Peninsula Village Historic District (Boundary Increase)

Peninsula is a canal-era village on the Cuyahoga River in Summit County, Ohio, laid out along one east-west highway. The district holds about seventy frame, brick and stone buildings, including a town hall, former schoolhouse, meeting hall, three churches and several stores, along with the river elbow, dam, spillway, aqueduct remains and Lock 29 of the Ohio Canal. Hermon Bronson arrived in 1824, built the first gristmill and sawmill, and platted the village in 1837. Canal traffic, boat building, gristmills, cheese factories and sandstone quarries made it a busy stop between Akron and Cleveland. The Valley Railroad arrived in 1875, and the river was diverted to make room for it, leaving the sharp elbow seen today. Buildings range from a Greek Revival store to a Stick Style high school of 1887 and an Eastlake hall. Many have been restored and adapted as homes and shops, and all are occupied. The village is valued as a largely intact canal and mercantile town.