GLENWILLOW - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

GLENWILLOW, originally part of Solon Twp., was created by the AUSTIN POWDER CO. as a "company town" in 1892. It is a tiny village occupying 2.2 sq. mi. in the southeastern corner of Cuyahoga County, bounded by SOLON on the north and east, OAKWOOD on the west, and Twinsburg in Summit County on the south. After the company purchased 1,200 acres of unsettled rural area to produce mining tools and blasting powder, it built 30 rental homes for employees and reserved 400 acres of farmland to raise cattle and produce hay. Glenwillow prospered and attracted nearly a dozen other industrial concerns, including Miller Industries. Its growth was further enhanced by the prosperity of neighboring Solon, BEDFORD, and Oakwood. Before the Austin Co. closed and moved in 1972, it at one time occupied one-half the area of Glenwillow. The village had developed into a tightly knit community, and the absence of crime, debt, and any relief burden led to its characterization as a modern-day utopia. During the 1970s, annexation attempts by Solon and MAPLE HEIGHTS threatened the village's existence. Once the only Cuyahoga County community without a city income tax, Glenwillow adopted a 1.9% tax in 1976 to raise revenues. In the 1980s, Glenwillow retained several trucking and construction firms and the Glenwillow Mobile Home Park; limited recreational facilities include 1 golf course. Glenwillow belongs to the Solon School System and contracts with Solon for fire protection. It has no city water or sewer system and only a part-time police force. In 1993 plans were being made by the Browning Ferris Industries of Ohio to reopen a city landfill, to extend public services such as sewer and water, and to create a light industrial park in the village. Glenwillow's population in 1980 was 528 and in 2000 was 449.

See also SUBURBS.

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