Among the early attorneys in Cuyahoga Falls were Samuel W. McClure (afterwards Judge of the Court of Common Pleas), Virgil P. Kline, and Henry McKinney.
McClure was the elder attorney; and both McKinney and Kline read law with him. Kline was employed as superintendent of schools, and while acting as superintendent of the schools, he studied law. He then moved to Cleveland and became the personal attorney for John D. Rockefeller and for the Standard Oil Company. Later on, McKinney moved to Cleveland as well, and became judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County. All three of these men were known as ‘brilliant lawyers’.
An interesting story is told about Samuel W. McClure. In the early days of his practice he had a young fellow as a client. The man had been arrested and his bond was set at $300. McClure signed it for him. The young man had a tract of wild land in Michigan which he deeded to McClure to cover liability on the bond. The man fled the country and then died. McClure paid the bond, and paid taxes on this land for a number of years. Finally he received a letter from a party wanting to buy this land. He said nothing about it, but thought if somebody wanted to buy it, he had better investigate. He went to Michigan, and found that two railroads had been constructed which crossed each other right at the corner of this land, and that a town was springing up at this point. McClure laid out this land into lots and put them on the market. It is said that the sale of these lots netted him a large sum.
*The old McClure home in Akron was located on East Market Street.
