Did you know that the swimming pool in Columbus Grove was built as a WPA project and is now on the National Register of Historic Places?
Did you know that William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State, campaigned for Wilson’s reelection in Ottawa in 1916?
Did you know that the last one-room school in Putnam County, located south of Glandorf, operated until 1950?
Did you know that at one time, Leipsic had an opera hall? In 1891, Orren Townsend opened his opera hall on the second floor of a building he built, and after that building burned down, the opera hall moved to the Hotel Leffler, which was also in Leipsic.
Did you know that Pandora has been known by several different names? When Pandora was first laid out and settled, it was known as Columbia. Sometime around 1850, the town’s name changed to Pendleton, and in 1882, it was renamed Pandora.
Did you know that a factory in Glandorf, called the Glandorf Woolen Mills, operated from 1865 until a few years before WWII? Glandorf Woolen Mills primarily produced blankets, and one local legend has it that the US government wanted to order a million dollars’ worth of blankets from the factory for use during the war, but the former owner simply replied, “Ya, it is no more.”
Did you know? In 1947, Putnam County voters saw a levy for a county hospital on the ballot. A majority voted in favor of a hospital, but the levy failed because favorable votes didn’t reach the 65% requirement.
Did you know? In May 1919, fifteen saloons in Putnam County closed when Prohibition took effect in Ohio. Nationwide prohibition began in 1920 and ended in 1933.
Did you know? In the 1936-37 school year, there were 5348 students in 18 school districts across Putnam County.
Did you know?
• Putnam County became home to two Revolutionary War veterans, Israel Hubbard and William Jack.
• In 1928, Jay Boyer of Belmore, an agriculture major at Ohio State University, became the editor-elect of the student publication Agricultural Student.
• The Ingram Brothers of Jacksonville, FL offered to bring an ostrich named Hurricane to the Putnam County Fair in 1908 for $300. They described Hurricane as one of the largest and fastest birds in the world. It is unknown whether Hurricane actually came to the fair.
• During the 1930s, Putnam County native Earl H. Hanefeld served as Ohio’s Director of Agriculture in the cabinets of governors George White and Martin L. Davey.
• In September 1938, Blanchard Township voters approved plans for a new high school building that included a combination gym and auditorium, and about half the funding for the project came from the Public Works Administration. The building was completed in 1939.
• Putnam County’s first bank, the Ottawa Exchange Bank, opened in 1865. The bank closed after its assets failed in January 1894; the failure was attributed to a government contract that caused losses for the bank. The next month, E.B. Hathaway, the bank’s clerk, was arrested on the charge of embezzling $5000.
• Cloverdale used to have its own school system, but high school classes were discontinued in 1936 and the elementary school closed after the 1958-59 school year ended.
• In 1928, a group of Putnam County residents lobbied to end Sunday movie showings at theaters in Columbus Grove and Leipsic, citing a desire to protect youth. The theaters’ owners and other residents argued that if a movie was good enough to show during the rest of the week, it was good enough for Sundays.
