photo courtesy of Summit Memory/Akron-Summit County Public Library
Barberton, 1898
Fifteen thousand years ago, a great glacier made a depression in land and a final piece melted, leaving behind a circular kettle lake. The 10-acre lake was called Davis-Way Pond, after two early settlers, and it was later officially named Lake Anna in the 1890s after Diamond Match Co. owner and Barberton founder O.C. Barber’s daughter. Barberton was designed around the 35-foot-deep lake fed by a series of freshwater underground springs. Today, Lake Anna is a pleasant place to enjoy a scenic picnic, fishing or a nearly half-mile walk around the lake. It’s the city’s gathering place for events such as the Barberton Mum Festival Sept. 23 and 24, which features a water ski show and canoe races across the lake.
