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Fostoria News Halloween-themed tower with glowing lights and a ghost, Fostoria skyline.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN #Fostoria! Did you know?

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That stone tower is the old Fostoria Water Works standpipe…

Fostoria History Series

Fostoria News: Row of men on bicycles and early motorcycles in front of The Bike Shop of F.A. Copley, Fostoria, Ohio, early 1900s

FOSTORIA | The Bike Shop: Frank Copley, Fostoria’s Bicycle Clubs and the First Motorcycles

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Before Fostoria built cars, it rode bicycles. A look at the Fostoria Bicycle Club, the high-wheel Harrison and Morton club, and Frank Copley's Bike Shop on East Center Street, where riders on early motorcycles once lined up at the curb.
Fostoria News: 1913 view of the Andes Block and Quinn Block at Main and Center streets in Fostoria, Ohio, with striped awnings over the storefronts

FOSTORIA | Awnings, Gas Lamps and 25-Cent Dinners: Fostoria’s Main Street Merchants, 1880s-1910s

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Grocers, butchers, cafes and a 25-cent dinner: a look at the storefronts that lined Main Street in Fostoria between the 1880s and the 1910s, from the 1878 Andes Block and its opera house to Rogers Restaurant.
Fostoria News: Early 1900s photo of Fostoria firefighters on two horse-drawn fire wagons, one pulled by a white team, in front of a brick firehouse on North Street

FOSTORIA | Steamers, Hose Carts and Fire Horses: The Fostoria Fire Department in the Horse Era

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An early-1900s photo of Fostoria firefighters and their horse teams outside the North Street firehouse opens a look at the department's horse-drawn years, from the 1872 Pioneer hand-engine company to steam pumpers and the building that became the Fostoria Museum.
Fostoria News: The American House, a two-story frame hotel on East Tiffin Street in Fostoria, Ohio, with its hanging sign, a Hotel $1 window sign and beer signs, early 1900s

FOSTORIA | The American House and the Taverns and Hotels of Early Fostoria

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From log inns in Rome and Risdon to the Hays House on Main Street, Fostoria has always had a place for travelers. A photo of the American House on East Tiffin Street opens a look at the town's early taverns and hotels.
Fostoria News: Crew of the Cunningham and Co. Spoke and Bending Works posed with bent wagon rims and stacked lumber in Fostoria, Ohio, in 1884

FOSTORIA | Spokes, Bows and Bent Rims: The Fostoria Spoke and Bending Works

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Before glass and cars, Fostoria made the wooden spokes, bent rims and buggy bows that kept America's wagons rolling. An 1884 photo of the Cunningham & Co. Spoke and Bending Works crew opens a look at the town's wagon-wood industry.
Fostoria News: 1903 newspaper clipping headlined HORRIBLE! Fostoria's Most Awful Tragedy, reporting eight bodies recovered after an explosion at a Fostoria cane factory

FOSTORIA | “Fostoria’s Most Awful Tragedy”: The 1903 Cane Factory Explosion

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On Feb. 16, 1903, an explosion and fire destroyed a small South Main Street factory that made the explosive for the Fox Magazine Cane. Eight people died in what the local paper called "Fostoria's most awful tragedy."
Fostoria News: Printed illustration of the John B. Rogers Producing Co. building, a long brick building with the company name across the front, on West Center Street in Fostoria, Ohio

FOSTORIA | John B. Rogers Producing Co.: The Fostoria Firm That Staged Pageants Across America

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From 1903 to 1977, the John B. Rogers Producing Co. sent directors, scripts and costumes from Fostoria to towns across America to stage home-talent shows and huge outdoor historical pageants. Here is the story of the firm and its West Center Street headquarters.
Fostoria News: Early 1900s postcard titled Panorama of Main St., Perry St. and Sandusky St., Fostoria, Ohio, showing brick buildings, an Oil Well Supply Co. sign, a mill and an unpaved street with rail tracks

FOSTORIA | Main, Perry and Sandusky: The City Mills and Downtown Fostoria at the Turn of the Century

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Where Main, Perry and Sandusky streets meet, an old postcard shows a dirt street, rail tracks, an Oil Well Supply Co. sign and a flour mill. Here is the story of Times Square, the Franke brothers' Fostoria City Mills and the Sandusky Street mill around 1900.
Fostoria News: Real-photo postcard of the Independent Tack Co. factory in Fostoria, Ohio, with smokestacks, a water tower and a round pond in the foreground

FOSTORIA | Independent Tack Co. and Seneca Wire: When Fostoria Made Tacks and Roofing Nails

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In 1905 Indiana machinist Emsley O. Grose brought his roofing-nail machine to Fostoria, where a 1908 history credits him with organizing Seneca Wire. His Independent Tack Co. later opened a Fostoria plant in 1915. Here is what the record shows, and what is still unknown.
Fostoria News: 1908 Halloween postcard showing two smiling jack-o-lanterns riding in the basket of a golden airship under a starry sky, with the greeting Wishing you a highly entertaining Halloween

FOSTORIA | Confetti, Not Cabbages: How Fostoria Pioneered the Municipal Halloween in 1915

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In 1915 the Fostoria YMCA staged the city's first municipal Halloween celebration, with a King Corn costume review, membership prizes and confetti handed out in place of cabbages. The Exchange Club took it over in 1922.
Fostoria News: Full-page 1915 advertisement for the Fostoria Light Car from the Automobile Trade Journal, with specifications and the address Alabama Ave., Fostoria, Ohio

FOSTORIA | The Fostoria Light Car: The “Surprise Car of 1916”

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In 1915 four Fostoria businessmen launched the Fostoria Light Car, a $675 touring car billed as "The Surprise Car of 1916." Bad engines sank it within about a year, but the company came back as the Seneca Motor Car Co. and shipped cars around the world until 1924.
Fostoria News: Period photo of a 1916 Allen Model 37 automobile

FOSTORIA | From Peabody Buggies to Allen Motor Cars: When Fostoria Built Automobiles

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The Allen brothers ran Fostoria's biggest buggy maker, the Peabody Buggy Co., then switched to automobiles in 1913. For six years Allen cars were built in four plants and tested on Wood Street. Here is the story, and what stands on those sites today.
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: A Brief History of Fostoria City Schools

A Brief History of Fostoria City Schools and Fostoria High School

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Log schoolhouses in Rome and Risdon, a four-room brick school after the 1854 merger, the 18-room Central School on High Street and the new junior-senior high that opened in 2020: here is how Fostoria's schools grew.
Fostoria News Fostoria historic churches and cemetery scene during autumn.

Fostoria’s Historic Churches and Cemeteries

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From a log Methodist church on Portage Creek in 1833 to St. Wendelin's first Mass in a log cabin and the fountains and Doughboy of Fountain Cemetery, here is how Fostoria's oldest congregations and burial grounds took shape.
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: Old Fostoria Businesses Remembered

Old Fostoria Businesses Remembered

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Buggy makers, a carmaker, glass factories and the Main Street shops of the 1900s: here is a look back at some of the businesses that built Fostoria, from the Fostoria Area Historical Society's history columns.
Fostoria News: Early 1900s postcard of the Alcott Block, a three-story brick building with a corner turret at Main and Center streets in Fostoria, Ohio

FOSTORIA | The Alcott Block: Main and Center’s 1893 Landmark and the Fire of 1962

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Capt. Roger Alcott, a militia captain and former telegrapher, built the turreted Alcott Block at Main and Center in 1893. It survived an 1897 explosion but not the 1962 fire that also took the Hays Hotel. Here is the building's story and what is on the corner now.
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: Historic Downtown Fostoria: The Old Buildings

Historic Downtown Fostoria: The Stories Behind the Old Buildings

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The Alcott Block, the Hays Hotel, the Andes building and the shops in between: here are stories of downtown Fostoria's old buildings from the Fostoria Area Historical Society's columns, including the 1962 fire that changed Main Street.
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Interurbans That Connected Fostoria

The Interurban Lines That Once Connected Fostoria and Northwest Ohio

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From 1898 to 1932, electric interurban cars ran from Fostoria to Tiffin, Findlay, Toledo and Fremont. Here is the story of the three lines that served the city and why they disappeared.
Fostoria News Nighttime oil and gas infrastructure in Fostoria with dramatic flame and smokestacks.

Fostoria and the Northwest Ohio Natural Gas Boom

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In the 1880s, natural gas strikes in Findlay and near Fostoria set off a boom that filled the area with glass factories and new residents. Here is what happened, why it ended and what it left behind.
Fostoria News Railroad scene with old train station and freight trains at sunset.

How Railroads Shaped Fostoria, Ohio

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Fostoria's first railroad arrived in the 1850s, and line after line followed until the city became one of the busiest rail crossings in Ohio. Here is how the railroads came, what became of them and where to see the history today.
Fostoria News Local history feature on Fostoria Glass Company with vintage glassware.

Fostoria’s Glass Industry: The Story of the Fostoria Glass Company

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Natural gas brought more than a dozen glass companies to Fostoria between 1887 and 1920. The most famous, the Fostoria Glass Company, started here in 1887, moved to West Virginia in 1891 and kept the Fostoria name for nearly a century.
Fostoria News How Fostoria Got Its Name - Local history feature for The Fostoria Free Press.

How Fostoria Got Its Name: The Foster Family and the Town’s Founding

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Fostoria was born in 1854 when the rival villages of Risdon and Rome joined and took the name of Charles W. Foster. Here is what the historical record says about the founding and the Foster family, including a governor and Treasury secretary.
Fostoria News Historic street in Fostoria with steam locomotive and era buildings.

A Short History of Fostoria, Ohio

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From two rival villages platted in 1832 to a railroad crossroads, a natural gas boomtown and a manufacturing city, here is a short, sourced history of Fostoria, Ohio.
Fostoria News: 1890s photo of the A. Weaver Dry Goods store on North Main Street in Fostoria, Ohio, with the Weaver family and employees on the front steps

FOSTORIA | A. Weaver & Sons to Ahlenius Co.: A Century of Dry Goods on North Main Street

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Alpheus Weaver's dry goods business opened on North Main Street in 1875, survived a suspicious 1892 fire, moved three times in one block and gave way to Kiebel and Wilson and finally the Ahlenius Co. Here is a century of dry goods in downtown Fostoria.
Fostoria News: 1880s photo of the G.F. Weaver drug and book store on North Main Street in Fostoria, Ohio, with three men standing out front under striped awnings

FOSTORIA | Soda Fountains and Tinctures: A Look Back at Fostoria’s Old Drugstores

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From the G.F. Weaver Drug and Book Store of the 1880s to the soda fountain at Edison Cut Rate Drugs and Whitney Drugs on Elm Street, here is a look back at the drugstores that served Fostoria for more than a century, and what fills those storefronts today.
Fostoria News: Early 1900s photo of a steam train at the wooden Lake Erie and Western depot on North Street in Fostoria, Ohio

FOSTORIA | The LE&W Depot, the Iron Triangle and the Union Stock Yards: How Railroads Built Fostoria

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A little wooden depot built in 1878 on West North Street, a web of crossing rail lines and a livestock yard on South Poplar Street helped make Fostoria the Iron Triangle. Here is how the railroads built the town, and what stands on those sites today.
Fostoria News: Color postcard from about 1912 of St. Wendelin's Catholic School and Church on Wood Street in Fostoria, Ohio

FOSTORIA | St. Wendelin: 175 Years of Church and School at Wood and North Streets

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From a log cabin Mass in 1844 and a gift of land from Charles W. Foster to the 1909 school, the Countyline high school and the closings of 2017 and 2019, here is the story of St. Wendelin parish and school, and what stands on those sites today.
Fostoria News Historic brick school building in Fostoria with large windows and greenery.

HISTORY | A Post looking back at the memories Fostoria Field School

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Source: Hometown History "Field Elementary School was…
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BREAKING: Allen County, OH fatal accident - illustration of a highway patrol cruiser on a rural road

Bluffton Man, 46, Killed After Pickup Leaves Sandusky Road, Strikes Parked Car and Trees in Bath Township

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Nathan Ulrey, 46, of Bluffton died Saturday evening, Nov. 7, after his pickup left Sandusky Road in Bath Township, struck a parked car, overturned and hit two trees, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol as reported by WLIO and The Lima News.
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BREAKING: Fatal crash on SR 420, Wood County; illustration of road-closed barricades.

Minnesota driver dies after semi strikes excavator in closed SR 420 work zone

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A Minnesota semi-tractor driver died Saturday night after striking a parked excavator in a closed construction zone on SR 420 in Troy Township. The crash remains under investigation.
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Fostoria News: Row of men on bicycles and early motorcycles in front of The Bike Shop of F.A. Copley, Fostoria, Ohio, early 1900s

FOSTORIA | The Bike Shop: Frank Copley, Fostoria’s Bicycle Clubs and the First Motorcycles

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Before Fostoria built cars, it rode bicycles. A look at the Fostoria Bicycle Club, the high-wheel Harrison and Morton club, and Frank Copley's Bike Shop on East Center Street, where riders on early motorcycles once lined up at the curb.
Read more
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: How to Get a Copy of a Police Report

How to Get a Copy of a Police Report in Fostoria, Ohio

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Need a crash or incident report? Here is how to request one from the Fostoria Police Department, use Ohio's online crash report search, and what Ohio public records law lets police withhold.
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Fostoria News Ice cream and dessert stops at Bowling Green - The Fostoria Free Press.

Ice Cream Stands and Dessert Shops in Bowling Green, Ohio

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A practical guide to Eric's Ice Cream Factory, Sundae Station and seasonal BG's Frosty Fare, with menus, locations and planning notes.
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Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: How to Volunteer in Seneca County

How to Volunteer in Seneca County

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From a one-day 5K in Tiffin to mentoring a child, advocating in court or visiting nursing home residents, here is how to find a volunteer role in Seneca County and what each one asks of you.
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FFP illustration related to landfill soil testing near Fostoria

FOSTORIA | Health District Says WIN Waste Blocked Its Landfill Soil Testing

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The Seneca County General Health District said in a Nov. 6 news release posted to its Facebook page that WIN Waste Innovations refused soil sampling at the landfill near Fostoria and that company lawyers threatened a lawsuit if sampling proceeds. WIN Waste has not released a response. The Nov. 6 release was not on senecahealthdept.org as of late evening Nov. 6.
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Fostoria News: 1913 view of the Andes Block and Quinn Block at Main and Center streets in Fostoria, Ohio, with striped awnings over the storefronts

FOSTORIA | Awnings, Gas Lamps and 25-Cent Dinners: Fostoria’s Main Street Merchants, 1880s-1910s

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Grocers, butchers, cafes and a 25-cent dinner: a look at the storefronts that lined Main Street in Fostoria between the 1880s and the 1910s, from the 1878 Andes Block and its opera house to Rogers Restaurant.
Read more
Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: How to Find the Fostoria City Budget

How to Find the Fostoria City Budget and See Where Tax Dollars Go

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Fostoria's spending plan, its state-supervised financial recovery plan, audits and appropriation ordinances are all public. Here is where to find them and how to read them.
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Fostoria News: Illustration — DEVELOPING Hancock County chinchilla surrender near Jenera

Ohio breeder agrees to surrender over 1,100 chinchillas near Jenera; rescuers removed 951

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DOJ announced Nov. 3 a Hancock County case totaling over 1,100 chinchillas surrendered (~800 under an earlier modified TRO plus over 300 remaining under a Nov. 2 consent decree). Humane World reports 951 physically removed (642 beginning Oct. 13; 309 on Nov. 3). AWA license permanently revoked. Attorney cites mid-80s failing health.
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Fostoria News: Illustration — DEVELOPING CRIMERADAR FBI Brunswick arrest; Tiffin Police listed

CRIMERADAR: FBI arrests Brunswick man; Tiffin Police listed in investigation

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FBI Cleveland announced Nov. 6 the Nov. 4 federal arrest of Leonard Paul Funk Jr., 45, of Brunswick on child sexual abuse–related charges. Tiffin Police are listed among participating agencies. Charges are allegations; he is presumed innocent. FFP has not independently corroborated beyond the FBI release.
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Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: Volunteer Opportunities in Fostoria

Volunteer Opportunities in Fostoria, Ohio

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Want to help out close to home? Fostoria's food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, hospital auxiliary, library, United Way and YMCA all use volunteers. Here is what each one needs and how to sign up.
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