History of Ashtabula County

History of Ashtabula County

by the Ashtabula Chamber of Commerce [1990]


In 1801, Thomas Hamilton built a log cabin at the mouth of the Ashtabula (Indian for "River of many fish") river. He was the first of many hard working pioneers to come to the Connecticut Western Reserve to make a new life in this new country.

It is said that the Ashtabula River was the boundary line between the Iroquois and the Algonquin Indian nations. There is also evidence of the ancient mound builders, who were probably the first real settlers to our area.

The first settlers found an abundance of game in the woods and fish in the river and soon the area began to grow.

By 1837 great progress had been made. The harbor had been improved and steamboats were introduced with many being built right here. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad was built in 1852. Along with transportation advantages, it introduced the first group of foreign settlers, the Irish. They were soon followed by the Italians, Finns and Swedes.

Ashtabula was also an important link on the Underground Railroad, with the Hubbard House beings its northernmost terminus. Many a slave was saved a life of pain and sorrow by taking a boat from Ashtabula to Canada.

In 1873, the Pittsburgh, Youngstown, and Ashtabula Railroad laid tracks to the Harbor. Ashtabula Harbor was on its way to becoming one of the largest ore and coal ports in the world.

Ashtabula became incorporated into a city in 1892. It boasted a modern hospital, an electric rapid transit system and a telephone company. At the turn of the century, its population had reached 12,949.

The 1900's saw many periods of change for Ashtabula. With the lake freighters becoming larger and the consolidation of the railroads, the population has remained around 22,000. Ashtabula is now looking to the 1990's as a "Decade of Difference".

The Ashtabula area combines the advantages of a small town, rural lifestyle with easy access to the major metropolitan centers of Cleveland, Erie and Youngstown/Warren.

With the largest fish in Lake Erie being caught here, the great deer hunting, snowmobiling, historical covered bridges (14 of them), and the natural beauty of its surroundings, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Back