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Akron at 200: Lightning bolts, police chiefs and the Klan
As Akron celebrates its bicentennial in 2025, we're looking back at two centuries of headlines.
Visit every Sunday morning throughout the bicentennial year for a look back at the week in Akron history.
Here's what happened June 8-14 in local history:
1825: Ohio Canal Commissioners began accepting bids for construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal north of the Summit Level in the future village of Akron. By the end of July, contracts were awarded for the entire 37 miles to Lake Erie. The cost was $442,130, or about $12.5 million in today's money.
1875: As heavy storms rolled across Akron, a lightning bolt struck the telegraphic wires near Union Depot on East Market Street. The electricity traveled along the wires, entered the telegraph office and caused the instrument to burst into flames. A quick-thinking night operator extinguished the fire before the train station could sustain any serious damage.
1925: The Exchange Club passed a resolution denouncing the four Ku Klux Klan members of the Akron Board of Education in selecting Springfield educator George E. McCord, an avowed Klansman, as school superintendent. The club deplored the introduction of racial, religious and fraternal politics into public schools. Three board members resigned in protest over the hiring. McCord served until July 1928.
1975: Fourteen University of Akron students attended a two-hour orientation at Auburn Science Center for a new medical school. Dr. Robert A. Liebelt, dean of the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, presented a short history of the medical profession. The school was making plans to build a campus near Rootstown. Today, it's known as NEOMED.
2000: Mayor Don Plusquellic appointed Lt. Michael Matulavich, 56, to serve as an interim police chief while the city searched for a permanent successor to Chief Edward Irvine, who retired June 9. The mayor called off plans for a national search. In December, he appointed Matulavich, a 33-year veteran, to serve as the city's 12th police chief.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@
Geauga Lake revisited: Vintage photos of lost amusement park
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Historical headlines from the week of June 8, 2025
