Remarkable Ohio

Counties

Below is a complete listing of all Ohio Historical Markers. To find a detailed marker listing including text, photographs, and locations, click on a county below. Our listing is updated by the markers program as new markers are installed and older markers are reported damaged or missing.

10-87 North Baltimore / Community Firsts

Side A: Located in southern Wood County, the village of New Baltimore was founded in 1860, with the first plat of twenty-nine acres recorded by B.L. Peters in 1873. Official incorporation occurred February 7, 1876, with the name being changed to North Baltimore in 1880. The town flourished owing to the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, from which the town took its name, and the discovery of rich oil and gas deposits in 1886. First settlers included: Jacob Dirk, George Franks, Levi A. Tarr, and B.L. Peters. The population of the village grew from 700 in 1880 to 2,857 in 1890. One of the first buildings, which was erected in 1860, served as a school and meeting hall and was located on the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets. This area, then known as “The Great Black Swamp,” had given birth to a thriving town.
Side B: 1812 General Hull’s army marched along Rocky Ford Creek at the southeast edge of town on their way to Detroit; 1834 Beeson Gristmill established along Rocky Ford Creek, north of E. Broadway; 1874 First post office opened, Lincoln P. Hudson, postmaster; 1875 First newspaper, The New Baltimore Enterprise, founded by B.L. and D.E. Peters; 1876 B.L. Peters elected first mayor; 1884 Henry’s Opera House, 129 N. Main Street, dedicated by Dr. A.G. Henry; 1886 First oil well struck; First gas well established; 1888 People’s Bank organized, closed in 1894, purchased by Hardy Banking Co., 1896; 1888 Central Pressed Brick Co. opened, producing 8,000,000 bricks annually; 1888 Zihlman Glass Company opened, making 1,000 drinking glasses a day; 1890 City Hall built at 205 N. Main Street. cost $5,925, razed May 1985; 1890-91 North Baltimore Electric Company founded at 115 W. State Street by Dr. Henry; 1902 Toledo, Bowling Green & Southern Electric Interurban (streetcar) Line completed, later abandoned in 1930
Sponsors: Village of North Baltimore and The Ohio Historical Society
Address: 230 N. Main Street, 
North Baltimore, 
OH, 
45872
Location: North Baltimore Public Library, 230 North Main Street
Latitude: 41.1837630
Longitude: -83.6782190