In a line of evergreen and maple trees, on a section of land that was once an ancient terrace of the Cuyahoga River, stands the Point Farm. Just outside Everett, it is located on Akron Peninsula Road, north of Bolanz Road. From the 1870s farmhouse, Nathanial Point, Sr. could look north to his fields, east to his barn, south to a steep wooded hillside, and west to the bank of the Cuyahoga River. For almost a century (1857 to 1940), generations of Points lived and worked here. The history of the Point Farm illustrates how, after the Civil War, dairy farming and grain production rose in significance in Northeast Ohio.
The Landscape
2011 Oral History Project: Helyn Toth, great-granddaughter of Nathanial Point, describes what the Point Farm looked like.
“Couple other relatives have told me, at one time, before the house was built, there was a log cabin in the back of there. Now who in lived there I cannot verify, but I'm kind of assuming it might have been my great-great-grandparents. And then my mother told, just briefly one time, that the original Point farm house burned down and was replaced, so I can't put a date on those accurately. I would just be guessing.
"There were many structures across the street. It was the popular thing at that time to build the house on one side of a road, and all the barns and equipment things across the street, and that was the way it was at the Point farm. I do remember two big barns. I think one barn was for the cattle. The other barn was for the equipment . . . the wagons and carts and buggies. And I remember a milk house. And then I think there were a couple of other buildings over there, but the only thing that I see that's remaining there now is the one large barn.”
Dairy Farming
2011 Oral History Project: Helyn Toth describes the Point Farm's dairy operation and how changes in transportation supported the local dairy industry.
“Well it was considered a dairy farm, but they also raised sheep and a few pigs, or 'swine' as they're called, and I think they raised mostly grains. According to statistics, their farm was above average in success. I think dairy farms were quite popular because, when you're talking about that era, the late 1700s and the early 1800s, there wasn't much transportation. People relied on horses. And I think that when the canal came along, and some of these other better facilities . . . the railroad and everything . . . I think the trend to have farms was changed a little bit. I think a lot of cheese factories became popular down in the valley. There were maybe a half a dozen. And I think that's why dairy farming became popular. It was a matter of transportation. I do remember my Uncle Nate, who was like Nathanial Point, Jr., going past our house with a horse-drawn wagon with milk cans in it, and they used to take it over to the depot and they would ship them to Akron."
Milk House
2011 Oral History Project: Helyn Toth describes the Point Farm's dairy operation and how changes in transportation supported the local dairy industry.
“I remember all the barns, and all the equipment, and all the various tools and things they had at the Point farm, but I do know there [sic] used to have a stone-built, what they called, a milk house. And this is where they were able to keep the milk cool. Remember, there was no, really, refrigeration . . . there was no electricity at that time. So, I think they just had routines, and it was . . . They had to milk them, they had to feed them, and, I think, early in the game, they had to really raise all their own feed."
Business of Farming
Nathanial Point's successful dairy business took advantage of newer forms of transportation, including the canal and railroad, which carried his products to Akron. The Point family also raised other livestock, vegetables, and grains. Beginning with three or four cows, Nathanial built up a prosperous operation that depended on the accessibility of the city, the fertility of his land, and the perseverance of his family.
The Point-Biro property is now in the park's farming program.
In 1940, after the death of young Nathanial Point III, the family decided to leave their farm. Daniel Biro, a Hungarian immigrant, later purchased the property. His subsistence farm supported his four children and their families during lean times. They moved a large farmhouse from nearby Quick Road and split it in two, so everyone had a home. The Biros made additional income by selling gravel and topsoil.
During the establishment of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the National Park Service bought the historic farm. For a time, it was used as office space for the park friends' group. By the early 2000s, it was rehabilitated and became a Countryside Initiative farm. The property's agricultural heritage has been restored. New farmers now raise pastured meat goats and heritage breed turkeys.
One of the Point Farm barns is still in use today.
