1	A Pictorial History of Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Industry A Presentation of the Newstead Junior Historical Society and the 21^st Century Grant Project
2	Our Village is Born The village of Akron was Established in the year 1826 when a settler named Jonathan Russell purchased Lot 26 - 120 acres of land on the banks of Murder Creek. An earlier settlement on the “Buffalo Road” (what we know today as Route 5), failed due to a lack of waterpower. Settlers needed the water in Murder Creek for their animals and to run their saw and flour mills.
3	The Russell Homestead Jonathan Russell built a house and a store on the corner of Main and Clinton Streets. Mr. Russell put land aside for a school, a cemetery and divided the remainder of his land into lots which he sold to other settlers. The new village was soon ringing with the sound of the axe and the pounding of hammers. Akron – or the “Corporation” as it was known then – was born !
4	Colonel Delano’s Discovery! In the year 1839, a man named Jonathan Delano was strolling along Murder Creek in what is now Akron Falls Park. A familiar looking outcropping of rock caught his eye. Mr. Delano took some of the rock home and heated it up. After it had cooled, he ground it into powder. He added water to the powder, mixed it and it soon hardened into cement!
5	Colonel Delano’s Discovery! Colonel Delano leased the land in 1840 and built a kiln capable of producing 300 tons of “water lime” per year. Farmers came from miles around to purchase Delano’s lime for use as fertilizer. Jonathan Delano – the man who could be called the “Father of Akron Cement” - is buried on John Street in Maple Lawn Cemetery.
6	Montgomery’s Cement and Gypsum Not long after Delano’s discovery, a Seneca man came to visit James Montgomery – the year was 1842. The man had an unusual stone with him. Mr. Montgomery recognized it right away and asked the Seneca to show him where he had found it. Akron’s second major business – the gypsum business - was born. James Montgomery manufactured gypsum and cement with Enos Newman on East Avenue. After Montgomery’s death in 1850, Mr. Newman became sole owner.
7	E.J. Newman and Company - Cement and Flour In 1852 Enos Newman sold his cement business to his brothers Edward J. and Leroy Newman. In 1858-59 built a second lime kiln and cement mill near lower Akron Falls. Enos and his son, Amos established a new cement mill on the south side of Murder Creek which he also sold to his brothers in The Newman mill produced 600 barrels of cement per day – the Flour mill 150 barrels per day!
8	Akron’s Cement Business Grows! Akron’s cement was deemed to be of a very high quality, and soon the demand for Akron’s chief export exceeded the supply. A man named Hezekiah Cummings started a cement and gypsum mill on East Avenue in 1854. The Cummings men produced between 2000 and 3000 tons of cement per year! The business was so successful that the sons of Hezekiah - Uriah and Palmer – started a second business on what is now Cummings Road (the site of Leisurewood Camp Grounds).
9	"Map of Akron" Map of Akron, 1880. The Akron Cement Works owned by the Cummings family was located in Lot 28, at the bottom-right of the map. The Cement mills owned by the Newmans were located further down east avenue, nearer to State Street.
10	Cummings Akron Cement Works Cummings Akron Cement Works – the second mill operated by the Cummings family in Akron – was originally located on the present site of Leisurewood Camp Grounds.
11	A Hard Way to Make a Living While Akron’s cement and gypsum were in great demand all over New York State, it was not so easy to find. The limestone and gypsum came from a local land form known as the “Ledge”. Its scientific name is the “Onondaga Escarpment”. The escarpment is a ridge of limestone that varies in height from 11 feet to 245 feet. This ridge stretches from Albany to Buffalo! Akron’s limestone had to be quarried and mined – dug out of the ground!
12	Akron’s Cement Mines Akron’s able-bodied men worked in the mines and quarries of our village all through the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The Akron Cement Works and Newman’s Cement Works employed many. Mining the limestone was hard work. The company tunnels burrowed as deep as sixty feet under ground. It is estimated that there are 25 acres of mines beneath Akron to this day. Many of these mines were sealed up long ago. But what was it like for the men who toiled to manufacture the cement that helped build the Empire State?
13	The Akron Breeze, 1887 on Akron’s cement mines Akron’s newspaper – the Akron Breeze – had this to say about working in the cement mines: “…The entrance to an Akron tunnel is designated by a black dungeon-like hole in the side of a hill which looks dreary enough to the new visitor at first. Little car tracks penetrate the inner chambers …once inside there are a score of drifts leading in various directions underneath the ground for several feet. The wall, which is about seven feet high on average, is supported by large cement pillars…wooden piers keep the scaly rocks from falling…”
14	Cement Business on East Avenue Photo of the Akron Cement Works, located on Cement Street – now East Avenue. Taken in the late 1800’s, this photograph shows the area across the street from the tennis court.
15	The Akron Cement Works This is the view you would have had of the Akron Cement Works, if you were standing in the current location of the tennis court parking lot in the year 1890. At the height of its operations, the Cement Works manufactured 2000-3000 barrels of cement per year.
16	The Akron Cement Works This photo taken in the late 1800’s shows the cement and stone barn owned by the Cummings family business. Akron’s citizens traveled by horse drawn carriage or by train in those days .
17	The Akron Cement Works Trestle This photo taken about 1890 shows the Akron Cement Works trestle. This 480 foot wooden bridge crossed the Akron Falls Park valley at a height of 60 feet.
18	The Akron Cement Works Trestle This photo taken in 1885 shows the Cement Works trestle from the region of the park lake. The trestle was demolished in the early 1900’s following the closure of the cement factory.
19	The Men of the Akron Cement Works This photo taken in late 1800’s shows some of the men who worked at the Akron Cement Works. The men worked long, hard hours mining limestone to be fired in the company kilns. Once the stone had been fired and ground down, it was loaded into barrels and carried by train car up to the railroad.
20	The Men of the Akron Cement Works Do you recognize any of these men? If your family has lived in Akron long, one of them might be your great, great, great grandfather! The Akron Cement Works employed many village men in the 1800’s.
21	Newman’s Cement Works Newman’s Cement Works was a business located further down East Avenue, in an area known then as Falkirk. The Newman mill stood near the car wash at the corner of State and Front Streets.
22	Newman’s Cement Works Newman’s men mined limestone underground and then transported it to the surface in cars. Mr. Newman also ran a flour business – diverting water from Murder Creek in a tunnel known as a millrace. The water turned wheels that ground the flour into a fine powder.
23	The Cement Mines So what was it like working in Akron’s cement mines? Anyone who might have been able to tell us has long since passed away, and the mines themselves have been long sealed. But thanks to the help of the Newstead Junior Historical Society and the generosity of Mrs. Norma Bluhm, we can take a look back in time.
24	The Mines Akron miners tunneled deep into the ground, propping up the ceiling with wooden timbers as they went. The 12 inch wide beams helped to support the weight of the roof. Without the beams, the roof would eventually collapse!
25	The Mines Miners worked as a team. Teamwork and communication in the mines were critical. While safety could never be guaranteed, you had a better chance of staying safe if you trusted the men with whom you worked and if they knew that they could trust you.
26	The Mines The mines were dark and cramped. It was dusty and not always easy to breathe. Anyone who has ever been caving knows that caverns maintain a year round temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The mines similarly remained cool all year long.
27	The Mines Generators powered electric lights so that the men were able to see what they were doing. Without the generators, the mines would have been as black as pitch. Imagine being 60 feet underground, unable to see your hand in front of your face!
28	The Mines Miners hollowed out the tunnels with picks, jack hammers and sometimes even dynamite. Once the limestone was gathered, it was loaded into small boxcars and carried up to the surface.
29	The Mines Some of our Akron miners rest from the difficult task of loading the next Car. The cars ran on tracks. Some – like this car – were even fitting with headlights to help them maneuver the dark, damp tunnels.
30	The Mines Some of our miners posing near the tracks. The mines were criss-crossed with tracks and power lines. In this photo you can see makeshift ceiling supports helping to prevent the roof from collapsing.
31	The Mines Some Akron miners even brought their pets down with them. In this photograph we can see a dog – perhaps a company mascot – helping to bring a little of the comforts of home to the men engaged in this very dangerous work.
32	The Mines Some men pose for the photographer near some milling equipment. Anything that needed fixing would be repaired in the mine itself. Having to take things to the surface for repair meant lost time and decreased productivity.
33	The Coopers Once the cement was limestone was mined, fired and ground into powder, it was packed into barrels. The barrels were manufactured in Akron by men called “coopers”. Coopers made wooden barrels, casks or tubs to help transport goods over long distances.
34	The Demise of Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Business Akron’s cement industry flourished for many years until the introduction of a superior product - Portland Cement. Akron’s cement businesses ceased operation in the 1920’s and 1930’s. In the 1940’s a man named Howard Bell found another use for the abandoned cement and gypsum mines – mushrooms! Soon tunnels that had yielded New York State’s finest gypsum were producing half-a-ton of mushrooms per day!
35	Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Today Akron’s cement industry has sadly passed into memory, but many remnants of those boom days of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries still remain. On East Avenue for example stands the oldest cement carriage house in Erie County. Built in the 1800’s by Newman brothers, the carriage house stands as a monument to an industry the built the village of Akron.
36	Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Today Cement structures built by the Cummings brothers – like this abandoned building at the Leisurewood Camp Grounds – still stand as a silent witness to the prosperity that was 19^th century Akron.
37	Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Today Even the cement foundations of the Cummings brothers’ homes remain in the woods atop the ledge at Leisurewood. Uriah Cummings’ home – known as Saint’s Rest – overlooked the mill. Mrs. Cummings could be heard playing her piano as the workers toiled 60 feet beneath them to bring Akron cement to the surface.
38	Akron’s Cement and Gypsum Today Finally, evidence of Akron’s thriving cement business can be seen today in the heart of Russell Park where the stones of the old park fountain – limestone and mortar donated by the Cummings and Newman families – survive as the foundation of the Russell Park Gazebo.
39	Akron’s Natural Resources Akron’s natural resources – water, limestone and gypsum – played an integral role in the growth of not only our village, but also of the town of Newstead. Akron cement was used in the Genesee Canal and the feeder dam at Tonawanda. It led to the establishment of hotels – like the American Hotel. We know it today as the Akron House.
40	Akron’s Natural Resources Here is the old Akron Hotel at the corner of Main and Clinton Streets…
41	Akron’s Natural Resources The cement industry even helped contribute to the construction of the old fountain in Russell Park – in many ways a symbol of the resources of Akron – water and stone.
42	"The Cement and gypsum businesses..." The Cement and gypsum businesses may have passed into Akron history, but its influence on the history of the settlement of our village remains.
43	"This presentation has been brought..." This presentation has been brought to you by the Newstead Junior Historical Society and the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Project. A special thanks goes out to Mrs. Norma Bluhm for generosity in allowing us to digitize her photographs of the mines in Falkirk, and to the Newstead Historical Society for photographs of the Akron Cement Works. . Together we are all….. “Making a Difference in the Life of Akron”