Leatherworks hides no more | News, Sports, Jobs

Submitted photo
Employees of the former Ohio Leathworks in Girard work inside the factory. The photo is among those displayed at the Girard Free Library.

GIRARD — The Girard Free Library is showcasing the Ohio Leatherworks history with a display of drawings, photographs and memorabilia from the former local business.

Library Director Pam Saganich, who became director in June 2021 after Rose Ann Lubert retired, said the library has been collaborating with organizations and groups, including the city.

Saganich said while the city is having the Ohio Leatherworks property revitalized, working with Brownfield Restoration Group LLC of Akron and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Mayor Jim Melfi asked if the public documents for the project could be available at the library.

She said the city will have a public meeting in the future on the project — but any information on the project and the history of the Ohio Leatherworks is at the library.

“All the documents for the project are here if anyone wants to see them. We decided that our display cases at the entrance would show historical photos of the Ohio Leatherworks and also drawings of the park the city would like to have there,” Saganich said.

The display includes some of the leather products made at the Ohio Leatherworks.

WHAT’S COMING

“What better place than the public library to showcase the history of the Ohio Leatherworks and what the city is planning there. The library is the ideal place for the information on the project to be,” Melfi said.

City officials have discussed a bike trail and park on the property once it is cleaned for walking, biking and viewing areas for wetlands and wildlife.

Melfi said work at the site includes taking down some trees. He said soil remediation and cleanup will be done next. Two man-made earthen ponds on the property contain tannery products that need to be removed.

BIG EMPLOYER

The mayor said the Ohio Leatherworks at one time employed hundreds of local residents.

Animal hides were tanned, dyed and tempered with chemicals to make them softer and pliable. Only a few remnants of the factory remain, along with piles of gravel and dirt.

“Quality leather products were made there. It was a major employer in the city,” he said.

The old Leatherworks property off North State Street closed in 1969. Mefli said people worked at the Ohio Leatherworks since 1900.

Last year, Girard learned it will receive a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant from the brownfields program to clean factory land, including the soil contaminated during the leather-making process.

The grant will be used for the cleanup as well as for supporting community outreach activities.

Melfi said the goal is to bring the original 27 acres back to public use.

Drawings in the display at the library show a picnic area with a walking and biking path and a bridge leading across the Mahoning River.