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

South 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 44311. The Survey maps it on the Akron West quadrangle.

South 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 South Akron, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of South 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.

The sixth Federal Census did not recognize Akron. It was the census of 1840. It gave Cleveland, 6,071 ; Steubenville, 4,247 ; Zanesville, 4,766; Chillicothe, 3.977. It gave the number of inhabitants in Summit County as 22,560. In 1850, the name of Akron appears for the first time, and the town is credited with 3,266 population. In 1860 this had grown to only 3,477. The new railways had been in operation only five or six years, and their influence was not yet firmly felt. The older part of the town was exceedingly jealous, in the early days, of the new upstart just north of it. Although they were both founded by General Simon Perkins, and had much in common, still, the rapid growth and many superior advantages of the northern section was quite sufficient to disturb the equanimity of the older community. The former possessed the "Stone Mill," and it was the largest manufactnring industry in any of the three towns. Here, also, was the new

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

But, the contest up to the time of the Post- Office War, was mild by comparison with what happened during that memorable affair, and the year or two next succeeding. Then was reached the climax. Up until December, 1837, the post-office had been located in South Akron. It was established in 1826, the year after the founding, by President John Quincy Adams. He appointed a young lawyer named Wolsey Wells as the first postmaster. Mr. Wells built a large house on West Exchange Street, on the corner of Water Street, and in it conducted the operations of the postal service and collected the tolls on the Ohio Canal, for he was both postmaster and toll collector, and, when he had time, attended to the duties of justice of the peace, in addition. It probably required the revenues from the combined offices to support the one incumbent, and even then his salary was doubtless only a modest one.

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 5 more 5 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 South 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 820 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 820 specimens collected within 10 miles of South Akron between 1867 and 1975: 707 Animalia, 67 Plantae, 44 Fungi, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (no collector listed), A. Black, A. W. Cusick 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 Geum aleppicum, not of this specimenGeum aleppicum Jacq.1887ElliottGreensburg
A photograph of the species Geum canadense, not of this specimenGeum canadense Jacq.1887ElliottGreensburg
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 Agrimonia gryposepala, not of this specimenAgrimonia gryposepala Wallr.1889ElliottGreensburg
A photograph of the species Carex pensylvanica, not of this specimenCarex pensylvanica Lam.1889Foltz, K.O.Akron

All 820 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of South Akron: 4 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Salt. 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
Ppg Indus Brine Wells PlantSaltProducer
Arlington PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Barberton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Flesher PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Lerkis Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Riverside PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Twin Lakes Sand Arlington PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

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
Akron1.4 miles22
Summit Beach Park1.4 miles22
East Akron1.6 miles16
Cascade (historical)1.6 miles22
Arlington1.8 miles16
Firestone Park1.8 miles22
West Akron1.9 miles22
Thomastown2.0 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikidata item Q122566615The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1049186. 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.