Since 2017, the park district’s cultural resources staff have been investigating the site of the former Wheelock Cuyahoga Acres (WCA), a unique archaeological landscape within Cascade Valley Metro Park. From the 1940s to the 1970s, WCA existed in portions of the present-day Valley View and Schumacher areas and was a racially integrated neighborhood long before the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968. Honeywell Drive, the main road of the neighborhood, is incorporated in portions of Prather Trail and the future Honeywell Link Trail.
With assistance from WCA family members and The University of Akron Anthropology Department, cultural resources staff have investigated the Prather and Johnson sites, two of WCA’s former Black-owned properties.
George “Conrad” and Willie Mae Prather, like thousands of Black people during the Great Migration, moved north seeking better employment and relief from the Jim Crow laws of the South. Conrad was employed at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Willie Mae worked as housekeeper in a private home.
Documentary information about the house was limited to when the property was purchased in 1953 and the house being destroyed by an arsonist in 1975. Archaeological excavation in 2018 uncovered a portion of the foundation and thousands of artifacts that once belonged to the Prathers, but there was still more to learn.
In 2022, the Prathers’ descendants contacted the park district and provided those essential details. Their information included stories of the Prathers’ lives, how they built their house and, most importantly, their motivation for building there. The Prathers intended to build a self-sufficient, mutual aid-based community in WCA.
“Their vision was each family was going to build their dream house on Honeywell Drive,” their niece Ethel remembered.
The Prathers worked on their house for many years, building it piece by piece as they could save their money. Tragically, the fire destroyed it before they could move in.
Victor and Esther Johnson lived west of the Prathers on Honeywell with their three children. In 2023 their daughter Victoria and their granddaughters reached out to share their family history. Their information was used to design an archaeological survey that investigated the property layout and the foundation remains.
Victor was employed at Goodyear and as a private horse trainer for the owners of Yeager’s department store in Akron. Esther was a prolific gardener and raised most of the family’s food.
“We had a huge garden. We were eating organic food before they were even knowing about organic food,” said Victoria.
Hundreds of pieces of Esther’s flowerpots were recovered in the excavation. This was no surprise to Allison and Tracy when they joined the excavation for a day. The Johnsons lived on Honeywell from the early 1950s until they moved to Columbus in 1976.
Research continues into the histories of WCA. Visitors can learn more about the Prathers by visiting the wayside on Prather Trail. A 3D model of the Johnson foundation is available to explore online.
For more stories like this, check out Green Islands magazine, a bi-monthly publication from Summit Metro Parks. Summit County residents can sign up to receive the publication at home free of charge.