• 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.

Electricity, Paved Roads, and Model Ts

Earl car for sale.
Earl car at Ozmun Garage, Peninsula, 1930s.
NPS Collection
 

General technological advancements dramatically changed the living conditions of Cuyahoga Valley residents in the 20th century. When electricity and running water came to the valley, families could buy new household appliances and easily refrigerate food.

New pavement on valley roads meant easier and faster transportation of both people and goods. Road construction also served as a secondary job for many farmers who needed additional income to survive the Great Depression.

Irene (Szalay) Kusnyer remembers when Everett families began to get electricity and running water:

"It was '39 maybe '40 that electricity came in that area. And we immediately got an electric stove and an electric refrigerator. And running water… we could take showers. Life was beginning [to get] easier."
Irene (Szalay) Kusnyer, former Everett resident, 2011

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

Household Appliances (27 seconds)
Jan Thomas describes the new appliances her family could purchase once electricity came to Everett.

WPA Road Improvements I (38 seconds)
George Dittoe describes how the Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Kendall Park/Truxell Road in the 1930s.

WPA Road Improvements II (27 seconds)
Model-T Fords (46 seconds)
Lights and Phone Lines (1 minute 51 seconds)
Willis Meyers and his son Ronnie describe WPA projects between Cleveland and Akron in the 1930s. Willis also talks about his experiences using Model-T Fords, rechargeable batteries for light bulbs, and 12-party phone lines.



Did You Know?

Aerial view of the winding Cuyahoga River.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park's namesake river flows north and south. The Cuyahoga River begins its 100 mile journey in Geauga County, flows south to Cuyahoga Falls where it turns sharply north and flows through CVNP. American Indians referred to the U-shaped river as Cuyahoga or "crooked river."