Valley Railway: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The Valley Railway is a linear Historic District consisting of 24.5 miles of single-track railway line. Like the Ohio and Erie Canal, the railway is a transportation resource of the Cuyahoga Valley. The landscape roughly parallels both the canal and the Cuyahoga River as it bisects the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on a north-south axis, stretching from Independence, Ohio to the Akron-Northside station at the south. Its associated right-of-way is generally 60 feet wide with some minor variations as dictated by topography. The period of significance begins in 1871 when the Valley Railway was chartered, and it continues until 1915 when the railway’s assets were purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio line, thus ending its former association. The railroad served as a crucial link between industrial centers and raw materials, and it also became the primary passenger route between Cleveland and Akron. Links to other rail systems connected the region to cities from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, influencing shifting population and industrial growth. The railroad is unique in that it retains the characteristics of a 19th-century railroad system to a remarkable degree. The rise of the railroad represented major competition to the canal system, replacing important transportation pathways with a faster and more reliable alternative. Although other railroads were operating in Cleveland by the early 1850s, rail service did not reach the valley until the 1880s. The line was used primarily to transport freight such as coal and stone. In 1895, economic hardship led to the transfer of Valley Railway’s assets to the Cleveland Terminal & Valley Railroad. By 1915, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad took control of the company. Several years later, traffic on the railway would decline as new forms of transportation such as automobiles and trucks rose to prominence. The impacts of railway development in the landscape are far-reaching, associated with the decline of the canal, the growth of industry, and the movement of people. Although railroads had advantages of efficiency, they were opposed by some canal communities. Tracks could be laid on nearly any property, and railroad companies were not obligated to serve only waterfront communities. Also, canals represented a public enterprise that provided accessible transportation for any small business. The railroad limited this open market transportation, serving as a harbinger of the corporate state that emerged after the Civil War. Although the railway carries echoes of the canal in its course and its purpose, it was not necessarily viewed as a replacement for the canal due to fears in the agricultural community that its arrival would create monopolies on shipping routes and increase freight rates. While small farms declined, industry continued to expand in the 19th and 20th century. The creation of railway depots also formed new centers of social life and interaction, including the arrival of the telegraph. Currently, only historic depot-related structures remain at Vaughn (Jaite) and Peninsula, with several other modern structures built to suggest the original arrangement of buildings. Overall, the railway corridor and adjacent landscape retain much of the historic character that was present during the time of significance. These cultural and natural features contribute to an interpretation of the Valley Railway landscape, demonstrating the historic railway while also helping to convey the significance of its associations with agricultural and industrial development in the surrounding area. The line continues to provide recreational and interpretive opportunities to visitors as the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. The National Park Service acquired the Valley Railway in 1987, and a diverse series of maintenance projects since that time have helped raise the condition assessment level from Fair (2003) to Good (2009).

Valley Railway: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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