About Olmsted Falls

After contact with the New World, the land that became Olmsted Falls was originally part of the French colony of Canada (New France), which was ceded in 1763 to Great Britain and renamed Province of Quebec. In the late 18th century the land became part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in the Northwest Territory, then was purchased by the Connecticut Land Company in 1795.[citation needed]

In 1806, the vast tract of land comprising present-day Olmsted Falls, North Olmsted, and Olmsted Township was purchased for $30,000 by Aaron Olmsted, a wealthy sea captain. While he sold off portions of the land which eventually became known as Kingston, Aaron Olmsted named the new town as Olmsted in honor of his brother Charles, one of the original lands purchasers.[citation needed]

Olmsted Falls was farmed in 1814 by James Geer who eventually built a home the following year about where the CSX Railroad now crosses State Route 252 (Columbia Road). That portion was known as Westview after Calvin and Lmul Hoadley built a mill on the Rocky River in West View.[citation needed]

The whole tract purchased by Aaron Olmsted in 1806, including portions of what is now North Olmsted, North Ridgeville and Middleburg Heights. Later, at least three sawmills were built along the Rocky River in Olmsted falls, becoming the main industry, after farming. The first was built by Watrous Usher, around 1825 near the center of the village. A second was built on Columbia Road by N. P. Loomis around 1836. Tom Stokes and Sylvester Alcott operated a third mill sometime before 1873.
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