Akron’s newest mayor, Shammas Malik, took office this month amid pomp and circumstance. The city’s first mayor took the reins in 1836 in a far more humble ceremony, but the establishment of the first town government was viewed by some as a turning point for a divided community.
A small plaque installed June 23, 1961, on the Evans Building on the corner of South Main and East Exchange streets commemorates the event. In the early days of Akron, this was the site of The Stage House, originally known as Henry Clark’s Tavern, a popular rest stop on the stagecoach line near the Ohio & Erie Canal.
Clark built the two-story wood frame tavern in 1825 to serve the engineers, commissioners, and contractors digging the canal. Clark ran the tavern until he died in 1834, when ownership passed to Asa Larned. It is credited as the first non-residential building to be constructed in what became the City of Akron.
This period of Akron’s history can be a little confusing because there were actually two Akrons from 1833 to 1836. South Akron was the original town plat created by Gen. Simon Perkins and Paul Williams in 1825.
North Akron, originally called Cascade, was platted out by Perkins and Dr. Eliakim Crosby in 1833. Shortly afterward, Cascade’s name was changed to Akron too. The residents called it North Akron and the original Akron was called South Akron to alleviate some of the confusion.
The two towns were connected by three streets – the only one left is Bowery Street. North Akron became a center of early industry and a growing commercial district. South Akron was less developed and had a smaller commercial area.
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A passionate rivalry arose between the two areas and sometimes came to blows. A triangle-shaped unclaimed area between the towns, known as “The Gore,” sometimes served as a neutral location for people to sort out their differences. It was also the location of the area’s first churches.
In 1835, it was announced that another canal, the Pennsylvania & Ohio, would be built to connect the Ohio & Erie Canal to the Beaver & Erie Canal in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania & Ohio canal would pass through both Akrons, coming right down Main Street, and connect to the Ohio & Erie near Main Street and Exchange Streets in South Akron.
The new canal not only connected the two towns but promised prosperity for both. So, they jointly filed for a town charter to combine into one town. This was granted by the State Legislature on March 12, 1836. Together, the towns’ populations totaled 1,343 people.
On June 14, 1836, the first elections for town mayor, recorder and trustees were held at Clark’s Tavern.
The mayoral candidates were Seth Iredell, a Whig candidate who opened the first store in North Akron, and North Akron co-founder Crosby, a Democrat. Iredell won the election 91 to 75, during a time when Black people, women, Indigenous people, Asians and indentured servants (legal until 1865) were disenfranchised. His term was for one year.
The unification of the Akrons did not end the tensions between them right away, but by 1840 the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal opened and the rivalry began to fade. Incidentally, The Gore was chosen as the site of the first courthouse, and it has remained the home of the city and county government buildings ever since.
As for the old tavern, it served travelers for several decades. It was also early Akron’s post office until a proper post office was constructed next door. When the railroads eventually eclipsed the stagecoaches and the canal, its name was changed to the Railroad House. Later, the tavern was converted to a grocery store, then a paint store and barber shop.
The original wood building was torn down around 1902 and replaced by a two-story brick building called the Parisette. The seven-story Neo-Classical Revival People’s Savings & Trust Company building, now called the Evans Building and largely used for offices, was built on the site in 1915 and was one of Akron’s first high rises. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the Main and Exchange Historic district in 2009.
