| Abstract: |
The Eastern Ohio Traction Company, a Cleveland interurban railroad, was formed by the 1902 merger of the Cleveland and Eastern
Railway Company, the Cleveland and Chagrin Falls Railway Company, and the Chagrin Falls and Eastern Railway Company. In 1910,
the company was reorganized into two affiliated, yet separate companies, the Cleveland and Eastern Traction Company, which
was abandoned in 1925, and the Cleveland, Youngstown and Eastern Railway Company, which became the Cleveland and Chagrin Falls
Railway in 1915 and was then abandoned in 1925. Horatio Ford (1881-1952) served on the board of several of these lines. Ohio
was the heartland of the electric interurban railway early in the 20th century, with a 2,798 mile network. The electric carriers
offered the public clean and convenient service, operating at greater frequency and dramatically lower costs vs. the steam
railroad. The electric interurban was also an exceedingly attractive business venture. The collection consists of minutes
of meetings, articles of incorporation, agreements, deeds, reports, resolutions, franchises, and other records, of the Cleveland
and Eastern Railway Company, Cleveland and Eastern Traction Company, Eastern Ohio Traction Company, Cleveland and Chagrin
Falls Railway Company, and Cleveland, Youngstown & Eastern Railway Company.
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