When was akron ohio discovered

Read on! Read MORE Akron, Ohio, May A terrible cyclone moved down upon us, causing great damage. Professor Egbert, of Akron, O.

The loss on the block, owned Benjamin Franklin Goodrich arrived in Akron in , he was already familiar with the rubber industry — then located entirely on the east coast — due to his investments in the Hudson River Rubber Company. The newly-formed Akron Board of Trade was looking to attract entrepreneurs and new businesses to the area, and they assured Goodrich his business would be supported in Akron.

He started the Akron Rubber Works in March , initially employing 20 workers at the first rubber manufacturing company west of the Appalachian Mountains. The company, renamed to B. Goodrich, struggled in its early years, primarily selling fire and garden hoses before beginning to sell newly-invented popular pneumatic bicycle tires in Goodyear initially focused on manufacturing bicycle and carriage tires and began to produce automobile tires in Stadelman a year later, both of whom would eventually become presidents of the company, and under whose leadership Goodyear would become the number one seller of carriage tires in the country.

Litchfield foresaw that the auto industry would expand rapidly, and he realized durable, easily replaceable tires were a necessity. In addition to innovations like the straight-side tire and the universal rim, Litchfield and the workers at his factory developed the All-Weather Tread in , and the diamond patterned-tread became a recognizable trademark of Goodyear tires. Between and , global rubber consumption increased from around 45, tons per year to almost , Many of these new immigrants were from Appalachia, and they came to Akron to escape struggling farms and mines.

After acquiring the nearby Diamond Rubber Company in , Goodyear became the largest tire company in the country. The automobile industry had cemented itself in Detroit, and the tire industry belonged to Akron. As it thrived industrially however, the city experienced significant social unrest and inequality. Conditions in rubber factories were often appalling, as the chemicals and machinery workers used were dangerous, and worker turnover rates were exceedingly high.

One company that employed 18, workers had to hire 88, people over the course of a year because so many quit. Rubber workers, unhappy with meager pay, poor conditions and nonexistent benefits, attempted traditional strikes with picket lines.

Between and , factory workers from multiple companies performed a sit-down strike , refusing to work but not leaving their stations, which prevented other workers from coming in and thus completely halted production.

This method was more effective and led to the organization of the United Rubber Workers. The sit-down strike method would be used widely in labor conflicts throughout the country for decades. Cleaning up continued from to During Clean Up Akron Month, volunteers worked throughout the month of April to create a more vibrant community by picking up trash and taking on beautification projects in parks, vacant lots, school campuses, and in the streets of their own neighborhoods.

In total, 3, volunteers took time to help make Akron a cleaner and healthier place to live for all this April. These volunteers cleaned up a total of The annual Summit Lake Clean Up brought out volunteers to clean the frequently littered and illegally-dumped at area of Summit Lake.

These volunteers were able to collect 3. Established on the 79 acres of land gifted by the children of the founder, Perkins Woods Park was set up in On the Easter Sunday, a mighty rainstorm brought 10 inches of rain upon Akron. In fact, during the s Klan members held many of the important local political positions, from mayor to school board members.

The need for wartime mobilization meant that factories were once again at full production, and the city grew once again as workers were recruited to make aircraft and other necessary military goods. The traditional industries that allowed the city to prosper during the s and early s began to decline.

As a result of this economic downturn, Akron has experienced a declining population. In , nearly , resided in Akron. Fifty years later, Akron enjoyed a population of just over , people.