• 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.

Stanford House

The George Stanford House is located on a rural section of Stanford Road, just north of the small village of Boston. It enjoys a commanding view of the Cuyahoga River and the adjacent Ohio & Erie Canal. James Stanford settled the property in 1806, and served in several township offices. He was a member of the original surveyors of Boston Township before deciding to move his family to the area. James' son George Stanford built the large farmhouse that still stands today.

 
Stanford Hostel.
©Denny Reiser
 
Stanford Barn.

Stanford Barn.

©Denny Reiser

On the Stanford farm during the late 19th century, George and his son, George C. Stanford, worked in close harmony, expanding their operation to include not only the cultivation of crops, but also dairying and lumbering. Both George and his son were also very active in local politics, serving many positions in public office, including Justice of the Peace. After his father's death in 1883, George C. Stanford inherited the farm and continued to raise wheat, cattle, and sheep.

Click to read a first-hand account of life on the Stanford Farm in the 1920s.


George C. Stanford's daughter Ellen eventually passed the farm along to her nephew, Ernest Dickenson. Rena Fiedler, lifelong valley resident, remembers growing up on her grandfather Ernest's farm. Click the link below to hear Rena talk about life on the Stanford Farm in the 1930s.

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

Life on the Stanford Farm (1 minute 4 seconds)
Rena Fiedler, whose grandparents owned the Stanford Farm, recalls the products her grandfather raised and what the property looked like in the 1930s.


In recent years, the Stanford House joined the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. After several renovations, the Stanford House has since served as lodging for visitors. Click to plan your stay at the Stanford House.

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.