Olmsted Falls Historical Tour

A beautiful insight into the fantastic history of our small town, Olmsted Falls.

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Olmsted Falls Historical Tour

Olmsted Falls, Ohio 44138, United States

Created By: Olmsted Falls City School District

Tour Information

This is the historical walking tour of Olmsted Falls. It was created by teachers in the Olmsted Falls City School District to help third graders learn about the history of their town. It will give photos, details, and historical information about a variety of points of interest throughout the general downtown Olmsted Falls area.

Created by Adam Mieyal and Zachary Acerra


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Welcome to the start of the tour. We begin at Falls-Lenox Primary School.  When it was originally built, it was two separate schools.  Falls Elementary, which is now the East and South Communities, was built in 1954 and held all of the f... Read more
Built in 1916, this building was once the Olmsted Village School, which held grades K-12. In 1968, it was Olmsted Falls Middle School for nearly three decades. Now it is the home of the Olmsted Falls City Hall, Police Department, and Jenki... Read more
In 2013, the Cuyahoga County Public Library opened this new Olmsted Falls branch. Keep your eye out for the building that held the library from 1955 to 2013 later in the tour. 8100 Mapleway Dr.
This train depot was built in 1876 to connect Cleveland and Toledo.  It replaced the stop at Columbia Road, which we will see later.  The depot was moved to this location in 1909 and carried passengers from Olmsted Falls to Cleveland, on ... Read more
Local artist Charles Rathbun build his home called Century Pines in 1855. He also invented a device for sewing leather. If you look in the backyard, you can see the large building where Mr. Rathbun's servants lived and a children's playhou... Read more
The original church was built in 1850.  It was the home of the first Catholic mass in Olmsted Falls.  In 1948 the church furnaced overheated and most of the original church was burned to the ground.  On May 20th, 1950 the new St. Mary's ... Read more
Odd Fellows is an organization that gets together to support the community they are in.  They would be much like the Kiwanis organization or the Rotary Club that gave you your dictionaries at the beginning of the year.  They used to have ... Read more
This home was built in 1830.  In 1874, it was sold to Sylvester Alcott who created a sawmill on Plum Creek.  A sawmill is a business that cuts large trees and logs into board lumber that people can use to build buildings.  The patterned ... Read more
This barn was built around 1854 by William Waring as a stable and blacksmith shop.  If you remember your field trip to Hale Farm and Village from last year, you may remember visiting a blacksmith shop.  William Waring owned all of the pro... Read more
When this 12 x 14 foot building was built in 1860, it was used as the Village Jail. It used to be in the Community Church parking lot. It was moved to Village Green in 1924 before moving here to hold firefighting equipment before becomingÂ... Read more
Look around and you'll see the names Peltz and Simmerer all over this street. They were brothers-in-law who owned a hardware and farm supply business in several buildings in this area for 78 years. These buildings that are now shops were b... Read more
The Grand Pacific Hotel (formerly the Dougherty Hotel), the oldest commercial building in Olmsted Falls, was built here in 1858.  It was originally owned by former mayor Thomas Brown.  In 1893, Peltz and Simmerer used this building as th... Read more
You've heard about Peltz and Simmerer at the last few stops. The pink house on the left was built in 1897, and belonged to Phillip Simmerer, who came to Olmsted Falls in 1886. It is now an antique shop called Timeless Treasures at the Fall... Read more
The Depositors Bank failed in the stock market crash of 1929. More recently it was a doll shop, then a photography studio. Now it is home to Kingston Mercantile Company and Matteo's Italian Restaurant. Give their pasta a try. 8072 Columbia... Read more
After the bank closed, Kucklick's Village Square Shop was in the northern end of this building from 1940 to 1990. It is now The Music Box, Ohio Wick Candle Company, Depot Barber Shop, Dolls and Minis, and Le Gray Haus Pet Botique. 8068-807... Read more
Before there were electric gates to stop traffic keep people safe, a person would have to lower the gates by hand. This person often stayed in a building like this to have quick access when a train was coming by. The building was added on a... Read more
This building was built in 1853. The Fenderbosch family bought this house in 1902 for $2,100, which would only be about $60,000 today.  8008 Columbia Rd.
Herman Fenderbosch opened this tavern in 1872. The Fenderbosch family had one of the oldest businesses in Olmsted Falls. This building was once a saloon and pool hall, but it closed in 1908. I became a shoe repair shop in 1945 and is now ... Read more
This church was built by the Methodist Society in 1852 for $1,555, which is about $50,000 in today's money. In 1910, the steeple was damaged in a big storm. In 1956, it became a Masonic Lodge, which was a headquarters for a group similar t... Read more
The Bonsey Building was built in 1940 and named for former Olmsted Falls mayor Charles Bonsey. It was built from sandstone from the quarry you will see later on this tour. Since 2007, it has been home to a restaurant called Moosehead Hoof... Read more
This home was originally owned by cobbler named Andrew Peters and built around 1878. He made and sold shoes from his home. The home was built facing another direction and was moved in 1946 by the owner Grover Imahoff, who was the school sup... Read more
Notice how the architect, or builder, of his new building made it look like the hundred year old buildings surrounding it. Then in 1932, Mr. Barnum bought this property for his grocery store where he was known as the Singing Grocery Man. A ... Read more
Civil War veteran Ed Damp helped build this gristmill in 1870. The force of the water turned a large wheel that helped grind wheat between rocks, turning it into flour. In March of 1883, the Rocky River flooded destroying much of the orig... Read more
This was a blacksmith shop.  A blacksmith is a person who makes things out of raw iron. They made necessary items like horseshoes and tools.  Mr. Von Brause was also the town marshal, or a type of police officer.  One of his jobs was to... Read more
Built: 1843 Mr. Loomis was one of the early important businessmen in Olmsted Falls.  He built a sawmill at Plum Creek which runs through his backyard.  A sawmill is a place where wood is cut and used to make chairs and tables and other wo... Read more
Built: 1840s After the Civil War, this building was used as a gathering place for veterans of the war. You may see V.F.W. Halls, or Veterans of Foreign Wars Halls, as you drive around. This is where military veterans come together to disc... Read more
Built: 1936 Amelia and Clara Harding were two important women in the Olmsted Falls area.  Amelia was a teacher here for 25 years.  Clara was an executive secretary at a local bank  This property goes back 5 generations with the same fami... Read more
A harness shop was like an auto mechanic, but before there were cars. At this location, Chauncey Mead sold, fitted, and maintained horse harnesses. In 1883, it became a dress shop owned by Gerie Mead. It then became a gas station in 1927... Read more
Built: 1830 Besides owning the local harness shop, Chauncey was also a cobbler, or someone who repairs and makes shoes.  Chauncey Mead was also the mayor of Olmsted Falls in 1858.
Sorry, there wasn't any information provided for this point of interest.
Sorry, there wasn't any information provided for this point of interest.
This is the site of the original Union School House.  In 1914, after 40 years of use, the school fell into a state of disrepair. It was falling apart.  It had to be taken down because it was unsafe.  The school was moved, but the bell in... Read more
John Barnum married Major Hoadley's daughter, Eunice. They built and lived in this house together. They had two sons who became very important in the local quarry business. In the 1920's this home became the Romany Inn. People riding on... Read more
This is known to be the first framed house in the Olmsted Falls area, back when it was known as Kingston. That means that instead of stacking logs, as many earlier settlers did to build their homes, this one was built the way we do it toda... Read more
Built: 1837 This is one of the first homes in the area to include a basement that was built for shelter from storms.  If you look around the side of the house you can see the door that goes down into the basement.  This is more common tod... Read more
Built: 1860 Joseph lay was an inventor and manufacturer.  One of the needed objects he made for the community were corn husk brooms.  It is rumored that runaway slaves traveling North on the Underground Railroad could stop and stay at thi... Read more
The original bridge was built from iron in 1909. The Harding family is one of the most well-known families to come from the Olmsted Falls area.  Charles Harding was a hero who fought in World War II and died in the Battle of Normandy.  H... Read more
This house is one that got moved around Olmsted Falls quite a bit.  This was the final resting place.  The most interesting thing about this house is that in 1955 the Olmsted Community donated it to the Cuyahoga County Library system.  B... Read more
All over David Fortier Park you will find sandstone that was cut from quarries in this area. From this sandstone they built buildings like the Bonsey building. You can see small buildings all over the park area that are built from the very ... Read more
Evidence of the Barnum family exists down in this park.  If you stand on the bridge that connects the two sides of this park with your body facing down-stream toward the Rocky River you may see something special.  Look at the rock face to... Read more
Many of the names of early Olmsted Falls residents and their families are buried in Chestnut Grove Cemetery. Among others, here lie names like Peltz, Simmerer, Harding, Von Brause, Bonsey, Damp, and Fitch. 
Sorry, there wasn't any information provided for this point of interest.
Great shops and restaurants in historic buildings. In 1989, local realtor Clint Williams wanted to restore many of these buildings that were over a hundred years old.  https://www.grandpacificjunction.com/ https://www.cleveland.com/olmsted... Read more

 

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