• Image of bluebells in the spring

    Cuyahoga Valley

    National Park Ohio

There are park alerts in effect.
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  • Tick Alert

    Multiple tick exposures have been reported by visitors to the park. Please be aware that proper shoes, clothing, use of repellent spray, and checking the body for ticks following a visit to the park are the best way to prevent transmission of disease. More »

  • 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.

  • 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.

Community Events

Bath Township gathering.
Meeting and celebration in Bath Township hall.
Courtesy/Bath Township Historical Society
 

Local celebrations and festivals were great ways to bring the community together. During Home Days and holiday events, large crowds shared food, games, and conversation. In Bedford, for example, the Memorial Day celebration included a morning parade and afternoon Sousa March by the local band. Reunions for alumni of Bedford High School were times for old and new friends to share memories. Bedford's Public Square has a history of special events; one of the grandest was the Centennial Homecoming in 1913. The city continues the homecoming tradition, with new activities added every few years. The 1981 event, for example, featured new contests for the "most magnificent mustache" and the champion horseshoe pitcher.

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

Northampton's Homecoming (54 seconds)
Willis Meyers participated in Northampton's homecoming celebration every year as a child in the 1920s and 30s. Willis describes the food, games, and other festivities.

 

During the 1910s, Dorcas Snow grew up on Snowville Road in Brecksville on a farm that had been in her family since 1835. In the following passage, a part of her memoir Dear Brecksville, Dorcas recounts some memorable community events.

"In the early days there was an annual Fair and the Town Hall was filled with displays of fruits and flowers. The best exhibits were awarded premium certificates from the judges. Athletic events were held at the Square, and at the close of the day there was a dance in the Town Hall. Refreshments were pink lemonade and gingerbread. There were [also] the Home Days and Fourth of July celebrations at the Center. A big blue tub of ice cream was brought from the city and there was a barrel of lemonade and popcorn balls."
Dorcas Snow, Brecksville, 1976

Did You Know?

Water lilies in beaver marsh area of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Photo by NPS volunteer John Catalano.

Beaver in Cuyahoga Valley National Park impounded water to create a rich, diverse wetland in an area that was once an automobile junk yard? The area is now home to herons, turtles, amphibians, and many aquatic plants.