www.CrazyAboutTrains.com
presents information on the
Mogadore Historical
Society
Mogadore, Ohio
a fine example of
successful historic preservation
The Depot
In 1983, Mayor George
Wear learned that the Norfolk and Southern Corporation, parent
of Norfolk and Western Railroad planned to demolish the 1900's
depot in Mogadore. The present Historical Society was formed and
began seeking funds to save the building and move it. GenCorp
donated property, and with a state grant, the building made the
journey south from the railroad tracks to 87 South Cleveland Avenue
on November 17th, 1989.
The depot is much as
it had been in 1912, after a train jumped the tracks and all but
demolished the building. Also, during World War II, the cargo
room was enlarged as General Tire Company was shipping large amounts
of war materials by railroad. The Historical Society built a foundation
on which to set the building with plans to use the basement as
a meeting / fellowship room, witht he original floor becoming
a museum for historical Mogadore Memorabilia. A short stretch
of track was installed with the promise of a caboose from Wheeling
& Lake Erie RR, but upon the sale of that RR to Norfolk and
Western RR, that offer was rescinded.
We are grateful to
the Village for the maintenance of the grounds and are proud of
such an attractive facility. Not many small towns have such a
visible Historical Society. Although much work has been done,
volunteers are needed to finish the restoration of the depot,
including plans to add a wheelchair ramp. The Historical Society
is open Thursday mornings, 9:30 to noon. Please stop in to enjoy
what the Historical Society has done or call 628-4109 or 628-3382.
The Mills-Kreiner
House
Benjamin Mills, his
wife Sarah and five children came to Springfield Township in 1836.
They built a two story log house on the SW corner of Old Route
224 and Route 532. At that time there were log houses on all four
corners and a log school house back up on the hill. This area
became known as Logtown.
In 1852, William, one
of Benjamin's sons moved the log house 1500 ft north on Route
532. In the 1860's an addition was made to the house and covered
in gray siding. In 1902, the property was sold to Samuel Young.
His daughter, Emma, married Samuel Kreiner and in 1912 they and
their two sons, Lowell and Dwight, moved to the log house and
farm consisting of 20 acres in Portage County and 27 acres in
Summit County. Later that year a daughter, Wilma, was born and
all the children attended the one room school in Logtown, until
they were later transferred to Suffield School.
Samuel & Emma Kreiner
died in 1934 and their daughter, Wilma, and her husband Henry
Besse lived in the house. They built a fireplace in the living
room and changed the stairway. (Editor's note: The original information
given for this webpage about the change in the stairway implies
that the stairway originally opened into the kitchen but the change
caused it to open into the living room. If you know this is fact,
please email us to confirm this actually what occured because
the original information was unclear.) Over the years the family
sold acreage at times so that when son Dwight and his wife Ruth
moved into the house, there were 12 acres remaining. For 18 years
they raised beef cattle, planted corn and fixed a lot of fence.
Their two sons, Kenneth and Kyle, were raised in the house. In
the spring of 1989, the Mills-Kreiner homestead was sold to Dr.
Dennis McCluskey for his office complex.
The house was to be
demolished but Dr. McCluskey graciously gave it to the Historical
Society providing they could move it. Vera Mills Eckert, granddaughter
of William Mills, and the Kreiner family gave substantial donations
to that cause. On May 31st, 1989, the house made the trip from
754 South Cleveland Avenue to this present location, 87 South
Cleveland Avenue.
Renovation took place:
paint and wallpaper. A small kitchen was installed in the upstairs
with the idea of a caretaker apartment but after a few renters,
it seemed more reasonable to make the room available for creating
a period museum. In 2000 a museum depicting home life of the 1930s
was created.
The house is open on
Thursdays, 9:30 to noon. Stop in. For donations or questions call
628-4109 or 628-3382.
Depot sweatshirts and
other Mogadore items are sometimes available in limited supply.
Please contact the Historical Society for details.
Please visit here again.
We have some plans to expand this page.
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