The Triangle, one of Berea’s most historic places, has stood at the center of the city’s civic life since the mid-19th century. Beneath it lie the solid layers of famous Berea Sandstone that brought prosperity to Berea in its early years. Quarry owner and Berea Seminary founder John Baldwin obtained much of what is now Berea from Gideon Granger, Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson and original owner of Township 6, Range 14, later Middleburg Township, of the Western Reserve. In 1847, when the seminary trustees transferred the Triangle tract to the people of Berea, they designated it by deed as a public promenade, a farsighted stipulation that preserved it from commercial development during the 20th century. Over the years, the Triangle served many purposes, and its appearance changed frequently as Berea’s business district grew around it. Through the 1800s it functioned as a market for area farmers, and a bandstand, removed in 1931, hosted politicians, brass bands, and Civil War recruiters. The town pump and watering trough stood on the southeast angle of the Triangle until 1924. Its monuments honor the sacrifices of Bereans who served in the nation’s wars. As interurban trolley lines and later automobiles brought commerce to downtown Berea from outlying areas, the Triangle’s landscape reflected the social changes in the surrounding city. Beautification and urban renewal initiatives brought major projects there in 1954, 1968, and 2000, helping it continue to fulfill its original purpose.