Audio
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #2 – Leaving Canal Exploration Center Station
Transcript
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.
Description
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.
Credit
NPS
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