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Nicknamed “Dutchtown” for the many German families that settled in this area, New Washington was platted in 1833 by George Washington Meyers, who arrived in Cranberry Township in 1826. Prominent Austrian romantic poet Nicholas Lenau (1802-1850), author of “Faust” and “Don Juan,” owned property here in the 1830s. The village incorporated in 1874, shortly following the arrival of the Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Erie Railroad. New Washington is a pioneer in the commercial poultry hatchery industry and initiated the shipment of baby chicks by rail in 1900.
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Just after 5:00 P.M on June 28, 1924, a tornado swept off Lake Erie directly into downtown Lorain. Within five minutes, seventy-eight people lost their lives. Fifteen died in the old State Theatre that stood upon this site, as an audience of two hundred watched a Saturday afternoon musical performance. More than one thousand suffered injuries. The tornado did extensive damage to the business district, destroyed 500 homes, and damaged a thousand more. The city’s largest industry, the American Shipbuilding yards, was severely damaged. The tornado, which had hit Sandusky before striking Lorain, continued along the shoreline and struck Sheffield and Avon minutes later. Contemporary accounts listed eighty-two deaths resulting from the deadliest tornado in Ohio’s history.
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The advancing and retreating mile-high glacial sheet of ice and snow shaped the countryside around this area. As the last of the ice masses melted, a great swamp developed, punctuated by towering white pines, bogs, and wetlands, fed by the Shenango and Beaver rivers. Abundant wildlife drew prehistoric and later historic Native Americans into the area where they lived and hunted for thousands of years. Indian legend has it that the name Pymatuning means “The Crooked-Mouthed Man’s Dwelling Place,” referring to a Native American chief who once resided in the area. European trappers came to these swamp lands in the 1700s in search of beaver and other fur-bearing animals. Pioneer farmers and lumbermen came to the area after 1800, but settlement in the swamp was slow and difficult. Eventually much of the area was cultivated in onions and other root crops. (continued on other side)
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The Hopewell Furnace, constructed by Daniel and James Eaton in 1802, began operation in 1803. This blast furnace, the first in Ohio and one of the first west of the Allegheny Mountains, marked the beginning of the iron and steel industry in the Mahoning Valley. The Eaton brothers operated the furnace until 1808, producing approximately two tons of iron per day. Archaeological and metallurgical investigations suggest the furnace is the earliest in North America known to have used a combination of bituminous coal and charcoal for fuel in iron making.
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With ready access to raw materials, fuel, skilled labor, and transportation, the Ohio Valley became the center of the American glass industry during the late 1800s. Among dozens of local manufacturers, the Imperial Glass Company, founded in 1901 by river man and financier Edward Muhleman, first made glass in 1904 and distinguished itself for mass production of attractive and affordable pressed glass tableware using continuous-feed melting tanks. One of the largest American handmade glass manufacturers during the 20th century, Imperial also produced blown glass, several lines of art glass, and its trademark “Candlewick” pattern. Bellaire’s glassmaking era ended when the “Big I” closed its doors in 1984, and the building was razed in 1995. Its diverse products remain highly prized by glass collectors.
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The Bremen Oil Boom commenced in 1907-’08 and the town became a center in the region’s petroleum industry. The area was a forest of oil derricks. From this point south, it was said that one could go down Broad Street from derrick to derrick and not touch the ground. A reconstructed derrick, erected to commemorate Bremen’s sesquicentennial in 1984, may be seen in Howell Park directly east of this marker.
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Granville T. Woods was a pivotal African American inventor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Woods’ invention of the telegraph device that enabled railway companies to know the location of each of their trains. This new technology greatly enhanced train scheduling and reduced the frequency of fatal collisions throughout the railway industry. From 1878 through 1880 Woods was a railroad locomotive engineer employeed by the Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy Railroad Company and later by the Dayton and Southeastern Railroad. With frequent stops in Washington Courthouse and extensive leisure time, Woods learned telegraphy from a local telegraph operator. (Continued on other side)
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The first railroad to operate west of the Allegheny Mountains was Toledo’s colorful “Erie and Kalamazoo.” Begun in 1832, the line was completed by 1836. Its rails were made of oak topped with thin iron strips. Horses pulled small railcars the 30 miles between Toledo and Adrian, Michigan. In July, 1837, a steam locomotive replaced the horses.
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