Day Fourteen- Headwaters Park

15 miles- The year was 1910 and typhoid deaths were on the rise in Akron. A $10,000 study commissioned by the city suggested that a new reservoir and water treatment plant be built to improve the water quality and possibly stem the typhoid outbreaks.

The old private water company, Akron Water Works Co., had been in business since drilling their first well in 1881. As Akron grew they sunk more wells, but were unable to keep up with demand. The boom caused by the rubber industry was causing the unprecedented influx of people. So the water company started using polluted water from local lakes. In addition, their mains were too small to move the amount of water needed. By 1911 their over taxed system broke down completely. The city bought the company in 1912 and started the massive job of upgrading the water system.

Starting in 1913 and using horses and plows along with the new steam shoves, the recommended reservoir and treatment plant were completed by 1915. Suddenly the number of typhoid cases started dropped off even as the population continued to increase.

The reservoir, lake Rockwell, was 769 acres and was located on the Cuyahoga River north of Kent, OH. The consultants had noted the Cuyahoga offered better water and a bigger watershed than other options.

By 1920 typhoid cases had dropped to 2 and 25 million gallons of safe drinking water per day was available to Akron.

Just a year earlier a young man, Wendell LaDue started working for the Akron Water System. By 1933 he was the manager of the department. But Wendell was much more than a manager. He was a visionary. He realized that clean water or the lack thereof would be a significant factor in Akrons growth. For the next thirty years he championed the purchase of Cuyahoga watershed land in far away Portage and Geauga Counties. This was a hard sell to the city council and mayor, but his persistent paid off.

In 1939 they started building the East Branch dam and reservoir at the headwaters of the Cuyahoga River. Thus adding an additional 395 acre water source. And in 1961 the LaDue Reservoir went on line adding a 1,477 acre water source. In addition to all the reservoir work, early on, Dr. LaDue was able to buy up or lease extensive watershed land to help protect the quality of the water in the reservoirs. It is this last piece, that put him in the visionary category. He understood it was not good enough just to build a reservoir. You had to protect the water draining into it, too.

I am camped at the Headwaters Campground tonight. This is the east branch of the headwaters of the Cuyahoga River, where Wendell LaDue had a dam build in 1939. As you may remember the Cuyahoga is a “U” shaped river that heads south from here then turns back north to empty into Lake Erie. I have traced much of the path of the Cuyahoga over the last two weeks. We are good friends at this point. Unfortunately the Buckeye Trail did not take me to its end at the lake, where all the fires were, but it did lead me here to its beginning. The reservoir is a pleasant lake and because it is part of Akron’s water system, no motor boats on the lake and the shores are restricted. It’s a beautiful spot. That makes it a reasonable place to end my hike.

Tomorrow I had planned to walk the 24 miles back to Mantua, where I started, and end my trek, but a family illness has altered my plans. So I will be ending my hike here a little shy of my goal. But I think it is good enough and am happy I did it. I have a few things to take care of here in Ohio before I return to Oregon on Wednesday. This blog will go on vacation until next Sunday when I will review the trip and the trail in this space.

Until next Sunday, Happy Trails!