A Walk Through Olmsted Falls

A few weeks ago I took one of my long walks.  Was it late March?  Early April?  I don't remember.  My sense of time has become blurred during this period of isolation.  Anyway, sometime in early spring I walked to the center of my homeown of Olmsted Falls.  I had my camera with me and took photos with the intention of posting them on the blog. 

Olmsted Falls is a suburb of Cleveland with a population of around 10,000.  It was founded in 1814, and is named after Aaron Olmsted, a wealthy sea captain, and one of the investors in the Connecticut Land Company.  The northeastern portion of Ohio was known as the Western Reserve.  After the American Revolution, this area was claimed by the state of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Land Company sold land for development by new settlers.  Aaron Olmsted owned a large tract of land which today encompasses the present day communities of Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Township and North Olmsted.

The center of Olmsted Falls includes an area of historic buildings which were renovated and turned into shopping district.  It is called Grand Pacific Junction, named after the Grand Pacific Hotel, the oldest building in the historic district.

The Grand Pacific Hotel was built as 1840 and functioned as a hotel until 1888 when it became Simmerer's Hardware Store.  In 1989 the building was purchased by local real estate man, Clint Williams. (Until he passed away last year, Clint was my neighbor across the street from me.)  Clint had an interest in historic renovation, and this was the beginning of a project that would transform the center of Olmsted Falls.  The old hotel is now a banquet hall.

Today Grand Pacific Junction consists of 10 buildings dating from the 1800s to the early 1900s. There are around 30 businesses in the district, and the entire area has been nicely landscaped.

  
This building, which was once the trolley station in the neighboring city of Berea, was moved to the site and now houses a gift shop.

A 1922 locomotive and a caboose were placed behind the shopping area.

The dedication of Clint Williams transformed the center of Olmsted Falls.  He saved the historic atmosphere of the town and kept the buildings from being torn down and another modern, nondescript strip mall being put in its place.  I just hope that the merchants will be able to recover after the pandemic is over.

Just down the street from Grand Pacific Junction is the Harding Memorial Bridge.  

It is a pedestrian bridge which crosses Plum Creek.  It was built in 1998, but it is in the style of the covered bridges that were popular in the 1800s.  It is named for Charles Harding, a local hero who died in the Battle of Normandy.

Near the bridge is a path which takes you down to the Village Park.

A paved path goes under the bridge and follows Plum Creek.

The path leads to the small waterfall which gives Olmsted Falls its name.

Heading back in the opposite direction the path takes you to where Plum Creek empties into the west branch of the Rocky River.

The aptly named Rocky River as seen from the bridge on Water Street.

On the other side of the bridge, East River Park provides a better view of where Plum Creek flows into the river.  As you can see, there were a lot of fishermen out that day.

That concludes my pleasant walk through the picturesque center of my hometown.