• 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.

Roadside Stands and Markets

Polcen stand.

The Polcens' stand on SR 82.

NPS/Carolyn Conklin

As transportation improved, tourism increased in the Cuyahoga Valley. City dwellers came via canal boat, train, and, later, automobile. With more visitors, local farmers could sell products directly from their homes. Roadside stands, usually at the end of the farmer's driveway, offered a convenient and inexpensive way to market goods. Most farmers only set up their roadside stands on weekends, since they travelled to urban markets during the week.

"[Customers] were very nice, and they always came back to buy stuff when I had it to sell. We used to sell quite a few tomatoes and apples there, everything I had there at the farm. Beans … I used to pick half a bushel of beans in twenty minutes. That's a lot of beans!"
Elizabeth Thalman, former Richfield farmer, 2011

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

Farm Stands (29 seconds)
Warren Roller, who lived where the Coliseum once stood in Richfield, describes how State Road 303 looked like a "growers' market" during the mid-20th century.

Roadside stands still exist in the valley today, attracting local and visiting customers. The Polcen Farm (Northfield), Neitenbach Farm (Cuyahoga Falls), Spring Hill Farm and Market (Brecksville), and Canal Corners Farm and Market (Valley View) continue to sell sweet corn and other local foods from their family-owned and operated stands.

The Szalay Sweet Corn Farm (Peninsula), Foote Farm (Valley View), and Country Maid Ice Cream and Orchard (Richfield) operate larger roadside markets that sell a variety of local products, from fruits and vegetables to soaps and pies.

Did You Know?

Historic photo of canal boat on the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Lock 27 along the Ohio & Erie Canal became known as Johnnycake Lock after several boats ran aground due to flooding. While stranded, supplies ran low and canal passengers and crew ate only corn meal pancakes, known as "johnnycakes".