Independence

Independence, created by a glacier on the west bank
of the Cuyahoga River first sheltered Indians, then became a settlement, grew
with the Ohio and Erie Canal, expanded into a stone quarrying center, then
slumbered along as a farming community until the urbanization of Cuyahoga
County which resulted in its growth as a suburban city.
Nomadic Indians first roamed the area. Permanent Indian settlements occurred
in the 1650′s when several large villages were locally established.
Independence became a transportation crossroads of two well-trodden Indian
trails, the Muskingum Trail and the Mahoning Trail. Today, Independence is still
a crossroads of Northeast Ohio with I-77, I-480, and S.R. 21 all crossing
through its borders.
Independence was organized as a Township around 1814. The first recorded
resident is traced to 1818–Ichabod Lord Skinner, a young farmer, who, by
1834, owned 384 acres around “Skinner’s Hill” (Schaff Road). Ichabod’s
youngest son, David P., built a brick home on “Skinner’s Hill” that still stands
today.
With the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1827, Independence Township
became accessible to trade and settlers.
After farming, the major industry in early Independence was quarrying. High
quality sandstone and bluestone were quarried for sixty years leaving lovely
lakes and ponds scattered throughout Independence. Local clay deposits also
gave rise to three brick/tile yards of which only one remains today on Stone
Road, DiGeronimo Aggregates.
Independence became a Village in April 1914, and a City in November 1960. In
the early 1960′s, LTV Steel’s Technical Center became the first corporate office
to locate within the City. With the construction of the I-77 and I-480
interchange at Rockside Road, Independence became a strategic location for
growing and established businesses to occupy office space. Rockside Road
became home to more regional and national companies than any other suburb
in Greater Cleveland. As the business community grew, so, too, did
government. In 1982 a state-of-the-art City Hall, the beginning of a municipal
complex located on Brecksville Road, was dedicated.
Revenues from Rockside Road benefit the entire community.

City of Independence official website