By: Stan Jordan
On the 30th day of December 1863 a number of Antwerp citizens took a petition to the Paulding County Commissioners for Antwerp to become an incorporated village. One of the Paulding County Commissioners at that time was Sam Forder.
There were two Sam Forders in the history of Crane Township. They were not father and son, maybe not even related, but I think they were because they are buried in Forders Cemetary in the Bethel Church area.
Now I think this Sam Forder was born in New York around 1814 and settled in Crane Township around 1840. After a few years he was elected to the county commissioner office, but he didn’t live long, as he died in January of 1868 and was buried in Forder Cemetery. Not very much is known of this gentleman.
There was another Samuel Forder who was born in 1871 and I think he lived here in Crane Township and he had a middle initial of “G”. I think he lived at the Forder Homestead there in CR-192.
This Samuel G. Forder had a couple of grandsons who went to school with me in the 1930’s here in Antwerp.
The first Sam Forder had a number of children, George was born in 1841 and he is the one we are talking about. He passed away in 1924. All the Forders were good workers and helped to clear and settle that part of Crane Township.
George Forder, in his own time and money, built the abutment on the north end of the bank to hold a bridge over the Maumee River. The powers that be, inspected his work and agreed it was excellent, so in 1889, a bridge was built across the Maumee and was anchored on the north end on Mr. Forder’s abutment that he had built.
Everything was fine and the officials from the county rewarded George by naming it, Forder’s Bridge. The old 2 span steel bridge was replaced a few years ago.
The Forders were all hard working, early pioneers of Crane Township. When they came, all was forest and swamp.
See ya!
