The original Cuyahoga Falls Band, organized in 1834, was the very first brass band in northern Ohio. The original members of this band were: Henry W. Bill, Elisha N. Sill, Charles W. Wetmore, Theodore R. Butler, Charles C. Bronson, Cyrus C. Wilcox, Livy L. Wilcox, John H. Brainard, Reuben Upson, Lyman Sperry, Horace Y. Beebe, Charles Thornburg, Israel James and the band leader Mr. Bill.
The band was well known throughout Ohio and was called to help celebrate Cleveland’s 4th of July in 1835. They also joined in the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal opening celebration in 1840 and a concert in Massillon. In order to be allowed the honor of being in the band you had to practice temperance.
In 1858 leadership changed over to Ethelbert Sill and became dubbed as “Sill’s Band”. It became the Cuyahoga Falls Brass Band in 1885 when James Brown became the leader and all the while the band was still a ‘first-class organization.
In later the Cuyahoga Falls Brass Band became known as The Falls Rivet & Machine Company Band in honor of its sponsor. The Falls Rivet & Machine Company, located at corner of Portage & RR Crossing, was only in Cuyahoga Falls until 1910. But the Cuyahoga Falls Band lived on…
The band was a local fixture here for over a hundred years and during most of that time a band stand was used as their headquarters. The grandstand was built in the northwest corner of the Church Park. This grandstand was hexagonal in shape and two stories high. It had a roof but was open on all sides. The band performed on the top floor which was reached by an outside stairway. A railing ran all the way around. The lower floor was enclosed and used as a voting booth for many years. Free band concerts were held on Sunday afternoons during the summer months. Fallsites relaxed on the grass or roamed about meeting and greeting. Children ran about and played among school friends. Life was more serene in the days of the bandstand.
