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: Original description reads: "Lucas Co., Waterville, Ohio. Built as trading post in 1828, now known as the 'Haunted Curiosity Shop'." The Columbian House, originally a stagecoach inn, was built in 1828 by John Pray. In 1837, the building was expanded, featuring a ballroom on the third floor and the town’s jail on the second. For years it played a central role in Waterville, and was even the site of the first post office. It is recognized as one of the finest examples of Federal style architecture. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F02_021_001
Subjects: Historic buildings--Ohio--Waterville
Places: Waterville (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)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Lucas Co., Columbian House, Waterville, O. Now known as the 'Haunted Curiosity Shop'." The Columbian House, originally a stagecoach inn, was built in 1828 by John Pray. In 1837, the building was expanded, featuring a ballroom on the third floor and the town’s jail on the second. For years it played a central role in Waterville, and was even the site of the first post office. It is recognized as one of the finest examples of Federal style architecture. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F02_020_001
Subjects: Historic buildings--Ohio--Waterville
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is part of a series of photographs taken by the Ohio Department of Agriculture documenting farms in Ohio. This photograph shows the Farnsworth family farmhouse owned by W.G. Farnsworth near Waterville, Ohio. The farm spanned 104 acres where Farnsworth grew peaches, apples, cherries, and strawberries. His son reported that there were three or four tenants residing in houses on the farm. Farnsworth served as President of the Ohio State Farmers' Institute. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA726AV_B01F19_001_1
Subjects: Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Farmhouses; Rural Life
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is part of a series of photographs taken by the Ohio Department of Agriculture documenting farms in Ohio. This photograph shows a farmhouse on a farm owned by W.G. Farnsworth near Waterville, Ohio. The farm spanned 104 acres where Farnsworth grew peaches, apples, cherries, and strawberries. His son reported that there were three or four tenants residing in houses on the farm. Farnsworth served as president of the Ohio State Farmers' Institute. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA726AV_B01F19_002_1
Subjects: Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Farmhouses; Rural Life
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is part of a series of photographs taken by the Ohio Department of Agriculture documenting farms in Ohio. This photograph shows two views of a barn on the Farnsworth farm owned by W.G. Farnsworth, near Waterville, Ohio. The farm spanned 104 acres where Farnsworth grew peaches, apples, cherries, and strawberries. His son reported that there were three or four tenants residing in houses on the farm. Farnsworth served as president of the Ohio State Farmers' Institute. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA726AV_B01F19_003_1
Subjects: Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Barns; Rural Life
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is part of a series of photographs taken by the Ohio Department of Agriculture documenting farms in Ohio. This photograph shows a barn on the Farnsworth farm owned by W.G. Farnsworth near Waterville, Ohio. The farm spanned 104 acres where Farnsworth grew peaches, apples, cherries, and strawberries. His son reported that there were three or four tenants residing in houses on the farm. Farnsworth served as president of the Ohio State Farmers' Institute. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA726AV_B01F19_004_1
Subjects: Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Barns; Rural Life
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is part of a series of photographs taken by the Ohio Department of Agriculture documenting farms in Ohio. This photograph shows a storage building on the Farnsworth farm owned by W.G. Farnsworth near Waterville, Ohio. The farm spanned 104 acres where Farnsworth grew peaches, apples, cherries, and strawberries. His son reported that there were three or four tenants residing in houses on the farm. Farnsworth served as president of the Ohio State Farmers' Institute. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA726AV_B01F19_005_1
Subjects: Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Barns; Rural Life
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Canal plat map showing a section of the Miami and Erie Canal through Lucas County, between stations 645 and 895. The Maumee River and the community of Waterville are pictured, and properties, railroads, stations, locks, and other landmarks along the route are noted. The map was created under the direction of the members of the Canal Commission of the state of Ohio and approved by the Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Works (variously referred to as the Board of Public Works and the Division of Public Works). Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal took place between 1825 and 1845, and the finished route connected Cincinnati and Toledo, as well as the Ohio River with Lake Erie. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: BV4923_005
Subjects: Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio); Transportation; Canals -- Ohio; Rivers--Ohio
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Canal plat map showing a section of the Miami and Erie Canal past Waterville in Lucas County, between stations 681 and 758. Roads, properties, and other landmarks along the route are noted. The map was created under the direction of the members of the Canal Commission of the state of Ohio and approved by the Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Works (variously referred to as the Board of Public Works and the Division of Public Works). Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal took place between 1825 and 1845, and the finished route connected Cincinnati and Toledo, as well as the Ohio River with Lake Erie. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: BV23166_022
Subjects: Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio); Transportation; Canals -- Ohio
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The once-massive limestone rock outcropping standing in the Maumee River known as Roche de Boeuf has marked many events in the history of the Maumee Valley. It was a legendary site for American Indians and the place where they gathered before the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794. Early records indicate a nearby French settlement in the 1700s was called both Roche de Bout and Roche de Boeuf (spelled here Rouche de Boeuf), but for the last hundred years or so the latter has been most frequently used for both the rock and the lost settlement. About one-third of the rock was destroyed when the railroad bridge was built which caused a great controversy. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07687
Subjects: American Indian history and society; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Maumee River (Ind. and Ohio); Geology--Ohio
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)