Akron at 200: Mail, saloons, parades, art and a costly error
As Akron celebrates its bicentennial in 2025, we're looking back at two centuries of headlines.
Visit BeaconJournal.com every Sunday morning throughout the bicentennial year for a look back at the week in Akron history.
Here's what happened this week in local history:
1825: News spread across Northeast Ohio that Congress had approved an act 'to establish certain post-roads, and to discontinue others.' One U.S. postal route would be: 'From Hudson, by Boston, Richfield, and Hinckley, to Brunswick.' Another would be 'From Wooster to Tallmadge.' After three years, the postmaster general could discontinue a route if it failed 'to yield one fourth of the expense incident to its establishment.'
1875: A Summit County jury ordered grocers James Viall and George Viall to pay Ellen Lilly $600 in damages after they sold intoxicating liquor to her husband. It was a violation of the Adair Liquor Law, which allowed women to sue saloonkeepers for selling spirits to drunkards after being warned not to do so. Interested spectators packed the courtroom for the trial.
1925: Mayor D.C. Rybolt outlined plans for Akron's centennial celebration before 100 invited dignitaries at the City Club. July festivities would include parades, pageants, exhibits, concerts, dances, fireworks, picnics and other outings. A massive homecoming celebration was planned for Summit Beach Park. Officials would add more activities as summer drew nearer.
1975: Summit County Common Pleas Judge Sam H. Bell ordered Firestone Bank to pay $10,000 to the county clerk of courts for a computer error at a Virginia bank that turned a $45 alimony check into $10,045. The check was issued to a divorced woman in 1972, but the mistake was not discovered until 1973. The woman was ordered to repay her bank.
2000: The Akron Art Museum prepared to launch a $40 million campaign that would triple its size to 80,000 square feet. Plans called for a grand lobby off South High Street, a small cafe off the sculpture court, expanded galleries and a community meeting room that could hold nearly 200 people. Visitors would be able to park in a city deck across from the entrance.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
More: 330 Day Concert at Akron Civic Theatre to celebrate Ohio's musical heritage
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: This week in Akron history for March 16, 2025
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