• Image of bluebells in the spring

    Cuyahoga Valley

    National Park Ohio

There are park alerts in effect.
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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.

Doing Chores

Feeding chickens at Spicy Lamb Farm.

Feeding chickens at The Spicy Lamb Farm.

NPS/Ted Toth

Since the first Western Reserve farmers arrived in the Cuyahoga Valley, farm children balanced chores with education. On larger farms, parents needed their children's help to manage the farm and sell its products. In addition, children went to school, participated in extracurricular sports and activities, and completed their homework.


On the farm, children had important responsibilities, from milking cows to picking and selling corn at a roadside stand. Their labor affected the success of the family's farm. To earn extra money, teenagers and young adults often got part-time jobs building roads, drilling wells, or working for other local businesses.

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

Childhood Chores (21 seconds)
Dorothy Vani and her brother Myron Marfut describe their responsibilities on their mother's farm, located on Akron Peninsula Road.

Caring for Horses (22 seconds)
Carol Haramis, who owns and manages Heritage Farms in Peninsula with her husband, describes how she was responsible for taking care of horses when she was a child.





Did You Know?

Image courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Natural History

American Indians in the Cuyahoga Valley were influenced by the Hopewell Culture, which created large mound complexes in central Ohio from 100 B.C. – A.D. 500? In the Cuyahoga Valley, American Indians built small mounds rather than large ceremonial centers.