Akron, Ohio Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1825

In 1811 there was discussion between Paul Williams and Simon Perkins as to the possibility of creating a town along the proposed canal route. In December 1825 the plat for the town was recorded in Ravenna, and Akron was born. Akron was at that time part of Portage County.

In 1833 a second Akron was founded just north of the first by Eliakim Crosby. In 1840 Summit County was created, and Akron (now comprised of both Perkin's and Crosby's towns) was named the county seat.

Answer: Simon Perkins

Paul Williams was a local farmer who encouraged Simon Perkins to form the new town. He donated land for the town, and had to move his house as its location put him right in the middle of the newly created Broadway St. Eliakim Crosby founded a second Akron just north of the first. Seth Iredell was Akron's first mayor.

Answer: A High Place

Akron is Greek for 'a high place' and was named that because it was at the summit of the new Ohio and Erie Canal. (Although jaded Akron wintertime drivers might believe 'Town of Many Hills' to be more appropriate).

Answer: Cascade

The town was originally named Cascade, after Crosby's Cascade Mill Race that ran through it, but was usually just called north Akron by the locals. It became part of Akron in 1836. Middlebury, a small manufacturing village to the east was later annexed to Akron also.

Although Crosby's name was not immortalized in the name of his town, it is still remembered today in Crosby Street and Crosby Elementary School on West Hill.

Answer: Howard Street

Howard Street, named after Eliakim Crosby's son in law, Charles Howard, was the main business street of early Akron. All east/west house numbers are generated based on Howard as a middle point. Main Street gradually eclipsed Howard, and in the early 1960s South Howard, Akron's original 'downtown', was plowed under for urban renewal. South Canal Street met a similar fate. North Howard and North Canal, although still in existence near downtown, have become increasingly hard to locate.

Answer: Seth Iredell

Seth Iredell, the Whig candidate, defeated Eliakim Crosby, the Democratic candidate, 91-75 to become Akron's first mayor in 1836.

Answer: Portage Township

At its inception, Akron was just a tiny dot in the middle of Portage Township but as it grew it eventually swallowed up the entire township and grabbed parts of the neighboring townships of Copley, Coventry, Springfield and Tallmadge.

Answer: The Gore

The Gore, lying between the two Akrons on the east, became the principal building area for Akron's first churches and municipal buildings. By constructing them there, favoritism was shown to neither the north nor the south part of town.

Answer: All of them

Thomas Edison married Mina Miller, the daughter of Akron industrialist Lewis Miller in Miller's Oak Park Hill estate on 24 Feb 1886. The house still stands and commands a lovely view of Akron's downtown area. John Brown, the abolitionist, moved to Akron in 1844, where he worked for several years raising sheep for Simon Perkins Jr. Clark Gable lived briefly in Akron in 1919 and 1920, working in the Miller Rubber shop, and later landing a job as a callboy at the Akron Music Hall.

Answer: Goosetown

Goosetown was the home of a large German-born population around the turn of the century. The name referred to the belief that Germans were fond of eating goose. Goosetown today lies on both sides of the east Expressway between Grant and Brown. Spicertown, named after settler Miner Spicer, lies to the east of Akron University. Middlebury was in existence a good ten years before Akron's founding, and is now centered around the junctures of Case Ave/E. Market and Johnston St/Arlington. Ellet lies in southeast Akron, adjacent to Springfield Twp.

Answer: All of them

Many potteries sprang up in east Akron, manufacturing everything from sewer pipe to marbles. Robinson Clay Products was the best known. The Pfleuger Company made fishing tackle that is still prized today by fisherman all over the world (just check EBay!). Ferdinand Schumacher was responsible for introducing oatmeal into the Akron diet and spawned the oat milling industry in and around Akron, which culminated in Crowell's Quaker Oats Co. Akron was also home to the Buckeye Mower and Reaper Works, which became International Harvester; O.C. Barber's Diamond Match Co., and Saalfield Publishers, famous for its children's books.

Answer: Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth, a former slave, captivated a skeptical audience with her impromptu speech "Ain't I a Woman?" Hundreds afterward rushed to congratulate her and shake her hand.

Answer: Jedediah Commins

In 1837 Jedediah Commins visited Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston, where he was impressed by its naturalistic landscape. His young son had recently died and Commins did not want him buried in the old cemetery on Miner Spicer's land, which was mostly clay and was very watery.

As one of the town leaders, Commins used his influence and Glendale Cemetery was created in 1839. His son was one of the first burials. Where they kept the body in the two year interim is probably best left to speculation...

Answer: Apple St.

Downtown and the area immediately surrounding it supported such arboreal nomenclature as Locust, Poplar, Pine, Maple, Walnut, Beech, Hickory, Ash, Cherry, Oak, Chestnut, Cedar, Willow and Aspen. Elm St. is located in east Akron, Plum in Goodyear Heights, and Fir and Spruce are on old Fir Hill. A number of odder tree names (Palmetto, Basswood) are found in the vicinity of South Main St.

Answer: It is in west Akron

East Avenue for some odd reason is located in West Akron. Akron has a number of streets too narrow to be anything other than walkways, most notably Wybel Ct. on West Hill and Knecht Ct. in south Akron. Sand Run Parkway, near the northern border of Akron, is the only Akron street to ford a stream. South Bates St., an old brick roadway off West Market, makes a 90 degree turn and goes down an incredibly steep hill to its end at Glendale Ave.

It is popularly known as Cadillac Hill. Akron's North Street and South Street did once mark the upper and lower boundaries of Akron, and there is a small West St., properly located west of downtown on West Hill.

It is a mystery what East Avenue was thought to be east of...