City of Solon history

Interestingly, Aurora Road was originally a path that was etched out of the existing woods by the United States Army to transport supplies during the War of 1812.

The first settlers were the Bull and Robbins families, who moved from the state of Connecticut to Solon in August of 1820, claiming and clearing just enough land to build a log cabin.

In 1825 the county commissioners allowed these two pioneering families to rename the township in honor of one of the families.

The first store was established by Archibald Robbins in the 1830’s, at the intersection of Solon and Liberty Roads, now part of Bentleyville Village.

In 1840, however, after much of the land was drained, the store relocated to the center of town, near the intersection of SOM Center Road and Bainbridge Road.

Once the land was cleared and drained, corn and wheat became the staple crops (see AGRICULTURE). In addition, 5 cheese factories were built, creating a profitable dairy business (see BUSINESS, RETAIL). In 1850 the population was 1,034.

RAILROADS contributed to Solon's growth; in 1857 the Cleveland-Youngstown section of the Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad opened through the village.

One of the first industries to locate in Solon was the Austin Powder Company in 1907.

SOLON, incorporated as a village in 1917 and as a city on 5 Dec.

In 1926, the operation of four real estate firms and the construction of Aurora Road (State Route 43) connecting Solon to Cleveland further fueled the land boom.

The first INDUSTRY to locate in Solon was the Bready Cultimotor tractor company (1929).

1960, operating under the mayor-council form of government.

In 1966, George Marek sold his vegetable farm to developer Larry Davis, a Romanian immigrant, who turned it into Solon Industrial Parkway.

The year 1968 marked the opening of Stouffer’s frozen food plant which continues to be one of the city’s major employers.

Walsh, Edward J. “The Suburb That Moved Over for Industry.” Cleveland Magazine (July 1978).

The growth rate slowed, with the population rising to 21,802 by 2000.

In 2002 over 50% of the land remained undeveloped.

By 2016, the city was among the most diverse in Cuyahoga County, with an estimated 12.5% Asian and 11.5% AFRICAN-AMERICAN population.