This page contains a list of archival resources on local political history located in Archives and Special Collections of University Libraries. This includes information about personal papers of politicians and political figures from Akron/Summit County and the region, as well as collections of historical records of local political organizations. The list of collections includes title of the collection, date range of the materials, extent or size of the collection, record group/catalog number, and a brief description of the archival resources. More detailed information about these collections can be found in the finding aids, which can be accessed by clicking the title of the collection. Some of these resources have been digitized and can be accessed in our digital archives by clicking the appropriate links below. Original resources can be consulted by visiting Archives and Special Collections during our normal business hours.
Range: 1925 - 1990 Size: 65 cubic feet
Ray C. Bliss (1907-1981) was a long-time Republican politician from Akron, Ohio who served on the local, state, and national levels. As Chairman of the Republican National Committee he helped rebuild the Republican Party and helped Richard Nixon win the White House in 1968. The papers document the life and work of Ray Bliss and his wife, Ellen, as well as the Republican Party and political events including conventions and inaugurations. They include correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, campaign materials, artifacts, and memorabilia.
Range: 1976 - 1979 Size: 0.25 cubic feet Record Group: 99/143
The Citizens for a County Charter was a bi-partisan, twenty-five member committee formed in 1979 to draft a charter for Summit County, Ohio and place it on the November ballot that year. Known as Issue 2, it passed on November 6, 1979 and went into effect on January 1, 1981. The records include materials pertaining to various aspects of the 1979 campaign for the adoption of a Summit County Charter including proposals, publicity, campaign plans, and correspondence.
Range: 1954 - 1979 Size: 116 cubic feet Record Group: 99/77
John S. Ballard (1922-2012), a Republican attorney from Akron, Ohio, served as Mayor of the City of Akron from 1966 through 1979. During his administration he battled intercity decay, loss of industry, unemployment, and migration of residents and retail to the suburbs with urban renewal and revitalization of the downtown area. The records from Ballard’s administration include subject files, scrapbooks, and legal records documenting his administration as well as information on boards and commissions, urban aid programs, and civil disturbances of the late 1960s.
Range: 1979 - 1984 Size: 19.25 cubic feet Record Group: 99/120
Roy L. Ray (b. 1939), a Republican politician from Akron, Ohio, served as Mayor of the City of Akron from 1980 through 1983. During his administration he oversaw management of the city’s finances during the recession of the 1980s and economic development in downtown Akron. The records from Ray’s administration include correspondence and subject files documenting the activities and plans of his administration, including economic development, union negotiations, and unemployment.
Range: 1983 - 1986 Size: 20.35 cubic feet Record Group: 99/122
Thomas C. Sawyer (b. 1945), a Democratic politician from Akron, Ohio, served as Mayor of the City of Akron, Ohio from 1984 to 1986. During his administration he oversaw the balancing of the city budget, improved delivery of municipal services, redirected the course for the city’s growth by supporting research and development in the global rubber industry, and elevated the role of polymers in the economic future of Akron and Northeastern Ohio. The records from Sawyer’s administration include subject files, correspondence, budget and development plans, and department reports.
Range: 1950 - 1973 Size: 3 cubic feet Record Group: 99/113
Catherine R. Dobbs was an Ohio State Senator from 1949-1950 and the Mayor of the city of Barberton, Ohio from 1956-1961. Her papers contain correspondence, speeches, lectures, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials from her service in the Ohio legislature as well as her time as Mayor of Barberton. The papers also include various materials associated with her political and social activities after leaving office.
Range: 1982 - 2004 Size: 0.5 cubic feet Record Group: 99/251
Thomas D. “Thom” Gradisher, a University of Akron alumnus, was a United States diplomat who worked for the State Department from 1984 until 2004. He worked in Foreign Service, as Desk Officer in Washington, D.C., and as a Public Affairs Coordinator. His journals and travel books document his travels and work for the State Department.
Range: 1939 - 1955 Size: 42 cubic feet
Walter B. Huber (1903-1982) was a Democratic United States Representative from Akron, Ohio who served in Congress from 1945 until 1951. His papers include correspondence, annual reports, Congressional Directories, copies of the Congressional Record, and political convention proceedings.
Range: 1920 - 1979 Size: 4.25 cubic feet Record Group: 99/148
The League of Women Voters is an American civic organization that was formed in 1920 to help women take a larger role in public affairs as they won the right to vote. The Canton, Ohio chapter was established in 1920 and is one of the oldest in the nation. The records include meeting minutes, financial reports, correspondence, program information, publications, and organization reports from the local, state, and national level that document the history of the organization.
Range: 1940 - 1974 Size: 11 cubic feet Record Group: 99/151
The League of Women Voters is a bi-partisan American civic organization that was formed in 1920 to help women take a larger role in public affairs as they won the right to vote. The League of Women Voters of Akron was established in 1940 and combined with the Cuyahoga Falls and Stow, Ohio chapters in 1978 to form the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area (LWVAA). The records include meeting minutes, financial statements, correspondence, reports, program information, scrapbooks, news clippings, and publications that document the history of the organization.
Range: 1928 - 2000 Size: 6 cubic feet Record Group: 99/176
The Frances McGovern Collection consists primarily of material relating to her activities with the Akron Area Chamber of Commerce Committee on Urban Services, the Little Hoover Commission, and the Summit County Charter Commission. Materials include reports, correspondence, notes, and information on the Summit County Charter commission. Also included are books and pamphlets.
Range: 1966 - 1992 Size: 2.33 cubic feet Record Group: 99/88
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American activist organization founded in 1966 that promotes equal rights for women. The Akron Chapter was organized in 1971 to further the national organization’s goals in the Akron area, especially through gender neutrality in employment advertisements, passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, repeal of abortion laws, and an increase in the number of women elected to political office. The records include bylaws, meeting minutes, membership lists, newsletters, program files, correspondence, and materials relating to Ohio and National organizations.
Range: 1996 - 2006 Size: 1.0
Loretta Neumann of Washington, D.C. served as legislative assistant to Congressman John F. Seiberling of Akron, Ohio from 1973 to 1987. Her oral history interviews include 14 cassette tapes and transcriptions of interviews she conducted with Congressman Seiberling and his colleagues and members of his staff and family.
Range: 1978 - 1995 Size: 3.0 cubic feet Record Group: 99/121
Roy L. Ray was a politician and public servant from Akron, Ohio who served as Deputy Service Director in 1971, Public Utilities Commissioner in 1973, Budget Director in 1975, and Finance Director in 1977. He served as Mayor of Akron from 1980 through 1983 and Ohio State Senator from 1987 to 2001. His papers consist of campaign records for both of his mayoral campaigns, materials from his time as mayor, correspondence during his time as an Ohio State Senator, and diplomas, certificates, and memorabilia.
Range: 1877 - 1953 Size: 5.3 cubic feet Record Group: 99/138
William T. Sawyer was a lawyer, real estate developer, and Democratic politician from Summit County, Ohio who served as Mayor of Akron in the early 1900s. The papers consist of correspondence, travel accounts, photographs, genealogies and miscellaneous material concerning Sawyer's personal life, professional life, and family.
Range: 1937 - 1995 Size: 650 cubic feet
John F. Seiberling, Jr. (1918-2008) was the grandson of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company co-founder F.A. Seiberling and a Democratic congressman representing Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, based in Akron, Ohio. He helped establish the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and served on the House Judiciary Committee that held the impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. His papers document his congressional activities and include correspondence, legislation drafts, reports, newspaper clippings, artifacts, and materials relating to bills before Congress. Subjects include the Nixon impeachment hearings, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Alaska lands, strip and surface mining, and public lands issues.
Range: 1974 - 1976 Size: 18 cubic feet
Paul Wingard is a Republican politician from Stow, Ohio who served for two-years in the Ohio Legislature in the 1970s. His papers contain materials from his terms in the legislature including committee proceedings, legislation, and general correspondence.