The North Royalton City Green will be marked soon for history. The North Royalton Historical Society has recently received word that they will receive a grant for up to $3,040 to place the historical marker on the Green.
Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw, who is a Trustee for the North Royalton Historical Society, has endeavored to see the City Green memorialized for its history. “Ever since I said good bye to our old City Hall and saw it get demolished, like many other residents I found myself saying, “I wish we could preserve all the history here on the City Green.” After researching the history through various documents and archives, he drafted the wording for a marker.
“Since our community was founded in 1818 the Green has evolved over time to serve the needs of our community as it grew from a town, village and to the present day city we all know. Our official city logo is the bandstand on the Green, again symbolizing how historically significant this grassy triangle of Bennett, Ridge, and Royalton Roads is, from being the home to a hub for dairy businesses, a cemetery for early settlers, a first school, first library, police station, fire station or even the former seat of our city government,” said Langshaw. “All that history will finally be properly preserved for generations to come!”
The marker will be located on the Green at Ridge Road, directly across the street from the North Royalton Historical Society Museum & Home.
The Ohio History Connection (OHC), which was previously known as the Ohio Historical Society, is a statewide history organization that promotes the discovery of Ohio history. Its service is focused on preserving and sharing the state’s history. “This includes housing the state historic preservation office, the official state archives, local history office and managing more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio,” according to OHC officials. “Connecting people to the stories of Ohio is part of our daily work and it’s accomplished in part through educational efforts such as sponsoring Ohio History Day and Ohio As America, an online textbook and curriculum for teaching the history of our state. Overseeing the Historical Markers program and the Local History Office are additional ways we connect people to Ohio history.”
The Ohio Historical Marker program has been placing more than 1,750 markers that share our state’s history. “Partnering with community sponsors, we help tell the unique stories of the people, places, things, or events that helped shape individual communities as well as Ohio and the nation. Approximately 20-30 new markers are accepted into the program each year.”
The way the program works is a local sponsor, which is usually a historical society, submits an application. The sponsor is responsible for the cost of the marker production, installation and upkeep after it is installed. Once the application is submitted, the OHC confirms the historical significance of the subject, ensuring that it is historically accurate. It then collaborates with the sponsor to finalize the text as it will be written on the marker.
The official dedication ceremony is expected to take place some time in August of 2020. The North Royalton Historical Society and Langshaw will be working with the OHC and city officials to finalize things for the marker.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer