North Ridgeville – Town of Ridges, Then and Now

Courtesy North Ridgeville Historical Society, northridgevillehistoricalsociety.com

Maddock Road

Joseph Maddock came to this country from Northhamptonshire, England in 1857, accompanied by his parents, Nehemiah and Mary Ann and other siblings. He spent four years in Avon and Sheffield, until the call of the Civil War came and in 1861 he volunteered in the 2nd Regiment of the Ohio Cavalry. In September of 1864 he was wounded by a gunshot to his thigh, which he described in a letter home as a “only a flesh wound”, and he was able to return to his unit to finish out the war. He married Sarah Ann Savage at her home in Sheffield and they lived in Avon until moving to Ridgeville in 1871 on a street that would become Maddock Road. He died in 1908, but the Maddock family continued to occupy many acres on Maddock Rd.

George, one of Joseph’s nephews, became a longtime farmer on Maddock Road and was, at one time, considered the oldest person in town. George was born in a frame dwelling in Ridgeville and lived here most of his life. In his youth he attended the one-room schoolhouse on the western end of Center Ridge until it burned from a fire and then classes were moved to the Town Hall until repairs could be made. He became a founding member of the North Ridgeville Grange and lived long enough to receive a 50 year Golden Sheaf award from the group.

A 1954 Chronicle news article reported that George Maddock, aged 94, will see trees he planted cut down to make way for the Ohio Turnpike. He and his father, John, had planted the trees in the late 1800s, when they uncovered a field mouse’s nest full of acorns that had sprouted. The trees were planted along both Maddock Road and Center Ridge the article states.

George died later that year, at the age of 94- having lived all but two years of his life in Ridgeville, and most of it on the street bearing his family name.

Descendants of the first Maddocks to arrive in this country have spread countywide and nationwide, but to this day some of the family remains in Ridgeville.

Otten Road

Otten Road was named for the Otten family. Mathias Otten was born in Prussia in 1818. His wife Maria was born there as well and they came to America and by 1850 were settled in Avon. They had a son, Mathias J. and he was able to acquire land in Ridgeville Twp. in 1849 and had many acres of land on what would become Otten Rd. Along with his wife, Theresa, they built a house on their land. Their children spread around the area- some moving to Michigan. Their son George was born here in Ridgeville, acquired land and became a farmer on Otten Rd. He married Emma Barres, who was most likely a neighbor and in 1880 their farm reportedly had 80 acres tilled, 8 acres forest, two horses, nine cows, fourteen sheep, and forty chickens. He claimed the farm produced 320 dozen eggs in 1879, 70 bushels of Irish potatoes, and he had cut 8 cords of wood.

The Otten house was a beautiful farmhouse on the west side of the road. It was designated a century home, but sadly burned in 2009.

We don’t know much about the life of the family members, but George moved to Lakewood in his later years, haven given up farming. He reportedly still enjoyed gardening, and he died in 1945. Many of the Otten family are buried in the St. Peter Cemetery.

To be continued in next month’s North Ridgeville Review.