Formed 1840 from Portage, Medina & Stark counties · county seat Akron. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.
Short episodes that walk through Summit County's records, one record type at a time.
Formation · Settlers & Migration · Probate · Land · Tax · Churches · Newspapers · Where to Look
Watch on YouTube209 S. High St., Akron, OH 44308 · (330) 643-2350
summitohioprobate.com — Genealogy & Records
Estate and guardianship records; marriage records 1840–1980 (index via email request). Post-1980 records searchable through the court's online Case Records Search.
175 S. Main St., 4th Floor, Akron, OH 44308 · (330) 643-2712
fiscaloffice.summitoh.net — Recorder Division
Deeds, mortgages, liens, and other real-property recordings; the standalone Recorder's Office was merged into the county Fiscal Office.
The Ohio Building may have construction-related disruptions through late 2026 — call ahead before visiting in person.
205 S. High Street, 1st Floor, Akron, OH 44308 · (330) 643-2211
Divorces, civil suits (including partition suits that divide land among heirs), and Common Pleas journals. Before 1852, this court also handled wills and estates.
175 S. Main Street, Akron, OH 44308 · (330) 643-2759
Current tax lists and property transfer records. Early tax duplicates are on FamilySearch and at the Ohio History Connection.
60 S. High St., Akron, OH 44326 (Main Library) · (330) 643-9030
akronlibrary.org — Special Collections
Genealogy and local-history materials for Summit County and neighboring states; census microfilm, Ohio death indexes (1908–1953), and the Summit County Historical Society's document and photograph collections.
PO Box 2232, Akron, OH 44309
Meets monthly, hybrid format, at the Akron-Summit County Public Library Main Library with an online option. Maintains its own library/databases and offers classes.
550 Copley Rd., Akron, OH 44320 · (330) 535-1120
A separate organization from the OGS chapter. Its documents and photographs are physically housed at the library's Special Collections above, so contact the library to access those materials.
Fairway Center, 1867 W. Market St., Akron, OH 44313 · (330) 812-3845
scph.org — Birth & Death Records
Certified birth and death certificates for anyone born or died in Ohio, 1909–present — a full-service local vital records office. Walk-in/same-day service available.
Not sure which office has what? See Which County Office Holds What.
Many Summit County record books are filmed and free to view at FamilySearch (free account required).
In Full-Text Search, add Summit County, Ohio as the place to find names inside handwritten deeds, wills, and court books. How to use it.
Summit County was formed in 1840 from Portage, Medina, and Stark Counties. For records made before then, search the parent counties:
Part of Summit County lies in the Connecticut Western Reserve, land Connecticut kept when it gave up its western claims, sold privately through the Connecticut Land Company. There are no federal land patents here, so start with the earliest deeds at the county Recorder (or the parent county's Recorder).
Other parts of the county were federal Congress Lands or smaller special tracts. Where land was sold by the federal government, the first purchase appears as a federal patent.
Titles that covered Summit County, historic and current, with where to search each one. Not every historic title has been digitized — several survive only on microfilm.
| Title | Years | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Summit Beacon / Summit County Beacon | 1839-1910 (merged into Akron Beacon Journal, 1897) | Chronicling America (1857-1910) |
| Akron Beacon Journal | 1897-present | Chronicling America (1903-1922); Summit Memory (ASCPL); Newspapers.com |
| Akron Evening Journal | 1896-1897 | Microfilm only — Akron-Summit County Public Library |
| Akron Times-Press | 1927-1938 | Chronicling America (full run digitized) |
| Cuyahoga Falls News | Late 1800s-1900s | Microfilm only — Cuyahoga Falls Library / ASCPL Special Collections |
| Barberton Herald | 1917-late 20th century | Microfilm only — Barberton Public Library |
Fill in what you're looking for, print it, and take it with you to the courthouse or library.
Brick Walls & Buckeyes
brickwallsbuckeyes.com · Summit County, Ohio
Addresses and links last checked October 2026.
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