We are excited to announce the completion of our Ohio History Funded grant project! The Chagrin Falls Historical Society & Museum was awarded a grant in 2019 from the Ohio History Connection which allowed us to digitize copies of The Exponent, the sole newspaper for Chagrin Falls and vicinity. The Ohio History Fund grant covered the newspaper issues in our collection from 1874-1883. The digitized Exponent is now available online on the Ohio Memory website- https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll107.
The Chagrin Falls Historical Society & Museum’s goal was to make The Exponent freely and widely available to researchers, genealogists, and the public through digitization using National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) standards and Ohio Memory, a digital repository of Ohio’s history, thereby strengthening access to, use of and appreciation for Chagrin Falls and vicinity’s rich industrial and cultural past.
“Digitizing The Exponent: Preserving the Sole Newspaper for Chagrin Falls and Vicinity (1874-1883)” was made possible in part by a grant from the Ohio History Connection’s History Fund. The Ohio History Fund is supported exclusively by voluntary donations of state income tax refunds, Ohio History “mastodon license plate sales, and designated gifts to the Ohio History Connection. www.ohiohistory.org/historyfund”
About the Collection on Ohio Memory:
The Chagrin Falls Exponent was the first regularly published newspaper in Cuyahoga County outside of Cleveland. It appeared weekly from January 1, 1874 to December 27, 1964. Founder, publisher, and editor J.J. Stranahan endeavored to carry the news of Chagrin Falls and of surrounding communities in western Geauga, northern Portage and eastern Cuyahoga counties. The Exponent carried local news items, including birth and death notices, advertisements and event announcements. Stranahan’s editorials commented on local, regional, state and national news and events. The Exponent was one of the first newspapers in the region to not have any political affiliation. It was “Open to All – Controlled by None.”
