66 topographic sheets and 21 fire insurance atlases across 3 places.
This curated hub for Allen County, Ohio brings together the page's documented record links, visible map or image evidence where published, and routes to related local records.
Use the page's provenance and linked records to distinguish the source material from the site's navigation and summaries.
Open the original record, preserve its repository and identifier, then use the citation tool for this page as a path back to the source.
Follow the county or state hub for related places and records, then use the guide for a source-aware research sequence.
26 National Register listings · 27 businesses named in the fire insurance atlases from 1887 to 1921 · the 1885 county history tells 0 stories and names 3 people · people the book names include By Hon. S. D. Crites (Bath Township, 1906) · U. 8. Lands Entered In Amanda 1822-54 (Amanda Township, 1885) (machine-read).
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adgate Block | building | 1982 | 82001347 | |
 | Allen County Courthouse | building | 1974 | 74001392 |
 | Armory-Latisona Building | building | 1982 | 82001348 |
 | Barr Hotel | building | 1986 | 86001053 |
 | Cahill, Beck and R. C., Buildings | building | 1982 | 82001349 |
 | Dorsey Building | building | 1982 | 82001350 |
 | Elks Lodge | building | 1982 | 82001865 |
 | First National Bank and Trust Building | building | 1982 | 82001351 |
 | Hotel Argonne | building | 1982 | 82001352 |
 | Klaus Block | building | 1982 | 82001864 |
 | Lima Cleaning and Pressing Company | building | 1982 | 82001353 |
 | Lima Memorial Hall | building | 1979 | 79001779 |
 | Lima Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Depot | building | 2003 | 03000805 |
| Lima Stadium | structure | 2002 | 02000219 | |
 | Linneman Building | building | 1982 | 82001867 |
 | MacDonell House | building | 1978 | 78001999 |
 | Marks-Family House | building | 1982 | 82003537 |
 | Martin Block and Kibby Block | building | 1982 | 82001868 |
 | Metropolitan Block | building | 1979 | 79001780 |
 | Neal Clothing | building | 1982 | 82001870 |
 | Neely-Sieber House | building | 1976 | 76001360 |
 | Ohio Theatre | building | 1982 | 82001866 |
 | Renz Block | building | 1982 | 82001354 |
 | St. John Catholic Church | building | 1980 | 80002933 |
 | U.S. Post Office | building | 1982 | 82001356 |
 | Union Block | building | 1982 | 82001355 |
Allen County holds 0 covered bridges on the National Register, more than any other property type here. Each is a listed structure with a federal nomination on file.
Sampled issues, machine-read from the Library of Congress scan and published page by page, so every headline and column is searchable text.
Bluffton, Ohio, 1875 to Current. Machine-read from the Library of Congress scan.
Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.
Selected from the Digital Public Library of America's 24 image records catalogued for this county. Every one shown here carries a public-domain status or a licence that permits reuse on a site that carries advertising; non-commercial, share-alike and restricted images are excluded. The selection is spread across the county's towns (at most eight per town), so no single institution's bulk upload crowds out the rest. Each opens the holding library's record, and the complete set at the Digital Public Library of America is one click away.
Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. 532 frames touch this county; the selection below spreads across the decades of flights (at most four per year), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.
The "who lived here, by year" answer: pre-1929 public-domain directory volumes naming the county's people, machine-read and searchable as text.
The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that watched its rivers, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.
Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.
Every Sanborn volume opens with a printed index naming the town's mills, tanneries, hotels and works by proprietor. Those indexes were read off the scanned sheets by machine and then matched to each other, so a business surveyed four times appears here once, with the years it survived. 1 of these 27 were named in more than one atlas. Each carries a crop of the line it was read from: the spelling is the recogniser's and the 1880s lithographer's, and the scan behind it is the proof.
The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 286 reports for this county, causing 11 deaths, 134 injuries and about $9,324,250 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 184 |
| Hail | 64 |
| Tornado | 23 |
| Flash Flood | 9 |
| Lightning | 3 |
| Flood | 2 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1965 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | 11 killed, 100 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| July 1950 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 30 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | 2 hurt, $200,000 | Widespread tree and power line damage throughout the city of Lima. Along a strech of Shawnee Rd. from Fort Amanda Rd. to Reed Rd., every power pole and traffic signal was blown over, completely blocking the road. The roof of an automotive shop at Jackson St. and Findlay Rd. collapsed. Numerous homes and businesses sustained roof damage. About two thirds of Allen County was without power. One person was injured by a falling tree, and one person was knocked over by the wind and sustained minor injuries. There were also up to 15 indirect injuries from automobile accidents during the storm. |
| April 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $1,600,000 | Three aircraft hangars destroyed. About 17 airplanes and the Allen County Sheriff's Office helicopter were significantly damaged or destroyed. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Lima | $500,000 | Numerous roads closed across the county caused by high, flowing water. |
| June 1981 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| April 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Flash Flood | Bluffton Arpt | $100,000 | Sheriff department officials reported extensive flooding in several areas north of U.S. 30, especially around Cairo and Beaverdam. Water up to 1 foot deep was flowing over several roadways. Flash flooding occurred across Interstate 75, south of Mile Marker 138, resulting in closure of the Interstate in both directions. Pictures were also received of high flowing water near the intersection of Hillville Road and Stewart Road, north of Cairo. While no specific details were available, local media reported eight to 10 households suffered serious flooding problems. In addition, the Cairo Branch of the Lima Public Library suffered water damage as six inches of water entered the building. Hundreds of books were ruined as a -result. The threat for life threatening flash flooding ended during the mid-evening hours, but high water remained in several areas into the overnight hours of the 29th. |
| April 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $100,000 | Law enforcement reported tress and power lines down across the county with much of the damage in and around Lima. A large tree fell on a home and a car. The Lima High school which was under construction had damage to the roof. |
| June 2006 | Lightning | Harrod | $80,000 | A residence was struck by lightning, cause a fire which spread through much of the house, causing extensive damage to the house and an attached garage. Those in the home were able to escape without injury. Damage is estimated at around $80,000. |
| July 2006 | Lightning | Delphos | $80,000 | Lightning was believed to the cause of a fire at a 2 story residence in Delphos. The home was a total loss with the value estimated at $80,000. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bluffton | $60,000 | Barn destroyed on Sugar Creek Road. Thirty seven head of cattle were trapped in the barn, eight of which died. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kemp | $50,000 | Numerous reports of trees down and even Powerlines down around the county, including line down on SR 117 between Spencerville and Lima. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $50,000 | Roof collapsed at the Motel 6 on Harding Highway. The south end of the building sustained considerable damage. |
| September 2002 | Tornado (F1) | Delphos | $50,000 | Emergency management reported power lines and large trees were blown down. 6 homes suffered shingle and window damage. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $50,000 | TELEPHONE POLES DOWN ON CABLE RD. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $50,000 | Trees and limbs were downed, some on power lines. An enclosed patio on a home was destroyed by a falling tree. |
| June 2006 | Lightning | Cairo | $40,000 | A empty barn was struck by lightning, resulting in a fire which destroyed the barn. An adjacent house suffered heat damage to the siding but the house, which was vacant, never caught fire. Damage for both is estimated at around $40,000. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $40,000 | Two campers were overturned, a barn was damaged, and numerous trees and power lines were downed. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $25,000 | Many power lines were downed. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Beaverdam | $25,000 | Several barns damaged or destroyed. Two silos were damaged and trees downed. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $25,000 | Several barns were damaged or destroyed and numerous trees and power lines were downed. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $25,000 | Several roofs were blown off houses, and several windows were also reported blown out. |
| July 1979 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1971 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1965 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $20,000 | Large tree down onto car at the intersection of North Woodlawn Avenue and Latham Avenue. |
| April 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Westminster | $20,000 | A weak tornado destroyed a grain bin and carried the bin into a|nearby field for about a half mile before dissipating. Maximum|winds were 75 mph with a width of 50 yards. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $20,000 | Law enforcement officials reported trees and power lines down through the county. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gomer | $20,000 | A trained spotter observed damaging winds remove the siding and shingles from a nearby church. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $20,000 | Roof damage to a shopping center. Widespread trees and power lines down. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Beaverdam | $20,000 | Brief touchdown near the intersection of U.S. route 30 and Pevee Rd. The roof of one home was destroyed, with another home sustaining significant roof damage. The tornado also resulted in crop damage in the area. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $20,000 | TV tower blown down. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Beaverdam | $20,000 | Garage blown down. Car inside suffered moderate damage. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Yoder | $15,000 | Significant damage occurred to a shed and a carport was lifted off the ground. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Delphos | $10,000 | Pictures of a 100+ year-old tree uprooted at the Delphos Waterworks Park. Tree fell onto and destroyed a shelter. |
| February 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Beaverdam | $10,000 | Extensive tree damage was reported along with some roof damage at a residence. |
| April 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Westminster | $10,000 | A tornado briefly touched down, damaging a barn and carrying the|debris to the ENE. Maximum winds were around 75 mph with a width|of 50 yards. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Yoder | $10,000 | Some large tree branches were down and a barn sustained some damage. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Delphos | $10,000 | Numerous trees and power lines down. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencerville | $10,000 | Barn moved about 2 feet off the foundation. Several trees and power lines blown down. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $10,000 | Several large trees uprooted or downed. Four power poles snapped. |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $10,000 | TWO POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED. ONE LARGE TREE WAS BLOWN DOWN. TWO RAILROAD CROSSING ARMS WERE SNAPPED AS WELL. |
| May 1997 | Flash Flood | Lima | $10,000 | Riley creek in Bluffton rose out of its banks causing 6 residents to be evacuated. Several roads flooded across the county. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $10,000 | Numerous trees downed |
| October 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Ft Shawnee | $8,000 | This tornado was a continuation of the track of the Cridersville EF2 tornado. The tornado again briefly lifted prior to the Auglaize and Allen county line and then touched down again in Allen County near McClain Road, north of Hume Road. At this location a quarter of a metal roof was pulled off of a metal barn. No further damage was found beyond this location. Damage is estimated at around $8000. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencerville | $7,500 | Emergency management officials reported a portion of the roofing on a barn was removed. In addition, a power pole and several lines were blown down. Damage is estimated at $7,500. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima and | $7,000 | Trees were downed into power lines at Lima. In Spencerville, winds knocked down live power lines onto a car. A family of three had to be rescued from the car. No injuries occurred. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Allen Co Arpt | $5,000 | The ASOS at the Lima airport recorded a 75 mph wind gust. The winds caused minor damage to a small airplane that broke free from its tie downs. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Delphos | $5,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Delphos. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $5,000 | Trees and power lines down throughout county |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Half | $5,000 | Several trees and power lines were downed. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $5,000 | Trees and limbs were downed. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $4,000 | Canopy on a shopping mall was blown down along with a portion of the wall that it was attached to. 4 blocks to the south several large tree limbs were sheared off from only the lowest 20 feet of the trees. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lima | $4,000 | Large trees downed, some on power lines. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cairo | $3,000 | Telephone poles down. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were downed. |
| August 1970 | Tornado | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
The Survey's mineral resources record lists 13 workings inside this county. 7 still produce and 6 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Limestone, General | 5 |
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 5 |
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
| Sulfur | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Facility) Lima Ohio Refinery | Sulfur | Plant | ||
| Rockport S&G Co. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Rockport Sand & Gravel Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Bluffton Stone Company | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Bluffton Stone Company Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Lima Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant | ||
| Lima Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Suever Stone Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Suever Stone Quarry & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant | ||
| Western Ohio Stone Co. Quarry No. 1 | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Western Ohio Stone Co. Quarry No. 1 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Western Ohio Stone Co. Quarry No. 2 | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Western Ohio Stone Co. Quarry No. 2 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Museum specimens collected inside this county and catalogued with a date and a place: 529 of them, by kingdom 507 animalia, 19 fungi, 3 plantae. Each is a physical object in a named collection, not a sighting. Held by Ohio State University - Fish Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), Ohio State University - Bird Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), Ohio State University - Reptile Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), USNM, NY, INHS among others, and each settlement page carries the specimens collected near it.
The oldest of them. A specimen proves something was collected on that day; its absence proves nothing.
| Photograph | Year | Species | Kingdom | Where | Collector | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1865 | Lophanthus nepetoides (L.) Benth. | Plantae | Delphos | Holzer, L. | BDI |
 | 1893 | Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783) | Animalia | Cloverdale, Sugar Creek | not recorded | USNM USNM 21615 |
 | 1893 | Etheostoma spectabile (Agassiz, 1854) | Animalia | Sugar Creek, 2 miles north of Lima; Maumee River dr. | PH Kirsch | UMMZ 212971 |
 | 1893 | Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque, 1819 | Animalia | Lost Creek, Lima, Ohio | P. Kirsch | USNM USNM 76249 |
 | 1893 | Lithobates pipiens (Schreber, 1782) | Animalia | Cloverdale, Sugar Creek | not recorded | USNM USNM 21667 |
 | 1893 | Nerodia sipedon (Linnaeus, 1758) | Animalia | Lima, Sugar Creek | not recorded | USNM USNM 21690 |
 | 1893 | Regina septemvittata (Say, 1825) | Animalia | Lima, Sugar Creek | not recorded | USNM USNM 21685 |
 | 1893 | Thamnophis sirtalis (Linnaeus, 1758) | Animalia | Lima, Sugar Creek | not recorded | USNM USNM 21701 |
History of Allen County, Ohio. Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Etc., Etc devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 11 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
| Shape and position in the county | Township | Settlements in it | Length | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Township | Conant, Hartford, Kemp | 14,121 words | 6 | |
| Auglaize Township | Harrod, West Newton, Westminster | 5,254 words | 2 | |
| Bath Township | Country Estates, Shady Grove, Slabtown | 35,969 words | 6 | |
| Jackson Township | Lafayette, Maysville | 97,694 words | 7 | |
| Lima City | Lima | 30,764 words | 21 | |
| Marion Township | Holland Court, Landeck, Needmore, Scotts Crossing | 31,041 words | 4 | |
| Monroe Township | Cairo, Rockport, West Cairo | 45,665 words | 12 | |
| Perry Township | Eastwood Estates, Rousculp, South Warsaw, Yoder | 20,898 words | 7 | |
| Richland Township | Beaver Dam Station, Beaverdam, Bluffton | 72,153 words | 12 | |
| Shawnee Township | Elmview, Fort Shawnee, Hume, Oakview | 14,379 words | 6 | |
| Spencer Township | Southworth, Spencerville, Village Courts I, Village Courts II | 23,566 words | 10 |
Everyone History of Allen County, Ohio. Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Etc., Etc stops to write about, with the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in the words of 1885.
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the watercourse or landform it stands on and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 3 places that were also surveyed for fire insurance come first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.
Richland township · 45817 · On Marsh Run · Bluffton quadrangle
14 sheets, 1907 to 1986
Fire insurance: 5 atlases
Spencer township · 45887 · Spencerville quadrangle
14 sheets, 1911 to 1986
Fire insurance: 6 atlases
Shawnee township · 45806 · On Little Ottawa River · Cridersville quadrangle
14 sheets, 1906 to 1986
Shawnee township · 45806 · On Little Ottawa River · Cridersville quadrangle
14 sheets, 1906 to 1986
Amanda township · 45887 · On Sixmile Creek · Spencerville quadrangle
14 sheets, 1911 to 1986
No longer a settlement
Jackson township · 45854 · On Little Hog Creek · Beaverdam quadrangle
13 sheets, 1907 to 1986
Marion township · 45833 · Delphos quadrangle
14 sheets, 1911 to 1986
No longer a settlement
Marion township · 45833 · On Pigeon Run · Delphos quadrangle
14 sheets, 1911 to 1986
Bath township · 45804 · On Lost Creek · Lima quadrangle
15 sheets, 1906 to 1986
No longer a settlement
15 topographic sheets and 10 fire insurance atlases, 1887 to 1957
14 topographic sheets and 6 fire insurance atlases, 1895 to 1930
14 topographic sheets and 5 fire insurance atlases, 1895 to 1940
The complete index, with nothing left out. Each of these is a separate record with its own page: a federal survey report, or the case file that argued a property on to the National Register. Both are public domain and reproduced word for word.
The vanished settlements of Allen County, the places these records name that are no longer on the map.
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