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Enrich your ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad with the park's audio tour. Follow along with the audio clips below or read the transcripts as you ride the train. The narrators share stories of the Cuyahoga Valley and its river. They also occasionally point out features you can see from the train windows.
Before you begin, you'll need to know two things: whether you are traveling north or south, and your starting point. If you are unsure, ask a volunteer or trainman. Then find the appropriate location below and start the tour.
Southbound Audio Tour: beginning at Rockside Station
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #1 – Leaving Rockside Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #1 is intended for the ride between Rockside Station and Canal Exploration Center Station.
Narrator 1: Welcome aboard Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Our trip today will take us through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and along a National Heritage Area called the Ohio & Erie Canalway. The Cuyahoga Valley is protected as a national park to preserve nature and historical sites for present and future generations. The Cuyahoga River flows through this valley and so do many of its stories. Stories about people who lived, worked and traveled through this area. Stories about nature and wildlife. Stories about the work to create the national park. Not all these stories are easily seen from a train window, so keep listening. Our journey today will take you through forests, agricultural fields, historic towns, and reclaimed wetlands. How the stories of the valley left their mark on these landscapes varies. Some have left very tangible marks. Others take some imagination. Regardless, all the stories show different ways that the valley has provided for people and wildlife across time. As you observe the view from the window and listen to the stories, think about what draws your attention in the Cuyahoga Valley landscape. So let me tell you how this tour works. Occasionally, we’ll point out something on the east or west side of the train. You climbed on board on the east side. So, I’ll say something like, out the east windows of the train, you’ll see the river winding through the trees on the same side you boarded on. Time to get started.
Narrator 2: The Cuyahoga River and its fertile valley have attracted many people over the years. Some settled here. Others traveled through the valley, using the corridor created by the river. The Ohio & Erie Canal also follows the same path and is a big part of the valley’s story. Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad uses tracks built in 1880 along this corridor. The view from the train windows is relatively unchanged, which contributed to the rail line being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Soon we will be coming to the yellow train station for Canal Exploration Center, which is a short walk away from the station. Two floors of interactive exhibits in this canal era structure tell the stories of the canal and why it mattered to the state, the region and the nation. We’ll share more canal history with you later. Start the next narration after we pass the station.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #2 – Leaving Canal Exploration Center Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #2 is intended for the ride between Canal Exploration Center Station and Fitzwater Train Yard.
Narrator 1: Native Americans called the Cuyahoga River "Ka-ih-ohg-ha," meaning “jawbone” or “crooked water.” It’s shaped like a U. At its headwaters 30 miles east of here it flows southward. Around Akron, it turns sharply north and flows all the way into Lake Erie at Cleveland. The Cuyahoga is a young river. It formed as glaciers were retreating near the end of the Ice Age 14,000 years ago. The Great Lakes also formed because of the retreating glaciers.
Narrator 2: As the glaciers left and the river formed, people arrived in the valley. At least 500 generations of Native Americans have lived here. It can be hard to see their imprint on today’s landscape, but archeologists have found several important sites throughout the park. The first people in this area followed and hunted large game animals, including mammoth, mastodon, and bison. By 10,000 years ago, glaciers had fully receded, and the Cuyahoga Valley began to resemble what you see today. Large game animals had disappeared. Native Americans hunted white-tailed deer, rabbit, and turkey. They also depended on the river for food. This is evident in pieces of shells and bones of fish found by archeologists.
Narrator 1: Once agriculture became part of Native American life, the fertile soils of the valley became important for farming. Beginning around 1,000 years ago, Native Americans in northeastern Ohio developed a distinctive culture called by archeologists the Whittlesey Tradition. We don’t know what these native peoples called themselves, but they were named after one of the first people to document sites associated with their unique culture. Archeologists found one of their communities along the river near here. Evidence showed that people grew maize, bean, and squash on the river floodplain. They lived in large domestic structures that could have housed multiple families and started building walls around their small villages. On the northbound trip, we will share Native American history that took place in this area of the valley after European settlement reshaped Native American communities and lifeways. Watch for the train maintenance yard to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #3 – Passing Fitzwater Train Yard
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #3 is intended for the ride between Fitzwater Train Yard and Brecksville Station.
Narrator 1: We’re leaving the Fitzwater Train Yard. This is where the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad stores and repairs its train equipment. Most of the train cars you are riding in today were passenger cars from the 1950s and 60s. However, this railroad has been running through the valley since 1880 when it opened as the Valley Railway. Early trains carried coal and other raw materials as well as passengers. The A Guide Book for the Tourist and Traveler over the Valley Railway, published in 1880, helped people enjoy the view from the window. At that time, Cleveland and Akron were growing industrial cities. The Valley Railway became a means for city dwellers to travel into the countryside to take a break from city life. Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad and Cuyahoga Valley National Park continue the tradition offering recreational opportunities that many view as a vital part of urban life.
Narrator 2: After the train yard, our route takes us into an area called Pinery Narrows. It is the narrowest section of the Cuyahoga Valley, and the place where it is easiest to see the valley walls from the train, especially when leaves are not on trees. The 1880 guidebook called the area “the most beautiful and striking spot along the line.” As you enjoy the scenery, be on the lookout for wildlife. Pinery Narrows is home to a bald eagle nest. You will see it in a wetland on the west side of the train. Bald eagle nests are giant and can weigh as much as a small car. We will tell you more about the return of bald eagles to the valley on the northbound trip. Watch for Brecksville Station on the west side of the train and Station Road Bridge Trailhead on the east side to start the next narration. This is one of the starting points for outdoor recreation in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #4 – Leaving Brecksville Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #4 is intended for the ride between Brecksville Station and Jaite.
Narrator 1: We are passing Brecksville Station on the west side of the train and Station Road Bridge Trailhead on the east side of the train. The yellow stations were built in the style of stations used in the railway’s early years by the National Park Service to serve park visitors. However, when the Valley Railway opened in 1880, it included a Brecksville Depot in this location to serve the local farming community. It was a typical combination station that supported passengers and freight, not unlike the still existing Peninsula Depot. Railroads were among the first companies to standardize business practices, including building architecture.
Narrator 2: Now this area is a crossroads for rail passengers, hikers, cyclists, runners, paddlers, and horse riders. The wrought iron bridge over the river opened in 1882. Today, people use it to access the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail for bicycling, walking, and running. A launch for the Cuyahoga River Water Trail is available for paddlers. A connector trail leads to Cleveland Metroparks’ Brecksville Reservation. The interlinked system allows for all kinds of trail adventures in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Narrator 1: As we continue south of Station Road, our route continues to take us along the Cuyahoga River and past forest, wetlands, and meadows. You might see trumpeter swans swimming in the wetlands. Their large size makes them hard to mistake. They have become more common in the valley due to the protection of wetlands and efforts by people to expand their populations in the wild. Watch for the line of yellow buildings on the west side of the train to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #5 – Passing Jaite
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #5 is intended for the ride between Jaite and Boston Mill Station.
Narrator 1: We are passing through Jaite, the town that once supported the Jaite Paper Company. This company opened in 1905 and made paper for cement bags, flour bags, and potato bags. With access to the railroad for shipping, cheap land and good water, this was the ideal location in the early 1900s for the mill. The community of Jaite was a company town. The paper mill owned all the houses, the general store, and the post office. Some buildings were duplexes where families lived two to a house – one upstairs, and one downstairs. Often fathers, sons, cousins, and wives all lived and worked alongside each other. Life was governed by the sound of the factory whistle. It would blow at 5:30 in the morning to wake people up. At noon, it would blow again for lunch. At 12:30 the whistle would blow, telling everyone, “get back to work.” And at 4:30 it would blow again. Most employees didn’t wear watches, a luxury item, to work. The whistle kept time and everyone at the factory on a strict schedule.
Narrator 2: The paper mill’s gone now, but the company houses in Jaite serve as the headquarters for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They’re painted yellow, one of the many colors they were painted when they were company homes. Next, we will be coming up to the village of Boston. It also had a papermill--the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company--that used the railway to ship its products. The company store for the papermill now houses the Boston Mill Visitor Center, the primary welcome center for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Across the river, Boston Store is open seasonally and sells beverages and ice cream. Watch for the Boston train station on the west side of the train and the high-level interstate bridges to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #6 – Passing Boston Mill Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #6 is intended for the ride between Boston Mill Station and Peninsula Depot.
Narrator 1: We are now leaving Boston and heading towards the Village of Peninsula. Both small towns first grew up around the Ohio & Erie Canal and continued to grow with the arrival of the Valley Railway. James Stanford settled in Boston in 1806 before the canal or railway arrived. He came as a member of a surveying party and stayed to farm. Like many of the valley’s first European American settlers, he found it challenging to get his produce to market. Roads turned to muddy trails after the spring rains. The river was too shallow and unpredictable to use for transportation, although an industrious fellow might build a raft, lug it over to the Tuscarawas River and float down to New Orleans. But that could take months. And then they would have to walk back to Ohio! Most farmers made or grew nearly everything they needed, perhaps doing some trading with their neighbors. Ohio needed a faster way to transport materials to the rest of the country. The East Coast was industrializing and needed raw materials from Ohio. A canal system was the answer. Turns out it was a spectacular idea. The Ohio & Erie Canal opened an inland waterway between Lake Erie in the north and the Ohio River in the south. Lake Erie connected to the Erie Canal, which crossed New York and thus linked Ohio to the East Coast. Prior to this the young United States depended on trade with Europe. The new canal system allowed the nation to depend upon itself. When the canal opened here in 1827, reporters said locals “wept manly tears of joy.” It changed everything for the nation and the cash-poor farmers here. A superhighway had suddenly arrived.
Narrator 2: The Village of Peninsula is the half-way point between Cleveland and Akron. It would’ve taken us about half a day to get here on the canal. By then you might just be ready for a shot of whiskey. And that’s how Peninsula got its start – as a roaring canal town. Fourteen different taverns greeted passengers arriving here. The train depot where we’ll stop was rehabilitated by the National Park Service as part of its mission here in Cuyahoga Valley National Park to preserve historic buildings, farms, and other structures. This gives visitors a sense of what it was like to live here in the past. It is the only original Valley Railway train depot in the Cuyahoga Valley. However, it isn’t in its original location. Historically, it was the depot in Boston. If you’re getting off here to explore Peninsula, check out some of the historic downtown buildings from the 1800s. Like the Bronson Memorial Church on Main Street. Herman Bronson organized it in 1835 to reform the “vicious and unlawful practices of the canal boatmen.” You can also stroll on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail to view the old canal and explore its remnants. Play the next narration for the audio tour as the train leaves Peninsula.
Southbound Audio Tour continued: beginning at Peninsula Depot
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #7 – Leaving Peninsula Depot
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #7 is intended for the ride between Peninsula Depot and the village of Everett.
Narrator 1: Welcome back to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour. Our trip today is taking you through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and along the Ohio & Erie Canalway. As a reminder, occasionally we’ll point out something on the east or west side of the train. Now look out the window for the Cuyahoga River. That is on the west side of the train. We will be crossing the river soon, so shortly it will be on the east side of the train. On this tour, we have already seen how businesses and communities grew up along the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Valley Railway. This next stretch is a chance for you to see remnants of the canal. The canal was a hand-dug ditch that was four feet deep. Boats were long, narrow barges. In this area that canal is mostly a ruin. The ditch has either disappeared or been filled by wetlands. However, you can see a flat path that ran parallel to the canal. During the canal’s heyday in the 1830s and ‘40s, you would’ve seen teams of horses trudging down that path in tandem, pulling boats along with rope. This was called a towpath because they towed the boats. In time, mules became the preferred engines of the canal. They even had a speed limit, four miles an hour, to prevent boats from damaging the canal sides in their wake.
Narrator 2: The mule driver, called a muleskinner, spent 10-12 hours a day coaxing the stubborn animals along. President James Garfield was sixteen when he got his first job. He was a muleskinner walking this very towpath. Garfield did not enjoy his experience on the Ohio & Erie Canal. During his short, unhappy tenure as a mule skinner, he allegedly fell into the canal 14 times. The Ohio & Erie Canal took seven years to build. Irish and German immigrants did most of the work. A lot of them came here after digging the Erie Canal in New York. They dug the trench by hand, working sunrise to sunset. These were guys who got paid 30 cents a day and a gill of whiskey, which is about 5 ounces today. It was dirty, dangerous work with outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and typhoid fever. Too much whiskey and violent fist fights also killed people. Tragically, a lot of the Irish workers were treated as disposable labor. Those who died on the job or near the canal would be buried next to it an unmarked grave. Looking out the west window, you may see a canal lock made from blocks of sandstone. Locks raised and lowered canal boats through elevation changes, allowing the canal itself to have calm water. This lock is called Deep Lock, earning the name because it was twice the depth of most locks. Engineers experimented with building a deeper lock here, hoping boats could lock through faster. But a lock twice as deep takes twice as long to fill with water.
Narrator 1: One thing you won’t see as you look out the window is the Drift Inn Club, which also went by the name of the Cabin Club. It’s gone now, but its story is part of the recreational history of the valley. It was located on the east side of the river just south of Peninsula. In the mid-1900s, African Americans established several gathering spots for leisure and recreation in or near the valley. The Drift Inn Club operated from the 1930s to 1957. It featured six cabins, a recreation hall, and a baseball diamond. Picnics and music were part of its offerings. Watch for the white houses on either side of the train to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #8 – Passing Everett
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #8 is intended for the ride between the village of Everett and Indigo Lake Station.
Narrator 1: This cluster of small, white houses on both sides of the train is the crossroads village of Everett. This crossroads community sprang up as a farming community. In the 1800s and early 1900s, farming was the economic driver of the valley. Watch out the east window for a commercial farm that remains in the valley today, Szalay’s, which grows sweet corn for local markets here in northeast Ohio. Big Jim Szalay moved here in the early 1930s to take advantage of the rich bottomland soil. He was following in the footsteps of other farmers, like the Fiedlers, who lived in today’s Hunt House. They too had a roadside stand, selling not just corn, but all kinds of produce.
Narrator 2: The next train stop is for Indigo Lake Station. Here passengers can get off the train and follow the paved trail out the west window to Hale Farm & Village. Today, Hale Farm is a living history museum where you can experience life in the 1800s. Historically, it had been the farm of Jonathan Hale. He was an adventurous man who moved here from Connecticut in 1810 with his family, less than a decade after Ohio became a state in 1803. His descriptions provide insights into what Ohio was like before extensive European settlement. He noted, “Wild animals aplenty such as deers, bears, wolves which make a terrible howling some nights, enough to tear the earth up, raccoon, plenty black squirrel – millions of them, not many beavers, otters and muskrats in abundance, turkeys plenty, ducks and I’m told the geese in the spring in the rivers and ponds.” With this abundance, Hale said, “The land I live on is as good as any man can wish for.”
Narrator 1: All through the 1800s, more and more farmers like Jonathan Hale moved out here. They cleared lots, built homes, put up barns and fences. Trees were their main source of heat, light, and cooking fuel. When the canal came along, even more trees were needed – to build boats, mills, and all the buildings in the new canal towns. By the end of the 1800s, 90% of Ohio’s trees were gone. The Valley went from being a dense forest to a rural landscape of wide-open spaces. Today, the national park is helping the landscape to return to its more natural look through reforestation projects. Watch for the yellow train station for Indigo Lake on the west side of the train to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #9 – Leaving Indigo Lake Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #9 is intended for the ride between Indigo Lake Station and Botzum Station.
Narrator 1: Indigo Lake was on the west side of the train just after Indigo Station. We’ll next come to Howe Meadow on the west side of the train and Beaver Marsh on the east side of the train. Howe Meadow is Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s event site, a place where you can enjoy activities such as concerts and farmers markets.
Narrator 2: Beaver Marsh is an iconic location in the park, a place to both enjoy nature and marvel in the natural recovery that has occurred here. Beaver Marsh is named, of course, for the beaver that have created a system of dams responsible for the large wetland that we can see from the train. However, as with much wildlife in the valley, there was a time when beavers were hard, if not impossible, to find. Pressures on their survival began with European exploration and settlement of North America. Fashionable Europeans were crazy for beaver. They wore beaver musk perfume and used their fur for top hats. Trading with Native American trappers for beaver took place right along the Cuyahoga River not far from here. A beaver pelt could buy a trapper a pound of tobacco, a heavy copper kettle, or two hatchets. Enough beaver pelts could even be traded for a gun. But by 1830, there wasn’t a beaver left in Ohio. The rebound of beavers began in the 1890s when some states with lingering beaver populations added game laws to protect them. Beavers reappeared in Ohio in 1936, spreading from Michigan and Pennsylvania where they had been reintroduced by sportsmen’s organizations or escaped from fur farms.
Narrator 1: After Cuyahoga Valley National Park was created in 1974, those busy creatures gnawed their way back into the valley. Ever wonder why beavers chop, chew, and gnaw on wood all the time? It’s to wear down their front teeth -- because they never stop growing. They then use those branches for food and as part of their dams to create wetlands to live in. Beavers also build large, multi-room lodges with sticks and mud. They are one of the few animals, besides humans, that really can modify their world to benefit themselves. One of the most remarkable things about the Beaver Marsh is that it used to be a salvage yard full of old rusting car parts. You’ll hear how the beavers, with the help of some very determined people, took it back on our northbound tour. Look for the Botzum Station on the east side of the train and a trailhead parking area on the same side, to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #10 – Leaving Botzum Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #10 is intended for the ride between Botzum Station and Big Bend.
Narrator 1: After we pass Botzum Station and trailhead, the train crosses out of Cuyahoga Valley National Park and into the city of Akron. We’re still traveling along the Ohio & Erie Canalway. During the canal era, this region exploded with growth. All of Ohio did. In ten years, it went from a trickle of European settlers living in a frontier setting to the third most populated state in the nation. Both Akron and Cleveland took off as cities during the Canal era.
Narrator 2: It isn’t a coincidence that the canal came through this area. Engineers needed to make sure that the canal would have a steady supply of water. Rivers are the primary source of water, but engineers faced the challenge of crossing divides between rivers. In Ohio, the biggest challenge was the continental divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainages. The Cuyahoga River drains into the Great Lakes. To the south of Akron, the canal follows the Tuscarawas River, which is in the Mississippi River watershed. Summit and the Portage Lakes provided water on the divide, making Akron an ideal location for the canal.
Narrator 1: Native Americans also knew that this area was among the best for crossing between watersheds. In a few minutes, we’ll be coming into a commercial area. As we cross over a major intersection, we’ll be passing a statue on the east side of the train. Designed and sculpted by internationally renowned Onondaga artist Peter B. Jones, it shows a Native American with a canoe on his back. The statue marks the northern end of the Portage Path. It’s been used for thousands of years by Native Americans. They used to paddle up the Cuyahoga River from Lake Erie to this spot. They would then carry their canoes and walk eight miles until they got to the Long Lake channel on the Tuscarawas River. Once on the Tuscarawas River they could then paddle all the way down to the Ohio River. Imagine carrying a canoe that far. People made their canoes as light as possible. And that cross-country trek with a canoe on their back was called a portage. Look for a maintained grassy field on the west side and the Towpath Trail on the east side with a railroad crossing sign to play the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #11 – Passing Big Bend
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #11 is intended for the ride between Big Bend and Akron Northside Station.
Narrator 1: The parklands in this area are managed by Summit Metro Parks. It is hard to imagine that we are traveling through the city of Akron and will soon arrive at the southernmost station for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. During earlier stops on this tour, we saw how the canal and railroad impacted small towns in the Cuyahoga Valley. They had equally big impacts on cities like Akron. You know, more people live in Akron today than lived in the entire state of Ohio back during the canal era. It’s the Ohio & Erie Canal you can thank for launching it as a city. See, remember how we told you that Akron sits up high on a continental divide? In the days before railroads, canal boats had to somehow get themselves to the top of that divide in a matter of just a couple of miles. That’s where the Cascade Locks come in. It’s a series of locks, one right after the other, like a staircase. We’ll be passing them as we get closer to Akron Northside Station. Anyway, it’d take about six hours to get through all of them. Passengers had nothing to do, so they would get off their boats and mill about on foot, shopping and visiting. Stores and taverns began to cluster around the locks. Pretty soon – you got Akron. Akron’s first industries began at Cascade Locks. The canal provided transportation. The Cascade Race, a waterway that ran parallel to the canal, provided power. Entrepreneurs built waterwheels, grist mills and forges. One of the most successful was a German fellow named Ferdinand Schumacher, who produced flour at his Cascade Mill lock at Lock 14. He is best known for introducing Americans to oatmeal. During the Civil War, he sent barrels of it to the front lines to feed hungry Union soldiers. And that was the start of America’s cereal industry and Quaker Oats.
Narrator 2: The Valley Railway opened in 1880. It followed the route of the canal between Akron and Cleveland and generally became the preferred mode of transportation. On the railroad, you could carry more weight and move much faster than on the canal. And trains could travel year-round. You didn’t have to worry about flooding, or chunks of ice blocking your way. Railroad companies literally bought the rights to the canal beds themselves and built their railroads right where the canals were. The canal boats could not compete with the train’s awesome power. They revolutionized transport and shipping. There was a complete change in the way people lived. The same thing has happened today due to the internet. While transportation modes changed due to the railroad, it was the canal boats that had paved the way. From Akron Northside Station, you can follow a connector over to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. Heading north will take you along the staircase of locks. You can see remnants of the mill race, explore Cascade Locks Park to learn more about Akron’s industrial heritage, and visit Mustill Store adjacent to Lock 15. Mustill Store is small museum in a preserved grocery from about the year 1850, where the Mustill Family sold food like cheese, molasses, and ham. They also sold supplies like brooms, boots, matches, and ice.
Narrator 1: We’re now approaching the southern end of our journey through the Cuyahoga Valley. We hope you enjoyed the train ride and appreciated the views from the train window. Both people and wildlife have traveled through and made their homes here. Today, it is a place where people return to time and time again for outdoor recreation and to reconnect with nature and history. We were able to see how the valley has provided opportunities for people and how many of these opportunities were made possible by transportation. Looking out the window during this ride, you had the opportunity to see how many of these stories left their mark on the landscape. Many of the stories today are hard or impossible to see on the landscape. What forces shape the land where you live? What stories are left on the land you call home? We also heard stories that may help us see parts of the landscape that we may tend not to notice or think about. Transportation choices have a huge impact on our daily lives and communities. Does this tour make you think about the influence of transportation in your community any differently? If you’re getting off here, thank you for riding with us. Be sure to check out the many special excursions the train offers throughout the year. If you’re returning with us, stay tuned for our northbound tour, where you’ll hear more stories of the Valley as it changed over time.
Northbound Audio Tour: beginning at Akron Northside Station
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #1 – Leaving Akron Northside Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #1 is intended for the ride between Akron Northside Station and Memorial Parkway.
Narrator 1: Welcome aboard Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Today, we’ll ride along the Ohio & Erie Canalway and into Cuyahoga Valley National Park. But we’re not just traveling north. We’re going to travel back and forth through time to hear stories of the Cuyahoga Valley and its river. The trip will take you through forests, past historic towns, and across reclaimed lands. We’re going to share stories about the way human choices have shaped this valley – for better and for worse. And for better again. Once in a while, we’ll point out something on the east or west side of the train. You climbed on board on the west side. So sometimes we will talk about things out the west windows and sometimes we’ll ask you to look out the east windows. We’ll be talking a lot about the Cuyahoga River. We’ll also be talking about the Ohio & Erie Canal and the railroad that followed. These two transportation systems ran along the river, so we will see evidence of them from the window of the train. They are a big part of the story and the way human choices shaped the valley. Back in the days before railroads, the canal was a technological wonder. It was a 300-mile waterway that connected Akron, Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga Valley to the rest of the United States. Kind of like the superhighway of the 1800s. The path that horses and mules walked to pull canal boats is now the popular Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.
Narrator 2: Ohio highballed, railroad slang for bolted, into the modern age with the arrival of the railway. The Valley Railway first chugged through here in 1880. It was built to bring coal from central Ohio to the cities of Canton, Akron, and Cleveland. But passengers used it too. The Valley Railway changed hands many times, and the line is now used by Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Those early trains were powered by steam, but the one we’re riding on today is being pulled by a diesel locomotive. Watch for the train to pass over a high bridge over a larger roadway, Memorial Parkway, to begin our next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #2 – Passing Memorial Parkway
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #2 is intended for the ride between Memorial Parkway and Botzum Station.
Narrator 1: The parkland we are in now is managed by Summit Metro Parks, with Cascade Valley out the east window and Sand Run out the west window. The area is also part of the Ohio & Erie Canalway, a national heritage area that includes the Towpath Trail, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The idea for establishing parks in this area goes back a long time. After the Civil War, Cleveland and Akron became major industrial centers. By 1910, Cleveland was the 6th largest city in the United States. Akron was on its way to becoming the rubber capital of the world. For city residents, urban life could be gritty and crowded. They began to seek out open green space. The valley offered lovely attractions. Folks could float along on a canal boat, take a buggy ride down country roads, or hop on a train to visit the countryside. It didn’t take long for park development to start, launching protection of natural open space in the valley. Summit Metro Parks was established in 1920. Akron businessman F. A. Seiberling was one of the first people to donate land to this park system for the nearby Sand Run Metro Park. He had co-founded the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In the early days, they made bike tires, horseshoe pads, hot water bottles, and poker chips. Seiberling’s grandson, John Seiberling, took on the cause too. As a U.S. Congressman, John introduced more than 60 national park-related bills, including the ground-breaking bill that created Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 1974.
Narrator 2: The Cuyahoga River runs through the parkland that we are seeing. Look for views of the meandering river on the east side of the train. Today, the river is a National Water Trail, a place for outdoor recreation and paddling. In fact, it is considered one of the best urban kayaking rivers in the country. But it hasn’t always been that way. Industry dominated the economy, but all that industry also brought something else -- pollution. Earlier factories dumped their waste into the Cuyahoga River. Many long-time residents of the area have childhood memories of poor water quality. They recall the river being covered by paints, oil, and other scum. In the 1960s, it was so full of toxic sludge, even leeches couldn’t live in it. Fish surveys found almost no fish. Laws and attitudes have changed and so has the river, but it took over fifty years and a lot of passionate, hardworking people. The Cuyahoga River is now a celebrated centerpiece of the region. It is something that shows how vision and a tremendous amount of work can make a big difference.
Narrator 1: After passing through Summit Metro Parks lands, the train enters the Merriman Valley business district. You can see a large sewer pipe out on the east side of the train. It runs along in the old canal ditch. It’s carrying millions of gallons of water to a wastewater treatment plant. The sewer pipe is part of the infrastructure that keeps the river clean. Until recently, this sewer system wasn’t large enough to handle all the water runoff from storms. This meant that raw sewage routinely washed into the river. Today, giant tunnels store excess runoff and direct it to the water reclamation facility for treatment. This has made a huge improvement in Cuyahoga River water quality. Look for Botzum Station and a trailhead parking area on the east side of the train to play the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #3 – Leaving Botzum Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #3 is intended for the ride between Botzum Station and Indigo Lake Station.
Narrator 1: Once the train passes Botzum Station, we have crossed into Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 33,000 acres of parkland. And it’s all but hidden in this stretch between Cleveland and Akron. The forests, fields, and wetlands inside the park provide food, shelter, and a safe place to roam for all sorts of wild animals. Look for white-tailed deer. We are traveling through habitat that they prefer. If you are lucky, you might see a wild turkey or even a coyote.
Narrator 2: This area also has a human history as a rural valley. Farming dominated the economy here in the 1800s. First the Ohio & Erie Canal and then the Valley Railway provided transportation. Botzum, Ira, and Everett all hosted depots in the southern reaches of what is now Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Of these small communities, only Everett remains.
Narrator 1: As we ride north, look out the east window for a large marshy area. It has a story to tell. It is an area known as Beaver Marsh. It’s one of the best places to see wildlife in the park -- and not just beavers. See, those busy critters create amazing wetlands with all their chomping and damming and, well, you know, busy beavering. Those wetlands are a great habitat for all kinds of birds, turtles, frogs, and other wildlife. The Towpath Trail has a boardwalk that lets you walk right over the wetland. Of course, it didn’t always look like this. Farming drained the original wetlands found here. Then in the 1940s and ‘50s, an auto salvage business used this area. In the 1980s, the National Park Service worked with the Sierra Club to clean up the area. With the salvage yard gone, the beavers moved in and returned this area into a wetland. It attracted other animals too. Out with the fenders, in with the frogs. That’s pretty much how restoration of the river has worked. Our next narration will begin at Indigo Lake, the small lake which you will see from the train looking west.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #4 – Leaving Indigo Lake Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #4 is intended for the ride between Indigo Lake Station and the village of Everett.
Narrator 1: We’re here at Indigo Lake and the associated train station. This was once the site of Gray’s Quarry. They mined for sand and gravel that had been dropped here by glaciers. Groundwater filled the quarry pit, so their operation involved dredging for the sand and gravel. After the quarry closed and Cuyahoga Valley National Park was established, water that had once been a nuisance became welcome attraction. Now the area serves as a favorite location for fishing and enjoying scenery. You can also use the paved trail to head over the hill to Hale Farm & Village, a living history museum that includes a canal-era farm and recreated 19th-century village.
Narrator 2: Next, we’ll be passing through the town of Everett. Life changed for the people who lived in this small cluster of homes with the coming of the Valley Railway. The community was originally known as Unionville. But when the railroad came through, residents renamed for Sylvester T. Everett. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be sitting where you are right now. He was a Cleveland banker and the chief promoter of the Valley Railway in the 1870s. It’s hard to believe, but back then, some people didn’t want anything to do with the so-called “iron horse,” as railroads were known. They were perfectly happy to move at 4 miles an hour on canal boats. Some farmers worried that railroad noise would frighten their animals. But Mr. Everett believed in progress. At one point, when investors were hard to find, he put up his own money to get the railway built.
Narrator 1: And as soon as it was complete, almost everything came in by train -- people, food, clothing, the mail – you name it. Depots became the hub of community life. And railroad fever swept the country. Folks started riding the rails just for fun. “Leisure pursuits” that’s what they called it back then. Railroad companies even promoted train travel as a way to see spectacular scenery. They were some of the first organizations to lobby for the creation of National Parks. Play the next narration after the train crosses Riverview Road and you can see glimpses of the canal towpath.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #5 – Passing Everett
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #5 is intended for the ride between the village of Everett and Peninsula Depot.
Narrator 1: Out the east windows you’ll catch glimpses of the canal towpath. This is the path the mules and horses once walked to pull boats up and down the Ohio & Erie Canal. Today, it has been turned into a recreational trail for walking and bicycling. In the canal era heyday from 1825-1855, canal boat companies owned and operated fleets of vessels. They hired captains and crew. Facing stiff competition from railroads by the 1860s, boat companies disbanded and solo owner-operators became more common. John Malvin was the captain for a canalboat called the “Auburn”. During the course of his career, he both owned the boat and captained it for another owner. Malvin was born in Prince William County, Virginia, in 1795. He was the son of an enslaved man and a free black woman. He was born free because children assumed the status of their mother. In 1831, he settled in Cleveland, traveling there in part by canal. He had several professions throughout his life, including carpenter, cook, and canal boat captain. In 1879, he wrote an autobiography of his life as a free black man during the time of slavery. John Malvin shipped wheat and merchandise on the “Auburn”. In his autobiography, he states that his crew consisted of one white steersman, one colored steersman, two white drivers, one colored bowman, and one colored female cook. He carried passengers as well as freight. He sometimes startled his passengers, being a free black man who captained a canalboat. The courtesy he showed passengers won over any preconceptions they might have had. John Malvin cared deeply about civil rights, establishing the first schools for black children in Ohio and becoming a prominent advocate for the rights of African Americans.
Narrator 2: In the years before the Civil War, the canal was more than a shipping lane. It was a straight shot north for 300 miles. For an enslaved person seeking freedom, that offered a direct path to freedom in Canada. Some historians believe the canal, and maybe even the towpath, were part of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad wasn’t an actual railroad; it was a way to travel from slavery toward freedom using any means possible. It was an illegal activity, so there's not a great deal of written, recorded evidence. We do know that there were more Underground Railroad “stations” – or safe-houses – in Ohio than in any other state in the Union. People seeking their freedom may have come on foot. Others may have come on the canal where they could have hidden among the cargo. In his memoir, one man, Lewis Clarke, describes buying a ticket to travel on the canal from Portsmouth on the Ohio River to Cleveland as part of his escape.
Narrator 1: Coming up is the Village of Peninsula. The train helped its quarry industry grow. A spur from the Valley Railway went to Deep Lock Quarry to ship its sandstone. Today, Peninsula is a popular jumping-off point to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park. If you would like to explore Peninsula, this is your stop. You can pick up more stories of the Valley when you return. Enjoy Peninsula, with its Canal Era architecture, shops, and galleries. Or stop in one of the two restaurants or coffee shops. Rent a bike to explore the Towpath. The Towpath can be accessed through the Lock 29 parking lot on the west side of the train.
Northbound Audio Tour continued: beginning at Peninsula Depot
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #6 – Leaving Peninsula Depot
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #6 is intended for the ride between Peninsula Depot and Boston Mill Station.
Narrator 1: Welcome back to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour. We’re now leaving Peninsula Station. Our trip today is taking us through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and along the Ohio & Erie Canalway. As a reminder, occasionally, we’ll point out something on the east or west side of the train. Now look out the window for the Cuyahoga River. That is the west side of the train. We will be crossing the river, so it will shortly be on the east side of the train.
Narrator 2: We will be coming up to the village of Boston. Like Peninsula, it became a bustling town after the Ohio & Erie Canal opened through the valley in 1827. It grew again when the Valley Railway opened in 1880. A few factories opened along the river, including the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company. The bag company produced paper bags, waxed bags, and roofing paper. It needed clean water to make the paper. Workers dammed the Cuyahoga River and built a filter house. However, water pollution flowing from Akron became overwhelming. In 1919, the township trustees petitioned the state to fix the problem. As a result, Akron built the water treatment plant just south of the park in 1928. Unfortunately, it was too late for the factory. Lack of clean water contributed to its closing in 1923. Even though they couldn’t save the factory, the community speaking up made a difference. In addition to the treatment plant, its voice encouraged the establishment of Summit Metro Parks in 1920. The idea that protecting open space is good for water quality isn’t new!
Narrator 1: Look out the east side of the train for a couple of big interstate bridges crossing the valley. In the 1950s, highways sprouted up all over the country. As more and more families moved out of cities, the suburbs crept closer to the valley and began to spill into it. With easier access, developers proposed big projects that threatened the rural charm of the valley. Not everyone was happy about this. An early battle took place when people tried to keep one of the interstates from impacting Peninsula. As a result, the highway engineers shifted the interstate north. Most battles, however, were lost. Until the vision for a large-scale Cuyahoga Valley park emerged. Before he was elected to Congress, John Seiberling was one of the citizens who fought the highway’s proposed path. He was later appointed to the regional planning commission and used his post to advocate for protecting the valley. He was one of the people who promoted the vision of a large park in the valley.
Narrator 2: The idea that urban areas needed large-scale parks got some help from the federal government. In the 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson had a vision to bring parks to people in urban areas. Then, in the 1970s, President Nixon expanded that idea into an official “Parks to the People” policy. By this time, John Seiberling had been elected to Congress. He rallied public support behind the idea of creating a park not located far off in the west, but one that was right here, in peoples’ backyard. In December 1974 his bill creating Cuyahoga Valley National Park passed Congress and was signed by President Ford. If it hadn’t been for political leadership and citizen-activists, the view out your window right now might be strip malls and traffic lights. Our next stop will be in Boston near Boston Mill Visitor Center. The visitor center is the front door to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This is the first place those visiting the park should go to plan their visit. Play the next narration after passing Boston Mills Ski Area, which you will see on the west side of the train.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #7 – Passing Boston Mill Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #7 is intended for the ride between Boston Mill Station and Jaite.
Narrator 1: The bottomlands you’re seeing used to be farmers’ fields. Clyde Davis, a farm hand near Boston in the 1920s, recalled the rich harvests in the valley. Maple syrup in winter, eggs & milk any time of year, garden crops, pumpkins, onions and watermelons. There was something going to market every month of the year. In the middle of the 1800s, dairy farms were common in the valley. Local cheese factories cropped up to process the milk. According to Historian Henry Howe, this region of Ohio earned the nickname "Cheesedom." Around 1871, Jonas Coonrad began a profitable cheese business on his 300-acre property on Riverview Road in Brecksville. A dairy farmer for most of his life, Coonrad built the cheese factory to process milk from his farm, as well as the numerous other dairy cattle farms in the Cuyahoga Valley. The money earned from cheese-making helped the Coonrads construct the large brick farmhouse that you see from the west side of the train. It serves as a National Park Service ranger station today. Coonrad closed his factory in 1879. The coming of the Valley Railroad increased competition in the cheese business by providing easy access to Cleveland. In fact, with the train, farmers could ship their milk fresh instead of having to turn it into cheese. Today, the National Park Service is continuing that farming tradition by inviting farmers to live and work on historic farms inside the park. Park farmers use sustainable, environmentally friendly techniques. In this way, they protect the land while maintaining the valley’s rural character.
Narrator 2: Small-town community life has been and continues to be part of the valley experience. The valley isn’t just a national park. It’s also home for many. As in any community, with small towns can come big personalities. Jim Brown is one of those colorful characters from Boston’s past. During his time, states, banks, private companies, even the Ohio & Erie Canal printed their own money. It wasn’t long before, um, “entrepreneurs” started floating their own version of cash. All you needed was a convincing signature and an official looking seal. Jim Brown was the King of the Cuyahoga counterfeiting scene. The deep ravines around here were perfect hideouts and the canal made it easy to distribute the queer – that’s what they called fake coins and phony banknotes back then. Legend has it Jim Brown’s operation was so widespread that he was as well-known as the President of the United States. Anyway, it wasn’t until Jim Brown tried passing off fake notes in New Orleans for a trip to China, that he finally got nabbed. But here’s the thing. The citizens of Boston didn’t mind so much about the whole funny money business. A lot of them trusted Jim more than the banks. So, in 1834, when he returned home from New Orleans, they elected him Justice of the Peace…twice. Play the next narration when you see the line of yellow houses.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #8 – Passing Jaite
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #8 is intended for the ride between Jaite and Brecksville Station.
Narrator 1: We’re passing through the town of Jaite. Do you see those yellow buildings out the west side of the train? Those were built back when Jaite was a company town. They’ve been preserved by the National Park Service. The headquarters of Cuyahoga Valley National Park are located inside of them today. Jaite was built around a paper mill in 1905. During the Depression in the 1930s, the Mill provided something this valley didn’t have much of – jobs. The paper company employed 250 people, and a lot of them were women. They’d sew up the paper bags that were made at the mill. You’ll hear more about life in the company town of Jaite on our southbound tour.
Narrator 2: As we head north from Jaite, we continue to travel through the bottomlands of the Cuyahoga River. We have already shared some stories of how efforts of many people helped to restore this valley to the thriving natural environment you see today. Another of those stories took place near here. Back in the 1950s, old cars were stacked side by side to keep the Cuyahoga riverbank from eroding. At the time, this was considered a best management practice. A few decades later, citizen activist Elaine Marsh convinced people to remove the cars. They ended up removing 113 cars and along with them a threat to the river. So many efforts like these have taken place over the decades here. Some have been big efforts, others small. However, their cumulative impact is tremendous! The river today isn’t perfect, but it is so much better than the smelly, polluted river that many remember from their childhoods.
Narrator 1: The story of the recovery of the Cuyahoga River is iconic of the renewal of the valley, especially when we contrast the river today to perhaps what was its low point in 1969. However, it was a very important low point. It was a moment in time when people locally and around the country were saying, “enough is enough, we must do something about water pollution.” So what happened? On June 22, 1969, oil and debris in the river caught on fire in an industrial area of Cleveland, not far north of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Heavy industry dominates that section of the river. Railroad bridges near a steel mill trapped debris in the river, causing it to pile up. Oil on the water added to its flammability. A flare tossed from an overpassing train likely provided the spark that ignited the debris. That 1969 fire did not surprise Clevelanders. The river had burned more than 10 times over the previous century. The 1969 fire was relatively small, lasting less than 30 minutes with minor damage to the railroad bridges. The first newspaper coverage focused on the damage, not the fact that the river had burned. At the time, people largely saw the river as a part of industrial infrastructure. Yet almost immediately, the narrative began to change. The fire took place on a Sunday. On Monday, June 23, Cleveland mayor Carl Stokes led local press on a pollution tour of the river. Betty Klaric, one of nation’s first full-time environmental reporters, covered the tour for the Cleveland Press. The article described the Cuyahoga as the river that “oozes rather than flows” and in which a person “does not drown but decays.” From there other national and international outlets picked up the story. The tide of public opinion about pollution changed in 1970. This led to the first Earth Day in April and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in December. A flurry of environmental activism and legislation followed, including The Clean Water Act of 1972. We are coming up on Brecksville Station and Station Road Bridge Trailhead. A river access point for paddling is located here. The Towpath Trail is across the river and offers good river views heading north into Pinery Narrows. Trailside exhibits share more river stories. Look for the Brecksville Station on the west side of the train to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #9 – Leaving Brecksville Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #9 is intended for the ride between Brecksville Station and Fitzwater Train Yard.
Narrator 1: You will see Brecksville Station on the west side of the train. Soon after, the train passes under the high bridge that carries State Route 82 over the river. Two remarkable stories about the recovery of nature have taken place in the area. The first is the removal of two dams that impeded the natural flow of the Cuyahoga River. The second is the return of bald eagles. Bald eagles sometimes nest just north of the bridge. If you look carefully outside the west window soon after passing under the bridge, you may see a tall tree at the north end of the wetland with an enormous nest. The view is brief, but the huge size of the nest makes it unmistakable.
Narrator 2: First the story of the dam removal and why it matters. On the southbound tour, we mentioned how the Cuyahoga River was a source of water for the Ohio & Erie Canal. Dams were built near Station Road to divert water from the river to the canal to keep the water level constant in the canal. Pinery Feeder Dam was built in 1827 as part of canal construction. The Brecksville Diversion Dam was added in 1952 to provide water to a steel factory north of the park. While the dams were important for the canal, they were not ideal for the river. They altered the natural flow of water and sediment and harmed fish habitat. In 2020, both dams were removed, greatly improving the health of the Cuyahoga River and removing a major barrier for fish migration. A pump was added, allowing water to continue to flow into the Ohio & Erie Canal, protecting one of the park’s most important historical resources. That is known as a win-win situation. Everyone gains when we protect nature and the most vital parts of the valley’s human history.
Narrator 1: The return of bald eagles is connected to the improved health of the river. Bald eagles eat fish, so they need healthy bodies of water. In the 1970s, bald eagles were close to becoming extinct. But after years of conservation efforts, they’re now off the Endangered Species List. There was a great deal of excitement among park staff and visitors in 2006 when a pair settled along the train tracks near Station Road Bridge. A park volunteer researched historical reports dating back to the 1800s. He found that this was the first eagle nest ever recorded in the valley. Were bald eagles here before the Industrial Revolution? It seems likely but we don’t know for sure. What we do know is that bald eagle nests have soared from just four in Ohio in 1979, to over a thousand today. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is part of that success story.
Narrator 2: Bald eagles aren’t the only wildlife whose populations have improved in recent years due to improved water quality. The number of great blue herons have also soared in the park. Look for them slowly stalking fish, frogs, and other small animals along the water’s edge. They often stand motionless, waiting for a chance to strike. They nest in colonies that can include hundreds of nests. In fact, there was once a great blue heron nesting colony in the same wetland used by bald eagles today. The eagles took over a heron nest to start building their nest. The herons did not like sharing an area with the eagles, so they moved out to another location. This story reminds us that national parks are wild places where natural processes of change can occur. Look for the train maintenance yard to start the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #10 – Passing Fitzwater Train Yard
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #10 is intended for the ride between Fitzwater Train Yard and Canal Exploration Center Station.
Narrator 1: We are passing the train maintenance yard for Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Centuries before, the scene was very different. Say you woke up here in 1755. What do you think you would hear? No cars. No railroads. Just the sounds of the wild, bottomland forest. But people lived here too. On the southbound trip, we touched on the lives of Native Americans who arrived in the Cuyahoga Valley sometime after 14,000 years ago as glaciers were making their retreat at the end of the Ice Age. By the 1600s, however, Native American settlements disappeared from this region, likely due to diseases introduced through colonization. Some Native Americans did continue in the valley, using it primarily as a transportation route for trade and hunting. New groups of Native Americans settled here in the mid-1700s, seeking refuge from the pressures of colonization elsewhere. We have some descriptions of the valley from that time. In the middle of the 1700s, the Conewago tribe captured a fellow named James Smith. He traveled with them all along the Cuyahoga River and documented what he saw. Smith noted the gentleness of the river, and the bottomlands rich in timber. Among the species he saw were walnut, mulberry, sugar and apple trees. Smith also observed plenty of meadows, part of a well-watered ecosystem where animal life, and remarkably large raccoons, thrived.
Narrator 2: We also have information from historic maps and additional accounts. Maps show that sometime in the 1700s, the Ottawa had a village not too far from here on the east side of the river. They moved on and left their village site. In 1786, a group of Christian Lenape or Delaware re-occupied the site. They had been attacked by Pennsylvania militiamen at their Moravian mission in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County south of here. Missionary David Zeisberger described their experiences spending a season here harvesting corn and other vegetables. In the end, they only stayed 10 months, before moving on to more protected areas. Their temporary village was later called “Pilgerruh” or Pilgrim’s rest. We will be coming up to the station for Canal Exploration Center. A paved path leads over the river to the center, where you can explore immersive exhibits about canal history and why canals mattered. If you are considering getting off, check with your trainmen to see what time to be back for boarding. Watch for the yellow boarding station on the east side to begin the next narration.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Northbound Narration #11 – Leaving Canal Exploration Center Station
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Northbound Narration #11 is intended for the ride between Canal Exploration Center Station and Rockside Station.
Narrator 1: As we travel the last leg of the northbound trip from Canal Exploration Center to Rockside Road, reflect on the remarkable transformation of the valley. As water quality improves and wildlife returns, consider how a renewed Cuyahoga River revitalizes us. Communities and other partners connected by the river are turning neglected waterfront into vibrant places to relax and play. Time along the river might reconnect you with nature, as well as to friends and families. Also consider the vision and work of many that made the transformation possible. This kind of dedication to making our environment and quality of life better can happen in any community. Is there change that you would like to make happen in your community?
Narrator 2: All the work in Cuyahoga Valley National Park has created a place for you to enjoy. Approximately three million people visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park each year. People find the park appealing both for its diverse natural and cultural features and for the wide variety of recreational activities it offers. Miles of trails for walking and bicycling, areas to picnic and fish, paddling the river, arts and ranger-led programs, and inspiring scenery are all part of the park experience. What brought you here today to Cuyahoga Valley? What will your next experience be in this national park visit? And of course, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is part of it all. Not only can you enjoy scenery from the train and learn about the park, but you can also join special events throughout the year. Did you know you can also create recreational adventures with the train? The train has a baggage car to carry bicycles or kayaks. This way you can take a one-way trip and then cycle down the towpath or float the river to return to where you started.
Narrator 1: We’re coming up to Rockside Station and the end of our Northbound tour. If you’re staying on board to head south with us, stay tuned for more stories about the Valley and how it was settled. Otherwise, if this is your last stop with us, thanks for joining us and riding Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Be sure to check out the Scenic Railroad’s special excursions and events throughout the year and check out our website to learn more about what there is to see and do in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
