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The Dayton and Michigan Railroad provided the single most important impetus to the growth and development of Wapakoneta. Although Wapakoneta had been platted in 1833, at the time of incorporation (1848), “the town was still without any material improvement worth the name of enterprise, save in the erection of residences and opening of small retail stores and shops.” On March 15, 1854, in its first ordinance, the village council of Wapakoneta voted unanimously to grant a right-of-way to the Dayton and Michigan Railroad Company to construct a railroad line through the community. The financial backers of the railroad ran short of funds during construction, and planned to end the line at Sidney, but local leaders raised $70,000 to ensure its extension. (Continued on other side)
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Lancaster’s native son, Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, was a four-star military genius. He played a major role in the Union victory during the Civil War as a brilliant commander and grand strategist who revolutionized war by incorporating psychological and economic warfare into his military tactics, culminating with the famous “March to the Sea” through Georgia. In retrospect, he declared “War is Hell.” Honoring an allegiance to the United States Constitution, he fought to preserve the Union. His self-written epitaph was “Faithful and Honorable.”
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The Temple of Rumley Church is of one of two remaining buildings in what once was Rumley, a thriving African American community in Shelby County. On May 19, 1837, the village was surveyed for Amos Evans, who built his hewed log dwelling and store. Brothers Joel and George Goings (aka. Goens), freed black men from Monongalia County, Virginia, purchased 80 acres of land that same year. They settled with their families near Rumley in Van Buren Township along with other free men and women of color, including former slaves. Joel Goings erected the first brick house in 1841, using bricks from his own brickyard. By 1846, the Rumley community stretched over 7,000 acres and included the Collins, Redman, Williams, Davis, Lett, and Brown families. (Continued on other side)
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This Little Red Schoolhouse served children from Berea, Brookpark, and Middleburg township. The first mayor and council of Middleburgh Heights were elected here. During its colorful history, the schoolhouse has been a City Hall where town meetings were held, a speak-easy, a railroad way station, and a private residence.
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The first road to traverse Sandusky County through the Black Swamp was little more than a muddy path connecting Lower Sandusky (Fremont( and Perrysburg with Woodville. The arduous task of clearing the 120-foot-wide road through the swampy forest was completed within four years. By 1842, the work of stoning the road and draining adjacent lands was completed. Tolls were collected to maintain the road, and it became known as the Maumee and Western Reserve Turnpike. After 1888 it became a toll-free road and today is State Route 20.
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Campbell Hill is named for Charles D. Campbell of Bellefontaine, who owned this land from 1898 to 1937. A marble stone marker atop the hill, set in 1900 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, marks it as the highest point in Ohio at an elevation of 1549.09 feet. In 1951, the federal government established the 664th Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) Squadron here as part of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). Its military and civilian operators used sophisticated radar and computer equipment to locate and identify aircraft as friendly or suspicious, and relayed information to a central site in Battle Creek, Michigan. This Cold War site operated until 1969. It was converted to civilian use as a vocational education center in 1974.
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Newark’s first hospital opened on this site in January 1898. In 1906, the building was moved to 22 Wyoming and attached to an existing structure, creating a 22-bed hospital. In December 1914, a new hospital opened at the corners of Everett and Buena Vista. Licking Memorial Hospital on West Main Street began operation on July 6, 1966.
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New Rochester was platted in 1835 in an area recognized as a vital transportation hub through the Great Black Swamp. The 18-acre plat was situated on a high bluff overlooking the Maumee River. A 2009 archaeological survey discovered stone tools and evidence of 4,000 years of habitation. When Paulding County was organized in March 1839, New Rochester was designated as its county seat. On November 21, 1839, three associate judges of the common pleas court appointed a clerk pro tem and sheriff. As no courthouse was built by April 1840, the court convened in a room above H.N. Curtis’s General Store. At that time, New Rochester was a flourishing village with thirty to forty families, three hotels, three stores, two blacksmiths, a post office, a school, and three taverns. (Continued on other side)