North Baltimore and Its Neighbors

Located 25 miles south of Toledo, North Baltimore and its neighboring communities have seen dramatic changes since being settled in the 1830s. Pioneers labored to establish small farms and villages in the midst of what was then the Black Swamp, gradually achieving modest but precarious success. Then, in the 1880s, oil was discovered. The area flourished, attracting speculators, turning farmers into millionaires, and transforming quiet villages into rough-and-tumble boomtowns. It was a color...