Akron at 200: The canal, the ice, the robber and the layoffs | This week in local history

As Akron celebrates its bicentennial in 2025, we’re looking back at two centuries of headlines.

Be sure to check out BeaconJournal.com every Sunday morning throughout 2025 for the latest look back at the week in Akron history.

Here’s what happened this week in local history:

1825: Canal commissioners issued a report to the Ohio General Assembly on the practicality of connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River. The report described potential routes, including one that could draw water from the Cuyahoga River, Little Cuyahoga River, Tuscarawas River, Wolf Creek, Portage Lake (later known as Summit Lake) and Long Lake.

1875: Working in bitter conditions, crews harvested ice from Summit Lake and the upper and lower basins of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Akron. The men used long saws and hoisted blocks onto loading elevators for icehouses. The ice was crystal clear with an average thickness of 7 inches. Workers expected to harvest 10,000 tons that season.

1925: Akron police arrested Arthur M. Richardson, 30, alias Robert Scott, who confessed to belonging to a Midwest gang that robbed banks, post offices and mail trains. He was reaching for a loaded gun when detectives raided his Arlington Street apartment. Authorities suspected him of participating in 15 heists in Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma. 

1975: Goodyear, Firestone and Seiberling announced plans to lay off 545 tire production employees because of poor sales. Those who had worked at least 10½ weeks qualified for supplemental employment benefits, a United Rubber Workers benefit that paid up to 80% of a worker’s normal weekly paycheck when combined with state unemployment compensation.

2000: Filing a city income tax return would be as easy as pointing and clicking. Akron residents were the first in Ohio to be able to file their city income tax returns over the internet, Tax Commissioner Jim Neusser announced. Most taxpayers who used the short form would be able to file electronically. According to a poll, more than one-third of Americans doubted the security of filing taxes online.

Mark J. Price can be reached at [email protected]