Waterville’s Nation Wide Grocery Chain

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       Third Street, Waterville, Ohio

Waterville had a Nation –Wide Grocery Store located on Third Street in at least the 1940s. Nation-Wide was organized in the summer of 1921 to combine several grocery stores into a chain. They could buy for the chain but each store would operate as their own. They would have the name Nation-Wide listed on the store. As you see in this picture the sign is over the door and under the windows. We have also seen photos of stores on the East side of Toledo and one was at the Albon-Airport Road corner. There were rules that were followed as to the training of the store managers, such as making sure everyone was courteous and knowledgeable of the things they sold. They were to never allow a bin or shelf to look like they had run out of an item and to make it looked like it was full. After the person was accepted they would be trained as store managers in a company school for 2 weeks. They would be paid as if they were working at a store and would be trained in salesmanship, courtesy, and learn how to tactfully suggest items for sale and please their customers. They also taught the person how to order merchandise. After the schooling was over they were given the “rule-book” which outlined the policies of the corporation. In the 1960s Paul Fey owned the store, that he had brought from a Mr. Hoffman, and it was known as Paul’s Market located at 34 N. Third Street. I am not sure how long the Nation Wide Store existed here in Waterville or if the Paul’s Market was still part of the chain store. Can anyone tell us more about the Nation - Wide Store or how long it was in existence here in Waterville.   Of course Nation-Wide was not the first chain grocery store as Kroger dates back to the late 1880s.

Emma Knaggs Isham recipe for Rose Beads”

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                  Emma Knaggs Isham

1.      Chose dark red fragrant roses, discarding all petals that are not fresh and crisp

2.      Reduce these petals to a pulp by putting through a food chopper daily for nine days

3.      They are then placed in a black iron pan. The older and blacker the better and are burned and stirred twice daily. If the pulp becomes too dry, so that it cracks when rolled, a little water should be worked in. Pinch off a piece of the pulp twice the desired size you wish for your beads.

4.      Then roll them one by one into sound balls in the palm of your hands, and let them aside to dry and shrink

5.      On the third day put them one by one in a little pitcher and roll them around and around until they become perfect spheres.

6.      Then place them with great care on long hat pins to dry – piece each exactly through the middle – pressing each bead gently.Added by Midge Shufelt: The beads will be coal black, with a dull finish. Grandma usually strung them with two or three small seed beads between each rose bead, sometimes of a different color, for contrast. Blend the entire mixture with a large quantity of patience. Some of the beads, which we still have retain their musty, spicy fragrance and are known to be 60-70 years old.

Donated by Ginny Dean – originally written on Waterville Butter Co. letterhead of which Emma’ husband Torry was a stockholder

The Canal Builder ----- John George Isham

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                         John George Isham

John Isham was born in Sharon, New York in 1815. We know nothing of his childhood but the record indicates that he came to Waterville from Monroe, Michigan in 1840 when a good friend won a contract to build section 29 of the Wabash and Erie Canal. John served his friend as superintendent of construction on this section from Dutch Road to Maumee. When the canal opened to traffic in 1843 John was appointed superintendant of maintenance and repairs for the northern portion of the canal.

John George Isham found more than good work in Waterville. He fell in love with a very young Eliza Daggett and they married in 1843. He also purchased a farm on river tract 42 and the couple settled into a log cabin there.  John could work the farm in summer and supervise the repair work on the canal in winter when the canal was closed to most traffic. The couple had two children, Benjamin Smith Isham born 1843 and Alfred Daggett Isham born in 1846. Alfred was killed at Petersburg in 1865 during the Civil War. Eliza tragically died in 1848 just as John was starting to build the “big house” on is farm. John, with two young children to care for soon married Sarah Cooper, daughter of Waterville pioneer Henry Augustus Cooper. John and Sarah lived in the log cabin and three children were born to the couple before the big Greek Revival farm house was finished in 1853. Three more children were born in this house and the couple also raised five other children of close relatives. John served as superintendent of repair for over 20 years ending in the late 1860s when crippling arthritis forced his retirement. He moved to town in the 1870s purchasing the Morehouse home on River Road at Wood Street (now Farnsworth Road). He wasn’t happy there and moved back to the farm in the 1880s giving the town house to his daughter Sarah May and her husband Dr. Samuel Downs. John George Isham died at his farm on June 9, 1901. His youngest son John Findlay Torrence Isham (subject of a previous article on this site) took over the farm. The old house still stands at 8460 S. River Road just across from Farnsworth Park.

Author’s note: The only known picture of John George Isham was taken when he was old and sickly. He was obviously a robust hard-working man most of his life.

Canal Buildiers------Cornelius Van Fleet

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                   Wabash and Erie Canal

Most of our canal builders came to Waterville because they had secured a contract for a portion of the canal. Cornelius Van Fleet however came to Waterville at age thirteen with his pioneering father in 1831. The Mathias Van Fleet family moved to Greene County, Ohio from Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in 1819 and later moved on to Waterville Township upon word of good farm land which could be purchased at very low price. Cornelius born on February 5, 1817 was the eldest of fourteen children born to Mathias and Mary Ricard Van Fleet. Mathias although a life-long farmer was very active in civic affairs and even served as a colonel in the Ohio Militia during the Ohio-Michigan “War”. Cornelius was well educated in spite of his frontier family circumstance and early on took up the occupation of civil engineering. Our sources are silent on his engineering education, but the normal practice at that time was to apprentice with a practicing professional. He must have been a bright and capable student because in 1837 at the age of 20 he contracted with the State of Ohio to be the engineer for the northern section of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Our sources tell us that Cornelius Van Fleet laid out the canal from Providence to Manhattan and was the engineer during the construction of this stretch of canal which opened in 1843. What an awesome responsibility for such a young man. That means that he determined and surveyed the course of this waterway and where locks and other structures would be placed. He also had to solve construction problems as the building progressed. When the canal was finished Cornelius was named superintendent of the Waterville section, a position which he held for eight years.

Cornelius Van Fleet married Hannah Runyan, also from Pennsylvania and they had eight children. He was engaged in the mercantile business at Waterville and later Maumee during and after his tenure with the canal. He later retired to his farm.

Canal Builders ----- Dodd and Steedman

Some of Waterville’s more prominent citizens came to this area because they obtained contracts for construction of some portion of the Miami and Erie Canal. Contracting partners Elijah Dodd and James B. Steedman were among these. Yes, that James B. Steedman – publisher, politician, forty-niner and Civil War hero – whom Toledo claims as their own. Elijah Dodd was an experienced contractor having completed a section of canal near Harrisburg, PA. James Steedman was his soon to be brother-in-law, a young man of varied interests, great charisma and perhaps a bit impetuous. The two came to Waterville in 1837 and stayed at the Columbian House until settled. Steedman soon moved to Napoleon to take over a newspaper publication and was married in Defiance in 1838 to Sarah Miranda Stiles, a sister to Dodd’s wife. The portion of the canal in their contract included the critical dam at Providence that created the slack water pool to provide water to the level stretch of canal between Providence and Toledo. The original dam was of wooden crib design, with stone abutments similar to the dam upstream near Defiance. This dam remained in place until the current concrete dam was built in 1908 by John Weckerly. The timber remains of this old dam can be seen just above the concrete dam when the water is very low. Dodd and Steedman were also paid $300 to build the canal overflow near Roche de Boeuf, sometimes called “the cascades.” The remains of this overflow can be seen at the east end of Farnsworth Park along the walking path.

James Steedman purchased the 160 acre Roche de Boeuf farm on River Tract 39, which covered the high ridge opposite the rock and down across the flood plain to the river. Years before in 1794 this was the site of General Anthony Wayne’s Fort Deposit. In 1838 Steedman was also in the publishing business in Napoleon and in the 1840s became involved in state government. In the 1850s he was in charge of the entire Miami and Erie Canal. He was also involved in the Ohio Militia movement and was instrumental in forming and naming the Waterville militia unit, the Brady Guards. Steedman apparently could not resist the call of adventure in 1849 when gold was discovered in California. He went west and left this family in the care of Elijah Dodd. When he returned he gratefully gave the farm to his brother-in-law and the area has been known as the Dodd farm ever since. Steedman, as we know, became a famous general during the Civil War and lived in Toledo before and afterwards. Not so well known is that his first wife Sarah Miranda Stiles Steedman and his eldest son, Lewis and his wife Edith are all buried in the Wakeman Cemetery. James B. is buried in Toledo’s Woodlawn Cemetery along with his second and third wives. His Civil War statue resides in Riverside Park along Summit Street.

Elijah Dodd remained in Waterville on the Dodd farm the rest of his life and was involved in mercantile enterprises as well as working the farm. He was twice elected sheriff of Lucas County and did live in Toledo for a time. Elijah died in 1876 and left the farm in charge one or more of his four sons who remained in Waterville. He is buried in Wakeman Cemetery. Elijah and his first wife Malvina Stiles had six children. She died ca1850 and he later married Mary Jane Wardley. Four children of this marriage survived childhood. His eldest son, Caleb was Captain of the Brady Guards and entered the Civil War with the unit as part of the 14th OVI for their 100 day enlistment into Northern Virginia. When that unit returned to Toledo, Caleb joined the Quartermaster Corps where he served through the War. Caleb died in Nashville, TN in 1865 while in service of his country. Urban growth overtook the Dodd farm in the 1900s as family homes and the village limits spread south.

Crossing the River --A New Bridge at Last

The old 1888 wagon bridge was broken down in July of 1941 by a heavy milk truck. World War II began shortly thereafter and all steel and much of the labor force went into the war effort. New automobiles were not made, gasoline and tires were rationed, all of which made the long detour to Maumee or Grand Rapids to cross over the river very impractical. Motorists were once again forced to ford the river when possible. Fording routes were marked with orange barrels (a time when motorist were happy to see orange barrels). The state did assist in building approaches to the old trolley bridge and deck that bridge for use by motor vehicles. The route was narrow but served the public for about six years until a new bridge could be built.

With the end of the War in late 1945, rationing ended, military men and women came home and new cars were on the market again. New homes were built farther from a person’s work place, including in the Village of Waterville. Travel by automobile became increasingly popular and the need for a new Waterville bridge was recognized by the State of Ohio. The bridge went from drawing board to construction phase in 1947 and the new steel truss bridge was opened to traffic in 1948, looking much as it does now. Due to unforeseen increase in traffic volume and heavier trucks following route 64, this bridge was in need of repairs after twenty-five years of service. The bridge was closed in 1988 to be reinforced, re-decked and the overhead clearance increased. The process was documented on film by Emery Noward and his photo album is preserved in the Wakeman Archives. This improved Waterville bridge is the one we use today. The handsome steel truss bridge has become impractical for today’s traffic and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has scheduled this bridge to be replaced, starting in 2018. A new bridge will be built right next to the old and the roadway will be closed for six to eight weeks to re-connect at either end, probably in 2020. Love it or hate it, this bridge will not grace our landscape much longer.

Crossing the River --------Waterville Bridge Celebration Week

The old wagon bridge, built in 1888, collapsed under a heavy milk truck on July 24, 1941 and the people of Waterville rejoiced. They had petitioned the State of Ohio for years to replace the aging and inadequate structure. The state had condemned the bridge but failed to replace it. Now finally something had to be done. We are not sure who suggested a temporary fix but O.D.O.T. was now willing to help. The abandoned Ohio Electric Interurban Bridge was available and at that time in good condition. The State willingly decked over the old bridge for auto traffic and built approaches at each end to connect to existing roads. This was “the fix” until a new highway bridge could be built. Unfortunately, on December 7, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. There would be no steel for a new bridge until the war was over.

The temporary bridge finally opened to traffic in November 1941. The Waterville merchants were so happy to regain their Wood County customers they declared a week-long celebration. This was announced in the November 7, 1941 edition of the Standard newspaper in a special insert. Photographic images of several pages are included with this article. The merchants offered special sales or bargain rates for services (Note the Marathon station’s offer of complete fall changeover for $4.98)They also sponsored a free dance on Saturday November 15th at Witte’s Hall. This all shows how important a river crossing was to the economic well-being of the Village of Waterville. The “temporary” bridge served this community through the war and until the new bridge finally opened in 1947

Crossing the River -- The Iron Wagon Bridge

The need to cross the Maumee River barrier between Waterville and the near-by communities on the Wood County side has been with us from the beginning. The earlier methods of fording the river or crossing on the ferry barge were less than ideal and as the population increased totally inadequate. A bridge was needed. One or more wooden bridges were tried in the 1880s. These were fairly successful in Maumee City but the ice jams in late winter were more severe in this section of the river and the wooden bridges didn't last long. Even as today, technology came to the rescue. Better methods for making large iron structures led to replacing wooden trusses with iron. An iron truss bridge was built over the river in 1888 ushering in an era of unimpeded travel between the river communities. Because the mode of travel at that time was by foot or horse-drawn conveyances, this bridge is usually referred to as the “Wagon Bridge” by historians. Even through this bridge was stronger than wooden structures the, ice jams took out one or more spans on several occasions, but the bridge had become so important it was always repaired. The old wagon bridge carried the traffic between Waterville and Wood County for over fifty years, but the mode of transportation changed in that time. Automobiles and trucks were using a bridge designed for horse and wagon. In addition to that, this bridge had become part of the state highway system. By 1941 the old bridge had been condemned for many years but the state refused to replace it even though Waterville residents had petitioned for a replacement several times. Motorists ignored the signs for years, but finally in July 24, 1941 a truck carrying a load of milk broke down several spans of the bridge. Residents thought that finally the state would have to replace the bridge. But on Dec. 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and World War II was on. The bridge was not replaced until 1948.

Crossing the River with John Ovitt

During the mid-1800s folks living on the Wood County side of the Maumee, especially Miltonville and Haskins, found it necessary to shop and trade in Waterville where there were stores and a mill. Crossing the river to do so was the problem. When the water level was low, fording the river on foot or by horse and wagon was easy and at high water times, impossible. For light loads a rowboat or skiff was used. Crossing on the ice in winter was also possible although sometimes dangerous. A working bridge over the river at Waterville wasn’t accomplished until 1888. The solution before that was a ferry service. This document from the Wakeman Archives and shown here indicates that entrepreneur John Ovitt of Miltonville received approval in the Wood County Court of Common Pleas to establish a ferry service from Miltonville to Waterville and the fees to be charged were set by the court. His ferry was a simple cable ferry, a shallow barge that ran along a cable stretched from bank to bank.

Remembering the Old School

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Waterville schools changed over the years as did the educational needs of society. The one room schools run by a single teacher gradually changed into a graded school system with multiple teachers. The 1852 school (Herb Mericle House) was a 2 room school with primary school downstairs and secondary upstairs. The expanding population of course had an effect on school needs. The school system was graded into primary, intermediate and high school departments of four years each in 1884 and 1885 resulting in the first high school commencement in 1885.

The 1886 school building, the first on the site of the village square, was designed by Edward O. Fallis a Toledo architect and was a source of great pride to Watervillians .  A twelve year program was offered in 1885, but changed back to only ten in 1895 to 1898, then back to a twelve year school again by 1898. Since the one room schools in the rural areas could not offer high school level instruction a busing system was started, horse drawn at first but soon motorized with rise of the automobile in the early 1900s. The last school on this site, the one so many folks attended and remember, started as an addition to the 1886 school in 1923 which included the combination auditorium/gymnasium.

A rapidly expanding population and increasing expectation that nearly all should have twelve years of education had pushed the old building over its capacity. This more modern looking addition (see photo) soon also became crowded and sometimes portable classrooms were used. Two of these portable classrooms eventually became the home of the Waterville American Legion on Mechanic Street. At one time the Columbian house was rented for classroom space. In 1930 the beautiful, but old and inadequate 1886 building was torn down and a new structure, still attached to the 1923 addition, was built in its place. The school at this time became the building so many “older” residents spent twelve years attending and our younger folks remember as their grade school. Now it has followed its 1886 predecessor, becoming crumbling, old and an inadequate building for modern education and, alas, it is no more.

Ed. Note: For the nostalgic and the history minded, the Waterville Historical Society has preserved a few artifacts from the old school which will be on display at the Robbins House Museum this year. There are also many photographs preserved at the Wakeman Archives.

The Village Square Returns

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The original plot of the Village of Waterville as designed by John Pray in 1831 contained fifty lots of approximately ¼ acre in size and at the center a large village green or public square. The public square was a fixture in New England towns as our founder was well acquainted. The square belonged to the people. It was a place where they could tether the family cow to graze or perhaps a few sheep if they owned such. A frontier town had little to offer in the way of mercantile enterprises and the townsfolk had to be quite self-sufficient. Most kept some livestock for winter food supplies, wool to make needed clothing and of course the family cow for milk, cream and butter. Most townsfolk had a farm plot outside of town for at least subsistence farming. Even Welcome Pray, one of our earliest town doctors, farmed for subsistence and a little extra cash. It seems many of his patients had little with which to pay for his services. The public square then served an important role in the life of our young village.

By 1885 nobody in the village needed to keep cows or sheep. The public square provided a very nice empty space to build a new school. The school was completed in 1886 and the village square became the village school yard. It has remained so even as school buildings were changed or replaced over the years, aged and finally abandoned. Now in 2017 the school building will be torn down. The property will be used by ODOT as the staging area for the construction of a new Waterville bridge. Once the bridge is complete, sometime in 2020, the village will convert the property to a park, thus returning the village square to the people. This is great news. Just don’t plan on tethering your cow in the new village square.

The Rural One Room Schools

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We have all seen them. Small rectangular buildings usually frame but sometimes brick. Often they are found at an intersection, sometimes back in a field. Sometimes they still have a tell-tale bell tower or two front doors. Some are preserved as a residence; some are being repurposed as storage sheds. One room school houses were a testament to the value we placed on education even in the rural population. They were placed every two or three miles, depending or the rural population, so that every child could walk to a school. They all had a name, usually that of the farmer who donated the land or owned the property where they school was located but sometimes for a near-by town. In Waterville Township there was the Hutchinson School (gone without a trace) on the Hutchinson farm, the Long School on the George Long farm (brick and crumbling away at the corner of Heller and Neowash Road), the Neowash School (also gone) that was a mile up the road from the town of Neowash and many more. The Box School from neighboring Providence Township has been preserved and restored by becoming part of the Maumee Valley Historical Society museum complex in Maumee. There one can see, and at times experience, what it was like to be educated in a one room school with one teacher (schoolmaster or schoolmarm) who taught all grades. The names and location of these schools can be found on the old maps and atlases found at libraries and archives throughout the country and locally at the Wakeman Archives.

The administration of these schools was handled by a district school board that was either appointed by the township supervisor or elected by the farmers in the district. School districts were formed by the township government as needed and an annual pupil and family count maintained. In the early years a per pupil tuition was charged each family. The names of these pupils and their families make an interesting historical and genealogical record. The complete record of the founding and ten or more years of Waterville Township school district number 4 can be viewed at the Wakeman Archives.

These rural one-room schools, some still used in the 1930s, are part of our historical and cultural heritage. Some of us may have a grandparent who attended such a school. Watch for those remaining old schools as you drive through the countryside and know you are looking at an important part of our history.

WATERVILLE'S OLD CANNON

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Have you missed the old cannon that, for longer than anyone can remember graced the lawn in front of the old school? The city has removed this little gem for safe-keeping as the old school building is scheduled to be torn down. The history of our cannon is shrouded in mystery. It is too small to be one of the Civil War type cannons that commonly exist in numerous places. It seems to have no markings to provide a clue to its manufacture and no one among us has any expertise in ancient arms or weaponry. Milo Downs, Jr. (1923-2000) related stories about his youth when they would fire empty Pet milk cans up Farnsworth Road from the old gun using large firecrackers for powder. He thought it to be an old naval gun and may have been on a wooden carriage at one time. We think this to be unlikely in his lifetime because we have a photograph of a lady perched on the cannon during the 1913 flood and it was on a concrete base then. So where did it come from and why is it there? We can speculate from some written clues. The present school and the one that preceded it were both built on what was the village square in John Pray’s plat of the village.

 We know from several sources that way back in the 1850s Waterville had a militia group known as the Brady Guards and they did military drill routines on the village square. We read in The Soldier Spirit of Waterville, penned (probably) by Civil War veteran John Lansing Pray, that Orson Gilbert Ballou commanded a village gun squad that fired salutes when a group of Waterville men left for service during the Civil War. Waterville’s small cannon may well be that gun used to fire salutes at that very same location. The Brady Guard cannon would have been mounted on some kind of carriage to be mobile and also have been made well before the Civil War. Why did our militia group have a cannon? Perhaps it was always intended to be only a ceremonial gun. When did the village acquire this relic and when was it mounted on the concrete base? Many questions remain unanswered about this old cannon but we look forward to seeing it restored to the village square again when it opens as a park.

Note: An expert from the Springfield Arsenal has reviewed photographs and determined that this is not a military weapon.

Early Education - The Red OX Mill School

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The earliest pioneers who arrived in the Waterville area had to first focus on survival, then on things important to their culture. The Adams party and their neighbors who settled just north of present day Waterville knew that their grain crops had to be ground into flour or meal for their survival so they built a crude mill soon after their arrival in1818. The mill stone was turned by horses or oxen driven around in a circle. This crude structure was painted red and so was known as the Red Ox Mill. By 1825 John Pray had built a bigger and better water powered mill in Waterville but the folks in the Adams neighborhood had a new need. There were children and these folks wanted their children educated. In those days public education did not exist. The people taxed themselves to provide for a school building and to pay a teacher for at least three or four months of the year. So it was in 1825, that the second floor of the crude Red Ox Mill became the first classroom in this area. Hiram C. Barlow was the first schoolmaster there. This mill/school was located next to the river near what is now the end of Dutch Road. It was built on the Adams farm, later the Hutchinson farm.  About 1831 a log cabin near the mill was used and later on another one 20 rods up the river was used as a school. A few years later the Waterville Township government took ownership of public education and created school districts. There were just two at first, dividing the township into north and south districts, number one and number two. As the population grew more divisions were made creating more school districts. At this time the township received a small amount of money from Lucas County for public schools. (Lucas County was formed in 1835)

Card Table Top Advertising 1946

Card Table Top Advertising 1946 -- Patronize These Advertisers They Are Friends 

SWING BOWL Waterville Fountain Sandwiches Sealtest Ice Cream Meet Your Friends Here - Ma & Pa McDonnnell; SOHIO GAS STATION River Road and Mechanic Street - Raymond Matthewson;

WATERVILLE FOOD MARKET Groceries Meats - Fruits, Dressed Chickens; WATERVILLE HDWE & FARM SUPPLY CO. Phone 2581 Waterville, Ohio; VOGUE BEAUTY SHOP Whitehouse, Ohio Elsie H. Downs Phone 5-5371; Compliments MILO BENNETT; SCHMID Quality Furniture Funeral Home and Ambulance Service Waterville O and Whitehouse O; MATHENY MOTOR SALES 1726 Broadway ToledoWaterville Phone2381 We buy all makes and models of used cars.- Highest legal price paid. Buyer will call at your door; Compliments WATERVILLE MACHINE COMPANY; WHITEHOUSE MOTOR SALES Bauman Bros. General Repairing - Body and Fender Repair - Wrecker Service Providence Street Whitehouse Ohio Phone Main 5-5313; G. F. BUERKPlumbing and Heating -  Furnaces and Spouting – Waterville;

WATERVILLE LODGE IOOF 766; FLOYD H. FROST Wholesale Poultry, Phone 2835; BENNY MOOSMAN Sunday Times; C.M.GRAY  Contractor; The Swing is to STICKNEY'S For Better Electrical ServiceFrigidaire - Maytag - Easy - Thor - Hoover - Sunbeam AppliancesMixmasters - Spartan - BendixPittsburgh Paint, Pipe and FittingsPhone 2601Waterville, Ohio; AMERICAN METALCRAFT CO. Phone 2521StampingsWaterville, Ohio; C.J.ROACH BarbershopGeneral Insurance; BROADWAY BAR  River Road, Waterville, Ohio; THE WATERVILLE HATCHERY Waterville, Ohio  Baby Chicks 20th Season Telephone: Hatchery 2821Residence 2023 Howard Squire, Owner; DISHER ELECTRIC STORE Whitehouse, OhioG.E. Appliances, Philco Radios, Farm Freezer Units, Farm Electric Equipment, Service and Repairs; KURTZ SUPER SERVICE Fleetwing Gas and OilsDeSoto and Plymouth Sales & ServicePhone 3111Waterville, Ohio; Compliments of PAGE DAIRY COMPANY Whitehouse, Ohio; WATERVILLE TIN & PLUMBING Spouting - Roofing - Heating - Plumbing - Lightning Rods Service and Installation   H. E. WilesPhone 2702Waterville; TOWN THEATER  Whitehouse, Ohio; FALLEN TIMBERS REBEKAH LODGE No. 691; C. TOWNSEND For Proprietory MedicinesStock & Poultry RemediesWallpaper - PaintsC.M. Townsend, Whitehouse, Ohio; HOLLIKER'S General MerchandisePhone 55342Whitehouse, Ohio; GRAF BROS' GARAGE  phone 2711 Waterville, Ohio; CORDY'S MODERN SHOE REPAIR "The Port of Lost Soles"; RUPP'S GENERAL STORE We specialize in made to order Window Shades; "Let's all pull together for Waterville" TOLEDO RUBBER PRODUCTS CORP.; WATERVILLE BEAUTY SHOPElsie H DownsPhone 2192; TILTON'S HARDWARE  Hardware - Paint - Glass HousewaresWhitehouse, Ohio; WEBSTER'S MARATHON SERVICE STATION Waterville, Ohio; Compliments of KENNETH M BROWNE M.D. Whitehouse, Ohio; Compliments of WHITEHOUSE STATE SAVINGS BANK Whitehouse, Ohio; Compliments ofDR. RAYMOND L. WRIGHT; LYTLE'S CABINS Route 64Waterville, Ohio; MALLENDICK MEAT MARKET  Fresh Meats - Fish and Oysters in Season Whitehouse,  Ohio; L.E. WYNOCKER  Realtor Waterville, Ohio Phone2891; H. M. ALLION  General Insurance Whitehouse, OhioTel.Off 5-5151Res. 5-5565; THE WATERVILLE STATE SAVINGS BANK CO. Waterville, Ohio; Compliments ofW.C. Suter - M.D.; Compliments of FARMER'S MARKET  Home Furnishings and Electric Appliances; WAFELDOG LunchTake 2 They're Small! Ted and Glad Moss; MARTIN & HUFF  Food Locker ServiceFresh MeatGroceriesWaterville - 3241Whitehouse 5339; J.L. METCALF OIL COMPANY Distributors of Fuel Oil, Gasoline, Motor Oil and AccessoriesElectrical Appliances   Phone 2941; Compliments STARKWEATHER STORE; THE KOCH LUMBER COMPANY; Lumber, Coal, Builders' Supplies, Builders' Hardware, Interior FinishMaumee - Perrysburg – Waterville; Compliments DR. R. H. HAMMANWaterville, Ohio; GUSTAVE A. DEDRICH  General InsuranceEstablished 1907Phone 2971 Waterville, Ohio; HERCULES POWDER & BLASTING SUPPLIES A.E. MerifieldWaterville, Ohio; FALLEN TIMBERS REBEKAH LODGENo. 691 Waterville, Ohio; Compliments ROCHE DE BEOUF CAMP No 9213 ROYAL NEIGHBORS OF AMERICA; THE WATERVILLE FARMERS' ELEVATOR COMPANYGrain - Feed - Coal – Fertilizer. 

 Note:This a card table that maybe seen at the Wakeman Archival Research Center which shows the businesses that were in the Waterville-Whitehousearea in 1946. Do you recog(nize any of them?)

The Strange Story of a School Executive and a Canal Boat

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                          T.B.Pinkerton

Thomas Burrows Pinkerton was a native of Northern Virginia which became West Virginia during the Civil War. He served with the 12th West Virginia Infantry during the war from August 1862 until mustered out June 28, 1865. He was captured by the Confederates in 1863 but fortunately was paroled after only 22 days. After the war Thomas studied at West Liberty Academy in West Virginia and at the Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1868. He taught school at Delta, Ohio and later was hired as principal and superintendent of the Waterville school. He was both teacher and principal here for sixteen years and very popular with students and faculty and an advocate for higher education for women. A number of the women who had been in his classes would hold a reunion with him every year. He served as clerk of the village council and on the Lucas County Board of School Examiners for many years. When Thomas B. Pinkerton came to Waterville to take his position as head of the Waterville school he wanted to buy a house near the school. He happened to have a conversation with one Washington Mallory of 23 S. River Road. It so happened that Mr. Mallory had long dreamed of owning a canal boat. Mr. Mallory happily sold his house to Mr. Pinkerton and used the money to buy his canal boat. He of course named the boat The T.B.Pinkerton.

Waterville in World War II

December 7 this year will be the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, the infamous attack that marked the entry of the United States into World War II. We find among our very few firsthand accounts of the war, a fairly detailed journal written by Dr. Ruben H. Hamman. Dr. Hamman was a practicing physician in Waterville, married and father of a young child when he volunteered his services to the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon just a few months into the war. He had long been fascinated with airplanes. He reported for active duty training in October of 1942 as a 2nd Lieutenant and spent almost a year in training. This included flight training, not as pilot but to be familiar with duties of a flight crew. One of the many duties of the flight surgeon is to certify that the crew is medically fit to fly. After attending schools from Maine to Texas, Dr. Hamman was finally shipped overseas where he served at air bases in Scotland and England. He describes duties and incidents in England including a crash landing in which all aboard were cut and bruised but survived. He was sent to France in 1945 after that country was liberated and the allied forces were advancing on Germany. He had advanced to the rank of Captain by this time and again describes his duties and adventures of flying to various duty stations, time Paris, southern France and finally being sent to occupied Berlin at the end of the war in Europe. The war with Japan ended some months later before Dr. Hamman could be transferred to the Pacific Theater. He was ordered back to the United States and separated from service October 10, 1945. Dr. Hamman returned to Waterville and resumed his medical practice there. Dr. Reuben Hamman, his wife Thelma (Luttenberger) Hamman and daughter Miriam resided in Waterville many years. He died July 11, 1982 and is remembered fondly by a number of residents.

Note: The Historical Society’s archives have a few memoirs and/or letters of World War II veterans and nothing of the Korean or more recent wars in our collection. We would welcome donations of such papers to the archives or the chance to copy these records so family can retain the originals.

The Hammond School

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One room schools appeared every 2 or 3 miles in rural Waterville Township during the mid 1800s well into early 1900s. These farm families so valued public education they often donated land for a school building that kids could walk to. Such was the case with the Hammond School located at the corner of Waterville-Neapolis and Noward Roads (circle on map.) Dorothy Moosman wrote a concise history of this school in 2004 which can be found at the Wakeman Archives. The 89 acre farm at that corner was purchased in 1846 by Joseph and Mary Ann White but Joseph died in 1848. Mary Ann married James Hammond in 1849 but this ill-fated marriage ended in divorce in 1867, Mary Ann claiming abandonment. James had been absent more than three years. June 10, 1874 Mary Ann White Hammond deeded one half acre of her land to the Waterville Township Board of Education for $10 so long as it was used for school purposes. The lot was referred to as the Hammond School House lot. The school was built and used until 1914. Meanwhile the farm changed hands several times and eventually was purchased by John Moosman in two parcels in 1926 and 1936 and requested that the school parcel, no longer used, be rejoined to the rest of the farm. The old school was moved to the back of the Willard Farnsworth property for reuse as an outbuilding as was so often the fate of these old school buildings. The Hammond School site can be found on many of our old maps but has been completely obliterated by the new Route 24 bypass. 

SCALES ON THIRD STREET

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The 3rd Street photo with this article clearly shows a large scale at the west edge of the street. This letter dated August 28, 1905 and addressed to the Village Mayor and council explains the presence of the scales

It states “To the Honorable Mayor and Councilmen, Waterville, Ohio. Gentlemen: I hereby ask your Honorable body for permission to put in a pair of wagon scales on the west side of Third Street, between Wood and Mechanic Streets. If my request is granted, the Corporation will have use of the scales free of any charge. Respectfully, submitted for your consideration. This 28th day of August 1905. Yours Respy, Chas. F. Patton, con”

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It is not clear why it is written on Waterville Hardware and Supply letterhead. Perhaps Mr. Witte was the owner or the supplier of the wagon scales.

A Halloween Celebration at the Columbian House 1927

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The Columbian House had fallen on hard times by its 90th birthday. It had been empty and abandoned for some years when, in June of 1927 it was purchased by Toledoean Charles F. Captron and restored to its former condition. Mr. Capron was especially impressed with the famous third floor grand ballroom built in 1837 by John Pray. Restoration complete, the ballroom was leased to Mr. and Mrs. George Albert Moore and the Misses Eve and Bertha Hillabrand of Perrysburg for a Halloween costume party. The guest of honor was none other than the automobile magnate Henry Ford and his wife. It was reported in the Oct 31, 1927 Toledo Blade that the Fords arrived by limousine and brought the Ford old time dance orchestra with him. The Fords had dinner at Mrs. Ging’s renowned dining room in Waterville prior to the Halloween Ball.

Over 1000 guests danced to the music of the Ford Orchestra in the old ballroom, were served cider and doughnuts in the old bar room and fortunes were told in the 2nd floor room which had been used as a jail cell many years ago. The residents were excited about the visit by such a famous person and rumors were spread about that Mr. Ford would buy the lovely old building to add to his collection. Obviously he did not and John Pray’s old Columbian House is still part of Waterville.