Bedford Township, labeled "a most excellent township" by surveyors of the Western Reserve lands, had an abundance of hardwood forests, water for mill sites, and superb farmland. Transportation played a major role in its success when Bedford developed as a stagecoach stop along the trade route between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. When the railroad arrived, the township and the village at the center thrived. Industry giants include McMyler Interstate, the builder of the largest crane in the world, Taylor Chair Company, a chair maker since 1813, and Ben Venue Laboratories, a pioneer in the...