Ford, Horatio, 1881-1952.

The Eastern Ohio Traction Company, a Cleveland interurban railroad, was formed by the 1902 merger of the Cleveland and Eastern Railway Company, the Cleveland and Chagrin Falls Railway Company, and the Chagrin Falls and Eastern Railway Company. In 1910, the company was reorganized into two affiliated, yet separate companies, the Cleveland and Eastern Traction Company, which was abandoned in 1925, and the Cleveland, Youngstown and Eastern Railway Company, which became the Cleveland and Chagrin Falls Railway in 1915 and was then abandoned in 1925. Horatio Ford served on the board of several of these lines. Ohio was the heartland of the electric interurban railway early in the 20th century, with a 2,798 mile network. The electric carriers offered the public clean and convenient service, operating at greater frequency and dramatically lower costs vs. the steam railroad. The electric interurban was also an exceedingly attractive business venture.