Did you Know?
- In the early 1900s, the Pandora Overall Company was one of Putnam County’s largest employers, having around 26 women and 12 men on staff.
- In 1915, there were 30 telephone companies in Putnam County, including Gilboa Farmers Mutual, Ottoville Telephone Company, and Glandorf Mutual.
- The Leipsic Free Press, later the Leipsic Messenger, began publishing local news in its paper in 1878.
- Franconia was one of Putnam County’s first towns, and was located south of where Dupont is now. Its post office opened in 1826, and other businesses such as a blacksmith shop and a grist mill opened there over the years. All that remains of Franconia now are some building foundations and a cemetery.
- The first permanent building in Ottawa was Michael Row’s log tavern, built around 1834.
- In 1820, there were 230 white settlers in Putnam County. By 1840, the population had grown to 5132.
- As cars gained popularity, car dealerships and mechanic shops replaced blacksmiths and horse liveries. Slusser Garage in Columbus Grove was one such dealership.
- Medary, a small settlement in Liberty Township, was laid out in 1845. Its mill was unique in that the upper level had a grist mill and the lower level had a sawmill. Most of the time, the grist mill and sawmill were in separate buildings. Around 1900-1910, a room at the Leopold House hotel in Ottawa cost two dollars a night.
- In the 1890s and early 1900s, many Putnam County towns started laying brick streets. Although the county had a number of brick manufacturers, most of the bricks used for the streets came from southern Ohio.
- In 1904, a canning company opened in Pandora, mainly working with corn, tomatoes, and sauerkraut. It closed for a while, but reopened in the 1940s.
- The U.S. Mop Company opened a factory in Leipsic in 1909. The company employed about 50 people. Although the mops were considered good quality and were distributed across the country, the company closed in 1913.
- In 1957, the Putnam County Fair Board contracted the Kerns and Stauffer electric firm from Continental to add lights to the fairground’s race track. That year, there were evening horse races on the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of the fair, and the 4-H clubs held their parade on the race track on Thursday evening.
- Prohibition ended in December 1933. On April 21st, 1934, Putnam County’s state liquor store opened in Ottawa. Its opening was one of the markers of legal alcohol sales after Prohibition.
- The Great Depression caused a sharp decline in land values in Putnam County. As a result, a group of residents formed a county tax organization with the goal of reducing county expenditures. It is unknown whether this group succeeded or failed.
- In the fall of 1919, an Ohio Electric freight train hit Fred Pacey’s cow, which was crossing the railroad track two miles north of Ottawa. The first car was derailed and the train came to a standstill. Of those involved, only the cow sustained injuries.
- In August 1923, six county newspapers published special editions to focus on the interests of farmers and farm organizations. The newspapers were The Columbus Grove Vidette, The Continental News-Review, The Leipsic Free Press, The Ottawa Gazette, The Pandora Times, and The Putnam County Sentinel.