Skip to main content

Riverview Road (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)

By


Riverview Road is an approximately seventeen-mile rural highway corridor which lines the Cuyahoga River.   The corridor begins at Merriman Road in the city of Akron and extends north through Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Brookside Road in the city of Independence.  Riverview Road is plotted along the historic corridors of the Ohio & Erie Canal and Valley Railroad.   The corridor was designated as part of the 110-mile-long Ohio & Erie Canalway Scenic Byway during June 2000.  




Part 1; the history of Riverview Road

Riverview Road follows the general corridor of the Ohio & Erie Canal along the Cuyahoga River.  Said canal was completed during 1827 as a navigable waterway between Lake Erie in Cleveland south to the Ohio River in Portsmouth.  In 1861 freight traffic on the Ohio & Erie Canal was shuttered which led to an economic decline in the communities along the Cuyahoga River.  The canal was repurposed to supply water to the industrial communities it still served.  

What is now Riverview Road can be seen on the 1868 H.H. Lloyd & Company Atlas of Ohio spanning from Independence (Cuyahoga County) south to Akron (Summit County).  




The Cuyahoga River Valley saw an economic resurgence when the Valley Railway opened as a short line between Cleveland and Zoarville in 1880.  Much of the line followed the Ohio & Erie Canel along the general corridor Riverview Road.  The Ohio & Erie Canal would be abandoned in 1913 after it was severely damaged by floods.

Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was declared in December 1974 which brought much of Riverview Road into the boundary of a National Park Service managed area.  During 1975 an abandoned portion of the Valley Railway would reopen as the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.  During October 2000 Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area would become a National Park.  Much of the Riverview Road corridor was designated as part of the 110-mile-long Ohio & Erie Canalway Scenic Byway during June 2000.  



Part 2; a drive on Riverview Road

Westbound Bolanz Road in Summit County crosses the Cuyahoga River and Ohio & Erie Canel to a terminus at Riverview Road in Everett.  Much of Riverview Road north Bolanz Road dips in and out of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Riverview Road in Summit County is part of County Route 9.  The corridor north from Akron to Everett is part of the Ohio & Erie Canalway.    




Northbound Riverview Road crosses Furnace Run and passes through the community of Everett where it intersects Everett Road.  Everett was a siding on the Valley Railroad which obtained Post Office Service in 1880.  The community is named after railroad official Sylvester T. Everett.  Westbound Everett Road can be used to access Everett Covered Bridge. 




Everett Road continues north to the community of Peninsula where it intersects Ohio State Route 303.  Peninsula was settled in 1818 and was formally plotted in 1837.  Peninsula is known for having an assortment of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  












Riverview Road north of Peninsula crosses under Interstate 80. 








Riverview Road crosses under Interstate 271 and enters the community of Boston Mills where it intersects Boston Mills Road.  Boston Mills was plotted along the Cuyahoga River following the completion of the Ohio & Erie Canal in 1827.  The Boston Mills Historic District was declared on November 9, 1992, when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.




Riverview Road continues north to the Cuyahoga County line where it enters the city of Brecksville. 






Riverview Road continues north and intersects Chippewa Creek Drive.  Traffic can turn east to find the 1882 Station Road Bridge at the Cuyahoga River.  













Northbound Riverview Road climbs to Ohio State Route 82.  The Ohio & Erie Canalway Scenic Byway shifts onto eastbound Ohio State Route 82 towards the 1931 Brecksville-Northville High Level Bridge.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more