• Image of bluebells in the spring

    Cuyahoga Valley

    National Park Ohio

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  • Canal Visitor Center Closure

    Canal Visitor Center will be closed for construction, starting Monday, May 6, 2013. It will reopen with new exhibits in early 2014.

  • Riverview Road Closure

    Riverview Rd from the Cuyahoga Falls line north to the Peninsula line will be re-paved, beginning the week of April 22. Expect delays. Flaggers will direct traffic. Work is expected to be completed by Memorial Day weekend.

  • Towpath Trail Closure

    NPS has closed the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from Hillside Road to Stone Road in Valley View. A section of the trail is not passable due to hazardous conditions caused by erosion. Towpath is expected to be open by Memorial Day, May 27.

  • Bald Eagle Closure in Effect

    RR tracks, and 30 foot right of way on either side, are closed to all foot traffic from the Rt. 82 Bridge at Station Rd, north to the RR tracks at. The Cuyahoga R. downstream of the Brecksville Dam to the Fitzwater Rd Bridge is closed to water activities.

Heritage Farms

Lawson Waterman farmhouse and barn.
Lawson Waterman farmhouse and barn.
NPS Collection
 

Located near Peninsula's historic downtown, Heritage Farms is the village's oldest family-run farm. Lawson Waterman purchased the property between 1844 and 1878. Also known as the Bishop Farm, Heritage Farms illustrates many of the trends associated with Cuyahoga Valley farming, including a long history of self-sufficiency, diverse products, and appeal to local markets.

 
Lawson Waterman in front of his farmhouse.
Lawson Waterman in front of his farmhouse.
NPS Collection
 

The Landscape
At one time, the farm included three homes and 19 other buildings. Today, only two original structures remain standing: the barn-in continual use since its construction in 1846-and the farmhouse on top of the hill. Each generation made changes to the property to meet the needs of their growing business. They added and removed buildings, timbered woods, and cleared pasture lands.

 
Oral history audio.
In Their Own Words
Click the topic to hear stories about Cuyahoga Valley life.

Heritage Farms Operations (1 minute 2 seconds)
Current owner and Lawson Waterman's descendant, Carol Haramis talks about changes in production since Lawson Waterman's original farm.


Click to visit the Heritage Farms website.
 

Business of Farming
Since the 1840s, each generation of the Bishop-Haramis family has sold different agricultural products to meet changing market demands.

Lawson Waterman and his wife Angeline operated a general farm with a large flock of sheep, a dairy, and fields of potatoes. Lawson also owned a boat yard on the Ohio & Erie Canal. Later, nephew Charles E. Bishop inherited the farm. With his wife Kate, Charles expanded the dairy to 50 milking cows. Robert Poole Bishop (Charles' grandson) and his wife Jeanette took over the farm in 1948. They replaced the dairy herd with Aberdeen Angus beef cattle and planted Christmas trees.

A fifth-generation Bishop farmer, Carol Haramis and her husband Kim currently own and operate the farm. Heritage Farms sells Christmas trees, pumpkins, daylilies, and maple syrup; hosts seasonal events, including Peninsula Farmers' Market and Pumpkin Pandemonium; and rents space for meetings and events.

 
Lawson Waterman's descendant Carol Haramis and her husband now operate Heritage Farms on the property in Peninsula.
Lawson Waterman's descendant Carol Haramis and her husband now operate Heritage Farms on the property where they sell daylilies and other products.
©Jeffrey Gibson

Did You Know?

Dragonfly image by NPS volunteer John Catalano.

Dragonflies and damselflies look almost alike while flying. However, if you wait until they land, dragonflies lay their wings to the side while damselflies lay them back and above their bodies.