Welcome To Akron SAFeDATA

Akron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. The municipality is located in Neastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland to the N and Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles (96 km) west of the Pennsylvania border.

It was founded in 1825 near the Ohio & Erie Canal, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location at a staircase of locks. The locks were needed due to the higher elevation of the area, which gave rise to the name "Summit County" as well as "Akron", which is a rough translation of "summit" into Greek (Stewart, pg. 233). After the decline of heavy manufacturing, the city`s industry has since diversified into research, financial, and high tech sectors.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron in 1935. The city is home to The University of Akron, the Akron Aeros Double A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, the Soap Box Derby World Championships and the Firestone Country Club, at which the PGA Tour`s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is annually played. The Akron Cougars, of the Universal Basketball League will begin play in the 2007 season, after spending the 2006 season in Cuyahoga Falls and the International Basketball League (2005-).

Much of Akron`s early growth was because of its location at the "summit" of the Ohio and Erie Canal (thus the name "Summit County") which at one time connected Lake Erie and the Ohio River.

South Akron was built to serve people using the Ohio Canal. North Akron developed around a construction project originally intended to provide increased water power for industries. In 1836 the villages joined. The completion of the Cross-cut Canal along Main Street in 1839 started Akron on its climb to industrial importance. Coal, a major railroad, and manufacturing growth from the Civil War, gave the City its next boost — its populus jumped from 3,500 to 10,000 between 1860 and 1870.

Akron’s history and the history of the rubber industry are mutually bound. The rubber industry transformed Akron from a small canal town into a fledgling city. The birth of the rubber industry started in the eighteen 100`s, long before America fell in love with the automobile. Akron was incorporated as a village in 1835, and as a city in 1865. In 1869, B.F. Goodrich began the first rubber company to settle in Akron. In 1915, the area increased from 7,254 acres (29.38 km²) to 16,120 acres (65.29 km²). The populus rose approximately 200 % from 69,067 in 1910 to 208,435 in 1920. General Tire was founded in 1915, by the O’Neil’s whose department store became an Akron landmark.