Jacob Haymaker, a mill­wright and carpenter who prospected through Portage county in 1805, saw the possibilities of the Cuyahoga River. He realized that the banks of the river would be a fine place to erect a grist mill. At the time Aaron Olmsted owned the entire township of Franklin. Jacob Haymaker offered to buy 2,093 acres of land. The price was $5,600, just a bit more than $2.50 an acre. Unable to return to Franklin Jacob sent his son John to clear a spot in the virgin forest along the Cuyahoga for a permanent home.

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  • Category: Notable People

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Aaron Olmsted

The original proprietor of the Township was Aaron Olmsted, of Westfield, Mass. in 1798.

John Brown

John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut on May 9, 1800. His father, Owen Brown, was a tanner (leather maker). Owen Brown eventually settled in Hudson, and there his son John learned how to be a tanner.