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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: 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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Developing Stories

Fostoria News Lucas County, OH: fatal accident on Hill Ave and Wenz Rd.

TOLEDO | 3 Killed, 3 Hurt in Head-On Crash at Hill Avenue and Wenz Road

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BREAKING NEWS | Man Shot and Killed at Spirit Halloween Store in Michigan

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Fostoria News Wood County Library Levy and local election image.

WOOD COUNTY | Your Wood County Ballot: Library Levy Renewal, Juvenile-Probate Judge Race and Ohio House District 75

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A quick guide to three Wood County ballot items on Nov. 3: the Wood County District Public Library's 0.8-mill renewal levy, the open juvenile and probate judge seat (Megan Newlove vs. Doug Ruck), and the Ohio House District 75 race (Rep. Haraz Ghanbari vs. Rick Rettig).
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Fostoria News: Seneca County government building, with headline: Seneca County Commissioner: Frankart vs. Ziegler

SENECA COUNTY | Frankart vs. Ziegler: What the Seneca County Commissioner Candidates Say Before Nov. 3

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Incumbent Republican Commissioner Bill Frankart faces independent challenger David Ziegler, an Eden Township trustee, for Seneca County commissioner on Nov. 3. Here is where each stands on the landfill, county communications, AI and the biggest issues facing the county.
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Fostoria News Toledo man indicted in fentanyl overdose death.

BOWLING GREEN | Toledo Man Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter in Fentanyl Overdose Death of Former Toledo Storm Player

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A Wood County grand jury indicted Riley Leu, 22, of Toledo on involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs and fentanyl and cocaine trafficking charges in the April overdose death of a 50-year-old former Toledo Storm hockey player. A warrant has been issued. He is presumed innocent.
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Fostoria News: Illustration of a generic spooky Victorian haunted house on a hill with jack-o-lanterns and a full moon, with headline: The 20 Highest-Rated Haunted Houses in Ohio for 2026

OHIO | Top 20 Highest-Rated Haunted Houses in Ohio for 2026, Ranked by Online Reviews

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Fear Columbus, Face Your Fears Hotel of Terror and Fremont's Haunted Hydro lead our ranking of the 20 highest-rated haunted attractions open in Ohio this season, built from Google ratings and Scare Factor review scores, with 2026 dates, prices and links.
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Fostoria News Ohio loses 5,000 jobs in September; unemployment up to 3.4%.

COLUMBUS | Ohio Loses 5,000 Jobs in September as Unemployment Rises to 3.4 Percent; Hancock County at 3.3 Percent

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Ohio employers shed 5,000 jobs in September and the state unemployment rate rose to 3.4 percent, ODJFS reported. Preliminary county rates: Hancock 3.3 percent, Wood 3.4 percent, Seneca 3.5 percent and Sandusky 4.3 percent.
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Fostoria News Check Your Property Taxes and Appeal Your Value - how-to guide image.

How to Check Your Property Taxes and Appeal Your Valuation in Seneca County

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Seneca County property values were updated in 2026. Here is how to look up your value and tax bill, when taxes are due, which tax breaks to ask about, and how to file a Board of Revision complaint between Jan. 1 and March 31.
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Fostoria News How to Find Out Who Owns a Property - map illustration with magnifying glass.

How to Find Out Who Owns a Property in Seneca County

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Property ownership in Seneca County is public record. Here is how to look up an owner by address or parcel on the county auditor's website, find deeds through the recorder, and use maps and sales records.
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Fostoria News How to register an LLC in Ohio - Fostoria Free Press guide image.

How to Register an LLC in Ohio for a Seneca County Business

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Forming an Ohio LLC costs $99 and is filed with the Ohio Secretary of State. Here is how to choose a name, name a statutory agent, file Articles of Organization online, and what Seneca County owners should do next.
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Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: How to Start a Small Business in Fostoria

How to Start a Small Business in Fostoria, Ohio: A Step-by-Step Guide

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From free advising and state registration to a vendor's license, city income tax and zoning, here are the steps to open a small business in Fostoria, with local offices and fees checked against official sources.
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Fostoria News How to Get a Building Permit in Fostoria - construction blueprint and hard hat.

How to Get a Building Permit in Fostoria, Ohio

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Planning a shed, fence, deck, pool or addition in Fostoria? Most projects start with a zoning permit from the city. Here is what needs a permit, sample city fees, and where commercial building permits are handled.
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Fostoria News How to Attend a Fostoria City Council meeting image on The Fostoria Free Press.

How to Attend a Fostoria City Council Meeting (and Speak During Public Comment)

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Fostoria City Council meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month at City Hall. Here is how to find the agenda, what the speaking time limits are, and how to make your three minutes count.
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Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: How to Request Public Records From Seneca County

How to Request Public Records From Seneca County, Ohio

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Seneca County records are kept by separate elected offices, from the auditor and recorder to the clerk of courts and probate court. Here is which office holds what, what is already online, and how Ohio law protects your right to ask.
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