Valley Railway Historic District

This 24.5-mile stretch of single-track railway follows the Cuyahoga Valley from Rockside Road in Independence to Howard Street in Akron, Ohio. Built from 1878 as the Valley Railway and later reorganized as the Cleveland, Terminal and Valley, it carried coal from east central Ohio to Cleveland's steel industry and became a primary Cleveland-Akron route after connecting with the Baltimore & Ohio. The line follows the route of the earlier Ohio Canal and shows how successive transportation modes served the same region. Unlike many railroads, it was never double-tracked, and its right-of-way remained virtually unaltered, with no interstate highways running alongside it. Contributing features include the right-of-way and five bridges, among them two steel plate-girder crossings of the Cuyahoga River near Peninsula. The district was recognized for its role in northern Ohio's industry and transportation, and for the unusual integrity of its nineteenth century character. Excursion trains to Hale Farm and Village have run on it since 1975.