Botzum was a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio Northampton was one of the 16 original townships in Summit County, Ohio. It was situated in the middle of Summit County, bordering Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. No incorporated areas were formed within the township, but Akron and Cuyahoga Falls exp ...

around what is now the intersection of Bath and Riverview Roads in

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

and

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

History

Botzum began as a community along the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron, Ohio, Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio ...

where the canal spread out to form the Yellow Creek Basin near Yellow Creek. This was thought to be a good place for business. There were two warehouses, a store, and a hotel there in 1827, set up by Nathaniel Hardy. Botzum was platted in 1836 on 100 acres (0.4 km) as Niles by Peter Voris and some of his associates. The village was never actually built, though, due to the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

. Eventually the lots were sold off, one of them to George Botzum. In 1866 the Buckeye post office opened up. In spite of this name, though, the railroad depot in town was called Botzum. The name of the post office was also changed to Botzum in 1893 to match the name of the depot. In the 1920s the city of

purchased 800 acres (3.2 km) of land at Botzum to build a sewage treatment plant, which opened in 1928 and remains there to this day. There is no longer any sign that there was a community there. Along with the sewage plant it is known for a viewing station for

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

s to the east where Bath Road crosses the Cuyahoga River. There is also a sign on the

Towpath with a photograph of Botzum from 1875.

References

* * Cuyahoga Valley National Park (2004)
Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail Tour: Niles and Botzum
Retrieved May 2, 2005. * * Unincorporated communities in Ohio Geography of Summit County, Ohio Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in Ohio {{SummitCountyOH-geo-stub

History

See also

References