Coventry Township

Coventry Township

Coventry Township lies to the north of Franklin and Green and just outside of the City of Akron. It is also the southern line of the Western Reserve. Its physical features are unusual in that it is dotted by numerous lakes and in early days was traversed by a considerable stream, the Tuscarawas. In addition to this, about 1840, the Reservoir was built, composed partly of natural and partly artificial bodies of water. Long Lake is the largest of these natural bodies of water. The Indian seem to have made this their headquarters and naturally so, for New Portage was at the head of the Indian Trail. These Indians were Delawares and the most importajit of their chiefs was Ilopocan or Captain Pipe. He called . himself, "Hopocan, King of New Portage." The finst white settler of the township was Daniel Haines, who can^e from Pennsylvania about the year 1806. After him, in 1811, came the Aliens, from New York State, forebears of the^ Aliens, who live there today. The town.ship grew at an ama^iing pace and a great future seemed before it. The Tuscarawas was then an immense stream capable of floating -large boats, and many a boatload went from Coventry to New Orleans. A glass factory started and for some time many articles of value and profit were turned out. A distillery was started by Adam Falor. Saw-mills and grist-mills started up. A lawyer by the name of Van Humphreys settled there and the "State of Coventry" began to be. The now well known "State Mill" arose in this fashion: At the time of the construction of the Reservoir it was neces-sary to destroy the mill formerly there, and to replace it the State built a large mill at that point. For a long time it was the center of the mill business of that district, and of late \ears has become valuable, chiefly as a summer resort. With the advent of the canal the township continued to flourish and for a time seemed to rival Middlebury. However, its prospects died down and it settled down to the regular way of a town.ship. Still it is to be remembered that with the last increase of territory to Akron, a large part of Coventry was annexed to the city, and the old cityspirit of Coventry survives possibly in another form.

The township organization occurred in 1808. and at that time Coventry was a part of Springfield and they were a part of Portage County, till the organization of Summit in 1840. At the present time the taxable property in the township is valued at about $1,300,000. With the rapid growth of the city south, and the addition of Barberton and Kenmore, it seems that it will be only a short time till the township will disappear within municipal lines. Among the prominent families in the township have been the Brewsters and the Falors. From Coventry township also came John R. Buchtel, the founder of Buchtel College, and William Buchtel, who represented Summit County in the State legislature from 1901-3. The present representative, Howard C. Spicer. is also from Coventry township. B. T. Davis and H. E. Shook are the present justices of the peace for the township.

The village of Cuyahoga Falls was founded in 1825 by Elkanah Richardson. Among the earliest settlers were Joshua Stow and William Wetmore. In 1815 a saw-mill was in operation near Gaylord's Grove, operated by power derived from a dam across the river at that point. The name Cuyahoga Falls was adopted in accordance with a suggestion from the postoflfice department. The tirni ol' Stow and Wetniore built several mills, dams and business buildings in the new village, and by 1830 the town took on am important aspect. In that year they built a large paper mill, an industry that is still car-' ried on profitably. They were a?.sisted in the paper business by John Rumrill, who had learned the art in the New England paper mills. About 1825 Henry Newberry came from Connecticut and built more dams, a saw-mill, linseed oil-imill and a paper-mill. He was a graduate of Yale and was one of the most prominent of the early settlers. March 5, 1851, the citizens of Cuyahoga Falls organized a township of the same name and coextensive with the territory of the village. The government of tlie village was then given over to the township officers who were elected at that time as follows: Horace A. Miller, Henry Newberry, Jr., and Porter G. Somers, trustees; Lucious Bradley, treasurer; Grant P. Turner, clerk ; William H. Taylor, assessor, and W. J. Wilson and W. W. Luca.'S, constables. This arrangement failed to give satisfaction and on .June 3, 1868, the village government was reorganized. On September 1, 1868, the first election was hel-d and William A. Hanford was elected mayor; Henry C. Lockwood, treasurer; Porter G. Somers, recorder; T. F. Heath, Charles Hunt, W. M. Griswold, John Hinde and L. W. Loomis, trastees. In 1841 the Board of Commi.s.sioners, to locate the county seat decided upon Cuyahoga Falls, but the legislature interfered the year following, and, leaving the question to a popular vote, it was located at Akron. It cannot be said that Cuyahoga Falls was at any time the county seat, in spite of the acts of the commission.

Cuyahoga Falls' schools have always been among the best in the county. The village obtained its reputation as an educational center very early in its exi.stence. In 1834 a private school wfiis opened by J. H. Reynolds. In 1836 a school for girls was opened by Sarah Carpenter. Later schools were conducted bv Frances C. Barron nnd Eliza Deaver. In 1837, the Cuvahoga Fnlls Institute was opened for pupils by Rev. Roswcll

Brooks and Charles Clark. The present brick High School building was built in 1871. The High School was organized in 1855, H. F. Taylor being the first principal. Among his successors have been such famous men as Edward R. Sill, Vergil P. Kline and William I. Chamberlain. In 1833, "The Ohio Review," Cuyahoga Falls' first newspaper, was started by Horace Canfield and Timothy Spencer. It ran about one year. It was followed in close succession by the "Renovator," "The Young Buzzard," "The Telescope," "The American Eagle," and "The True American." The last mentioned stopped about 1843. In 1870 "The Cuyahoga Falls Reporter" was founded by E. 0. Knox and, by good business management, has succeeded in continuing publication until the present time. In 1881 "The Weekly Journal" was started, but did not last more than a year.

The village sent nearly 200 men into the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1859 "The Union Fair ^\s.sociation" was fonned and fitted iip fair grounds at the north end of the village. Not being a success financially, the association was wound up in 1861. Cuyahoga Falls has had her share of prominent citizens, among whom can be named Edward Rowland Sill, one of America's very best poets, and whose fame has just begun to grow. Elisha N. Sill, Samuel W. McClure, ' Henry McKinney, George Paul and Charles R. Grant.

Cuyahoga Falls now has the following churches: Church of Christ, Rev. W. L. Denslow, pastor: First Congregational, Rev. A. E. Woodruff, pa.stor; Methodi4 Episcopal. Rev. W. J. Wilson, pa.stor; St. John's Episcopal; St. Joseph's Roman Catholic, Rev. J. A. Nolan, pa.stor, and the Welsh Congregational. The principal industries now are The Walsh Paper Company, C. M. Walsh, president ; T. A. Murphy, vice-president and general manager; E. A. Prior, secretary, and F. T. Moloney, treasurer. They have a very large factorv on River Street. On Portage Street are the Pearl Flour Mills, operated by the Walsh Milling Company, of which Cornelius ]M. A^'al.sh is president. The large fac- tory of the Falls Rivet and Machine Company is located on the railroad at Portage Street. Edwin Seedhouse is president and C. H. Wells, treasurer. They make rivets, bolts and power transmission machinery. The Acme Wire Company has officers as follows : W. C. Hall, president; S. H. Miller, vice-president; L. D. Brown, treasurer; E. A. Henry, general manager. Falls Hollow Staybolt Company, C. M. Walsh, president; The Falls Lumber Company, G. R. James, secretary and treasurer; The Keller Brick Company, Frederick W. Keller, president ; W. F. Keller, secretary and president; Tift and Vogan, consisting of Smith D. Tift and Fremont D. A^ogan ; Turner, Vaughn and Taylor, of which Calvin W. Vaughn is general manager; Isaac N. Reid, who 'makes carriages and does a general smithy businass; the Fair Oaks Villa is a sanitarium for mental and nervous diseases, conducted successfully by Drs. W. A. Searl and H. I. Cozad. The Cuyahoga Falls Savings Bank was organized September 2, 1904, upon the failure of the Akron Savings Bank, which had conducted a Cuyahoga Falls branch. It has a capital of $50,000 and is ably managed by following officers: President, C. M. Walsh; vice-president, W. R. Lodge ; vice-president, Edwin Seedhouse; treasurer and cashier, F. T. Moloney; secretary, E. A. Prior. The Falls Savings and Loan A.«sociation is ably conducted by L. W. Loomis, president; E. A. Prior, secretary; Dr. W. A. Searl, treasurer, and C. T. Grant, attorney. Bauman and Orth (Edward H. Bauman and Frank W. Orth) are the present proprietors of the Cuyahoga Falls Reporter. The Central Union Telephone Company and the Akron Peoples' Telephone Company both have exchanges here. The population of Cuyahoga Falls is now about 4,000. In 1907 its officials are: Mayor, C. A. Davis; clerk, C. D. Crumb; treasurer, Theodore Heath; marshal, I. Goldwood. The mayor and clerk are Democrats, the other two Rejiubliciuis.