The roads, canals, and railroads in and
around Bath have played an important part in our past growth and
previous economic situations. Today the roads in Bath are
continuing to increase in importance as the residences increase
and the number of workers in the population travel to and from
the urban areas.
Many of our present road facilities had their beginning in
advance of the first settlers. For many years prior to the first
settlement of Bath by Jonathan Hale, there were Indians within
our township. These Indians, through their varied activities,
created the footpaths and trails between camps that later became
roads for the settlers.
When the settlers arrived they found that these Indian
footpaths were too narrow for their weigh-laden wagons. Thus,
they were forced to widen them. These widened and improved
wagon traces were later to be recognized as our first
thoroughfares. However, not every road was created in such a
haphazard and unorganized manner. Some roads, such as Bath and
Ira Road today, are found to follow the old lot lines between
two sections of property. This accounts for the general
encountered straight lines incorporated within their courses.
The exception to the proceeding, however, is found within the
present broken-in path of Revere Road where it intersects Ira
Road.
There also seems to have been a tendency to enclose the
township within a margin or roads. This tendency is illustrated
by the roads now known as Sand Run, Medina Line, Everett, Smith
and part of Route 18. Each of these roads is a straight line,
thus indicating a planned effort in their construction.
Due in part to the past importance of water and water power
to industry, we find that Yellow Creek and Granger Roads roughly
follow the course of the Yellow Creek as it flows through
Ghent. This conveniently accounts for their viciously winding
curves.
In 1811 Jonathan Hale and Timothy Bishop decided that a road
into their homesteads would be a very handy and convenient
item. In response to this need, Jonathan went to the county
seat, then in Ravenna, with a petition signed by Hale and Bishop
requesting a new road. Jonathan's request was granted by the
commissioners. For the small fee of five dollars Jonathan was
granted the right to construct the roads now known as Riverview
and Oak Hill. He constructed this eleven miles of road at his
own expense from Pontey's Camp near the location of Columbia
Road in Richfield to the Cuyahoga Portage. This road, now known
as Oak Hill, turned off at Everett and returned to Riverview
Road at Botzum. Among the first persons to travel on this new
road were Jonathan's sister, brother-in-law, and the Hammonds.
This contingent was arriving from Glastonbury, Connecticut to
settle in Bath.
One of the earliest roads to pass east and west through Bath
is the road known as Smith Road in the southern extremity of the
township. It is said to have been a military supply trail built
by General Smith during the War of 1812. This road connected
the Old Portage with Camp Avery in Huron County.
Another early and important road that is still vital today is
the Cleveland-Massillon Road. The importance and name of the
earlier mentioned road stems from the fact that
Cleveland-Massillon Road was at one time a stagecoach route
between Cleveland and Massillon. This route passed through
Ghent on what is now Wye Road, where it created a need for
stores and hotels that has been carried over into our own small
commercial area, now also known as Ghent.
Most roads were named through the use of a place-to-place
symbolism. Examples would include the Doylestown-Richfield Road
(Medina Line Road), Bath-Stow-Kent Road (Bath Road) and
Granger-Ghent Road (Granger Road). Some of the roads were
described by the name of a corner or landmark to a place. The
most outstanding examples of this symbolism includes Osborn
Corners-Everett Road (Everett Road), Hammond's Corners-Ira Road
(Ira Road), and Croton House, Richfield Road (Revere Road)
Neither the canals nor the railroads are within the confines
of Bath Township, but since they are only three-hundred yards
from the township, they did play an important part in our
community's past growth and development.
The advent of the Ohio Canal, passing near Bath, was of great
importance to the economic structure of the community. This
canal was opened from Cleveland to Akron in 1827 and by 1830 it
was completed to the Ohio River. Water and water transportation
have always been considered among the cheapest and most efficient
methods for the transport of especially large and heavy
cargoes. Thus the canal opened to farmers a cheap and efficient
means of sending their produce to markets that were impossible
to reach beforehand. One of the settlers who collected
immediate benefit from the canal was Jonathan Hale. Hale used
the canal to send his wool, whiskey, mixed and refined lime, and
other products to destination as far away as New York.
The canal not only helped the farmer directly through cheaper
access to markets, but it also helped him and his family to
travel easier than had ever before been possible. This idea was
demonstrated several years after the opening of the canal by
Mercy and Jonathan Hale who returned to revisit their home in
Glastonbury, Connecticut. To journey to Glastonbury they took a
canal packet to Cleveland, a schooner to Buffalo, and a wagon to
Connecticut. This was the normal series of steps taken when
shipping or traveling to the East.
Included within the interesting details of the building of
the canal is the story of the Irish workers. When the canal was
begun thousands of Irishmen who were driven from their homes to
America due to a potato famine in Ireland, found their way into
canal construction gangs. The hard work, the wet and dirty
surroundings, and their lack of immunity allowed typhoid fever
to kill many of the Irish workmen. These expended workers were
buried in any convenient spot; some of them were buried in Hale
Cemetery near Hale Homestead. So many were buried in unmarked
graves that it is not unusual today to uncover a shovel of
remains when digging new graves in Hale Cemetery (Ira Cemetery).
Three of the best known locks on the Ohio Canal near Bath are
the locks numbered 26, 27 and 28. Lock number 26 is located
just south of the intersection of Ira and Riverview Roads. This
lock was known to the early inhabitants of Bath as the Mud
Catcher Lock as a result of its tendency to collect mud and
sediment from the canal. The locks numbered 27 and 28, located
respectively in Everett and Peninsula, are connected with a very
interesting story. Shortly after the opening of the canal in
1827, there was a heavy rain that caused Furnace Run in
Peninsula to swell to such heights and speeds that the water
washed tons of mud and sand into lock numbers 27 and 28. The
mud and sand temporarily closed down these two locks thus
trapping a boat in each lock. Since the canal boats very
seldom were caught between towns for extended periods of time,
they carried only small amounts of corn meal and flour. Since
the people in lock 27 only had corn meal, they were forced to
eat Johnnycakes (pancakes made from corn meal). Since then lock
27 has been known as the Johnnycake Lock. A similar situation
was enacted within lock 28, but in this case they were forced to
eat pancakes. Thus lock 28 became locally known as Pancake
Lock.
An ordinance that later ended the usefulness of the canal
concerned the conditions involved in the retirement of the
canal. This ordinance said that any section of the canal that
was not used for a period of one year was forfeited to its
original owners. After the evolution of and takeover by the
railroads, the proceeding ordinances helped spell the end of the
Ohio Canal.
The greatest problem with canal transportation arose from the
fact that transportation by rail was faster and much more
convenient than the slow travel by canal boat. In 1910 the
canal was dredged out, but little or no traffic passed through
it for the next three years. The canal was finally ruined when,
during the flood of 1913, large segments of its banks were
washed away and never replaced.
The people of Bath and surrounding areas played a part in
Commodore Perry's victory against the British in Lake Erie on
September 10, 1813. Three of Commodore Perry's ships, the Portage, the
Porcupine and the Hornet, were built in the vicinity of Bath on
the Cuyahoga River. The ships were floated down the river into
Lake Erie where Commodore Perry used them in his battle. The bombarding
and booming of the engagement were so great that it has been
said that the noise from the lake could be heard by the people
of Bath.
The second half of the nineteenth century was a boom time for
the construction of railroads all over the country. Almost
everyone was advancing plans for the building of a dream
railroad that eventually would become only a dream. Bath
experienced its own dream in 1853.
In that year there was a popular railroad known as the
Clinton Line Railroad that connected Hudson, Ohio with several
eastern and northern ports. An enterprising and ambitious man,
Henry N. Day, decided that it would be a good idea to build a
ninety-four mile addition from the Hudson terminal to Tiffin,
Ohio.
The railroad extension was to be known as the Clinton Air
Line because of the novel idea that part of the railway roadbed
should be constructed "in the air" on top of a trestle. The
company spent seventy thousand dollars to plan and grade the
roadbed through Northampton across the Cuyahoga near James
Brown's home, along the Yellow Creek Valley, through Ghent, and
on to Tiffin. The building of the railroad caused a temporary
boom in Ghent, but when the firm ran into financial difficulties
and fell apart in 1865 the boom ended.
Although the first proposed railroad was the Clinton
Extension, it was not until 1880 that a railroad was actually
constructed near Bath. The first railroad was called the Canton
Terminal Valley Railroad because it ran north from Canton to
Cleveland through the Cuyahoga Valley. With the arrival of the
CTV Railroad Bath became a busy railroad center with easy access
to three depots located in Northampton. These three depots were
located at Botzum, Ira, and Everett; two of which were outfitted
with a telegraph.
Although the large Baltimore and Ohio Railroad did not buy
the CTV until 1906, the traffic on the Canton Terminal Valley
made Bath an important rail stop. This path by way of Bath was
made increasingly important as people moved west because all of
the passenger traffic from Cleveland to Chicago had to go by way
of Akron. This meant that the trains had to go south by way of
the Valley Railroad and then west on the Baltimore and Ohio.
This path is only thirteen miles longer than a track running
along the Lake Erie shore. Through the busy Valley Railroad,
Bath was given early access to the benefits of travel and trade
that only a railroad can bring a community. Understandably,
after the great invasion of the railroad the canal traffic
slowly dropped until in 1913 the canal was abandoned.
In the days before the county assumed the responsibility for
the maintenance of the county highways, there often occurred
problems between adjoining townships over the repair of the
bordering or town line roads. To help remedy this inconvenient
situation arising over the delegation of responsibility, Bath
made agreements in 1876 with Richfield, Copley and Northampton.
A typical agreement would be similar to the 1867 agreement
between Bath and Copley. Under this agreement Bath was to
repair the western section of Smith Road from where Bath Center
Road intercepted it, and Copley would assume responsibility for
the remaining eastern portion of the road.
The early roads in Bath Township were so rural and isolated
that several plans for the road improvement were developed that
would employ local workmen. One of these plans allows the
people who lived along a road to repair and maintain that
particular section of the road. This right entitled a man to a
discount on his Road Tax.
In 1868 the Bath Township Trustees enacted a resolution
that called for the establishment of road districts and for the
appointment of a road supervisor to each district. Bath
established eight districts in 1868, but in later years this
number fluctuated between twenty and twenty seven.
The old covered bridge on the corner of Everett and Oak Hill
Roads is one of the most outstanding points of historical
interest still intact within the vicinity. Although this bridge
is not situated within Bath Township, we mention it because it is
one of the few bridges of similar construction still in
existence in Ohio and is the only one left in Summit County. It
is one hundred and fifteen feet long and was constructed out of
seven by ten inch timbers. These massive timbers account for
the long and useful life of this structure.
The turn of the century brought several new and revolutionary
conveniences to Bath . These included the automobile and the
paved road. The first automobiles in Bath were not owned by any
of the residents of Bath, but they were noticed by everyone.
These motor powered "buckboards" used to travel into Bath in
groups of twelve on test runs. During these runs the men would
always stop at the old cider mill in Ghent for refreshment.
The first car to be owned by a resident of Bath was owned by
Roswell Hopkins. He bought a white Stanley Steamer in 1910 that
was the object of many inquisitive looks from the pessimistic
members of the community. Another person who had one of the
first cars was Dr. Bear from Hammond's Corners. Dr. Bear's
car, the fist in Bath with an internal combustion engine, was a
small noisy "buckboard" that he used for house calls during good
weather.
The new cars that were starting to roll into the township
required an improvement in the conditions of the always bumpy
and usually muddy roads. The feasibility of improving and
paving all of the roads in Bath was considered seriously when in
1916 the township and county paved in Route 176. Soon after
many other roads were paved, including Granger Road and Route
21. Common paving materials at this time were brick and crushed
stone or slag.
Another transportation landmark was passed in 1910 when the
township gave permission to Standard Oil Company to oil the
roads at Hammond's Corners. This appears to be the first use of
oil for dust control in Bath.
The period from 1910 to the present has demonstrated the
greatest attempts toward the recovery of our nation's economy
led to the establishment of the Works Projects Administration
(WPA). This program created many new jobs for unemployed men.
Some of the men involved with this program in this area helped
to construct and maintain our roads and bridges. Some of the
projects which were undertaken included the construction of a
bridge on Crystal Lake Road, and the reconstruction of Martin
Road.
The wages of 1935 and 1940 that were paid for road
construction were very small in relation to today's high
construction and repair costs. In 1935 it was passed during a
township meeting that the road superintendent should receive 45
cents per hour and that a common laborer should receive 35 cents
per hour. As the years progress the superintendent and workmen
received a large raise so that by 1940 the superintendent was
receiving 50 cents per hour and the workmen were given 40 cents
per hour.
In any new allotment or on any road that is surfaced with
slag, gravel, or limestone, one always finds that a dust problem
arises. July 5, 1943 marked another first in the area of dust
control. On this date, the township authorized the County
Engineer to spread, for the first time in Bath, the dust
controlling compound calcium chloride in front of all the homes
situated along township roads.
The first mention of street lighting for the safety and
convenience of township residents came in January of 1946. This
step was a great stride toward the great number of lights along
our roads presently. The best example of this is seen on
Everett Road.
As our township grows in population and in the number of
allotments, our roads will grow proportionately more extensive.
This is the pattern of the past and will probably continue to be
the pattern in the future. The over fifty allotments now in
Bath have made their contributions to the township's road system
with the addition of such roads as Martadale, Shade Park,
Ranchwood, and Oak Knoll Drive. The future residents of Bath
will see many great improvements in our already adequate
transportation facilities.
Written by John Warner
