John Young and his surveying team arrived in the Mahoning River Valley on June 27, 1796, in the area known today as Spring Commons. Young purchased a 15,560-acre township from the Western Reserve Land Company of Connecticut on February 9, 1797, establishing "John Young's Town." With the discovery of iron ore, coal and limestone in the area, an early iron industry flourished. The completion of the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal in 1840, followed by railroads in the 1850s, allowed Youngstown to grow as an industrial center. In 1862, during the Civil War, Ohioans elected Youngstown resident David Tod as Governor. As railroads continued to develop throughout the 1800s, Youngstown became an important industrial and population center, and the county seat moved from Canfield to Youngstown in 1876. The first steel mills were constructed in the 1890s, attracting thousands to the area for work, while city leaders and the booming population confronted issues such as pollution, housing and public transportation. Inspired by the belief that fresh air and natural areas could improve residents' lives, local attorney Volney Rogers established Mill Creek Park in 1891, the first park district in Ohio, and electric streetcar lines installed the same year improved connectivity and encouraged neighborhood development beyond the central city. In 1908, the Youngstown YMCA established a College of Law that grew into what is now Youngstown State University. By the 1920s, Youngstown was one of the top producers of steel in the world, and the city reached its peak population of 170,000 in 1930. The city thrived during World War II and the Korean War as demand for steel soared, and post-war demand for automobiles, appliances and home construction kept production high. Population decline and the near-total collapse of the local steel industry began in the 1960s, and Youngstown suffered significantly through the last three decades of the 20th century, though in recent years it has laid a foundation for a more productive future.