Description: This stereograph shows the Lucas County Courthouse in Toledo, Ohio. Pedestrians are strolling on walkways leading to the courthouse. Opened in 1897, the courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06165
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio; Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio); Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Downtown Waterville in Lucas County. John Pray founded Waterville in 1831. Waterville was founded after he had built a water-powered grist mill on the Maumee River in 1821. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06840
Subjects: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Naval Armory in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00375
Subjects: Lucas County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Langley's Inn, built as an Indian trading post in 1828. Still stands in an excellent state of preservation on River Road at E. Wayne St. in Maumee, Ohio." The oldest business building in Lucas County, Ohio, the Commercial Building at 301 River Road has been known by different names over the years, including the Neeley House, the Eagle, the Schieley House, the Bismark, the Seurin Hotel, the Langley Inn, the Governor’s Inn, J. Brown’s River Inn, and the Old Plantation Inn. In 1836, Levi Beebe built the Commercial Building. Initially, several different businesses occupied the structure, including various law firms, several stores, and even the local post office. The building also housed an inn at this time. Several prominent people purportedly stayed at the inn, including future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. Businesses in the Commercial Building flourished during the 1830s and 1840s. The structure was located on the stagecoach route between Detroit, Michigan and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Also, Maumee is located on the Maumee River, and river traffic brought business and guests to the area. Maumee also was the original county seat of Lucas County, bringing people to the community who were engaged in legal matters or in politics. In 1837, the Lucas County Whig Party actually formed in the Commercial Building. In 1852, the Lucas County seat moved to Toledo. The Maumee economy weakened at this time, but the Commercial Building continued to house various businesses. Purportedly, the structure served as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the years before the American Civil War. During the twentieth century, the building principally functioned as an inn and restaurant. As of this writing, the Commercial Building houses Giannos Restaurant. The Commercial Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_012_1
Subjects: National Historic Landmark Program (U.S.); Historic sites--Maumee River Valley (Ind. and Ohio)--Pictorial works; Lucas County (Ohio)--History.
Places: Maumee (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Willys Overland, in Lucas County, was home to the first Jeep. In 1909 the Willys-Overland Motor Company started building the Overland 38 in Toledo. 1926 was the last year that the Overland s were built. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06545
Subjects: Jeep automobiles; Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio); Manufacturing industries--Ohio
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Freighters docked on the Maumee River, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00374
Subjects: Lucas County (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The campus of Toledo University. Toledo University was founded on October 12, 1872 by Jessup Wakeman Scott. It was originally a private arts and trades school called Toledo University of Arts and Trades. Scott was the editor of the Toledo Blade. It is now know as the University of Toledo. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06546
Subjects: University of Toledo; Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio); Education, Higher--Ohio--History
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Elevated view of a patriotic parade on Monroe Street in Toledo, Ohio, July 5, 1886. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01003
Subjects: Lucas County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Parades; Celebrations
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows Rupp’s Canal Store on the Miami and Erie Canal in Waterville, Ohio, in the 1880s. The building is a three-story structure situated on a boardwalk running along the canal. A canal boat is moored in front of the store, tied to a hitching post on the boardwalk. A man and a young child (facing the camera) are standing near the store. Rupp’s Canal Store was opened in 1854 by Orrin Gillett and William Dyer. Over the years it has several owners until purchased by Jacob Rupp, who renamed it Rupp’s Canal Store. It was one of the busiest places of commerce in Waterville during the canal era. The completion of the Miami and Erie Canal through Waterville in 1843 began a short-lived prosperous era for the village. Businesses mushroomed along its banks, and Westerville’s business center shifted from Main Street (now River Road) to Third Street, where it remains today. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s. By the 1850s canals were losing business to the railroads, which offered several advantages. Railroads delivered passengers and goods more quickly, and they were not limited by a water source as canals were. Because of these advantages, railroads quickly supplanted the canals. The Miami and Erie Canal, connecting Toledo to Cincinnati, joined the Wabash and Erie Canal to Indiana. The Waterville section of the canal was completed in 1843. Boats pulled by mules or horses walking on the canal banks hauled farm products, commercial goods, and people. In 1851 there were approximately 400 boats operating on the canal. Hotels, stores, and mills sprung up along its banks. Canal operations ceased in 1909 as railroads and automobiles became faster and cheaper means of travel. During the 1930s and 1940s the canal bed was filled in to become the Anthony Wayne Trail, U. S. Route 24 View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06113
Subjects: Canals--Ohio--History--19th century; Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio)--History; Lucas County (Ohio); Waterville (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)