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Historic Depot and AC&Y Caboose
Located at 3770 Copley Road the Historic Copley Depot and Akron Canton & Youngstown (AC&Y) Caboose are wonderfully preserved connections to Copley's past.
The Depot was built in 1891 by the Pittsburgh, Akron, and Western Railroad and is a marvelous example of Stick/Eastlake architectural style of the Late Victorian Era. It celebrated its 125th birthday in 2016. It was important to the community during that time period because it opened up Copley to the rest of the nation. The railroad provided a reliable form of transportation because roads were muddy and unpassable several months of the year.
Copley began as a small farm community that was known for its rich loamy soils that were deposited by the receding of the glaciers. Residents raised vegetables, corn, and wheat and fruit trees were indigenous to the region. Copley also had an abundance of marshy, swampy areas and those yielded wild cranberries, huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Hunting and trapping were labors but supplied meat, animal skins, and furs, and the ponds in the area afforded excellent sporting grounds for fishermen. The railway not only helped improve business operations, it provided convenient passenger access to Akron, Medina, and other desirable points, and also increased the general value of the Township's real estate. Through the years as times changed, and the Akron, Canton, & Youngstown Railroad (AC&Y) took over the railway, the railroad decided to demolish the Depot in 1974. It was offered to the last AC&Y Agent William "Hank" Gromann for $1 if he would move it from its original Sawmill Road location. Mr. Gromann alone did not have the means to move the station but after learning of the depot's impending demise a group of local residents organized to save the historic structure, thus forming the Copley Historical Society. Mr. Gromann was one of the original Historical Society's contributors.The Depot was moved to its present location by the railroad tracks on Copley Road in 1974. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2001. It is open to visitors once a month during the summer and school tours are always welcome. Please contact the Copley Historical Society at 330-666-1853 for arrangements.
Alongside the Historic Depot sits the AC&Y Caboose. It was built in 1947 by the International Railway Car Company, Buffalo, New York, and is one of only six believed to still remain from that production year. In 1984 the caboose was slated for retirement but when the Copley Historical Society found out they asked AC&Y if they could have it and AC&Y graciously gifted it to them. This caboose actually ran the rails through Copley Township so it had special significance to the community. It was fitting to place it next to the Historic Depot and the tracks it had traversed many times. In 2009 a restoration project of the exterior was performed. The AC&Y Historical Society was contacted to enlist their expertise to ensure the correct paint schemes and lettering were used to create an accurate depiction of what the caboose would look like when it was in service. It is open for visitors when the Depot is open.
Stop by and visit these historic treasures of the Township's past. They are truly two of Copley's gems.
The Depot was built in 1891 by the Pittsburgh, Akron, and Western Railroad and is a marvelous example of Stick/Eastlake architectural style of the Late Victorian Era. It celebrated its 125th birthday in 2016. It was important to the community during that time period because it opened up Copley to the rest of the nation. The railroad provided a reliable form of transportation because roads were muddy and unpassable several months of the year.
Copley began as a small farm community that was known for its rich loamy soils that were deposited by the receding of the glaciers. Residents raised vegetables, corn, and wheat and fruit trees were indigenous to the region. Copley also had an abundance of marshy, swampy areas and those yielded wild cranberries, huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Hunting and trapping were labors but supplied meat, animal skins, and furs, and the ponds in the area afforded excellent sporting grounds for fishermen. The railway not only helped improve business operations, it provided convenient passenger access to Akron, Medina, and other desirable points, and also increased the general value of the Township's real estate. Through the years as times changed, and the Akron, Canton, & Youngstown Railroad (AC&Y) took over the railway, the railroad decided to demolish the Depot in 1974. It was offered to the last AC&Y Agent William "Hank" Gromann for $1 if he would move it from its original Sawmill Road location. Mr. Gromann alone did not have the means to move the station but after learning of the depot's impending demise a group of local residents organized to save the historic structure, thus forming the Copley Historical Society. Mr. Gromann was one of the original Historical Society's contributors.The Depot was moved to its present location by the railroad tracks on Copley Road in 1974. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2001. It is open to visitors once a month during the summer and school tours are always welcome. Please contact the Copley Historical Society at 330-666-1853 for arrangements.
Alongside the Historic Depot sits the AC&Y Caboose. It was built in 1947 by the International Railway Car Company, Buffalo, New York, and is one of only six believed to still remain from that production year. In 1984 the caboose was slated for retirement but when the Copley Historical Society found out they asked AC&Y if they could have it and AC&Y graciously gifted it to them. This caboose actually ran the rails through Copley Township so it had special significance to the community. It was fitting to place it next to the Historic Depot and the tracks it had traversed many times. In 2009 a restoration project of the exterior was performed. The AC&Y Historical Society was contacted to enlist their expertise to ensure the correct paint schemes and lettering were used to create an accurate depiction of what the caboose would look like when it was in service. It is open for visitors when the Depot is open.
Stop by and visit these historic treasures of the Township's past. They are truly two of Copley's gems.