Chagrin Falls conundrum

Driving home from a conference east of Cleveland Ohio along a particularly beautiful stretch of Chagrin Road, I spotted a sign with an arrow pointing towards Chagrin Falls.

The sign immediately sparked my curiosity. I love waterfalls, but more importantly in this case, I remembered Chagrin Falls as the title of a tune by Canadian rockers, The Tragically Hip. I couldn’t help turning off onto the side road where the arrow pointed me to see the infamous Chagrin Falls.

Chagrin Falls sits in a relatively affluent area about a half hour east of downtown Cleveland. Centered around its namesake waterfalls, the village originally grew as a busy industrial area with businesses clustered around the ample water supply provided by the falls. A historical marker near the high falls lists an ax factory, a foundry, two flour mills, four woolen mills, two sawmills, three paper mills and a woodenware factory as part of the bustling business community in mid-nineteenth century Chagrin Falls.

Today, the factories are largely gone from the immediate area, and the village center’s business community consists largely of a few restaurants and small retail stores.

A wealth of well-preserved buildings dating from the mid- to late-1800s, a large park bordering the waterfalls and the falls themselves draw tourists and day-trippers to Chagrin Falls. In warmer weather, steep staircases lead from the street level to the lower portion of the falls for those wanting a closer look at the rushing water. But the village still seems to draw plenty of visitors during colder weather like the recent sunny, but snowy, day we returned to Chagrin Falls to stroll around town and take a few photos of the waterfalls.

You might wonder why such a picturesque village has the shame-faced Chagrin in its name, and the origin of the name is even a matter of debate among village historians.

The historical marker at the falls says the Chagrin River drew its name from a French trader named Francois Seguin, who traded with Native Americans in northeast Ohio during the mid-1700s. The Chagrin Falls Historical Society offers a couple of other possible explanations for the name, but says the most accepted story is that the name represents a corrupted and Americanized version of trader Seguin’s name.

Connections like the Tragically Hip’s obscure lyrics about a wandering spirit, the fact that Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver vocalist Scott Weiland spent part of his childhood in the village, and the possibility that Chagrin Falls resident Bill Watterson used the village as the primary setting for his popular Calvin and Hobbes cartoon mean that the village’s contemporary history may be every bit as fascinating and puzzling as its early chapters.

© Dominique King 2009

Comments

[JimmyK64]

Thanks for providing me all the info I'll ever need on Chagrin Falls, D.

(nice write-up)

[Dominique King]

Hey Jimmy!
Thanks for stopping by.
Chagrin Falls is a pretty little village, and I like to go on over there when we're out by Cleveland. When we were last there in late November, it was a nice enough day to shoot decent photos, walk along the river a bit in the park and to log a couple of geocache finds elsewhere in town. Oh...and the coffeeshop there was begging for Georges that day :)

[spyscribbler]

Chagrin Falls is fascinating! I love the town's history. I worked at the Western Reserve Historical Society for a few years, so I'm not saying this as a biased citizen: Chagrin Falls has a fascinating history! There's a book on it. If you like history, it's a great read.

Do you know that little hardware store you have pictured here? If you go to the left, there is a hill, which is often referred to as "Pumpkin Hill," because every fall, high-schoolers smash a ton of pumpkins down the hill and slide and sled--yes, sled--on the pumpkin guts. It's a blast. It's called the "Pumpkin Roll," and I used to live in one of two houses situated on Pumpkin Hill.

It's a blast to watch! The seniors try to keep it a bit secret, and it always happens in the middle of the night.

[Dominique]

Spy--I've heard about the Pumpkin Roll, but I've never seen it. Sounds like quite the sight!

I found a lot of fascinating facts about Chagrin Falls...maybe I'll have to revisit the topic again somewhere down the line.

[Cindy L]

Beautiful web site and photos -- Nice to see the Midwest focus! I used to be a travel editor and spent a lot of time in Ohio, always surprised and delighted at what I discovered there. Love the ice sculpture photos!

[Dominique]

Cindy-

Thanks for stopping by.

I've always wanted to write about Midwest travel destinations, and this blog is the result of that desire.
You're right about Ohio. We find so many great places to visit there, and it's particularly nice because so many of those destinations are easy weekend trips for us.

[gypsyscarlett]

The photo of the waterfall is gorgeous.

Thank you for another engaging post. Your blog really makes one want to see all these places.

[Dominique]

Gypsy-
Thanks!
I love visiting Chagrin Falls, and there seem like so many great places to visit near that area just east of Cleveland. We're fortunate that it's close enough for us to make a quick weekend visit that way any time we like.

[Jack from eyeflare travel advice]

Your post on Chagrin Falls reminded me I actually visited here back in 1999. Had friends in Cleveland at the time and spent New Year's with them. We got some lunch in a quirky restaurant right on the village square. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

[Dominique]

Jack-Thanks for stopping by!

Chagrin Falls is still a cute little town, and it's such a pretty drive along Chagrin Road to there from Cleveland's eastern 'burbs.
Another favorite stop in Chagrin Falls is the little indie bookstore...Fireside Bookshop.

[Robert Buck]

I grew up in neighboring Solon, OH during the 50's to mid 60's and the family frequently visited Chagrin Falls. We played in the stream below the falls, catching crayfish. There was a great soda fountain in an historic building next to the bridge and if my memory is correct the old paper mill upstream of the falls was still in operation in the 50's. The little town square had a rustic bandstand.

[Dominique King]

Thanks for stopping by, Robert!
The gazebo is still in the center of town, and the soda fountain/popcorn store is still by the bridge as well.
I've posted a couple of other stories about Chagrin Falls that include some photos of the twig gazebo http://www.midwestguest.com/2009/10/photo-friday-lingering-at-ohios-chagrin-falls.html and http://www.midwestguest.com/2009/09/revisiting-ohios-chagrin-falls.html