Times have changed since the Stanford House, an historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley, was built in 1830 by George Stanford, one of the first settlers of the Western Reserve. Back then, the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal was the main link to the outside world. Today, the property is situated near highways and two urban centers, yet remains protected by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a natural retreat in an urbanized area.

Now the Stanford House has gained renewed life following a $270,000 renovation. The National Park Service has converted it into meeting space, an educational classroom for the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center and affordable overnight accommodations for hikers and bikers.

The Stanford House was purchased by the park service in 1978, and for thirty years, it served as a hostel that accommodated school groups, boy scout troups and international travelers of all ages. Yet when Stanford Hostel closed in 2008, its future was up in the air.

Soon the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNPA), a nonprofit advocacy group that works closely with the park service, stepped in to raise funds and complete a renovation. Federal stimulus funding covered $98,000 of these upgrades, with additional funding coming from area foundations and donors.

Because the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail is accessible from the Stanford House, CVNPA anticipates that the accommodations will be in demand from hikers and bikers completing longer, multi-day trips through the park. For the first time, backcountry campsites are also now available in a meadow adjacent to the property.

With a successful project under its belt, CVNPA is now eyeing the prospect of raising funds to renovate the Stanford House barn -- which would make an excellent location, they say, for interpretive programs, 'locavore' farm dinners, and rustic meeting space.

Source: Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association
Writer: Lee Chilcote