Courey - Strongsville

I extend my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to Karen Lehman, board member and curator of the Strongsville Historical Society. Karen opened up the archives, helped me examine hundreds of photographs, checked my historical accuracy, and guided me through every step in the process. This book could not have been completed without her. Thank you to the following members of the historical society board of directors for supporting this project: Jane Laffoon, Ruth Brickley, Nina Hummel, Barbara Shearer, Glen Laffoon, Gina Cathcart, Anne Ehrnfelt, Ruth Mitchell, Robert Mittelstaedt, Pam Hughes, Dave Sharkey, Don Maatz, RosaLee Walters, and Ann Woollett. Thank you to Louise Varisco and Carol Williams for skillfully proofreading the text.

I am grateful to Strongsville native Lynn Duchez-Bycko, associate in Special Collections at Cleveland State University Library, for providing additional images and introducing me to the scanning process. Kristen Oravec at the Strongsville Public Library also gave assistance.

Unless otherwise noted, the Strongsville Historical Society provided the photographs for this book. Images from Cleveland States Special Collections are cited as CSU. Thank you to the following for providing additional photographs and/or firsthand information that could not be found elsewhere: Mary Arpidone, Louise Morton Bedford, Mike Catan, Anne Ehrnfelt, Bernice Ferry, former mayor Dale Finley, Alan Hirt, Carole Maatz, Gayle Spadaro, Lee Sprague, the collection of Bruce Young, the staff of Whitney Elementary, the staff of St. Joseph Church, councilman Joe DeMio, and Mayor Tom Perciak and his staff. Special thanks go to Amy Anter for her photography skills.

Thank you to my editor at Arcadia Publishing, Melissa Basilone, for guiding me through my first book-writing experience.

Thank you to my parents, Ron and Shirley Courey, who gave (and still give) their unconditional love and support, and who always wanted tenfold for me any goal I set for myself.

Finally I want to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to my wife, Peggy, and my children, Christine and Ryan, who gave their unyielding love, support, and patience as I worked on the book day after day in my spare time. Peggy was always the first to examine my work and to let me know when something clicked (and when it did not). When I told her I wanted to do this, all she ever did was want it for me as well. It is because of Peggy that I am blessed beyond words, and it is to her that I dedicate this book.

Find more books like this at
www.imagesofamerica.com

Search for your hometown history, your old
stomping grounds, and even your favorite sports team.

One

STRONGSVILLES OWN

Strongsville is still the home of individuals and families who can trace their lineage back to the citys earliest years. Many names from the past are familiar because their descendants still live there and can boast with pride that, like their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before them, they have spent their entire lives in Strongsville. Marriages between prominent families over time have reinforced an unmistakable sense of community pride and a connection to the past, and some people can point to several historical names and reference a relationship by blood or marriage to each of them. Other names may stand out because of their daily prominence on a street sign, historic landmark, elementary school, restaurant, or storefront. There are residents who remember a time when everyone knew almost everyone else, when the high school graduating class was less than 50 students, and when their city with small-town charm really was just a small town.

Some of the people in this chapter were lifelong Strongsville residents who made some large or small contribution to their hometown. Some were born there and went on to other accomplishments beyond the city limits. Others came from different states or countries, found their way to Strongsville, and eventually played a part in guiding its destiny. In the following pages are some of the people who can rightfully be called Strongsvilles own.

This is the only known photograph of John Stoughton Strong, born in Connecticut in 1771. The son of a Revolutionary War veteran, his arrival in the Connecticut Western Reserves Township No. 5, 14th Range, in 1816 is recognized as the birth of the city that bears his name. He lived in Strongsville for the remainder of his life and died in 1863 at age 91.

The first reunion of the Strong family took place at the home of David Merrick Strong on his 70th birthday, August 22, 1899. Seated from left to right in the second row are Lorenzo Strong and his wife, Lois Strong (ne Austin); David Merrick Strong and his wife, Almira Strong (ne Bryant); and George B. Strong and his wife, Hattie Strong (ne Aylard). Lorenzo and George were grandsons of John Stoughton Strong.

David Merrick Strong is pictured here with his wife, Almira. Davids uncle was John Stoughton Strong, and his grandfather was Guilford Whitney. The Strongs were married for 53 years and died in 1906 within 16 days of each other.

Charles Drake was born in Strongsville in 1822. Drake Road was named for his father, Asa, who had walked the entire route from Stoughton, Massachusetts, to the township in 1820, becoming the first of the Drake family to settle in Strongsville. Charles eventually moved with his wife, Elizabeth Beaham Drake, to Bennetts Corners, near what is now the intersection of Boston Road and West 130th Street. He died in 1889.

Shown in May 1862 as a 16-year-old Civil War soldier, Samuel A. Carpenter later lost his right arm in battle while fighting for the Union army. He was the last surviving Strongsville veteran of the Civil War at the time of his death in 1928 at age 82.

Four generations of the Howe family pose in the early 1890s. Pictured here, from left to right, are Zara Davis Howe Jr., baby Glenn, Carl, and Frederick. In 1818, Zara Jr. came to Strongsville to live on the land his father (for whom Howe Road is named) had purchased from John Stoughton Strong. He lived there until his death in 1892, shortly after this photograph was taken.