Allion USA history

A man named David Hall came from New York to the town of Waterville in 1836 looking to buy a town lot.

By 1841 a church 36’ x 50’ was being built in Waterville but no parsonage at this time.

The big 3 ½ story mill was built around 1846, just a few years after the canal was opened to traffic.

An 1850 Lucas County census lists David Robbins, constable and farmer, age 47, born in Canada, with children: Lucy 18, Elizabeth 16, Wellington 14, and Mary Ette 12.

A well was drilled just north of Waterville in 1865 but yielded no oil.

The 1868 Ostrander Store account book has been indexed and is located at the Waterville Archival Research Center.

The Methodist history says that in 1879 a parsonage was built on lot 13 next to the church.

The first Waterville Mayor was Joseph Emmons Hall in 1882.

Benjamin, better known as Frank, was born July 27, 1890 to Benjamin and Maria (Sherer) Bucher in a log house on Bucher Road, near Whitehouse, Ohio.

Imagine what life was like in Waterville in 1900 when this ordinance was passed! The Waterville Historical Society has received many old documents from the Village of Waterville which have been organized and preserved at Wakeman Archives.

In 1904, a horse drawn, hand operated pump wagon and a large two wheel hose cart was purchased.

He married Wealthy May Isham , daughter of J.F.T. and Emma (Knaggs) Isham of Waterville, on June 28, 1914.

Did you now the first library was over the Starkweather Store at 12 North Third Street in about 1918.

By 1921 the old Miami and Erie Canal was no longer used for transportation but the entrepreneur in a newspaper sketch had found a new use for this nearly extinct waterway.

Later, about 1924 the I.O.O.F. (International Order of the Odd Fellows) Lodge bought the building and had it moved to 16 North Third Street where it still stands.

Then in 1926 about 1000 books were moved to the Waterville School to a converted sick room for the beginning of the Waterville Branch Library.

Did you know that in 1928 Waterville and Whitehouse seniors traveled to Washington, D.C. for an educational six day tour? It was for high school students under the direction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

At one time the Neowash Store building was owned and operated some forty years (unknown newspaper, May 30, 1929) by an organization of farmers known as the Patrons of Industry.

Lois Waffle became a full librarian by 1940.

The road through Waterville was not built until 1950.

In 1953 Anthony Wayne Trail open through Waterville and the new road became Route 24.

Jim Page’s Hardware moved in following the 1955 fire that destroyed the Witte building.

In 1956 teacher Estelle Wreede and her seventh grade social studies class undertook a project to document Waterville history through research, interviews and photographs.

Earlier businesses that were in this building were a blacksmith shop, Shop of Siebert Co., a garage, and then the Principal Business came to Waterville at 205 Farnsworth Road in 1962.

Later there was a Waterville Teen-Town that was open in circa 1963 school year in the vacated Stickney Electric Store at 38 N. Third Street.

The public going to the library was not permitted to go in any other part of the building. It opened on September 9, 1964 and Lois became the full-time librarian.

A "Saturday Evening Post" article of 1971 quoted Hope referring to Waterville, "The quiet in that town really scared me.

Extra copies of the 1973 edition were available for sale to those who needed a copy.

Unfortunately, the cottage was burned, probably by vandals, and Herb sold the island in 1980.

Lois Waffle retired from there in September 1983 and the library is now known as the Lois Waffle Branch Library.

Sources: Olde Waterville June Huffman, p.24 and “Architectural Styles” from Pat Ligabel report 1984