NEWTON FALLS — The village’s downtown business district has been approved for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tom Colosimo, a local businessman who owns Fieldview Acres Mercantile, said the registry recognizes both sides of Broad Street from Canal Street to Center Street, Chase Bank east to Newton Falls Christian Church, and includes 20 buildings, some from the 1800s that are small businesses and corner park areas.

The registry is overseen by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Services.

Colosimo, who filled out the paperwork for inclusion in the registry, said he received word in July from Ohio’s History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office that the recognition helps businesses with tax incentives and tax breaks, with grants being available for businesses.

“Many of the business owners are seeking grants to fix up their buildings. The bricks on the building need to be fixed up,” he said.

Colosimo said it was a three-year process to fill out and submit forms with revisions and additions including addition of information about the May 31, 1985, tornado that damaged many of downtown businesses.

He said Connie Talcott assisted him with the application process. Colosimo said Abby Marshall, the survey and national register manager for inventory and registration for the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection, helped “bring this to the finish line.”

Colosimo said he and others spent time researching the history of the downtown buildings.

Newton Falls interim village manager Jamie Vernaccini and Councilwoman Julie Stimpert are working on getting signs posted to let the public know of the historic district designation.

Vernaccini said plans are being made for a large permanent marker to be placed in the downtown area.

“This is a nice designation for the businesses to have. Tom worked very hard to get the designation for that area” Vernaccini said.

The historic district includes a Masonic building, an AMVETS building, a church, and numerous stores and businesses.

BUSINESS OWNERS

Local business owners anticipate the listing could draw visitors to the village interested in historic sites.

Pam Talanca, owner of Broad Street Vintage and four of the buildings in the historic district, said people want places to visit that are interesting to them.

“I have people from out of town come here and say how nice everything is and interesting. People like to visit new places,” Talanca said.

She said her husband’s family started a bakery in the downtown area.

“It has been a long process to receive the designation,” she said.

“Tom has had to put together pictures, documents and so much information to submit. The village has the covered bridge and so many historic older homes and places in town having the designation is a plus. It is great to be able to keep history alive,” Talanca said.

The village’s downtown brings in visitors for the annual Autumn in the Falls, Christmas tree lighting and downtown scavenger hunt.

Lily McGinnis, owner of Broken Leaf Cafe, said many people comment to her they like “the small town feeling.”

Sheila Hoffaker, who is McGinnis’ mother, said the inclusion of the downtown area in the registry is great.

“We hope it will bring more people to the village and the businesses. We would like to have more visitors,” she said.

Hoffaker said there used to be a bakery called Albert’s Bakery and was known for its bakery-style pizza that was popular with the high school students who left school and came over to the business for lunch.

She said Broken Leaf Cafe makes that pizza which is nostalgic for anyone who graduated from the late 1960s to mid 1980s.

“This historic district has many different types of shops and a beautiful alley. The covered bridge and the falls are also nearby for people who visit the town. Everything is within a short walking distance. I would love to see this village become a tourist stop and people bused here like Middlefield does,” Hoffaker said.

Members of city council have said the designation will help preserve the village’s historic appearance and attract federal grant money for building improvements.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official federal list of sites worthy of preservation, administered by the National Park Service, aiming to identify and protect historical and archaeological resources across the country.

The downtown historic district is the third place in Newton Falls to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other two are the covered bridge and the former USO Center in the park.