By: Melinda Krick
Paulding County Bicentennial Committee Part 1 of 2
This article originally was written for Visions Volume 6, published by the Paulding County Progress in 2005. Some entries have been updated.
PAULDING – Emerald Road. Antwerp. Benton Township. Auglaize River. We hear and see dozens of familiar place names every day around Paulding County, but give them little thought. However, there’s a history behind every name of every township, waterway, town, school and landmark. As you study a map of Paulding County, the words printed on it reflect the times and the circumstances of the men and women who settled here.
Some names have their origins in other cities and countries. Politicians, military heroes and other famous people were memorialized by some communities. In other places, names given by Native American peoples are still in use after several hundred years. The region’s early French and British influences colored some choices for place names. Still other sites were named for the surroundings, local industries, or the men who founded the town. The sources of some names may be lost to history forever.
Antwerp – W. Wilshire Riley, General Horatio N. Curtis and Samuel Rice surveyed the town in 1841. They consulted a post office directory to find a name not already used. Riley suggested “Antwerp.” It comes from Antwerp, Belgium. The area had many settlers from Germany and Holland.
Arena – Unknown. It was a crossroads community in Paulding Township in the late 1890s.
Arthur – Named in honor of Chester A. Arthur, then President of the U.S. when a post office was established there in 1884.
Auglaize – Mentioned in the writings of early explorers as though it was a Delaware Indian village situated on a branch of the Maumee River; meaning “at the lick.” Another version says “The French gave it the name in the 1600s; it means river at or of the clay and loam banks.” The French word “glaise” means loamy or clay. Still another source claims that in the Shawnee Indian language it meant “fallen timbers.”
Baldwin – Timothy Baldwin platted the town in Benton Township on May 19, 1890 on the Findlay and Fort Wayne Railroad.
Batson – For Andrew (or A.W.) Batson, who first petitioned for a post office there and was the town’s first postmaster in 1891.
Benton – (Township) Named in honor of U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, an outstanding national figure.
Black Swamp – No one knows the origin for certain. Eighteenth century land speculators claimed that it referred to the rich black soil, but usually it is thought to be from the fact that the forests were so dense that sunlight hardly reached the ground – an “impenetrable gloom.”
Blue Creek – (Township, Creek) Probably descriptive. The township is named for the creek.
Briceton – For the Honorable Calvin T. Brice, a U.S. Senator from Ohio who lived in Lima. He helped build the N.Y., Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, later known as the Nickel Plate, which crosses the county.
Broughton – Possibly for someone named Broughton who was connected with the stave mill there. A 1968 newspaper article claimed, “The village got its name from a Mr. Broughton, who established a local lumber factory.” Also possibly for the first Baron Broughton, a British statesman.
Brown – (Township) Also Fort Brown. For “Colonel Brown” who constructed Fort Brown during the War of 1812 and is believed to be buried at the site.
Canalport – (Also Canal Port) Literally, a canal port or export spot for quarried stone and timber along the Miami & Erie Canal.
Carryall – (Township) For a large rock in the Maumee River, just above Antwerp; shaped like a boat used by the French voyagers in navigating the river, called by them a “carryall.”
Cecil – Supposedly for the engineer on the Wabash Railroad who made the first run between Fort Wayne and Toledo; his name was Cecil.
Charloe – For an Indian chief known as Charloe Peter.
County Line – Descriptive; a crossroads community near the Paulding-Putnam County Line.
Crane – (Township) For Oliver Crane, one of its early settlers.
Cranesville – A trading post settlement named for Oliver Crane, an early settler.
Crooked Creek – Probably descriptive; early name for Flat Rock Creek.
Dague – (Rhymes with “vague”) For Hamilton Chauncy Dague, a promoter who platted the town.
Doylestown – For Samuel Doyle Sr., who ran a packet line on the Miami & Erie Canal and carried mail between Cincinnati and Toledo.
Emerald – (Township) For the many early settlers who originated from “The Emerald Isle” (Ireland).
Emmett – (also Emmitt) Possibly derived from its original name of Emerald Station; also possibly a family name.
Englewood – Named for the Englewood Tile Mill at the site.
Ettiesburg – Platted in 1860 by Samuel Shisler and named for his daughter, Etta.
Exchange Bridge – A canal town named because the canal towpath changed sides at this location.
Five Span – Named for a five-span iron bridge built across the Auglaize River.
Flat Rock – (Creek) From the flat limestone bed for the distance of a mile from its mouth at the Auglaize River. Flat Rock City – Descriptive; community along the Flat Rock Creek.
Folmer – (Also Follmer, Fulmer, Fullmer) Probably named for an early resident of Blue Creek Township. Forder’s Bridge – For local landowner George Forder, who built the stone abutments and pier for the bridge in 1889. The bridge was replaced in 1995.
Fort Brown – See “Brown.”
Furnace – In 1861-64, a company from Pittsburgh known as Evans, Rogers & Co. established what was then called a Catalan Bloomery and Forge for the reduction of iron ore by direct process. This plant was located on the north side of the Wabash & Erie Canal in Crane Township, 1.5 miles south of Cecil. It was later referred to as the old furnace farm.
Giauque – (Pronounced “gee-oak” or “joke”) Named for Cincinnati attorney Florien Giauque, manager of the Deshler Land Company and an extensive landowner in the Black Swamp, including Paulding County. A post office was located in this community from February 1903 to February 1904.
Gilbert’s Mills – Named for Philander Gilbert, who built a sawmill and gristmill there starting about 1866. Goodwin – A railroad town possibly named for the Goodwin family.
Grover Hill – Named in honor of former President Grover Cleveland, and former Congressman W.D. Hill. The name was changed to one word, Groverhill, from 1895-1905, then changed back to two words.
Hamer – Believed named for Gen. Thomas L. Hamer, an officer in the Mexican War, and a congressman in the 1830s.
Harrison – (Township) Probably for William Henry Harrison, a general in the War of 1812 who marched his men up the Auglaize River and built Fort Brown. He also was a U.S. Senator and the ninth President of the U.S. Haviland – For John F. Haviland, a proprietor who owned land in the area.
Hedges – For W.C. Hedges, who laid out the town along the Nickel Plate Railroad.
Henpeck – Unknown. This settlement was located in Crane Township. There were also towns called Henpeck in Clermont and Warren counties in Ohio.
Hipp’s Lock – John J. Hipp settled at the site of the lock on the Miami & Erie Canal and erected a store and mill. He was the first postmaster in 1868. The community also was known as Timberville.
Holcombeville – For Major A.B. Holcombe, who owned a stave and lumber mill. Also see Morrison P.O. Indian Bridge – Unknown. The bridge is located on Road 123 over Flat Rock Creek in Jackson Township. Next time: More towns, townships and other points of interest.
More information can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PauldingCounty200.
