Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a United States national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The 20,339.22-acre (8,231 ha) park is administered by the National Park Service and is the only national park in Ohio. It was established in 1974 as the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area and was designated as a national park in 2000.

Native Americans called this winding water "Kahyonhá:ke," which means "on the river" or "at the river" in Mohawk. Cuyahoga is an English spelling of Kahyonhá:ke. The English often write Cu for Ga, ya for yon, ho for ha, and ga for ke. The area from Sandusky Bay to Cleveland is described as Canahoque: The Seat of War, The Mart of Trade, & Chief Hunting Grounds of the six New York Iroquois on the Lakes & the Ohio.

Administrative history

The valley began providing recreation for urban dwellers in the 1870s when people came from nearby cities for carriage rides or leisure boat trips along the canal. In 1880, the Valley Railroad became another way to escape urban industrial life. Actual park development began in the 1910s and 1920s with the establishment of Cleveland and Akron metropolitan park districts. In 1929 the estate of Cleveland businessman Hayward Kendall donated 430 acres (170 ha) around the Richie Ledges and a trust fund to the state of Ohio. Kendall's will stipulated that the "property should be perpetually used for park purposes". It became Virginia Kendall park, in honor of his mother. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built much of the park's infrastructure including what are now Happy Days Lodge and the shelters at Octagon, Ledges, and Kendall Lake.