Suburban Homes in Akron, Ohio photograph

The city of Akron was first a small canal town in 1825, but grew rapidly into a large city. The name came from a Greek word meaning "an elevation" or "point." Originally, the community was located slightly south of its present location, in modern-day South Akron. By the second half of the 1800s, railroads connected the community to other important cities in Ohio, and other industries emerged. There were a number of stoneware and cereal manufacturers, as well as a well-known sewer pipe industry. The Barber Match Company, later a branch of the Diamond Match Company, produced one-fifth of all the matches in the United States. The Buckeye Mower and Reaper Company, originally located in Canton, moved to Akron in 1863. Probably among the most famous companies established in Akron were the B.F. Goodrich Company and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, both rubber and tire manufacturers that began to prosper after the advent of the automobile age