Making a Living

Courtesy / Bath Township Historical Society

Around the world, farmers share a special bond with their land that involves faith and stewardship. Beginning with Indigenous peoples 1,500 years ago, generations of Cuyahoga Valley farmers from diverse backgrounds have raised the crops and livestock necessary for survival.

 

River, railroad, and canal between Boston and Peninsula.

NPS Collection

Throughout the last 200 years, both agriculture and the landscape significantly changed as cultural influences brought new ideas and technology to the Cuyahoga Valley. Farming greatly expanded during the Canal Era (1827 - 1850) because this interstate system gave farmers access to new markets. The Ohio & Erie Canal and later the railroads were important forces that helped subsistence farmers play a larger role in the market-driven economy. The canal also influenced the development of farm-related industries, such as cheese factories and grist mills.

While improved transportation helped farmers build up their businesses, the end of the canal marked the end of agricultural dominance in the Cuyahoga Valley. Cleveland and Akron's industrial boom in the early 1900s lured farmers into the cities in search of quicker ways to earn higher wages. Those that kept farming often had to work outside jobs in order to support their families.

After the national park was established in 1974, many of the remaining farmers sold their property to the federal government. This was often an unhappy decision. For some residents, breaking this bond with the land created a sense of loss that has lasted for decades. For others, love for the land has kept them farming, despite hardships and outside pressures.

 

 

• Loving Farm Life

  
  

  2011 Oral History Project: Earl Foote of Valley View talks about why he became a farmer.

  Credit / Author:

  Earl Foote

  Audio Transcript

  You know I enjoy getting out on that tractor and working. We'll be out there ten-twelve hours a day sometimes and it's nice to see things grow, you're always out there looking to see when that first corn is going to come up. It's a just... it's a - It's a life we enjoy.

 

• Life Outdoors

  
  

  2011 Oral History Project: Daniel Greenfield, of Greenfield Berry Farm, describes the rewards of his job.

  Credit / Author:

  Daniel Greenfield

  Audio Transcript

  Farming is a lot of work. Hard work and it's not you know; does not necessarily have a lot of monetary payback, though it has a lot of other rewards. I personally have, from as long as I can remember I've had a love of nature and a love of the land. And I have always imagined myself in some sort of occupation where I would be doing something out there.

 

Managing a successful farm involves making daily decisions about what products to grow, how to sell those goods, and how to overcome numerous challenges. Click the links below to learn about how past and present farmers made their living in the Cuyahoga Valley.

 

---

Click on the links to discover more:

What To Farm? Growing Vegetables Orchards Raising Livestock - Cheese Factories Horses Straw and Hay Tree Nurseries Selling Your Goods Farmers Markets Roadside Stands and Markets Home Delivery

Changes In Technology Railroads Scientific Farming Farming Equipment Electricity, Paved Roads, and Model Ts Hardships Flooding Water Shortage Hungry Wildlife Family Struggles Women On The Farm