About the Summit County Historical Society
The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio was formed in 1924 by seven women of the Cuyahoga-Portage Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who needed an organization to plan Akron's centennial celebration of 1925. A century later it is a 501(c)(3) with a stated mission to preserve and interpret the history of Summit County and Akron and to educate the region about the people and events that shaped it; its tagline is "History Within Reach."
The society owns and manages three historic properties. The Perkins Stone Mansion at 550 Copley Road, which doubles as the society's headquarters, was built between 1835 and 1837 by Colonel Simon Perkins, eldest son of Akron's founder General Simon Perkins, on a hillside along the ancient Portage Path with a view of the Ohio and Erie Canal; it stayed in the family until 1945 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Across the road, the John Brown House was the home of the abolitionist during his years in Akron, when he raised sheep in partnership with Perkins on what locals still call Mutton Hill. The Old Stone School in downtown Akron is run in partnership with Akron Public Schools.
Education is a large part of the work: a fourth-grade outreach program, school field trips, loanable Discovery Trunks and adult programs, along with the Women's History Project of the Akron Area and the Portage Path Collaborative, which marks the portage trail between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers. Annual events include Free Farm Fridays on the mansion grounds every Friday in June, July and August, a Juneteenth "Day of Jubilee," the John Brown Institute fall lecture, and holiday tours of the decorated houses from late November.
Collections and Research Services
Researchers should know that the society's paper archive is not at the mansion. Its photographs and historic documents are housed at the Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, reachable at speccollections@akronlibrary.org or (330) 643-9030, and a selection has been digitized on the library's Summit Memory Project, including photographs of the 1925 centennial and later civic anniversaries. The society itself stores and displays three-dimensional artifacts: fine art, local pottery, rubber-industry materials, Akron and Summit County industrial wares and cultural memorabilia, shown at the Perkins Stone Mansion and in exhibits around the county. The library's Special Collections is the right starting point for Akron genealogy and house history; our guides to finding old photos of a house or neighborhood and old city directories explain what to ask for.
Planning Your Visit
According to the society's website, the Perkins Stone Mansion and John Brown House are open for guided tours Wednesday through Saturday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. during the touring season, which resumes each April; the houses close for holiday decorating from November 1 through 27 and reopen for holiday tours from the end of November, and the office observes major holidays. Park at 465 South Portage Path. The Wood Shed Emporium gift shop on Mutton Hill can be visited by appointment on non-tour days by calling (330) 535-1120, and mail goes to P.O. Box 22250, Akron, OH 44302. Check the events calendar at summithistory.org before visiting, since the houses occasionally close on Saturdays for special events. About 25 miles south, the Stark County Historical Society in Canton covers the neighboring county.
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