Years Ago In Paulding County 

By: Melinda Krick

It Happened in February …

Many notable events in county history have taken place in the month of February:

1820 – The Ohio Legislature divides the last remaining unorganized area of the state into 14 counties, including Paulding County.

1824 – Williams County organizes with Defiance as the county seat. Paulding County is attached to it for judicial purposes until its own organization in 1839. 

1832 – Ground is broken at Fort Wayne for construction of the Wabash & Erie Canal east to Junction in Paulding County. The canal will link Lake Erie at Toledo with the Ohio River at Evansville, Ind.

1872 – The upper part of the Paulding (iron smelting) Furnace catches fire. Several local citizens work to extinguish the flames, which cause about $1,000 worth of damage to the structure.

1874 – Four Granges (Flat Rock, Washington, Latty and Oakwood) organize, following the formation of the first Grange in the county in January.

1876 – Poles for a telegraph line between Emerald Station and Paulding have been put in place.

1877 – Ties have been purchased for the Paulding & Cecil Railroad and if the weather holds, work should begin next week.

1880 – The fire alarm rings for Antwerp Furnace, caused by the blowing out of the gas from the stack, sending flames several hundred feet into the air. Debris falls onto the furnace and some of the adjoining dwellings. The works are set ablaze in a dozen different places, but are extinguished without serious damage. Two nearby frame buildings, occupied as residences by laborers at the works, are set on fire; one is totally destroyed and the roof and upper story of the other are burned away.

1883 – A big storm and the resulting flooding cause the county to suffer materially in the loss of bridges. The wagon bridge at Oakwood is out, the large covered bridge at Charloe is damaged and the iron bridge at Junction suffers the loss of the two east spans.

1901 – George Ankney of Emerald Township brings suit in common pleas court against several individuals, charging them with the destruction of a building belonging to him at Tate’s Landing. The building in question was the one which has been occupied by a saloon for some time and several weeks ago was blow up by dynamite. Mrs. Englehart was running a saloon in the building and, she failed to pay her dow tax, the goods were removed to town by the sheriff. After the goods were removed, dynamite was placed under it and it was damaged very badly.

1904 – The Paulding Library Association opens a reading room and a library of over 200 volumes for the use and benefit of the general public. The library is located over the bank on the east side of the square. Every article of furniture in the room has been donated by thoughtful friends. Those giving substantial gifts to the library were Mrs. Eichling, Mrs. Darsie, Mrs. Ice, Mrs. Remage Sr., Mrs. E.P. Clark, Mrs. James Gasser, Mr. M.C. Powell, Mr. W.E. Decker, Mrs. Gample, Mr. Marshall, Mrs. Herzer, Mrs. Sidle and Mr. Dunathan.

1905 – The Charloe post office is discontinued. It was established in 1840.

1911 – A subscription drive is under way to raise money to purchase four lots as a site for a new armory.

1914 – “Town of Charloe to be Sold by the Sheriff”: Notices appear that the sheriff will offer at public auction nearly 200 lots in the former county seat of Charloe – practically the entire town. They are sold for delinquent taxes with no appraisal placed on them.

1915 – Currently under construction: the new Carnegie library and brick main building at the county infirmary (county home) east of Paulding.

1917 – An unknown man, about age 23, dies when the city jail at Melrose is destroyed by fire. The young man was about Melrose most all the previous day, having the appearance of a hobo very much. Along toward evening he asked for a place to stay all night and was taken to the city calaboose by the marshal. A neighbor was roused from her slumber by what she thought were cries for help. She awakened her husband and they discovered the jail in flames. The marshal arrived and unlocked the door but the building was nearly ready to collapse. The village has no fire department and the fire had such a start when discovered that the bucket brigade could do nothing with it.

1919 – The county’s first hospital opens on the second floor of a building on the west side of the square in Paulding. Three physicians are partnering in the private institution.

1925 – Courthouse janitor William Raths is found dead from a fall in the courthouse dome. His landlord began looking for him after not showing up for breakfast or lunch. The landlord and Sheriff Betts searched the courthouse and discovered Raths’ body on the floor. It is supposed that some time after 11 p.m., Raths had climbed the ladder to see of the trapdoor in the dome roof was closed, missed his footing in the dark and fell to his death.

1931 – Subscriptions are being solicited to purchase land at the site of old Fort Brown to create a park.

1932 – The sugar beet factory is sold at a sheriff’s auction.

1942 – The Grizzly Manufacturing Co. begins producing brake linings at its new factory in Paulding. Twenty-five employees are hired to start, with plans to run three eight-hour shifts 24 hours a day.

1943 – The two cannons on the northwest and southeast corners of the courthouse lawn are removed and sold for scrap. Proceeds from the sale are used to erect an “honor roll” of residents serving in World War II. The county’s scrap collection already totals more than 5 million pounds, including scrap iron, rubber and other salvage materials.

1948 – Construction begins on the new Paulding Theatre, replacing the old Grand Theatre that burned in 1946. Wartime shortages of building materials and workers caused several delays to rebuilding plans. Owner Arthur Weaver promises a beautiful, larger, modern, fireproof theatre.

1949 – Grover Hill’s three-story Farm & Home Store, also called the Fraternal Company Store, is destroyed by fire.

1950 – Flood waters last week at Oakwood are reported by numerous old-timers to have been the highest since the great flood back in 1913 when most of the town was under water. The recent “high tide” had the entire south end of town shut off, with the only means of transportation by row boat.

1959 – A state of emergency exists at the Paulding County Hospital east of Paulding when the creek rises to flood stage and is only a few inches from the main entrance, as patients are being evacuated. At least 35 families at Oakwood are forced to evacuate due to flooding conditions on the Auglaize River. Volunteers work into the night helping move personal belongings, furniture and store merchandise from inundated homes and businesses. The Payne School is closed because of flooding in its gym and boiler room.

1961 – Paulding County Hospital hosts a two-day open house to showcase the new $750,000 facility with 50 patient beds, 15 maternity beds, nursery with 15 bassinets, two operating rooms, emergency room and other modern amenities.

1967 – Lawrence Hipp announces plans to publish a history of Grover Hill and Latty and Washington townships. The book will depict earlier business and social life of the communities, such as churches, the railroad, villages, fire departments, bands, lodges and citizens.

1973 – The old sugar beet factory is purchased by Doyle Hartzog of Paulding and John Webb of Defiance. Work has begun on clearing the surrounding acreage. The new owners have not made definite plans for usage of the property but consider the location excellent for future development. The building, erected in 1910, will be razed with the exception of the lower warehouse on the west end.