrissie Hynde is an Akron, Ohio native). The verse's lyrics are:
- I went back to Ohio
- But my pretty countryside
- Had been paved down the middle
- By a government that had no pride
- The farms of Ohio
- Had been replaced by shopping malls
- And muzak filled the air
- From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
- Said, a, o, oh way to go, Ohio
In the movie My Fellow Americans, we learn that Jack Lemmon's character, a former U.S. President, had his presidential library built in not in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, but in Cuyahoga Falls, because the latter city gave him a tax break.
Geography
Cuyahoga Falls is located at (41.145556, -81.496685)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 66.4 km² (25.6 mi²). 66.1 km² (25.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.35%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 746.4/km² (1,932.9/mi²). There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 343.6/km² (889.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.80% White, 1.87% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population. Many locals jokingly call the city "Caucasian Falls" due to its mass population of caucasions.There were 21,655 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,263, and the median income for a family was $52,372. Males had a median income of $40,301 versus $28,459 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,550. About 4.5% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.
The July 1, 2003 Census Bureau estimate for Cuyahoga Falls puts the population at 50,375.
Sites of interest
City Mayors
During IncorporationHenry Newberry 1837
Charles W. Wetmore 1838
Hosea Paul 1839
Charles W. Wetmore 1840 to 1843
Birdseye Booth 1844 to 1845
Hosea Paul 1846
Oliver B. Beebe 1847 to 1848
Charles W. Wetmore 1849 to 1852
Municipal Government resumed (Village of Cuyahoga Falls)
William A. Hanford 1868
Richard Blood 1869
C. P. Humphrey 1870 to 1871
Joshua L'Hommidieu 1872 to 1873
Horace B. Camp 1874 to 1875
George W. Rice 1876 to 1877
John I Jones 1878 to 1879
W. A. Hanford 1880 to 1881
J. C. Castle 1882 to 1883
A. B. Curtis 1884
Samuel Higgs 1885
Thomas H. Walsh 1886
John I. Jones 1887 to 1889
Samuel Higgs 1890 to 1893
D. F. Felmly 1894 to 1899
C. N. Russel 1900 to 1902
E. M. Young 1903 to 1904
Charles A. Davis 1905 to 1908
C. N. Russel 1909 to 1911
W. H. Taylor 1912 to 1921
(City of Cuyahoga Falls)
George Herdman 1922 to 1923
Charles Gray 1924 to 1927
George Porter 1928 to 1933
J. W. Haines 1934 to 1943
Joseph W. Harding 1944 to 1949
George A. Anderson 1950 to 1951
Harding A. Wichert 1952 to 1953
Elmer Wolf 1954 to 1955
Emmet R. Wolfe 1956 to 1961
David Sanders 1962 to 1965
Delbert Ackerman 1966 to 1968
Bruce Thomas 1968 to 1969
William Coleman 1970 to 1973
Robert J. Quirk 1974 to 1985
Don L. Robart 1986 to Present
Famous natives
- Josh Amos (Head Designer of Triple Five Soul)
- John Jacobs (Formerly of The Power Team)
- Jim Jarmusch (Film Director)
- Gates McFadden (Actress)
- Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Lewis (Members of Devo)
- Coondog O'Karma (Competitive Eater)
References
External links
- [The City of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Official Website]
- [Cuyahoga Falls City Schools Website]
- [Cuyahoga Falls Library Website]
- [Cuyahoga Falls History]
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