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Bedford Heights |
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Address
5661 Perkins Road
Bedford Heights, OH 44146
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Phone
440.786.3214 |
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Early history of our Bedford Heights community is synonymous with the history of Bedford Township. The Bedford area was once part of the old Western Reserve of Connecticut. The Connecticut Land Company purchased the land in 1795. The area was considered valuable because of lush timber and abundant waterpower. The area had obviously been selected by pioneers who brought with them a value of scholarly heritage as they named areas around Bedford Heights in classical references such as Solon, Aurora and Macedonia. The resource of the Lake Erie and resource off shoots such as Tinkers Creek and the Metro Parks helped identify our region as highly desirable and rich in resources.
1800's
The first settler, Elijah Nobles, settled near Tinker's Creek at the western edge of the area in 1813. When he fell into debt, Davis Hudson, a relative, sold his a tract of land at the center of Bedford, with the understanding that it would be improved.
Other settlers soon followed. Benjamin Fitch came from Independence in 1815. W. C. Taylor, his son-in-law, founded the Taylor Chair Company. (Property of the historical Taylor Chair Company is on display at the Bedford Historical Museum at Bedford Square.) Daniel Benedict arrived in 1821 and became the first permanent settler of Bedford. He was one of the original trustees of the township and owned a saw mill and a woolen mill on Tinkers Creek and named Bedford for his native Bedford, New York.
Bedford Township was formed on April 7, 1823 out of the area we presently know as Bedford, Bedford Heights, Oakwood Village, Maple Heights and Walton Hills. In 1830, Hezekiah Dunham arrived and surveyed the center and boundaries of Bedford. (The Hezekiah Dunham house remains as a historical landmark available for public viewing across the street from Bedford Square.) On March 15, 1837, Bedford became incorporated as a town. The Historical Museum has much of this community heritage for viewing.
The early Bedford area was mostly agricultural with many dairy farms. Examples in our community are the Laing farm on the ridge and the Forbes family homestead on Forbes Road to name just a few. The early 1900s saw large industry, such as McMyler Interstate and Best Foundry, move in. (Note: Interstate and Best are street names in a common area of the present Bedford community.)
1850 - 1950
Many young men from the Bedford area answered the call to fight for the Union in the Civil War. The soldiers monument at Bedford Square provides a tribute to their bravery and conviction to their principles. The American Legion post at the annual Memorial Day Parade reads the names of those who paid the ultimate price in this and other military conflicts each year. The Village of Maple Heights succeeded to form a separate village in 1915. The rest of Bedford Township remained a common community for about 35 more years before it also subdivided to the four communities that comprise our school system of the Cities of Bedford Heights and Bedford and the Villages of Oakwood and Walton Hills.
1950's The Beginning
In September 1950, 91 residents petitioned the township trustees urging a vote on Bedford Heights becoming an independent village. With the vote opposed by the Bedford Township Civic League, the measure was defeated by a narrow margin, 239-231. A second vote was held on February 20, 1951, and this time the issue passed 244-220. Once an independent village, Bedford Heights elected Robert Williford as its first mayor, defeating George Burrows. The long battle to keep the village form of government as opposed to being annexed to Bedford was successful with a favorable margin of 258-175 votes.
The Mayor and Police Chief were noted as uncharacteristically young for their positions, but they had much energy. At the time of the Township's dissolve, Bedford Township had assets totaling $122,962.31. Upon dissolution of the township in 1951, the money was divided between Bedford Heights receiving $39,429.72; Bedford $37,047.72; and Walton Hills $25,447.13. The population of Bedford Heights at this early time was 2,424.
Mayor Williford's term was interrupted with a 2 year term of Mayor Ramsey, 1954-1955. Mayor Ramsey called for creation of new (present) City Hall site. This Mayor's office has recently acquired a land map of homesteads recorded via the Connecticut Land Company which plot properties and family settlements that later named some of our community streets such as Laing, Bartlett, Comstock and Forbes from James Laing (Laing farm).
The Charter which frames our government was adopted on November 4, 1958. The Charter was designed to transcend the village to city status. In effect, installing a voter approved Charter allows the "tailor making" of local government regulations to the specific requirements and needs of the locality, otherwise knows as "home rule." Although passed by voters in 1958, the Charter actually took effect in 1960 prior to our city status.
In planning the new young community, special zoning codes were designed anticipating the creation of the Thompson Research Center. For such innovative planning, the community earned the reputation of being state of the art for business. Although the specific Thompson project never developed, it provided the means for the creation of the strong business community that formulated on the north end of town (Miles, Richmond Roads). The Thompson project was anticipated to locate in the area referred to as the "Ridge" (Eldridge, Laing, Randolph) which was a division of the historic Laing family farmstead.
The Ridge did not sit idle with the disillusionment of the Thompson Research Center Plan. The Kimberly Housing Development took over with a $5 million dollar initiative, one of the largest planned residential community developments in the history of Ohio at that time. Down payments to receive a lot in this neighborhood cost $20.00 with a monthly payment of $89.00 to $105.00. Buyers had only to determine which of the six models they desired to join the rapid development of 250 pre-fabricated homes ranging from $18,950 to $24,000. The population more than doubled from 2,424 in 1951 to 5,275 in 1960.
Construction simultaneously sprouted 125 homes with a price from $16,000 to $21,000 in Heather Hill (street area of Cranfield, Comstock, and Fenlake) about where Bartlett meets Rockside and Libby. This mutual development helped the city status evolve in 1961.
The presence of multiple high rise apartment complexes at Rockside Road at Perkins near Aurora was once the site of Gene Kunes Golf Course. A fire preceded other development that without a doubt changed our streetscape and community design.
Bedford Heights became a city on January 4, 1961. The 1960s were a fast and invigorating time for Bedford Heights. In 1960, the population was 5,275 but grew to 13,063 by 1970. These were the years of the addition of apartment buildings on the Bedford Heights horizon as well as the construction of I-271.
In 1966, Lucille J. Reed was elected Mayor of Bedford Heights as well as the first woman elected mayor of a city in Cuyahoga County. During her tenure, her administration was successful in acquiring $1.6 million from the federal government for the Reed Park Development (20 acres) off of Eldridge Boulevard. This is the site of our outdoor pool and picnic pavilion.
As an interesting quirk of culture 1966 was the year Star Trek used as it's mantra "Go where no man has gone before." At the same time in Bedford Heights, Lucille Reed went where no woman had gone before as the first female elected mayor in any community of Cuyahoga County. Although she was elected from the Council body with other Councilmen with considerable experience, the first local newspaper articles describing the new mayor focused on what colors she wore and how she did her hair. However, just as Nancy Sinatra's simultaneously popular song "These Boots Are Made For Walking," the Mayor found a significantly bolder presence than the fashion reviews of her first interviews.
Bedford Heights also hosted some fame during this era as being the hometown of Cleveland Indians Baseball star rookie pitcher Jim Rittwage. The family lived on Columbus Road until recently.
The City's most rapid expansion happened under the Reed administration, must probably as the coincidence of timing, the impact of the freeway and the completion of the several apartment buildings which nearly doubled the population.
The present City Hall (1975) and the onset of the many programs that would transpire from here and Reed Park resulted in a long term for Mayor Reed.
During the mid-to-late 1970s, the once primarily Italian American community began to find a heavy flow of residents leaving and minorities replacing them in the neighborhoods beyond those located in Metro Estates. The City developed the position of Housing Coordinator designed to assure equal opportunity and witness against illegal practices of steering and redlining. Other groups such as the Bedford Heights Civic Coalition were designed to help the integration go smoothly and responsibly.
About this time Mayor Reed decided not to run for Mayor for an additional term of office and passed her support to Councilman Robert Furlong for the position. This was an unsuccessful effort as Jimmy Dimora was elected to the Mayor's position instead (defeating Reed's candidate.)
Dimora, like Reed, had a significant tenure in the mayoral position for seventeen years. Unlike Reed, he managed to extend the two year term to four years and characteristically ran unopposed as he ran year to year. Dimora also ran and supported a slate of councilmembers which were to become his team, joining in his opinions and his approach of cooperation and teamwork.
Most notable during Dimora's tenure in office was the creation (1984) and later (1994) expansion of the Bedford Heights Community Center. The Building would later be re-named the Jimmy Dimora Community Center as a tribute to his vision and his stature in the community.
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