Waterville, Ohio

<H2 ALIGN=center>Welcome to H2Oville</H2> <p>Sorry, your browser does not support frames. <p>Download a browser that does, (<a href="http://home.netscape.com/">Netscape 4.0 and above</a> or <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download/">Internet Explorer 5.0</a>)</a>. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"> The h2oville website is dedicated to the citizens and residents of Waterville, Ohio who believe that citizen participationis absolutely necessary for their security in assuring good governance. Please feel free to post your Waterville, Ohio related comments on the h2o forum and cast your votes in the vote caster. The chat room is available to all. It has great utility for former residents of Waterville who want to stay in touch with their old neighbors from the village thought they may now live far away.<BR><BR> Additionally, Waterville, Ohio organizations can schedule specific times for their membership to gather on-line and participate in cyber meetings. </P> <p align="center"><font color="000000"><b>A Rich History</b></p> <p align="left"><b>Though pioneers had called the area home since 1817, it wasn't until 1830 that John Pray laid out the village and began drawing a plat map.  Waterville is the second oldest plat in Lucas County.  The original plat consisted of 50 lots and the area where the former Waterville Elementary School now stands was designated as the public square, where the townspeople tethered their cows to graze.  The village was incorporated in 1882.</b></font></p> </center> <p align="left"><b>One of Waterville's most important historical treasures is the Columbian House, now a restaurant, that stands at the corner of River Road and Farnsworth. John Pray built the first wing of this imposing structure in 1828 and it served as a trading post, tavern, and inn.  Lucas County tax records show a valuation of $700 for the Columbian House in 1836.  With its black walnut framing timbers, doors and woodwork, duplication of the building today would be prohibitive indeed.  In 1837, the three story section was added with its great ballroom on the third floor and the village's only jail cell on the second.  It soon became the social center for the entire area.  Perhaps its most famous guest was Henry Ford who rented the Columbian House for a Halloween Ball in 1927.  John Pray sold the inn in 1843, the same year as the opening of the Miami and Erie Canal.  Perhaps he anticipated that the stage coach passengers who traveled the River Road would switch their loyalties to the more comfortable canal boats.</b></font></p> <center> <p align="left"><font color="#003366" size="2"><b>The first canal boat passed through Waterville in 1843 on its way to Fort Wayne.  In 1845, the United States Government transported soldiers on the canal from Toledo to Cincinnati for the Mexican War, a trip that took 56 hours.  Until 1852,  the canal was regarded as part of a great military highway between New York and New Orleans.  Gristmills and general stores prospered along the canal; the Pekin Mill and Rupp's Store in Waterville were two of the busiest.  In 1916 Waterville was said to be the grain center of Ohio.  The canal also served as entertainment for local residents; it was a favorite spot for ice skating from Thanksgiving to the spring thaw.  It was not uncommon to skate to Grand Rapids and back in an evening.  After skating, young and old alike would gather around the big old stove at the back of Rupp's Store to warm themselves.  During the summer, the canal was used for fishing.  Beginning in 1929, the canal was drained and filled.  The age of the railroad had long since eclipsed the era of the canal.</b></font></p> <p align="left"><font color="#003366" size="2"><b>Waterville residents were excited when the Lima-Toledo Traction Company announced in 1907 that an interurban line through the village was being planned with cars expecting to reach Toledo in the miraculous time of 20 minutes.  Grandest of all was the news that the longest reinforced concrete railroad bridge in the world would be built at the historic site of the Roche de Boeuf, an outcropping of rock in the Maumee River just south of the village where native Americans were said to have gathered in earlier times.  For the next 30 years the red interurban cars raced across the bridge, one of the cars actually winning a race against an airplane in 1930, rocketing along at nearly 100 miles an hour.  The railway line went out of business in 1937, but the decaying old bridge remains standing today as a testament to engineering history.</b></font></p> <p align="left" style="line-height: 100%"><font color="#003366" size="2"><b>The Waterville Historical Society was organized in 1964.  The Society currently owns and functions as steward for three historic buildings in Waterville, two of which are historical museums. They are open to the public one day each month during the summer months and during the annual Roche de Boeuf Festival in September. </b></font><font size="2"><b><font color="#003366">The third,</font></b></font> <font color="#003366"><b><font size="2">Wakeman Hall, serves as the Society’s meeting room and home to the Wakeman Archival</font></b></font> <font size="2"><b><font color="#003366">Research Center for genealogists and other researchers of local history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></b></font><font color="#003366" size="2"><b>The Society also conducts guided walking tours of the historical section of Waterville and programs of historical interest.  The Waterville Historical Society can be contacted at PO Box 263, Waterville, Ohio 43566, or by e-mail through this web site.</b></font></p> <p align="center" style="line-height: 100%"></center><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><font color="#003366" size="4">Wakeman Archival Research Center</font></b></span><font color="#003366" size="2"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p> </span></font></p>    <p><p> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">H2Oville</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Government Links</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Media Links</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Reference Links</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Events</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Canals</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Water</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville My 2 Cents</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Commerce</A><br> <A HREF="http://www.h2oville.com" TARGET="_blank">Waterville Fun Stuff</A><br> <p><p>