*** Welcome to piglix ***

Berea, Ohio

Berea, Ohio
City
Triangle area of downtown Berea
Triangle area of downtown Berea
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location of Ohio in the United States
Location of Ohio in the United States
Coordinates: 41°22′12″N 81°51′45″W / 41.37000°N 81.86250°W / 41.37000; -81.86250Coordinates: 41°22′12″N 81°51′45″W / 41.37000°N 81.86250°W / 41.37000; -81.86250
Country United States
State Ohio
County Cuyahoga
Government
 • Mayor Cyril M. Kleem (D)
Area
 • Total 5.83 sq mi (15.10 km2)
 • Land 5.72 sq mi (14.81 km2)
 • Water 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2)
Elevation 764 ft (233 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 19,093
 • Estimate (2012) 18,980
 • Density 3,337.9/sq mi (1,288.8/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 44017
Area code(s) 440
FIPS code 39-05690
GNIS feature ID 1072192
Website http://www.bereaohio.com/

Berea (/bˈrə/ bə-REE) is a city in Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio and is a western suburb of Cleveland. The population was 19,093 at the 2010 census. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University, as well as the training facility for the Cleveland Browns and the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds.

Berea, Ohio, was established in 1836. Henry O. Sheldon, a circuit rider, selected Berea and Tabor as possible names for the community. The townspeople decided to simply flip a coin, and Berea won, thus becoming the town's name.

The first European settlers were originally from Connecticut. Berea fell within Connecticut's Western Reserve and was surveyed and divided into townships and ranges by one Gideon Granger, a gentleman who served as Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson. Abram Hickox, a Revolutionary War veteran, bought the first plot in what is today Middleburg Heights and in 1808 traveled west from Connecticut to his new purchase. Dissuaded by the swampy and heavily forested land he decided to settle in Cleveland. He became successful as Cleveland's first full-time blacksmith. His plot of land was sold to his nephew, Jared Hickox, who came to the area with his wife Sarah and family in 1809. They followed an ancient Indian highway down through the forest from Cleveland and then, at what is now the corner of Bagley and Pearl roads, began to hack their way directly west. About two miles in they found Granger's plot markers and set up their homestead. Today this area is a strip mall on Bagley Road, just down the road from Berea. At the time Hickox discovered Granger's plot markers, the area was a swampy lowland and, as fate would have it, the Hickox's two grown up sons died from typhoid fever shortly after the family's arrival. The family farm was in dire straits, having been so severely depleted of male laborers. Love came to the rescue, however; and the area's spirits were lifted by its first marriage, that of Jared's daughter Amy Hickox to a recent arrival, Abijah Bagley. Bagley ended up taking over the farm and managing it into a successful concern. Today, Berea's largest street bears his name.


...
Wikipedia

...