Local city information for Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Cuyahoga Falls is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 49,374. It is currently the second largest city in Summit County. It is a suburb of Akron and Cleveland and part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area. Actually older than Akron, the city was founded in 1812 by William Wetmore and was originally named Manchester. Cuyahoga Falls is named after the Cuyahoga River (which flows into Lake Erie) and the series of falls that run through the middle of the city.

Cuyahoga Falls is bordered by Akron to the south and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the northwest.

Cuyahoga Falls was formed in 1812 near the junction of what was then Northampton, Stow, Tallmadge, and Portage townships. The focus was the series of Cuyahoga River waterfalls that provided power for manufacturing.

In 1812 Kelsey and Wilcox built a dam on the Cuyahoga River at a place where a railroad bridge crossed it in 1876. They then built a flour mill, an oil mill, and a saw mill. This led to the construction of a number of houses. This area was known as the old village. Development moved downstream, though, when it was discovered that the power was better there. The old village was eventually destroyed in 1826 when a dam built by William Wetmore flooded the dam at the old village and its mills were torn down .

The earliest settler of Cuyahoga Falls included Joshua Stow and William Wetmore. In 1815 a saw-mill was operating near Gaylord's Grove, using power generated by a dam on the Cuyahoga River there.

The town was initially called Manchester but was renamed Cuyahoga Falls at the request of the Post Office since there were already several other Manchesters in Ohio.

The village proper was first laid out in 1826 by Judge Richardson.

The town was incorporated in 1836, occupying 240 rods out of Stow and Tallmadge townships. In 1853, seeing that the village and township of Cuyahoga Falls occupied the same territory, the village council disbanded and the community was only a township until 1868.

In 1841 the Summit County Board of Commissioners named Cuyahoga Falls county seat. The state legislature then intervened and put the location of the county seat up to a popular vote. Akron won and has been the county seat ever since. In spite of being named the county seat Cuyahoga Falls never really functioned as such.

In March 1851 the township of Cuyahoga Falls was created out of the village limits. They covered the same territory so the village council voted to adjourn sine die, letting the village be run under township jurisdiction until June 3, 1868 when the municipal government returned.

In 1985 Cuyahoga Falls merged with Northampton Township, the first merger of a city and township in Ohio.

Cuyahoga Falls had been founded as an industrial city, taking advantage of the river power. By the 1970s, though, it had become a residential community. This changed, though, when Don Robart became mayor. He had been in favor of the merger with Northampton Township because of the additional land that could be used for development. Parts of that area have since been used for industrial development. Commercial development has also picked up, especially on the Howe Avenue area at the southern border of the city.

The city had one professional sports team, the Cuyahoga Falls Cougars, of the International Basketball League (2005-). They moved to Akron in 2006.

The Cathedral of Tomorrow, founded by televangelist Rex Humbard in 1958, is located in Cuyahoga Falls. It is now the headquarters of televangelist Ernest Angley and was renamed Grace Cathedral.

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