Legend holds that Mogadore's first settler, Ariel Bradley, served as a spy for George Washington in October 1776 when, at nine years old, he crossed British lines on a supposed errand to the nearest grist mill and returned with troop positions and tent counts. In 1801, Ariel left Connecticut for what would become Ohio, and in 1807 he built a log cabin on a 146 acre farm bought for $335. The community was known as Bradleyville until 1825, when Ariel refused to have it named for him and, during the raising of Martin Kent's residence, the sailor John Robinson climbed atop the framework, broke a flask of whiskey on the final beam, and shouted "Three cheers for Mogador," after the large city in Morocco, giving the place the name Mogadore. Early prosperity grew from abundant water that powered local mills producing flour, carding, cider, and lumber, along with tanning, barrel making, and wheelwright and millwright work. After clay was discovered in 1828, mining expanded and as many as twenty-one potteries around the community produced millions of pieces of stoneware shipped across the country through the Erie Canal in Akron, while clay also went as far as Canada for manufacture elsewhere; paving bricks and sewer pipes were also made in the area. To preserve this history, the Mogadore Historical Society was founded in the 1930s, and in 1983 the Mills-Kreiner House and the Norfolk and Western Railroad depot were moved to the present site with the help of grants and fundraisers, where many items from Mogadore's past, including clay pieces, are kept.