Munroe Falls, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Munroe Falls is a city located in the east-central portion of Summit County
, Ohio
, United States
, between Stow
and Tallmadge
. It is a suburb
of Akron
and is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area
. The population was 5,314 at the 2000 census.
, the area that makes up present-day Munroe Falls was previously inhabited by various tribes of American Indians
. When the Western Reserve began being surveyed in 1796, what is now Munroe Falls was mostly in the southern part of the survey township
Town 3, Range 10 (later to be Stow Township), then a part of Washington County
before being placed in the new Jefferson County
the following year. In 1800, it was made part of Trumbull County
, which followed the boundaries of the Western Reserve, and in 1808, the area was made part of Portage County
. The first settlers in present-day Munroe Falls, a group of around 40 people including Francis Kelsey and William Stow, came in 1809. Kelsey built a sawmill
on the south side of the Cuyahoga River
and a gristmill
was built on the north side. The initial name of the new village was Kelsey's Mills (also Kelsey Mills). In 1817 a wooden dam was built to provide power for both mills and the name of the village was changed to Florence. Around 1836, William and Edmund Munroe (also spelled Monroe) from Boston
arrived and purchased the two mills and approximately 250 acres (101 ha) of land around them to lay out a new village, which they named Munroe Falls. The village was incorporated October 26, 1838. The Munroes had great plans for the village to become a center of commerce and an important city, but these plans never worked out. After about 10 years, which included the economic instability of the Panic of 1837
, the Munroes defaulted to many of the creditors and the properties they owned were taken over by other individuals.
The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
opened in 1840 and passed through Munroe Falls. It closed around 1870 Also in 1840, Munroe Falls was made part of the new Summit County
. In 1866, the old gristmill was purchased by the Cleveland Paper Company and refitted for paper manufacturing. The building burned down approximately 1–2 years later and the present factory - today owned by Sonoco Products
- was built on the same site. In 1884 railroad tracks were laid in the former canal bed as part of a single line owned by the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad. These tracks were doubled in 1900 following the purchase of the railroad by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
.
In the early 2000s, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and Summit County determined that the oxygen levels were too low in the Cuyahoga River
, due mostly to the stagnant pool behind the Munroe Falls dam. The solution was to lower the dam, which dated to 1903. Eventually, the entire dam was removed after workers discovered a natural ledge underneath the existing dam. This project, begun in August 2005 and completed in October 2006, was part of a larger project along much of the river in the city that included cleanup and restoration.
to the west with the village of Silver Lake
on the northwest. It was formed from parts of the now-defunct Stow and Tallmadge townships.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), of which, 2.7 square miles (7.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (3.18%) is water.
of 2000, there were 5,314 people, 1,955 households, and 1,524 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,939.8 people per square mile (748.8/km²). There were 2,035 housing units at an average density of 742.9 per square mile (286.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.10% White, 0.92% African American, 0.02% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races
, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.
There were 1,955 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were married couples
living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,169, and the median income for a family was $69,918. Males had a median income of $51,277 versus $31,563 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $27,317. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.
. Serving more than 5,700 students, the district operates six elementary schools (Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Highland, Indian Trail, Riverview and Woodland), Lakeview Intermediate School, Kimpton Middle School and Stow-Munroe Falls High School
. Riverview Elementary and Kimpton Middle School are located in Munroe Falls, while the remainder of the district's facilities are located in Stow. A small portion of Munroe Falls is part of the neighboring Tallmadge
school district.
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, between Stow
Stow, Ohio
Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,139 at the 2000 census and 33,899 as of 2008. It is a suburban community that is part of the Akron metropolitan area. Stow is located adjacent to several other suburban communities in Summit and Portage Counties...
and Tallmadge
Tallmadge, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,390 people, 6,273 households, and 4,711 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,173.9 people per square mile . There were 6,494 housing units at an average density of 465.1 per square mile...
. It is a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area
Akron metropolitan area
The Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties, Summit and Portage, in northeastern Ohio and is anchored by the city of Akron...
. The population was 5,314 at the 2000 census.
History
Like much of the Connecticut Western ReserveConnecticut Western Reserve
The Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
, the area that makes up present-day Munroe Falls was previously inhabited by various tribes of American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. When the Western Reserve began being surveyed in 1796, what is now Munroe Falls was mostly in the southern part of the survey township
Survey township
Survey township, sometimes called Congressional township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, refers to a square unit of land, that is nominally six miles on a side...
Town 3, Range 10 (later to be Stow Township), then a part of Washington County
Washington County, Ohio
Washington County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,778. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Washington County is included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia-Ohio...
before being placed in the new Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Ohio
Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 69,709. Its county seat is Steubenville and is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was at the time Vice President....
the following year. In 1800, it was made part of Trumbull County
Trumbull County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...
, which followed the boundaries of the Western Reserve, and in 1808, the area was made part of Portage County
Portage County, Ohio
Portage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 152,061 at the 2000 Census and 161,419 at the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
. The first settlers in present-day Munroe Falls, a group of around 40 people including Francis Kelsey and William Stow, came in 1809. Kelsey built a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
on the south side of the Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
and a gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
was built on the north side. The initial name of the new village was Kelsey's Mills (also Kelsey Mills). In 1817 a wooden dam was built to provide power for both mills and the name of the village was changed to Florence. Around 1836, William and Edmund Munroe (also spelled Monroe) from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
arrived and purchased the two mills and approximately 250 acres (101 ha) of land around them to lay out a new village, which they named Munroe Falls. The village was incorporated October 26, 1838. The Munroes had great plans for the village to become a center of commerce and an important city, but these plans never worked out. After about 10 years, which included the economic instability of the Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
, the Munroes defaulted to many of the creditors and the properties they owned were taken over by other individuals.
The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, also known as the P & O Canal, the Cross Cut Canal and the Mahoning Canal was a shipping canal which operated from 1840 until 1877...
opened in 1840 and passed through Munroe Falls. It closed around 1870 Also in 1840, Munroe Falls was made part of the new Summit County
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
. In 1866, the old gristmill was purchased by the Cleveland Paper Company and refitted for paper manufacturing. The building burned down approximately 1–2 years later and the present factory - today owned by Sonoco Products
Sonoco Products
Founded in 1899, Sonoco Products Company is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging and packaging supply chain services...
- was built on the same site. In 1884 railroad tracks were laid in the former canal bed as part of a single line owned by the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad. These tracks were doubled in 1900 following the purchase of the railroad by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
.
In the early 2000s, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) and Summit County determined that the oxygen levels were too low in the Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
, due mostly to the stagnant pool behind the Munroe Falls dam. The solution was to lower the dam, which dated to 1903. Eventually, the entire dam was removed after workers discovered a natural ledge underneath the existing dam. This project, begun in August 2005 and completed in October 2006, was part of a larger project along much of the river in the city that included cleanup and restoration.
Geography
Munroe Falls is located in eastern Summit County adjacent to the cities of Stow to the north, Tallmadge to the south, and Cuyahoga FallsCuyahoga Falls, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.9 people per square mile . There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile...
to the west with the village of Silver Lake
Silver Lake, Ohio
Silver Lake is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States of America. It is an affluent suburb of Akron and is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,019 at the 2000 census...
on the northwest. It was formed from parts of the now-defunct Stow and Tallmadge townships.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), of which, 2.7 square miles (7.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (3.18%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,314 people, 1,955 households, and 1,524 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,939.8 people per square mile (748.8/km²). There were 2,035 housing units at an average density of 742.9 per square mile (286.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.10% White, 0.92% African American, 0.02% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.
There were 1,955 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,169, and the median income for a family was $69,918. Males had a median income of $51,277 versus $31,563 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $27,317. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Munroe Falls is primarily served by the Stow-Munroe Falls City School DistrictStow-Munroe Falls City School District
The Stow-Munroe Falls City School District is a public primary and secondary school district with administrative offices in Stow, Ohio. Located in eastern Summit County, the district serves more than 5,500 students—primarily from the cities of Stow and Munroe Falls—but also from neighboring...
. Serving more than 5,700 students, the district operates six elementary schools (Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Highland, Indian Trail, Riverview and Woodland), Lakeview Intermediate School, Kimpton Middle School and Stow-Munroe Falls High School
Stow-Munroe Falls High School
Stow-Munroe Falls High School — often referred to as Stow High School — is a public high school located in Stow, Ohio, a suburb of Akron in Northeast Ohio. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students and a staff of more than 160, it is the only high school in the Stow-Munroe Falls City School...
. Riverview Elementary and Kimpton Middle School are located in Munroe Falls, while the remainder of the district's facilities are located in Stow. A small portion of Munroe Falls is part of the neighboring Tallmadge
Tallmadge, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,390 people, 6,273 households, and 4,711 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,173.9 people per square mile . There were 6,494 housing units at an average density of 465.1 per square mile...
school district.
Notable natives and residents
- John MagaroJohn MagaroJohn Robert Magaro is an American film, television and stage actor. He will star alongside James Gandolfini in Twylight Zones —the upcoming feature film debut of David Chase, creator of The Sopranos.-Life and career:...
- actor. - Richard MyersRichard Myers (filmmaker)Richard Myers is an American experimental filmmaker based in northeast Ohio.Myers taught at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and is particularly known for his 1970 film Confrontation at Kent State, which he filmed in Kent during the week following the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970; it is...
- independent/experimental filmmaker.
External links
- City of Munroe Falls
- Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce
- Munroe Falls Historical Society
- http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/results.php?CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=grid&CISOGRID=thumbnail,A,1;title,A,1;contri,A,0;descri,200,0;none,A,0;20;descri,none,none,none,none&CISOBIB=title,A,1,N;date,A,0,N;descri,200,0,N;none,A,0,N;none,A,0,N;20;relevancy,none,none,none,none&CISOTHUMB=20%20(4x5);relevancy,none,none,none,none&CISOTITLE=20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOHIERA=20;date,title,none,none,none&CISOSUPPRESS=0&CISOTYPE=link&CISOOP1=all&CISOFIELD1=relati&CISOBOX1=Munroe+Falls+historical+Society&CISOOP2=all&CISOFIELD2=date&CISOBOX2=&CISOOP3=all&CISOFIELD3=descri&CISOBOX3=&CISOOP4=all&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOBOX4=&c=all&CISOROOT=%2FMunroeFallsSummitMemory.org: Images from the Munroe Falls Historical Society]