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Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

North Akron, Ohio

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Akron City. It lies in ZIP code area 44310. It stands on Babb Run. The Survey maps it on the Akron West quadrangle.

North Akron within Summit County

Then and now

1903 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 91 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of North Akron, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of North Akron, surveyed 1903

Topographic sheets covering this place

22 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

22,626 words on this township

Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, published 1908 names this settlement in its chapter on Akron City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The survey for the Ohio canal had been made, and, by studying tlie altitudes of various places on its length, it was seen that the site of this new village occupied the very highest point. There is a Greek word, Akros, which translated means "high." At the suggestion of a lawyer fi-iend. General Perkins adopted the name "Akron" as a very appropriate one for his new town. She is the original Akron. She has been a prolific parent, for new "Akrons" are found in New York, Colorado, Indiana and many other states. The city does not occupy the highest land in the state, as is often erroneously asserted. The highest altitude in the city is about 1,100 feet above the level of the sea. The highest point in the state is in the town of Ontario, not far from Mansfield, where the elevation reached is 1,373 feet.

Passage source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, published 1908.

So Akron grew until August 10th, 1833, on which day the territorial extent of the city was doubled by the filing of a new plat by which all the lands lying north of the town as far as the Little Cuyahoga River, and between what is now th^ railroads on the east and Walnut and Oak Streets on the west, were allotted. As in the former plat, streets, parks, and alleys were provided for, and a little city was carefully laid out on paper. This plat also gave the name of the town embraced by it as "Akron." This last allotted territory belonged mainly to Dr. Eliakim Crosby. He associated with him Judge Leicester King and General Simon Perkins, both of Warren. Dr. Crosby had settled in Middlebury in 1820, coming thence from Canada, although he had been born in Litchfield, Connecticut. He embarked in various ventures in Middlebury, operating at times the Cuyahoga furnaces, a lime kiln, a grist mill, saw mill, etc. He sold them all by 1831, and conceived a prospect larger than any of them. His plan was to carry the water of the Little Cuyahoga River by means of a hydraulic race, from Middlebury to a point on the Ohio Canal near Lock Five, near the foot of Mill Street. This would give a fall of water which could be used for power purposes from Lock Five to the northern limits of the town. Work on the race was commenced in 1831, and in the spring of 1833 the waters of the river were flowing through it, and giving the power the engineer of the enterprise, Colonel Sebried Dodge, estimated they would. This is the race -which now Rcms through the Old Forge, around the Rocky Bluff above and just to the south of Fountain Park, the present fair grounds, and, crossing Summit, Broadway and High Streets, is conveyed by a conduit under the center of Main Street and down Mill Street from the Central Savings Bank Corner to the "Old Stone Mill," at Lock Five. The mill was built in the year 1832-1833 to make use of the new power. On the maps the new race was called the "Cascade Mill Race." The old village had been called Akron for eight years and the people looked upon the addition as another and separate village. The name of the race they adopted, therefore, as the name of the town, and it was known as "Cascade" for many years thereafter, both at home and abroad. This name was later given to a newspaper, a hotel, and an important store; all named from the town of which they were a part. When the territory between the old and new village became better settled they were often referred to as North and South Akron, but gradually the distinction was obliterated. Today, by "South Akron" the citizen refers to tenitory lying south of Thornton Street, and extending to a point three miles from the center of North Akron.

Passage source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, published 1908.

In 1883, Mr. WelLs moved away from Akron and President Jackson appointed Lewis Humiston, who was then keeping the Clark Tavern, on the corner of Main and Exchange Streets, as his successor in the post-office. He built a small building in the rear of the hotel on the north side of Exchange Street, just east of Main, and established the post-office in it. Early in 1837 Mr. Humiston resigned owing to his removal from Akron and the war was on.

Passage source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, published 1908.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Akron City - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Fires near this place

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of North Akron between 2014 and 2014, burning about 0 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
27 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCuyahoga Valley National ParkCANYON TRAIL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Summit County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 950 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 950 specimens collected within 10 miles of North Akron between 1867 and 1975: 825 Animalia, 73 Plantae, 50 Fungi, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (no collector listed), A. Black, A. Woolman and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Botrychium virginianum subsp. virginianumBotrychium virginianum subsp. virginianum1888Wright, A.A.Tallmadge.
Specimen of Asclepias quadrifolia Jacq.Asclepias quadrifolia Jacq.1889Foltz, Kent O.Sand Run Park; Akron
Specimen of Asclepias verticillata L.Asclepias verticillata L.1889not recordedAkron
A photograph of the species Accipiter striatus, not of this specimenAccipiter striatus velox (A.Wilson, 1812)1867Collector(s): James Lee PetersAkron
A photograph of the species Dryopteris carthusiana, not of this specimenDryopteris carthusiana (Vill.) H.P.Fuchs1880F. O. PayneAkron
A photograph of the species Buteo lineatus, not of this specimenButeo lineatus lineatus (Gmelin, 1788)1887B. SanfordHudson
A photograph of the species Hydrastis canadensis, not of this specimenHydrastis canadensis L.1888E.L. Sturtevant II
A photograph of the species Lonicera dioica, not of this specimenLonicera dioica L.1888K. O. Foltz
A photograph of the species Penstemon hirsutus, not of this specimenPenstemon hirsutus (L.) Willd.1888K. O. Foltz
A photograph of the species Carex pensylvanica, not of this specimenCarex pensylvanica Lam.1889Foltz, K.O.Akron
A photograph of the species Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, not of this specimenGymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Schwein.1889Reade M. C.Hudson
A photograph of the species Peltandra virginica, not of this specimenPeltandra virginica (L.) Schott1889Foltz, Kent O.Akron; Blue Pond

All 950 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of North Akron: 11 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alden PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Arlington PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Herbruck Trucking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Herbruck Trucking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Herms PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Herms PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
J.P. Pollo PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
J.P. Pollo PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lerkis Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Plant Number 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Summit County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Bettes Corners1.2 miles16
Forest Hill1.2 miles16
Cascade (historical)1.6 miles22
Akron1.9 miles22
Arlington2.1 miles16
Cuyahoga Falls2.3 miles14
Cranmer2.7 miles21
East Akron2.8 miles16

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1049016. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.