• 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.

Sense of Community

Harrington Store, Main Street, Peninsula.

Peninsula residents gather outside Harrington Store on Main Street, 1910.

NPS Collection

Part of human nature is our desire to be social and form relationships. Farmers in the Cuyahoga Valley have relied upon the help of friends and relatives to endure economic and personal hardships that often threaten family survival. In the early 20th century, neighbors worked together in each others' fields to thresh wheat and make hay. During the Great Depression, farmers with enough produce shared food with their extended families. Participating in the local community meant that farmers could usually find the help and support they needed during tough times.

Living in a small community brought a sense of safety and security. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, valley residents knew their neighbors. Many people did not lock their doors. If you needed a ride, there was usually someone to pick you up. Children played and explored outside for hours with little adult supervision.

Valley residents also saw the community as a source of fun and entertainment. In communities like Everett, Peninsula, and Bedford, residents attended Home Days, local dances, and other events where they could enjoy themselves and strengthen neighborhood bonds. For families living on small farms participation in the local Grange provided vital continuing education and support.

Click the links to read and hear stories about Everett (a local valley community) as well as Events, Social Organizations, and Dances throughout the Cuyahoga Valley.

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


Working Together (21 seconds)
Jan Thomas, a resident of Everett, describes how farmers in her community worked together to share and exchange products.

Knowing Your Neighbors (51 seconds)
George Fisher, longtime resident of Peninsula, remembers how families knew all of their neighbors and how children could never keep secrets from their parents.

 
School friends in Bath Township.
School friends in Bath Township.
Courtesy/Bath Township Historical Society

Did You Know?

Drawing of a mule driver on the Ohio & Erie Canal.

A young James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States, worked briefly as a mule boy on the Ohio & Erie Canal, an important cultural resource within Cuyahoga Valley National Park.