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The Chagrin Falls Historical Society & Museum is proud to present our first in person event in months! Henry Church Jr.’s 185th Birthday Party! Join us on Thursday, May 20, 2021 anytime between 4-6:30pm for cupcakes and lemonade on our front porch! During the celebration, visitors will be able to enter the museum and view for the very first time, a self portrait of Henry Church Jr. which was donated to us last year by his descendant, Jane Babinsky in … Read More

The Chagrin Falls Historical Society & Museum invites you to learn the history of Chagrin Falls Park. Through our Photo Archive and research conducted by Historian Andrew Wiese, learn about how the area called Chagrin Falls Park began and how the community has grown throughout history. In conjunction with this exhibit, we are proud to announce that we are republishing Andrew Wiese’s 1986 case study “A Place of Our Own: The Chagrin Falls Park from 1921-1950”. Collaborating with Wiese, Chagrin … Read More

Creating a public park in Chagrin Falls was first discussed in 1924 by Mayor John Church (the grandson of Henry Church, Sr.). His vision for the park was the central location for Village Administrative offices. While the park never became that, it did become the center for Village civic and cultural events. Acquiring the land The owner of some land behind the homes on East Orange Street offered to sell it to the Village for $1,000. After that purchase, the … Read More

Grove Hill was so named because of the grove of Maple trees that was located along the top of the hill. Historically, Grove Hill encompassed the area from where Summit intersects with Chagrin Blvd on the west, to North Street on the East. The first resident on Grove Hill was Noah Graves, who is credited with being the founder of Chagrin Falls. His home is depicted in a woodcut below by Jehu Brainerd. The History of Grove Hill is intertwined … Read More

Chagrin Falls Park is a neighborhood in Bainbridge just beyond the border of Chagrin Falls. For many years it was primarily a black neighborhood but today it is more racially diverse. The beginnings of how this neighborhood was formed is consistently misconstrued to this day. The Historical Society frequently receives inquiries regarding the history. We also see and hear a lot of misinformation on social media regarding the history which we constantly try to correct. We do not excuse the … Read More

When the settlers arrived at the High Falls, the area forming the triangle in the center of town was a swamp with a stream running through it. In 1873, the Village bought the property from its owners, contained the stream in an underground culvert, and dried out the area bounded by N. Main, N. Franklin and E. Washington Sts. A park was a perfect addition to the modern town. Trees were planted around the perimeter, a fountain was added at … Read More

Township Hall, formerly known as Library Hall and Town Hall, was built in 1848 as a public library and lecture hall. It was purchased by the Township Trustees in 1864 as an office for the Trustees and to serve as a place to hold elections, in addition to serving as lecture hall. In 1875, responding to a public call to update the building, the Trustees hired Cleveland architect Joseph Ireland to enlarge the hall, add a jail, a Township office, … Read More

Historic Districts Chagrin Falls West Side Historic DistrictBounded by Franklin, Maple, Church, and East Washington Streets, this district was established October 9, 1974. Chagrin Falls Triangle Park Commercial District Chagrin Falls Triangle Park Commercial District Main, Franklin, & Washington Sts. also at the junction of N. Main and E. Orange Sts. extending East & South. This district was established Oct. 1, 1974. Chagrin Falls East Side Historic District East Washington and Philomethian Sts. This district was established June 14, 2013 … Read More

There were five early churches in Chagrin Falls, the planners envisioned all churches tobe located around a projected public square. As was the case with all the early churches, they first met in private homes. The First Congregational Society The First Congregational Society was formed in 1835, just two years after the settlement of Chagrin Falls was formed. By 1844 they were raising money to build a church house. The Congregational Church was located on the north side of the … Read More

Chagrin Falls has always been known for the excellence of its teachers and schools. The quality of our schools is often given as the top reason people desire to move to this wonderful community. You can visit the official Chagrin Falls school website at: http://www.chagrin-falls.k12.oh.us/ Listed below is a short history of the different school buildings that have been in Chagrin Falls. Tom Mattern has written an excellent history of the Chagrin Falls School area and his book can be … Read More

The Village of Chagrin Falls possesses two historic cemeteries, Grove Hill Cemetery and Evergreen Hill Cemetery. These two cemeteries serve as the burial grounds for a variety of prominent Chagrin residents and war veterans. The first burial was made in Grove Hill during the year Chagrin Falls was founded, in 1833. The Village of Chagrin Falls went on to establish the Evergreen cemetery in 1863 for residents of the village and township. Today, both cemeteries continue to serve as an … Read More

Mission:• To create community pride in our historic homes• To plaque qualified century homes• To promote and contribute accurate research to the Historical Society’s archive of century plaqued homes. Welcome:We welcome you to unravel the mysteries of your historic home by investigating its origins, structural history and chain of ownership. We encourage you to do your own research. If you wish, you may hire an accredited researcher, from those listed on the Ohio Historic Preservation Office website, to help you. … Read More