centennial
Streetsboro
Streetsboro’s First 100 years
was vividly recalled during the
Centennial Celebration of 1922
We’re a hundred years young – And we want you to come – And join in our big celebration.
You’ll hear Kent’s famous Band – And get the glad hand – And meet many people you know.
You’ll like our parade – And our cold lemonade – And the show Friday night – Is a scream.
So, take a day off, or two, if you care – And join in the sports and the games.
Streetsboro is rounding out this week the 1st hundred years of it's history.
It is difficult for the inhabitants of the township today even to imagine what the country looked like at that time.
As Christian Cackler, Sr., stated in his Recollections of An Old Settler, that “three tribes of Indians inhabited this section of the country-the Seneca’s, the Taway’s, and the Chapeway’s.
“The Seneca chief had his headquarters in Streetsboro on the Samuel Olin farm that quarters on or near the Cuyahoga River” -The chief lost his squaw while living there in the summer of 1809 - “They dug a grave about three feet deep, and put bark on the bottom and on each side, and on top so arranged that when she was covered up with dirt, there was a hole left so she could see out when she should rise again at some future period”
Streetsboro was originally owned by Titus Street of Connecticut, one of the members of the Connecticut Land Company, who held by his property for many years after most of the townships in Portage County had been settled up and organized in order to get a higher price for his land. In fact, it was not surveyed except on its boundaries till 1822, in which year Ralph Cowles laid off into 100 acres the 15, 279 acres comprised in the township, and Lemuel Punderson was appointed agent; $6.00 per acre was the price fixed upon, but as it was considerably above the average price of wild land on the Reserve, very little was sold. Punderson died and Amzi Atwater was appointed new agent from Street and the price was lowered from $2.00 to $5.00 an acre in consequence of which many settlers came in from that time forward.
Early in the fall of 1822 Stephen Myers, Jr., came into the township and settled on the southwest corner of Lot No. 82 -He made a clearing, put out a small crop and erected a cabin.
In 1824 and 1825 quite a number of persons came in, not only from ‘Connecticut and Massachusetts but from several other townships in the county.
The location of the turnpike from Cleveland to Wellsville being decided upon in this year, 1825, Street, ‘who was very enterprising, and ‘when the occasion arose, a very liberal’ man, offered to donate land sufficient for the road if the managers would run said road through the township. This was done, and it brought Mr. Street’s land into demand and settlers flocked in from all quarters to secure the fine farms offered at the low prices asked.
“The road was completed in 1829 but ‘before that time the township was rapidly settled up.”
“Streetsboro was the last township organized in the county, except Garrettsville. In 1800 it was made a portion of Hudson township; in 1806 it became a portion of Aurora, under whose convoy it sailed until 1821, when Aurora cut loose from it, and Mantua took it under her wing until 1827, when the township thought herself big enough to go alone, which she has done, and with credit to herself too, standing for years No. 1 in the manufacture of cheese, and high in other products.”
April 2, 1827, an election of officers was held. Benjamin Doolittle, David H. Johnson and Ephriam Wood., Jr., were elected trustees; Alpheus Streator, clerk; Chauncey Case, Jr., treasurer; overseers of the ‘poor, Alvin Loomis, Levi M. ‘Cochran; fence viewers. Riley Miller. Alonzo ‘Root; constables, Gideon H. Mills and Herman Thomas. Benjamin ‘Doolittle was elected Justice of the Peace.
It makes the good ‘people ‘of Streetsboro township gasp for breath now to read that “The expenses of the township in those early times did not exceed $20 annually.”
One of the most interesting sidelights on the early history of ‘Streetsboro was the way they got rid of “the poor.” It all seems very funny in these days. From The History of Portage County we gleam the following:
‘The Overseers of the Poor, who more properly should have been termed ‘Rooters Out of the Poor,’ (note that Alonzo Root was one of the Overseers—Editor) “were very efficient officers, and were determined that Streetsboro should have no poor to oversee; so, accordingly, three days after the election of those officials, they issued an order to Constable Thomas ‘to notify and family to leave the township, to’ which they paid no attention, but a second order being served some time afterward on accompanied by the information that if he did not wish himself and family to be put up for sale to the highest bidder, they quickly ‘took themselves off. In 1829 and in 1830 families were ordered to vacate the sacred soil of Streetsboro. One old ‘woman, would not leave, so they put her on the block and sold her for $12 for two months. This was in March, 1831. On Jan 11, 1832, she was ordered to leave; on the 12th, the family, and on the 17th the other families were notified. About the same time, they received their walking papers. Where the poor came from, and what their condition was, doth not now appear, but no drones were wanted in the Streetsboro hive.
Mr. Street, gave an acre of ground at each corner of the center for a public square and a stone was placed in the center thereof to designate the exact center of the township. He also donated two acres a short distance South of the center for a burial ground and gave $60 to have it and the public square cleared off.
The first house erected at the center was by Levi M. Cochran in the summer of 1825. It was a log house and stood on the southeast center lot. The first frame house in the township was built by David Johnson, at Johnson’s Corners, 1827. Street had offered $50 to the person who would put up the first frame house, and Johnson won the prize.
The first stage coach over the State Road passed through in 1829.
The first child was born in 1823 to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Walker and soon died, this being the first death in the township.
The first wedding was that of Frederick Nighman and Parmelia Van, Nov. 9, 1826. The first school was opened in June, 1826, by Clarinda Case. Three and a half years later a district school was opened in Streetsboro’s original log house by Almira Taylor.
With the close of this week’s centennial celebration, Streetsboro starts off on the second hundred years of its history, and doubtless the story of today will be retold one hundred years from now with as much interest as that of the pioneers of a century ago is being re-told at this anniversary.
This wonderfully interesting story of a great hunt in Streetsboro township a little over 100 years ago told by Christian Cackler, Sr., in this Re-Collections of An Old Settler, is very appropriate reading during the centennial celebration period. The story is retold just as written by Mr. Cackler and published in the Courier in 1904. Mr. Cackler died in 1874.
The township of Streetsboro was not settled for many years after those around it. It was all owned by Titus Street, from whom it was named and who drew it from as a member of the Connecticut Land Company in 1798 containing 16,000 acres being No. 4 in the ninth range. It was a famous place for bears, wolves, wild cats, wooly nigs, deer and other smaller animals. The bears killed our hogs and the wolves our sheep and calves sometimes our yearlings. We could risk nothing unless our eyes were on it most of the time. The settlers in the townships around Streetsboro-Hudson on the west, Franklin on the south and Aurora on the north-determined to have a big drive, surround the township and kill off the wild animals. A committee was appointed to arrange matters, who marked off thirty or forty acres a little south of the center, where the old sawmill stood, into which the game was to be driven. The men from each township were to be on the line of the township of Streetsboro next to them, at ten o’clock in the morning. The swamps were frozen, and there was about three inches of snow, and a good day for the hunt. Most of the regular hunters were opposed to the hunt, for the game was their dependence.
