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Oil well near North Baltimore, circa 1890s
1886
Henry Township’s first oil well gusher occurs on Dave Fulton Farm, on the northeast corner of Oil Center and Mitchell Roads.
North Baltimore’s first gas well is established on Peters property at 207 East Broadway Street. It is still in use.
North Baltimore Times begins publication under G. G. Grimes.
1887
North Baltimore Bottle Glass Company is established on Mitchell Road in Henry Township. This site is now the location of the old France stone quarry.
1888
People’s Bank is organized in North Baltimore. It is closed in 1894 and purchased by the Hardy Banking Co. in 1896.
Zihlman Glass Company opens on East Water Street in North Baltimore, making 1,000 drinking glasses each day.
Enterprise Window Glass Company is established on Mitchell Road in Henry Township.
The second Henry Opera House is destroyed by fire. The town’s B&O depot burns, but it is replaced by a new structure which is still standing.
Central Pressed Brick Co. opens on Poe Road (Tile Yard Road) by the railroad, producing 8 million bricks annually.
The Zihlman Flint Glass Factory
1891 view looking north of South Main Street
1890
North Baltimore’s City Hall is built at 205 North Main Street at a cost of $5,925. It is razed in May of 1985.
First National Bank begins operation at the corner of North Main Street and East Broadway Street in North Baltimore.
The North Baltimore Electric Company is founded at 115 West State Street by Dr. Henry.
1891
Hardy Machine Company is organized and builds a plant on North Second Street to manufacture and repair parts for use in the oil fields. The firm is later purchased by the France Stone Company.
The Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton builds a branch line from Bowling Green to North Baltimore. The CH&D depot is located on East Broadway Street and burns in 1898.
1891 view looking north of South Main Street
1981
North Baltimore’s Great Fire of October 30, 1891 destroys 49 major buildings, innumerable small structures, and 76 businesses on North Main Street and destroys four houses on North Tarr Street.
1892
North Baltimore Water Company begins operation, bringing clean water to homes and businesses as well as to fire hydrants for increased fire protection.
1895
Drawing its recruits from the North Baltimore and Henry Township area, Company K, 2nd Regiment of the Ohio National Guard is organized. The unit is mobilized for the Spanish American War but does not engage in any combat operations. It is disbanded in the early 1900s.
1902
The Toledo, Bowling Green & Southern Electric Interurban (streetcar) Line through North Baltimore is completed. The line is later abandoned in 1930 due to competition from automobiles and the financial hardship of the Great Depression of 1929.
1904
France Stone Company begins quarrying operations on Mitchell Road in Henry Township. The quarry itself covers nearly 100 acres. Local operations cease in the 1980s. The property is now owned by Hanson Aggregate.
Founded by Isaac Dallas Smith, the Smith Foundry & Machine Co., Inc. on West Broadway Street begins manufacturing cast iron products. It continues to be one the town’s oldest family-run businesses until it closes in the early 21st Century.
(Pictured Left) Toledo, Bowling Green, & Southern Interurban Electric Streetcars in North Baltimore, circa 1905
1911
The third Henry Opera House and the business block on the west side of North Main Street are destroyed by fire. The owners decide not to rebuild because of increasing competition from the two new motion picture theaters which have opened in town.
1915
The Oil Boom ends in Henry Township and the rest of Northwest Ohio as crude oil production drops due to poor conservation practices and over-drilling.
1888 map of North Baltimore
1890 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
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