A Tiffin history decade by decade

Editor's note: The following information was taken from a wide variety of sources, so they are not listed. The information was verified from more than one source whenever possible. * The following story is just one of many featured in this year's Our Town - "Trending Through Time" - which will be included in the Weekend Edition, today. 1810s • 1812 - The history of Tiffin dates to 1812. A bronze statue of "The Indian Maiden" on Frost Parkway, near Miami Street, marks the site of Fort Ball, which was a military depot of the War of 1812. During that war, Erastus Bowe first sighted the location where he built the Pan Yan Tavern in 1817. The tavern became a stagecoach stop on the north Sandusky River. The settlement of Oakley formed around the Pan Yan. • 1812 - The first road through the area that would become Tiffin was constructed by soldiers under the direction of Gen. William Henry Harrison. "Harrison Trail" extended from Upper Sandusky to Lower Sandusky (now part of Fremont), and eventually on to Franklinton (now Columbus). Later, Fort Ball, Fort Seneca and Fort Stephenson were built along the road. • 1813 - Fort Ball was built as a supply station and place of security in case of retreat for troops in the wilderness of northwest Ohio and along Lake Erie. Col. James V. Ball was in command of the 2nd Light Dragoons. His regiment was detached to the area south of Fort Seneca along the Harrison Trail on the Sandusky River to build the fort, and it was named for Ball. Not long after the fort was completed, Ball and his troops as well Col. Croghan from Fort Stephenson won a fight at Ball's Battlefield to keep the supply route open for army use. • 1813 - Gen. Harrison, while at Fort Ball, received word of Perry's victory on Lake Erie. In the dispatch, Oliver Hazard Perry wrote: "We have met the enemy and they are ours: Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." • 1817 - The Treaty of the Miami of Lake Erie provided guidelines for reservations along the Sandusky River and other areas. Among the reserves were the Vanmeter, Seneca, Wyandot, Delaware and Big Springs, all in or near Seneca County. The treaty opened the land to white settlers. • 1817 - Erastus Bowe became the first permanent white settler, and built the Pan Yan Tavern. In addition, there were several white or partially white people living among the Indians, but they tended to move with the Indians. Among them were Elizabeth Whitaker, Robert Armstrong, William M'Collock, John Vanmeter, Isaac and Sarah Williams, Joseph Williams, Rachael (Williams) Nugent, Mrs. Walker, John H. Walker and William Spicer, as named in the treaty of 1817, and also Simon Girty. Many of them had reportedly been taken prisoner by Indians, but chose to remain with them and were considered Indians. The Harrison Trail ran between Bowe's cabin/tavern and the high banks of the Sandusky River. Today, the location is believed to have been in the middle of the intersection at Frost Parkway and North Washington streets near Fort Ball. 1820s • 1820s - Early settlers moved in, built cabins and mostly co-existed peacefully with the Native Americans who lived near the land that would become Tiffin. One account said, "Their cabins were hastily raised with the help of all nearby neighbors, often in a day or two. As very few had locks on their doors, it was not unusual for these people to awaken in the morning to find several Indians sleeping by the fireplace. They simply walked in unannounced, took their places for the night and left in the morning without disturbing anything." • 1821 - A second road was created, which roughly followed Harrison Trail and was built by Col. Morrison's men and was later surveyed as Morrison State Road. It extended from Lower Sandusky to Delaware. Locally, the road roughly was on the same route as CR 15 from the Sandusky County line south, and TR 17 in Eden Township and including a portion of SR 100. • 1821 - Josiah Hedges purchased the land that would become Tiffin, had it surveyed and named it after his friend and Ohio's first governor, Edward Tiffin. He laid out six streets, three running east and west – Perry, Market and Madison – and three north and south – Jefferson, Washington and Monroe – all within the area from Rock Creek to the Sandusky River. He gave lots to three men who agreed to build cabins and move their families into the settlement. • 1822 - Hedges built a sawmill on the banks of Rock Creek near the present location of Heidelberg University to supply lumber for settlers. • 1822 - Hedges built a large frame building on Jefferson Street at Virgin Alley, now Court Street, to be a gathering place for the town. The town added a few cabins, but there was almost no growth for several years, even though Tiffin became the county seat in 1824. Instead, people located in the town of Fort Ball or Oakley across the river. • 1828 - Tiffin became the Federal Land Office due to Hedge's influence, which led to growth and development. It was moved from Delaware, where it had been located since 1820, and remained in Tiffin until 1832 before moving to Bucyrus, where it remained up to its closing in 1842. 1830s • 1835 - Tiffin was incorporated by an act of the Ohio Legislature on March 7, 1835. • 1831 - St. Mary Church became the first Catholic parish in northwest Ohio when it was founded on May 15, 1831. Edward Fenwick, leader of the church in Cincinnati, bought an acre of land in 1829 from Josiah Hedges (now Little Hedges Park) and appointed the Rev. Edmund Quinn as the first pastor in 1831. The newly-ordained priest was in charge of all Catholics in northwest Ohio. Following the first Mass at the home of John Julian, men gathered to discuss building a church. The first Mass in the new, yet unfinished, church on Madison Street was said on Easter Sunday in 1833. The second St. Mary Church was built at Franklin and Miami streets and the first building was used as a school until it burned in 1856. The present church was completed in 1907 at South Sandusky and Clay streets. • 1833 - Seneca County's first courthouse was completed in Tiffin in 1836, but burned in 1841. Many of the county's records were saved, but some were destroyed. A second courthouse was built using the saved walls of the original building, and an addition was built in 1866. The second courthouse was removed in 1884 to make room for the new courthouse, which remained in use until 2012. • 1833 - Tiffin's first bridge was a toll bridge that cost $2 per year to use. It was built in the fall of 1833 when Josiah Hedges contracted with Reuben Williams to construct the wooden bridge on Washington Street across the Sandusky River. That bridge was smashed by debris in the river, but a sturdier toll bridge was built the following summer. Reportedly, people became upset about paying the toll and organized a committee organized to build a free bridge on Market Street, which opened in January 1837. Hedges then opened the Washington Street bridge for free use as well. 1840s • 1841 - The first train, according to Lang's History of Seneca County, reached Tiffin in 1841. Conrad Poppenburg was the engineer and Earnest Kirian was the fireman and Paul Klauer was on also on board. • 1842 - Charles Dickens visited Tiffin and stayed at a local hotel, and apparently the carriage driver that transported Mr. and Mrs. Dickens took a circuitous route to the train depot so everybody in town could meet or catch a glimpse of the famous man. 1850s • 1850 - The towns of Tiffin and Fort Ball merged to form a larger Tiffin on both sides of the river. • 1850 - Heidelberg College and the Second Reformed Church were founded by the First Reformed Church. Because of the influence of the young Rev. Daniel Kroh, a new college and theological seminary were founded, and the Rev. Frederick Wahl was appointed by the Synod of the Reformed Church to act as chairman of the committee on Heidelberg College. In spring 1851, the Rev. Emanuel Vogel Gerhart became the first president of Heidelberg College. It was during his tenure that Founders Hall was built, and remains a historic landmark. By 1859, the college had been in operation for seven years and records show the annual tuition was $20 and contingent expenses cost $1 more. Boarding costs were $1.75 to $2 per week. • 1853 - The Seneca County Commissioners agreed to purchase a farm in 1853, which became the Seneca County Infirmary. In 1855, they arranged for buildings to be constructed. The complex remains in use today as county offices. 1860s • 1861 - The Civil War started and Tiffin dentist F. E. Franklin gathered 130 local volunteers who were eventually organized as Company A of the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, or the "Seneca Sharpshooters." They were the first company from Seneca County to join the war. Other companies of the 8th came from Cleveland, Bucyrus, Norwalk, Sandusky, Fremont and Medina. Other regiments with men from Seneca County included the 49th, 123rd and others. One in five men who went to war died or returned home with disabilities. • 1865 - News of Confederate surrender reached Tiffin on April 10, 1865, creating a large celebration. • 1867 - St. Francis Orphanage was founded by the Rev. Joseph L. Bihn, and remained in operation until 1939.