Northampton was one of the 16 original townships in

Summit County, Ohio Summit County is an urban county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3, 1840, ...

. It was in the middle of Summit County, bordering

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

and

Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...

. No incorporated areas were formed within the township but

and

expanded into Northampton via annexation. In 1986, Northampton Township merged with Cuyahoga Falls, the first time a township and city merged in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. When created it occupied survey Town 3, Range 11 in the

Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

and was about in area. Its first settler, Simeon Prior named the township for the

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Following the dissolution of the county government in 1999, county affairs were managed by the Hampshire Council of Governments, which itself ceas ...

village of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

Geography

Northampton was originally bounded by Portage Township on the south, Bath Township on the west, Boston Township to the north and Stow Township to the east. At the time of its merger with Cuyahoga Falls it was bordered by Akron to the south, the city of

Stow Stow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Stow, Lincolnshire or Stow-in-Lindsey, a village * Stow of Wedale or Stow, Scottish Borders, a village * Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, a small town * Stow, Shropshire or Stowe, a village * Stow ...

to the east and Cuyahoga Falls to the southeast.

History

The

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Mingo The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, and ...

tribes hunted in Northampton before Europeans arrived. (Grant, 1891). The first white settler in Northampton was Simeon Prior, who moved there with his wife and ten children from

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

in 1802. Native Americans still lived in the township and remained there until 1812 when American forces began to assemble there for the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Northampton provided a rendezvous point for militia during the war and the two (Grant, 1891) or three (Doyle, 1908) vessels of

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

's fleet were built in the township and floated down the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. In 1986 Northampton merged with Cuyahoga Falls. Both Akron and Cuyahoga Falls had been annexing the southern part of the township. Also, a major portion of the township had been purchased by the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (now the

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is administered by the National Park Service, but within ...

), reducing the tax base. The residents of Northampton chose to join with Cuyahoga Falls so that their future would be settled. The township became Ward 8 in Cuyahoga Falls and kept special zoning to preserve some of its rural nature. Annexation of parts of Northampton by Akron had left an irregular border between the two communities, including several islands inside Akron. Akron and Cuyahoga Falls tried to work out a land swap to smooth out the borders. They came up with a plan but it was never approved. The two cities have a joint fire station, though, that covers part of both communities.

Counties

Northampton Township's land has been in the following counties: (Author unknown, 1999-2005) *1788 -

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

*1797 -

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

*1800 - Trumbull *1808 -

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

*1840 -

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

Transportation

Northampton was served by Route 8, which originally went up Akron-Cleveland Road (now State Road). With Route 8 being moved to a divided highway to the east, the area is no longer served by any state highways.

Schools

The area of Northampton is mostly served by the

Woodridge Local School District Woodridge Local School District is a public school district in Northeast Ohio, covering most of Peninsula and parts of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, t ...

, with parts also served by the

Revere Local School District The Revere Local School District is a school district located in northeastern Ohio, between the cities of Akron and Cleveland, that was formed in the early 1950s after the communities of Bath and Richfield voted to combine their two smaller sch ...

. It is also served by the Cuyahoga Valley Joint Vocational School District.

Hamlets

* Botzum (Niles) * East Steels Corners * French's Mill (Doyle, 1908) * Iron Bridge * McArthur's Corners (Doyle, 1908) * Northampton Center * Old Portage * West Steels Corners

References

* Author unknown, (1999-2005)
County Formation Maps
Retrieved May 2, 2005. * * {{cite book , author=Grant, C.R., title=Illustrated Summit County Ohio , publisher=Akron Map & Atlas, Co. , year=1891 , id=LoC 91-077450, display-authors=etal Geography of Summit County, Ohio Defunct townships in Ohio Populated places disestablished in 1986