Root Homestead & A. I. Root (1839-1923)

The Root Homestead was built in 1879 by Amos Ives Root, founder of the A. I. Root Company, shortly after he moved his business from the town square. The homestead housed several generations of the Root family until 1953 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. A pioneer of the beekeeping industry, Root helped to standardize such beekeeping equipment and tools as the Langstroth removable frame hive and the centrifugal honey extractor. As a result, beekeepers were able to harvest more honey every season without harming the bees. A prolific author and publisher, Root educated beekeepers across the globe and built a sense of community within the profession. (Continued on other side)

[Side B]: (Continued from other side) A. I. Root was interested in science, philanthropy, and religion throughout his life. At the age of 18, he traveled the Ohio countryside teaching the wonders of electricity. He later put that knowledge into his many inventions. Friends with Orville and Wilbur Wright, Root witnessed their 1904 first circular flight at Huffman Prairie and published an eyewitness account of that flight in his magazine, Gleanings in Bee Culture. He supported organizations dedicated to improving education and treasured an 1891 letter from Helen Keller thanking him for money to improve the education of the blind and deaf. Root served as a Deacon at the Medina Congregational Church and established several Sunday school programs in the area.