Olmsted Falls

History

After the Revolutionary War, the area that later became Olmsted Township, from which Olmsted Falls (as well as most of North Olmsted) was subsequently created, was part of the Western Reserve, a strip of northeastern Ohio land stretching 120 miles west from the Pennsylvania border, that was claimed by Connecticut. In 1795, Connecticut sold most of that land to the Connecticut Land Company, which then divided it into townships and sold it by auction. Several bidders won the right to purchase what then was known as Township 6, Range 15, with the largest share of almost half of the township going to Aaron Olmsted, a sea captain from East Hartford, Connecticut. However, it took years for the sales to be consummated. Olmsted died in 1806, so when the sale of his land was completed in 1807, it went to his widow and three sons, who sold parts of the land to settlers. Although James Geer, who then lived in Columbia Township to the south, planted a crop of corn across the border in 1814, it was 1815 when he and his family moved into a small log house in Township 6, Range 15, to become the township’s first settlers in a section that later became part of Olmsted Falls. The township had several informal names, including Kingston, until 1823, when it was organized as a civil township called Lenox. However, because of confusion with another Lenox Township in Ashtabula County, one resident suggested renaming it Olmsted Township in honor of Aaron Olmsted. Olmsted’s son, Charles Hyde Olmsted, not only agreed to the request but was so pleased that he offered to send the community about 500 books from Connecticut by oxcart. Those books became known as the Oxcart Library. On April 7, 1856, Olmsted Falls was incorporated as a village from a portion of Olmsted Township. In 1857, the…

Geography

Olmsted Falls is located at (41.367626, -81.904818). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  40,008
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  38,772
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  37,186
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,219
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,466
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,900
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27,720
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26,782

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-03-05
  3 km SW of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.7 — 2026-01-06
  4 km ENE of North Madison, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2025-05-12
  4 km ESE of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-06-01
  1 km E of Madison, Ohio
• M 3 — 2024-03-30
  2 km SSW of Maple Ridge, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-01-05
  3 km SE of Madison, Ohio