While the Valley Railway, the precursor to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, was founded primarily as a conduit for freight and passengers moving among Cleveland, Akron, and Canton, it also became integral to the success of two factories within the Cuyahoga Valley. As the 19th century drew to a close, the valley remained primarily rural. Yet, the combination of water resources, availability of large tracts of land, proximity to urban centers, and access to the railroad's efficient transportation made the valley an attractive place for development.
The two factories that opened in the Cuyahoga Valley in the early 20th century manufactured paper products. In 1900, the Cleveland Akron Bag Company began operations in Boston, producing flour sacks and roofing paper until going out of business in 1923. A former employee of that company, Charles Jaite, was responsible for the second paper producer, the Jaite Paper Mill, which opened in 1905 about two miles north of Boston. It remained in business under various owners until 1984 when the Tecumseh Corrugated Box Company sold it to the National Park Service. Arson destroyed a small part of the plant eight years later.
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