Tag Archive for: Northwest Ohio history

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Biggest Floods in Northwest Ohio History

The Biggest Floods in Fostoria and Northwest Ohio History

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Author: FFP Ai Bot

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Biggest Floods in Northwest Ohio History

Illustration: The Fostoria Free Press.

NORTHWEST OHIO- The National Weather Service keeps a list of the highest crests ever recorded at each river gauge. For the rivers around Fostoria, one flood stands above all others: March 1913. Here is what the official records show.

The Great Flood of 1913

In late March 1913, rivers across the region reached heights that have not been matched since:

The Tiffin records also list a separate crest of 17.8 feet on March 13, 1913, and a 13.4-foot crest in May 1914.

Findlay’s modern floods

The Blanchard River has come close to the 1913 mark in modern times. NWS records list a crest of 18.46 feet on Aug. 22, 2007, just inches below the record. Other major Findlay crests include 17.43 feet on June 14, 1981; 16.76 feet on Feb. 11, 1959; 16.53 feet on July 14, 2017; 16.5 feet on Feb. 7, 2008; and 16.34 feet on March 1, 2011.

The NWS says that at 17.5 feet on the Findlay gauge, about three-quarters of the city is inundated.

Tiffin and Fremont

Since 1913, the highest Tiffin crests include 12.83 feet on Feb. 8, 2008; 12 feet in January 1959; 11.92 feet on March 2, 2011; and 11.9 feet in June 1937.

Downstream, the Sandusky River near Fremont gauge’s highest recorded crests are 16.14 feet on Feb. 24, 1979; 15.88 feet on March 15, 1978; and about 15.3 feet in February 1936.

A recent one: April 2026

The Portage River at Woodville crested at 14.59 feet on April 3, 2026, one of the highest crests on record there, behind only 1913 and February 2008 (14.66 feet).

What about Fostoria?

Fostoria does not sit on one of these gauged rivers, so there is no NWS crest record for the city itself. The Ohio Historical Society’s Risdon Square marker notes that the area’s first settler made his home in a clearing along the Portage River in 1831. For local flood memories, the Fostoria Area Historical Society is the place to ask.

Why it matters

The NWS says more than half of flood drownings happen when vehicles are driven into floodwater. If a road is flooded, turn around, don’t drown.

Information current as of October 2026; confirm details with the agency before acting.

Sources

National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service historic crests for gauges TFFO1 (Tiffin), FDYO1 (Findlay), WDVO1 (Woodville) and FFMO1 (Fremont) (water.noaa.gov; api.water.noaa.gov)
National Weather Service, Turn Around Don’t Drown (weather.gov)
Ohio Historical Society / Remarkable Ohio, marker 1-74 Risdon Square

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Interurbans That Connected Fostoria

The Interurban Lines That Once Connected Fostoria and Northwest Ohio

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Author: FFP Ai Bot

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Interurbans That Connected Fostoria

Illustration: The Fostoria Free Press.

FOSTORIA- A century ago, you could ride an electric car from Fostoria to Tiffin, Findlay, Toledo or Fremont. Here is the story of the interurban era, drawn from the Fostoria Area Historical Society and the Fostoria Rail Preservation Society.

Three lines, 1898 to 1932

The Fostoria Rail Preservation Society, in a history published by Destination Seneca County, says three electric interurban lines served Fostoria from 1898 to 1932: the Tiffin, Fostoria and Eastern; the Toledo, Fostoria and Findlay; and the Fostoria and Fremont. The society’s rail history page says they carried freight and mail as well as passengers.

Tiffin to Fostoria

A 1977 column republished by the Fostoria Area Historical Society says the Tiffin and Fostoria Electric Railroad began service between the two towns in 1898. The line, later known as the Tiffin, Fostoria and Eastern, used open cars in summer and stopped at Meadowbrook Park in Bascom. The rail society says Meadowbrook Park was originally owned by the TF and E, one of the amusement parks the lines operated to attract riders.

Toledo, Fostoria and Findlay

The historical society column says the Toledo, Fostoria and Findlay opened its first leg, between Fostoria and Findlay, in 1901. It reached Pemberville in 1905 and Toledo in 1908. In 1925 the company bought the 14-mile Tiffin, Fostoria and Eastern system.

Fostoria and Fremont

The Fostoria and Fremont line opened in 1911, according to the column. It was a joint operation tied to the Lake Shore Electric and the Western Ohio, giving riders a shorter route from western Ohio and Lima to Cleveland. The column says the line followed the Lake Erie and Western railroad to Fremont and lasted until about 1932.

Uptown stops

Another historical society column notes that the east side of Main Street between Center and Tiffin streets was where the interurban stopped to take on and drop off passengers, and that the Fostoria and Fremont line had offices upstairs in the Alcott Block.

Why the lines disappeared

The historical society column says interest in electric interurbans peaked around 1900, and by the 1930s the idea was on its way out because of competition from automobiles and trucks. The rail society agrees that automobiles phased the lines out.

Learn more

The Fostoria Area Historical Society museum, 123 W. North St., has more on the trolley era.

Information current as of October 2026; confirm details with the agency before acting.

Sources

Fostoria Area Historical Society, “Electric Trolley Era Still Pleasant Memory for Some” (May 4, 1977 column, fostoriamuseum.org)
Fostoria Area Historical Society, “Historical Look at East Side of Main, From Tiffin to Center” (June 25, 1981 column, fostoriamuseum.org)
Fostoria Rail Preservation Society, “From Risdon and Rome to the Rails” (Destination Seneca County blog, March 24, 2025)
Fostoria Rail Preservation Society, “Fostoria Ohio Rail History – Train City USA” (fostoriairontriangle.com)

Fostoria News A historical river and farmland scene from The Fostoria Free Press.

The Great Black Swamp: How Northwest Ohio Was Drained and Settled

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Author: FFP Ai Bot

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: The Great Black Swamp: How It Was Drained

Illustration: The Fostoria Free Press.

NORTHWEST OHIO- The flat, fertile farmland around Fostoria was not always farmland. Much of northwest Ohio was once the Great Black Swamp. Here is its story, based mainly on the State of Ohio’s H2Ohio program history, The History of the Great Black Swamp.

How the swamp formed

H2Ohio says that during the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, glaciers covered much of North America, including what is now northwestern Ohio. Melting glaciers left behind water that later formed the Great Black Swamp, a vast wetland that covered the region for thousands of years.

The state says the swamp provided food, shelter and medicine to various Native American tribes.

Settlers arrive

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, European settlers began moving into the area. H2Ohio says the waterlogged landscape made it hard for them to reach the fertile soil and the abundant timber.

Seneca County sat near the swamp’s edge. A history of the county’s first years, Seneca County in 1824, places early Tiffin near the eastern edge of the Black Swamp and notes that malaria was a concern for settlers at the time.

Draining the swamp

By the mid-1800s, settlers had begun draining the swamp with a system of ditches and canals, H2Ohio says. Clay drainage tile was also used to carry water off the fields. Drainage opened the rich soil for farming and the timber for construction.

What was lost

The state says drainage also destroyed much of the natural habitat and had negative impacts on water quality and on flooding downstream into Lake Erie. H2Ohio notes that wetlands play a critical role in filtering water, and says the program has more than 200 projects across the state to build and restore wetlands.

Where to see what is left

H2Ohio’s history lists several places where remnants of the swamp’s habitat can still be seen, including:

  • Magee Marsh, about 2,200 acres of marsh along Lake Erie.
  • Goll Woods, a 321-acre old-growth forest.
  • Forrest Woods, 393 acres, home to 41 rare species according to the state.
  • East Harbor on Lake Erie.

Check each site’s managing agency for hours and rules before visiting.

Information current as of October 2026; confirm details with the agency before acting.

Sources

State of Ohio H2Ohio program, “The History of the Great Black Swamp and Its Evolution Over Time” (PDF, dam.assets.ohio.gov)
Bowlus, “Seneca County in 1824” (PDF, Destination Seneca County)

 

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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Author: FFP Ai Bot

Fostoria News: Illustration, with headline: Fostoria and the Natural Gas Boom

Illustration: The Fostoria Free Press.

FOSTORIA- For a few short years in the 1880s, northwest Ohio sat on top of what seemed like an endless supply of natural gas. The boom remade Findlay and Fostoria. Here is the story, from the Hancock Historical Museum and Ohio’s historical markers.

Findlay strikes gas

The Hancock Historical Museum says Dr. Charles Oesterlen of Findlay believed there was gas under the town, and drilling began on Sept. 5, 1884.

The most famous well was the Karg Well, which erupted in January 1886. The museum says it burned for four months. Its roar could be heard five miles away, people could read a newspaper by its light 10 miles away, and its glow could be seen in Toledo.

Findlay promoted itself with cheap fuel, using slogans such as “Women Split No Wood in Findlay.” The museum says the town grew from about 4,000 people to nearly 18,000, and by 1889 it had 17 churches, 15 schools, four streetcar lines and 75 saloons.

Fostoria’s “Godsend”

Fostoria had its own strike. The Ohio Historical Society’s marker “Fostoria, Ohio – Home of Fostoria Glass,” listed among Seneca County’s historical markers, says natural gas was discovered in the mid-1880s at a site called “Godsend,” about five miles west of town.

Glassmaking needs a lot of heat, and cheap gas drew glass companies. The marker says that, aided by former Gov. Charles Foster, Fostoria attracted more than a dozen glass companies from 1887 to 1920, making windows, bottles, tableware, lamps, shades and incandescent lamps.

The gas runs out

The boom did not last. The marker says the Fostoria Glass Company left for Moundsville, West Virginia in 1891 after the local gas was depleted. In Findlay, the museum says the gas was largely gone by around 1900, and oil took its place.

That oil business had a lasting legacy. The museum says the Ohio Oil Company formed in 1887, moved its headquarters to Findlay in 1889, and is known today as Marathon.

Learn more

  • The Hancock Historical Museum is at 422 W. Sandusky St. in Findlay, 419-423-4433.
  • The Fostoria Area Historical Society museum is at 123 W. North St. in Fostoria.

Information current as of October 2026; confirm details with the agency before acting.

Sources

Hancock Historical Museum, Hancock County History Mural: Karg Well (hancockhistoricalmuseum.org)
Ohio Historical Society marker 5-74, “Fostoria, Ohio – Home of Fostoria Glass” (Remarkable Ohio; Destination Seneca County historical markers listing)
Fostoria Area Historical Society (fostoriamuseum.org)

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