Toledo History

Jan. 22
1813 -The River Raisin massacre occurs near Frenchtown Township in Michigan. Hundreds of American troops under command of General Winchester are killed by the British and Indians. The attack is led by Chief Tecumseh and the defeat became an American battle cry for the remainder of War of 1812.
1888 - It's reported in several newspapers that kegs of whiskey are washing ashore near Toledo and are believed to be coming from a 30-year old shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Erie.
1927 - Seven people are killed and eight others injured in the gas explosion of a two-story retail and apartment building in Point Place.
1929 - The collision of a Lakeshore Electric train and a bus at Bellevue leaves 19 people dead. Oddly, an injured passenger from Detroit, who thought he was dying, confessed to rescuers that he had recently robbed a bank. (He didn't die.)
1934 - Six bandits board a southbound Toledo passenger train and hold passengers hostage in the Pullman car while looting their luggage and belongings. A Florida man was shot and wounded in his sleep.
1965 - Plans approved to dismantle the "troublesome" glass tower fountain at the Civic Center Mall. The 35-foot high fountain of glass blocks and lights had never worked correctly since it was built 20 years before.

Jan. 23
1904 - A massive back up of flood waters that threatened downtown Toledo has now been loosened and the city is hopeful the worst has passed. Three main bridges over the Maumee were damaged by the high water and ice.
1910 - Toledo Public Schools continue their tradition of offering sleigh rides to school children. This year because of lack of snow, the rides will go to the youngest children first.
1912 - A 16-year- old Toledo boy tells a juvenile court that he was driven to commit robberies because of drug habit he was coaxed into by the dope traffickers that hang out near the school selling heroin tablets.
1933 -Toledo Blade reports that a new chapter of the KKK is formed in Toledo and is called the General Custer Klan.
1959 - A Chase Street couple is arrested and later convicted for chaining their 7-year-old daughter to a bedpost in her bedroom for the past two years.
1959 - Fire breaks out in BGSU campus dining hall. Heavy damage reported.

Jan. 24
1879 - A large grain elevator on the Middle Grounds by the Maumee River burns to the ground. Over 100,000 bushels of corn and 120,000 bushels of flax seed are destroyed.
1899 -Toledo inventor Allen DeVilbiss patents an automatic scale.
1906 - Three downtown business blocks are leveled by flames in Genoa. The fast moving blaze took out several stores including the meat market of Cashen and Gallup.
1930 - About 1,000 jobless men protesting lack of jobs, erupt into small riot on the streets of Toledo, ransacking downtown stores.
1959 - Violinist Isaac Stern plays with Toledo Symphony at the Peristyle.
1963 - Deep freeze hits Toledo area. Temps recorded at -19 degrees.
1965 - Major ice storm closes schools and businesses. Snarls traffic, causes power and phone outages throughout the Toledo area.

Jan. 25
1889 - It's noted in numerous papers that Northwest Ohio now makes one-third of all barrel staves in the United States, but that it won't last for long as the forests of the area are being quickly cut down and vanishing.
1901 - Reported in the Toledo Bee that a man was sent to the Toledo workhouse for 60 days for insulting women.
1931 - Seven thousand people are reported to have mobbed the courthouse in Bucyrus to avenge the killing of Sheriff Davenport. The mob demands to lynch one of the three accused killers. They are turned away.
1958 - Trilby Fire department investigates major fire at Miracle Mile Shopping Center in West Toledo; $600,000 in damage, destroying the W.T. Grant Store and four others.

Jan. 26
1921 - Toledo police display what is called a collection of “tin cans.” The entire fleet of crime fighting vehicles included seven old discarded Ford jalopies and a few motorcycles. Council members are so shocked they approve money for six new high powered police cars and 15 motorcycles.
1922 - Toledo police patrolman Ray Lockwood hailed as hero for saving the life of six-year-old Harriet Quinn who fell through the ice of the Miami-Erie canal while on her way to school in north Toledo.

1958 - Grammy award winning R&B/jazz singer Anita Baker born in Toledo. At two years of age she was sent to live with foster parents in Detroit where she launched her singing career in the 1980's.
1965 - The entire Ottawa Hills Police department walks off the job in dispute over the leadership of the department. Six officers turned in their badges and guns. Toledo police officers were pressed into service as back-up.
1978 - Massive blizzard hits Northwest Ohio, creating worst conditions in more than a century. Most of area is paralyzed. With 15 inches of snow and massive drifting, businesses, highways and schools are closed for days. City doesn't recover for many weeks. The "Blizzard of '78" remains the storm against which all other winter storms in the region are measured.
1992 - UT student Melissa Herstrum is kidnapped and murdered by UT policeman Jeffrey Hodge, who is convicted and sent to prison for life.

Jan. 27
1893 - Anti-Catholic movement grows in some areas of Toledo with groups forming to defend their homes against a fear of a violent Catholic uprising. Mayor orders police to search for weapons at St. Hedwig's Catholic Church on Lagrange Street.
1897 - A tragic fire on St. Clair Street burns down a livery stable, killing 20 horses and destroying numerous wagons and carriages inside.
1933 - Bowling Green area farmers create disturbance when they show up for a farm foreclosure auction and only bid pennies for property. They intimidate those who want to bid more. This becomes the first use of the so called “penny auctions,” a tactic which became popular among farmers during the Great Depression.
1951 - Toledo Blade reports on overcrowded conditions, fire hazards and inadequate treatment of staff at Toledo State Hospital.
1984 - Macy's Department Store, formerly LaSalle's, in downtown Toledo closes for good.

Jan. 28
1897- Nitroglycerin explosion at Cygnet kills two people.
1905- Seven young prisoners are released from the Toledo city workhouse after their mothers made desperate pleas for their release to help them provide for their families. The inmates had been jailed for offenses ranging from picking up coal along the tracks or stealing chickens to feed their families.
1926 - Mrs. Mary Siglar, of Genoa, wins the “oldest range in town” contest and gets a brand new porcelain range as a prize from Skilliter and Sons Hardware. Her old iron range had been in use since 1886, and is now on display at Skilliters'.
1938 - The government jobs and public works program, the WPA announces it will hire another 1,500 workers in Toledo.