History:

Tallmadge was founded in 1807 by the Reverend David Bacon as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It was Bacon who laid out the picturesque Tallmadge Circle based on the New England design of the day. Today, the Circle is still the central focal point of this community of over 17,500 people. The City blends early Americanheritage with its present day mid-western hospitality.

One of the most recognized mapped shapes in all of northeast Ohio is the landmark configuration of the Tallmadge circle. Its landmark features are so readily recognized by even the untrained eye that it becomes a point of reference, orientation and focus.

The origins of these landmark shapes lie in the simple fact that the area once known as Town 2, Range 10, later to be know as Tallmadge, was laid out with eight routes radiating from a central core -- Tallmadge circle. The eight routes are oriented to the eight true directions of a compass; each route is identified by and bears the designation of the compass direction it assumes.

Tallmadge Circle represents the influence of early nineteenth century New England town planning, and is one of the best-preserved physical examples of New England's role in the settlement of Ohio's Western Reserve. Early development of the community focused around the Circle and extended in a radial fashion along the major transportation routes. The Circle remains the physical focal point of the community and has influenced land use patterns throughout Tallmadge's history.

Current day development patterns also reflect Tallmadge's role as a "first generation" suburban community experiencing much of its development in the 1950's and 1960's. Land use patterns are similar to other suburban communities developed during the same era. Commercial development in Tallmadge took the form of suburban growth typical of the 1950's, with small convenience centers close to emergingneighborhoods and automobile-oriented strip-type centers along major thoroughfares.  Industrial uses historically were located near the railroad and were generally well separated from existing residential neighborhoods.