• 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.

Social Organizations

Participation in local organizations helped farmers and other valley residents address issues that affected their lives. Many farmers were members of the Grange, the oldest national agricultural organization supporting rural communities. In the years after the Civil War, the Grange developed to help protect and improve the lives of America's farmers. The Grange has also worked to promote rural education, improve transportation and access to health care, and protect natural resources. The organization united farmers and provided resources for farming security and sustainability. Today, the Grange focuses more broadly on community service.

Other social organizations helped farmers and their families address concerns and implement changes to benefit local rural communities. Women's Farm Club No. 1, in Bath, was a female-led social club for farmers' wives. The club gave women an outlet for talking about important issues and built bonds between members.

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

The Grange (1 minute 30 seconds)
Hazel Broughton, former resident of Everett, describes the purpose and history of the Grange, a service club supporting rural communities.

Women's Farm Club No. 1 (44 seconds)
Pat Morse, whose mother was a member of Women's Farm Club No. 1, remembers club activities and events during the 1930s and 40s.

 
4-H Club competition at county fair.
4-H club programs came to Ohio in 1902, and introduced new agricultural technologies to farming communities. These clubs also gave rural youths an opportunity to participate in fun and educational group activities. Above, a young boy looks over the rule book for a 4-H sponsored county fair competition.
Courtesy/Cleveland Press Collection

Did You Know?

Photo of Bald Eagle taken in Cuyahoga Valley National Park where an eagle pair built their first nest in 2006. Photo by Martin Trimmer.

November is the time to be on the lookout for bald eagles performing aerial courtship displays. Once eagles have selected each other, they plunge through the air in very high dives, locking their talons and breaking apart just when it looks as though they will crash to the ground.